The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1877-05-05
MARYLAND FISH COMMISSION.


depleted of their fish requires no other
proof, when the yield of shad and herring
taken last year in the Potomac is contrasted
with the catch of forty odd years ago. In
Martins Gazetteer, of 1885, it was stated
that there were $50 fisheries on the Poto-
mac, and that in six weeks time 90 $780,
900 shad and 49, 100000 herring were
taken. Even allowing that the method of
counting the fish in 1885 was not absolutely
accurate, still when we compare this
yield with that of 1876, the differ
ence is most marked. Last year on the
Potomac only 80 fisheries were in operation
and the total catch of shad 319,079. Very
wisely, the efforts of Mr.. T. B. Ferguson,
the Maryland Commissioner of Fisheries,
have been devoted to the propagation of
the most valuable of fish, the shad. Whereas
salmon or brook trout may in time supple
ment the food resources of the State of Mary
land, it is the staple fish which is most re-
quired. Though success has followed the
propagation of shad by the Commissioners
of New York and Massachusetts, neverthe-
less the securing of the eggs of the shad their
fertilization and subsequent Matching, have
always presented certain difficulties. In fact,
the shad (Al0sa sapidissima) is at all times
delicate fish to handle, and when eggs
are secured, the Matching requires more
skill and care than the eggs of almost any
other fish. If Mr. Seth Green, by the dis
covery of his shad Matching box, in a
measure solved the problem of propagating
shad, Mr.. Ferguson finds that in the more
quiet waters of the Potomac, where cur
rents are wanting, that the Seth Green
Matching box does not always give the best
result. Similar conditions to those found
in the Matching camps of the New York
Commission on the Hudson not existing in
Maryland it becomes necessary then to
devise somewhat new systems of operation.
With steamer, the Lookout at the COM
mand of the Commissioners, apparatus has
been devised on board the vessel itself for
the preservation and even maturing of the
shad eggs. By means of tanks, so ar
ranged as to keep in equilibrium the water
forced through them by the mechanism of
the steamer, the eggs as they are impreg
mated at the fishing grounds are secured,
and are allowed to mature, in a certain
measure, in the tanks. This method, then,
of directly securing, iTpregnating, ma
turing and transporting the eggs on board
of steamer is an important and novel fea-
Epl ',n ,,,,ic
believes that the increase of shad in Mary
land will be due to Matching the fish in large
numbers at the head of the bay, and then
transporting the young fish to the rivers
after they had been Matched. With regard
to California salmon. some PCS, 764 young
were planted in the Maryland waters in
1915, and last year 795, 600. The Commits
sioner now thinks that the experiment has
been tried on a sufficiently larger scale to
insure its success. Possibly at the present
moment we may hear, at any time, of the
first catch of a salmon Quinnat in Maryland
waters, but it is more probable that the
positive return of the salmon may be de-
layed until 1879. An effort has been made
by the Commissioners to introduce the
smet into the Maryland waters. This
year some 3,425 New Jersey smelt were
placed in the Patapsco and Elk Rivers
Some fish just ready to spawn were treated
at Druid Hill, but though eggs and multi
were plentiful no small fish were reared.
During the last year Mr. Ferguson has de-
voted good deal of attention to the rear
ing of European carp. OF the many varie-
ties, the Prussian carp (Carassius gibsulo),
the Golden lde (Idus melanotus) and the
naked carp &c. nudo) seems to have done
the best. The value of the fish cannot be
over estimated. Being universal feeders.
carp can be kept in almost and kind of
water, and, as the fish grow rapidly, they
would furnish large quantity of excellent
food. There is IA great deal of prejudice
against carp as food among certain class.
1t should, however, be remembered that
fish culture does not aim at furnishing
brook trout alone to grace the tables of a
few, but that its great object is to give
cheap food to the many. Mr.. Ferguson
may certainly be congratulated on having
constructed at Druid Hill the most COM
plete Matching house in the country. The
report we have under notice is clearly
written, contains a great deal of informa-
ton, and with addition of the list of fishes
of Maryland is valuable contribution to
archaeological science.