Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1880-04-14
On the "lrish Hawk"

sIy-eonstructedhttle iron steamer
now lies in the Christisna river, Delaware.
II was built for the use of the COMMISSION
of Fish and Fisheries, of which Professor
spencer f. Baird, of the Smithsonian lns-
tit,,te. is the Director. 1t is called the Fish
Hawk, and, unlike the bird for which II Is
named. its objects is not the destruction,
but the increased propagation of food fishes.
Upon the Fish Hawk is carried the whole
apparatus for propagaiing fish and the
machinery and laboratory connected there
with. The steamer is OF iron, but OF quite
a novel construction, unlike any other vessel
that has ever been launched upon the wa
ters of Delaware Bay. The hull is l4l feet
6 inches long, q feet in breadth and 10
feet inches deep. The outside is covered
with yellow pine planking 5 inches thick,
caulked and coppered and giving to it the
appearance 10 casual observer OF awooden
ship. The purpose of this construction is
to enable the vessel to remain, If necessary,
in the warm water OF the Gulf OF Mexico
without the submerged part of the hull be-
coming covered with barnacles, difficulty
always encountered by iron hulls Ia tropic-
al or semi-tropical waters, and TO prevent
which great expenditure OF ingenuity has
been made during the past fifteen years,
with very unsatisfactory results. The frsh
Hawk will thus have all the buoyancy,
strength and durability of an iron vessel,
with the clean bottom and freedom from
fouling that characterize wooden one.
The form of construction, indeed, seems.
to hopeful machinists, to be that of the
shin of the future. The vessel has twin
screw. the object being to obtain the power
needed upon the least possible DRAFT of
water and also 10 aid in mon9uvring the
ship more easily than could be done
with single propeller. Upon the mann
/ deck forward are placed the quarters Tor
the crew, heing about such as are usually
provided for sailors and firemen on merch-
ant vessels. Aft of the machinery on the
main deck are the cosy little staterooms ot
the officers, as well as those intended for
the scientists of the commission, who direct
the interesting anddelicate work OF collect
! ing the spawn and Matching and caring Tor
the Young fish. On the second deck Is the
nicely furnished laboratory, supplied with
microscopes and other instruments needed IN
the examination OF specimens or other work
! connected with the processes OF propaga
ton. Everything connected with this
department is most excellent in construc-
tion and arrangement. Forward OF the
machinery is a room 80 feet long and %
wide, in which is arranged the Matching ap-
paratus. This consists of series of conical
tanks. placed vertically andsuspended with
compass attachment TO insure vertical
position without regard 10 the rolling OF
the ship when in rough water. These
tanks are thirty inches deep, eighteen
inches in diameter at the top and three
inches at the bottom. They are supplied
with clean water through pipe, and by
means of steam pump kept constantly
going, the overflow being carried overheard
by a suitable system Of conductors. While
the spawn are in these tanks they are kept
slowly shaking all the time by apparatus
moved by a steam engine.
Suppose the fishing season, in the Della
ware for example, TO have begun. The
Fish Hawk, with apparatus in order and
corps of experts on board, is anchored ad-
iacent to where the fish are caught. BY a
preconcerted arrangement with the fisher
men, when one of their numbers catches
two fish that are IN fit condition, he hoists
a small flag, if it is in the day time, or a
lantern OF sends up a small rocket, if il is
at night. At this signal one of the Fish
Hawks boats, puts of, comes quickly 10
where the fisherman is, an expert extracts
the spawn or mllt, as the case may be, and
returns the fish to their owner, and with
them a card or ticket. This entities the
bearer, when he presents it at the office in
Washington. TO a given sum of money.
generally, in the case of shad, to about fifty
cents. As the fishermen get their fish back,
this sum is almost clear gain, and it makes
them very jealous in supplying the COM
mission boat with all the fish they find that
are suitable. These little bits of paste
board pass as ''currency" in the fish catch
ing regions. When the spawn are once in
the tanks the matching begins and is kept up
until the young fish appear. This general
iy takes from three to four days according
TO the temperature of the water in which the
fish are caught: the shortest time being
when the water is from 73 degree to 10
degree Fahrenheit The average time is
eighty hours. 1t is said that fish taken in
water of 50 degrees are useless, the increase
4 III VI llVhi lOAA " Ni5hs w
grees being sufficient to destroy the prin-
ciple of life in the eggs When hatched
the young fish subsist upon aportion OF the
egg which adheres to them and is absorbed
slowly within period of eight days They
must he sent TO their intended destina-
| ton within this time as no successful
method of feeding them has yet been dis
covered. Thus, young shad Matched in the
| Delaware and intended for the Sacramento
must be placed, as soon as they are Matched,
on board an express train and sent through
to San Francisco with as little delay as pos
sible, in order that they may be placed in
the water again before the eight days have
expired. The commission intend soon TO
begin the planting of Goldfish in the Dela-
ware and adjacent rivers. This, when ac-
complished, will add much TO the value
Of the fishing grounds in these localities.
Nature has aided the Fish Commission
much in its efforts by implanting in the
food of fishes an instinct that causes them
to return at the spawning season to the
place where they were Matched. 1t is
curious fact, too, that when eggs are thus
placed in the tanks on the commissions
vessel, a much larger percentage OF them
hatch than do of those deposited by the
fish in the natural way upon the river beds
and the bottom of the ocean. The attention
of other civilized nations has been attracted
by what the United States is doing.
The German government has invited
an exhibition Of all apparatus and all pro-
cession of fish Matching to be made in Ber-
lin during May of the present year. 1t is
expected that models Of the Fish Hawk
and her machinery of propagation will be
sent, an appropriation for this purpose hav-
ing been requested from the present Con-