The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-06-16
QUE ROOD FISH.
IMPORTANCE OF FISH CULTURE. Or P1scI
CULTURE.

IMPORTANCE OF FISH CULTURE Oh PxSCI
CULTURE.
The recent visit of President Hayes tc
Havre de Grace, in Maryland, for the pur-
pose Of witnessing the process Of Matching
fab by artificial means, 10 taken advantage
of by an Eastern paper to publish the
subjoiued interesting article on subject
which should be seriously considered by
our people:
ledge of the great and beneficial results
attained by the modern art and mystery OF
pisciculture during the last quarter of q
century. The works Of Mr.. Frank Buck
land and others have popularized the sub
ject to certain extent in England but
even in England the progress made In
repairing the waste of our treasures hid in
the waters, or, as the Neapolitans pictur-
eequely phrase it, "of our sea fruit" is but
imperfectly appreciated. Ia this country
Mr.. Seth G reen and Mr.. Robert B. ROose-
velt have done much to enlighten the
public mind; recent discussion of the
"whitebait question" has had the one good
interest taken by the public in the subject.
The President's visit to Havre de Grace
will stimulate this interest anew.
The importance of pisciculture must be
measured by the fact that there has Of late
been great danger that if nature were left
to herself, the supply of edible fash, which
forms SO great part Of the subsistence Of
man, would soon be seriously diminished.
London annually receives from the North
Sea alone about es many pounds Of fish as
it consumes of beef, and in the season of
1895. 63O. .0O0, 900 pounds of shad and her
ring were taken from the Potomac. III cut
ting off Of supplies like these is threatened at
- 4 g. H.
coration"-or the obliteration of edible
quadrupeds-as was talked of in Europe
not long ago, it is evident that money is
we'll spent when 1t is laid out in q way
which gives such ample returns as have
already been yielded by the artificial intro
duction and cultivation of fish. Of late
several European governments have turned
fessor Baird's report shows, have been
greatly aided by the United States, and
yet so late as 1868 when Mr. Seth Green, to
whose labors our pisciculturRl success is
largely due, importuned Congress for
small appropriation OF money with which
to carry out his experiments, it was per-
emptorily refused, and Mr.. Green himself
was looked upon as little better than a
crazy enthusiast. Having shown that the
water can be cultivated even more sue
than the land for the good of man,
and at far less expenditure of time, trouble
and money, Mr.. Green has fair right to
smile at conservatives as they once smiled
at him.
In pursuance of law passed early in
1871 the President appointed Commits
sioner of Fish and Fisheries, whose duty |
1t was to investigate the alleged diminution
In the supply of edible fab along the sea-
coast and in the lakes of the United States, |
and If the existence of such q falling off |
should be proved, to suggest proper meth |
Hn for fDnv thn In fhn
ond year of it's work the additional duty
Of propagating and introducing fish was
laid upon the Commission, and through
the Offices of the American Fish Culturists'
Association grant of $15, 900 was given |
BY Congress for the purpose of restoring
The appropriation has increased year by |
year. Many comparisons will be necessary |
actually to prove to what extent our sup |
ply of food fish is falling away, but that |
;he defamation is steadily going on has |
been we'll enough shown in the cases of |
many of our rivers, such AB the Hudson; t
where sturgeon once abounded, and the |
in California, in which there |
vas thought to be an inexhanstible supply |
# salmon until it was found that the actual
;atch during a given year was appreciably
ess than the proceeding. As Professor
Baird saya. during any of the last few
ears only from six to ten million pounds
Orty years ago $50, 900, 900 pounds Of them
we're taken during the six weeks fishing
eason. The diminution was evidently
mainly due to reckless fishing, for it is
Incredible that the ocean should not be
o-day as well able to send it's fish up to
he spawning grounds as ever 1t was. It
3 the shad, the fresh water herring,
california salmon, the different vari-
ties of carp and the viii, o6sh which
is especially important to preserve,
9 they are excellent food and enormously
rOlific; the commission would introduce
be shad into every river opening into the
atlantic. Mr.. Green placed loo, 600. 600 of
hem in the Connections River, and the
esult has been that not long ego 3 $50
had were caught in one net, which was q
reater haul than had previously been