Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1881-09-10

by the commissioners of Iowa and ILL
nois. Whenever there is high water In
the spring millions of fish ascend the
bayous and sloughs to spawn. and mgr
lads of young fish are subsequently
Matched out. When the waters recede
millions upon millions OF the 5oung fish
are lett to perish in the drying water
holes. 1t is the design of the commas.
sion to rescue these little fish from i'm
pending death, and to transmit them t.
| the various streams Of the interior of thu
state which are accessible by rail
For this purpose q small steamboat has
been chartered, at q very low price
This boat will transport a fishing party
of nine men, who will be under the d.
rection OF Mr.. E.. R. Shaw, the son o.
| Mr.. B. F. Shaw. the Iowa fish commits
| sioner. who is one of the most practical
and successful OF the fish commissioners
OF the west. The young Mr.. Shaw has
filed the same position tor his father
with great success, and has ample ex'
perience. The steamboat will tow q
cabin barge upon which the fishing
party will live. also boxes in which to
preserve the young fish alive until they
can be shipped by rail. The fish that
will be caught will be bass, Jack sal,
mon. pike; crappie, &C., sc. OF course
no inferior fish will be taken. Only very
small ones are desirable, as 80 many
more can in that way be transported in
the cans. 1t is expected that many mil
lions will be secured. long minnow nets
being used in the work. The season is
thought to be q peculiarly favorable one,
owing to the high water of the spring
and the drought of the summer, market
fishermen from many points having sent
10 very favorable reports. q,
To transport these fish the commission
is fortunate enough to have an admir-
ably prepared car, which it owes to the
liberality and public spirit of the whole
souled general superintendent of the
Wabash & Pacific railway. MI. Thomas
McKissock. Mr.. McKissock not only
furnishes the car, bat has given an order
for its passage over the Wabash and all
its branches without charge. The ar
rangement OF the a was made at the
Wabash shops at Mobsrly, at the ex-
pense of the commissica,, but at the
mere cost price OF work and material.
The car is a caboose Of unusual length.
It is provided with q large tank below
the floor, another large tank IS suspended
high up in the a r On the floor are the
boxes to contain the fish, which are con-
nected with the upper tank from which
they obtain fresh water at short intervals
to keep the fish in good order. The water
Is drained from the live-boxes to the
lower tank, from whence it IS pumped
back into the upper tank after being
filtered and cleaned, the pump beng
automatically worked from the axle of
the q + A large ice chest 10 also pro-
vided to carry ice when the weather is
excessively warm, to preserve a moder-
ately cool temperature for the water.
Each box, Of which there are twenty.
will hold from 5000 to 10000 fish of the
size it is desirable to distribute. The
quarters for the crew are over the upper
tank. The car has air brakes in order
it may be attached to passenger
trains, thus frequently expediting Its
work materially. 1t will be in charge
Mr.. Brownell, the superintendent of
the hatchery, and he has already enter
ed upon his work. The design OF the
Is to have the Car meet the
boat at stated points on the Mississippi.
river, receive its load. and then start
west as straight across the state as prac-
ticabIe. stopping and placing the fish in.
all the available streams crossed by the
railroads Of the state. The work will be
very rapid, and it IS hoped very thorough.
ct oourse nom but streams crossed by
railways will be supplied, and these are
enough 10 tax the resources Of the CON-
mission this autumn. The "aquarium
car" as it il called, bears upon It's sides
the legend, '.Fish Commission Of Mis-
souri," and we hope our exchanges will
assist US in making its mission known OF
all men.
We have thus hurriedly and as con-
cisely as possible endeavored to show
what the commission has done. Being
conversant with their work
by observation of similar enterprises in
other states. we can safely say that no
other commission ever did so much with
so little money. For their economy and
care of the states fund, and for their
energy and zeal CDR. Steadman hsving
spent a year in Europe, largely to inves.
,tigate fish culture there), We think the
gentlemen deserve very great credit and
the thanks OF the people OF the. s~tate;and
We hope the next legislature will appre-
ciate the Importance of the subject, and
be as liberal in Its appropriation Al its
merit really deserves.
The Richmond (Va.) State (Funder)
foresees national disaster as the proba.
BILE result Of readjuster victory. 1t says:
''the people of Virginia, defeated through
the fundamentally OF the republican
party. and compelled to bear the dlshon-
orable stigma of reputation will 40 Ion
ger feel themselves bound to defend the
debt ofthe national government. The de-
moralization of Jul people will become
universal and their policy as ultra as the
most pronounced and fanhtical green.
hacker could desire, while the whole
south, now conserv alive IN its financial
sentiments, will JOIN with the west In its
widest schemes Tor reputation OF the ma
tlonal debt, whether by sowing the land
knee deep with greenbacks, or the SIM
pie plan of applying the principle Of
readjustment."
According to the last report OF the
commissioners of agriculture it appears
that 7.600,0 600 persons IN the United
States are engaged in agricultural pur-
suits. The total value of farms and
farm implements is $13.4 61 200. 433. or