The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-06-14
THE PROPiGdTTON or room FISHES
IN 1TE UNITED STATES.

sive and on the whole. successful attempts
have been making during the past three or four
years to rcstock our rivers and lakes with fish.
1t Is worth while TO sum up what has been ac-
conplishcd in this direction. and to that end we
avail ourselves Of au able and exhaustive re-
port lately published by tho Commissioner Of
Fisheries
The importance Of securing from our waters
their fullest yield Of animal food is now Begin
ming 10 be- recognized. in view Of our rapidly
increasing population. and the alleged simuta-
ncous diminution in the production Of vegcta-
bic ailments by farming lands. We find it
claimed by the students II pisciculurc that the
water can actually be made TO furnish a larger
percentage of nutrment. aero for acre. than
the soil. Nor docs the estimate seem cXaeger-
ated when we consider that China.with it, cnor-
nous swnrms Of Inhabitants crowdng a larger
number on the square mile than any other part
Of the carth's surface. derives the largest por-
ton Of its animal food from the interior waters
Of the empire. Such signal economical
achievement Is. Of course. only possible in the
country whore the methods Of fish cultivation
are conducted in worry Ell ,cnt manner and
whore every cubic yard ol pond and stream is
thoroughly utilized.
We are reminded In this report that the work
Of augmenting our food supply from this
source. prosecuted by the national Government.
Is in no case ono which would be carried on by
state commissions or private enterprise. Iowa
ana Minnesota. or Ohio and western Pcnnsyl-
vania. Tor instance. would not find profit in any
great expenditure iorthe purpose of restocking
their streams. seeing that the mature fish would.
on thoir return. enter the mouth Of the VI lsss-
sippi and traverse all ofthe Intermediate states.
with the certainty that II large proportion Of tho
catch would be secured in passing. On the
other hand. the great waters " the more South
ern States do not offer the right conditions for
the preservation aud growth II tho young fish
which require the cold. upper sources Of those
rivers rs their homo. Furthermore. the primary
outlay Tor securing tho eggs Of such species as
the Californian salmon or the European carp is
greater than many single States would care to
moct. while the cost Of obtaining n supply for
the whole country from single establishment
is relatively mu'h less than the aggreg cato cost
of separate effort. This. then. seems to be- a
proper case for tho intervention II the national
Government and we are happy 10 say that liz
operations in this instance have been conducted
with skill and fidelity.
As regards the propagation Of shad. tho most
plentiful and popular OF our native fishes, the
plan is 10 establish Matching camps in March
along the sOuthcrnmost streams on the Atlantic
coast. there 10 hatch all the eggs procurahlc.
nn1 Lovin,. , ,,,,f.r,,f tho ,o,,,,, ash In ,b,
breeding stream. 10 transmit the remainder TO
other waters Now entirely uuproyidel. This
operation is continued by removing tho camps
norihwari a. the season advances. until. to-
ward tho end Of June. the Come ticut river is
reached. from which nursery the region If the
great lakes. the upper Mississippi. and the
l,h,rs ~ "a, i.s, ,.',- ,,,.,,,I h,. ,h, -,
&C.,. mos, r.,,..,rl ,ba, ,l,, o,ir - ~
ba,cb.d an, ,v,s 70 ,oo nnn n, ,l,is oc.,.i,,
,rfr,,,.,o ,,as ,i,.,,,, a., ,t ti.,ruu,i,, :. ,ha
N.sisa,,,,,f ,v.,.rz AMI tho riy,rs tb, An,r,i,
md aulf .l,u.s fla. o,l, sht,,,,r,s 4, ,Lo
tributaries Of thn lnk,s holm, r., ,ho.,, ~ aka
Chnmrlnin
II annenrs that tho California sal,nor u,lil,c
tho Maine srnoins which however has
su,,,rior c,,,r o,r ,.i,ts,,,'1 ,n, ,,.r,,,., o,i
mats krn,rn in Tho r,i,.1 s,ot.s and 10 ex-
,r.,,.ly ,r,lin. o,db or1v ,bri,ir,, IN ,,o net
,urii1 49,. r.r,,is r.os,,, g. ,,,,i,t,li,,
,io, has hon mi, n mutual o,.co, ~ H.,
c,r,r,iasi,r s,,,o t,.o,, ,t.'..,i. -, ,,.htrI
,hn,.r,,.,...tio, ~ AN LA. he., .t,,.+.d
u,nv h. formed fr,n, the fnct nm, tho o,.,s ..,l
lec,ed during the season of 1871. M the United
States establishment on the upper Sacramento.
numbered about II .OOo 900 having n bulk Of
eighty bushels. and weighing. when packed for
transportation. ten tons.
Another fish 10 whose Introduction tho COM
mission PROPOSES TO devote considerable effort
is the European earp. There are. uuuua.tion-
ahly. varieties II this fish which POSSESS supe-
rlor table qualities. and thu notion entertained
ly many that the carpis An inferior article If
food must haye been derived from parsons who
had been unfortunate in their experience. II
has. too. other characteristics which render II