The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-09-06

which they were confined, before the fall
season, at which time they spawn ;
showing that the theory that these fish
can only survive In the, esldest, purest
water is incorrect. And SO it may be
with>the Sacramento salmon, =, whose de
gree Of latitude does not tsvary materially
FROM our own, and whose natural habits
az to~heat and. cold would be modified By
being-placedg in our waters during the
winter and at q tender age.
In any event there is no reason why
the experiment might not be tried.
Upon the contrary, every inducement is
held out for experimenting with all of
the farorite species, not excepting even
the salmon salar itself. The much that
has tbgsn learned in pisiculture leaves
very much yet to be discovered, and no
department of science, no branch Of i'm
dustry, offers a wider field to the natu:
ralist, nor larger margins Gf gain TO- him
who will successfully prosecute the busi-
ness rrLIt II i 'i.t. II u
With a fish commissioner, such as is
had in, most of the States, whose business
it would be to keep in communication
with Ahe other commissioners and with
the ignited States Commissioner. much
valuabie information would be dissent.
mated, and many varieties of valuable
eggs and fishes imported and exported
for experiment. We have many native
varieties well adapted to the purpose of
bothcponds and streams, and by a'system
of Interchange with commissioners from
other. States, sending eggs and fry from
home-and receiving a similar shipment
from>abroad, there is no estimating the
good that might be accomplished. Our
State has recently shown a disposition to
Danish barbarism and to put itself in
harmony with other countries in the on
ward march towards material improve
ment and refining civilization. Let Us
not neglect this mportahtsmatter, which
offers so much good for 80 little outlay.
The next division of my subject-Gsh
ponds-is more interesting to US person
ally, being within reach of all, and re-
quires no State aid. Any person owning
a few.. acres. of land, with a-stream of
water, msy ehbarkinS the enterprise with
more Or less hope Of success.
The bolder the stream sand the larger
the extent of pond surface, the greater
the variety Of fish which can be raised
and the larger the profits, althoug h many
kinds grow finely and breed well in
smaller ponds fed by streams that barely
supply evaporation. In treating of
ponds, I may as we'll admit in advance
the fact that in most instances failure
has been the result. / think, for causes
which can be accounted for, and which,,
when properly considered, are not of
sufficient magnitude TO discourage the
undertaking, for the future. ,i .,,ii
+, NV first criticism is on the size of
ponds, very few of which are entitled, to
Che dignity of the appellation, being in
most instances mere puddles Of water,
from few feet in diameter to perhaps
quarter Of an acre in extent. Into these
enclosures have. been turned
any and all varieties which could be OBJ
tained, many of them unsuited by nature,
for the habitation of such places, whilst
others of them seem to have been formed
with special reference to the destruction
of the otherkinds. Failure in such cases
is as much to be looked for as it would
be in the case Of q farmer who would ex-
pect to.rear successfully hundred head
of cattle on two-acre lot, or who would
e. tempt to keep the peace between
pack of wolvesand aF1ock of sheep which
were required to roam upon the same
pasturage. To illustrate, 1shall reiterate
experiments fgiyen TO the public before,
and which snbseqd epf observation has
confirmed All 81. our fish eat fish, ex.
cent me61bsrso Of thesuGEer family; these
eat egqs. : ;PSacicaI1yn therefore, all fish
consumes 6aB,. some more, some less.
What is known here as the trout (Megas-
tonse CaroHnienis and Grystes Sainoides)
afford striking illustrations. The older
ones are caugh ght almost exclusively with
living fish. used as. bait, or-by its, artificial
representative, The bob. ALI fshermea
know this, and attach'importanceE to hay'
ing fresh lively minnows on hand for
days sport. This justifes the.
statement that in its natural state its
habitual food is fish. And whilst it has
its preferences fol. certain varieties, none
are exempt from the attacks-of its vora-
cious laws. Ihave caught a four pound
trout which had swallowed catfish
which weighed over q quarter Of 8 pound,
the tail of which was still visible In the
cavity of the trout's mouth, because there
was not sufficient room for its reception
in the stomach, and yet it bit with spirit
at silver fish on the hook. I have
taken them with their stomachs distended
with smaller members of their own
species, with all the varieties of the perch
clan, including the exceedingly nimble
braeam, with suckers, with minnows; in
fact no fish seems beyond the scope of its
appetite. Great as is the destruction
done by older members of this family:
you. can imagine that the supply which
would disappear down the capacious
throat cfsa ten-po,ruier mtwelye months
would bel iios iaeonside defable. drain upon
be resources pond df q quarter ofan
acre in extent still, strange to relate,
the depredations of the young trout are,
even more disastrous. A pair of troutsof'
two and half pounds each are capable
of producing 10000 IN 7aTseason these
young commence upon smaller varieties
as soon as the umbilical egg has been
absorbed, and when they have attained
a length ofone and agquarter inches, re:
quiring from a month to six weeks Of
growth, will eat sizty-one fish each in
twenty-four hours. This I have wit
messed again and again. It is true that
the fishes swallowed were very small and
ofexceedingly tender age, being scarcely
more than eggs with tails appended;
still they were fish, aud if uninterrupted,
would have attained as large size as any
in the pond. Now, suppose that the
young Of only one pair are hatched in a
pond of quarter of an acre and that the
Unusually small number of 5000 is the
result. These 5000 are capable of de-
vouring .SO5,OOO per day. It occurs to
me that it would be only necessary for
them to survive one day to effect the
complete depopulation Of ordinary ponds.
Having accomplished their work of de-
struction. they are themselves made the