Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-10-11
THE FATHER OF FIsH.CULTURE.
Seth Green's Edeas About the Finny
Tribe and Some of His Varied fEx-
DeFiences
Turf. Field and Farm

Turf, Field and Farm.
How did you ever come to devise
this scheme -
I have been working at it ever since
was large enough to bend a PIN
The above remark was addressed to
Mr.. Seth Green, the veteran fish cultur-
ist, who is known to the entire world.
and his reply indicates the extent of his
labors.
when [ was quite young" he con-
tinued, 4 would lie on the limbs of
trees that reached out over the water
entire afternoons, watching the move
ments of the fish and studying their
habits. In this way [ discovered many
characteristics which were before I'M
known. l saw as every observer must
see, the destructive elements that are
warning against fish, and [ realized that
unless something were done, the life in
the streams Of this country would
become extinct. To cOunteract this dis
astr0us end became my life work, and l
am happy to say [ have seen its accomp.
lishment"
Were you successful on the start -
No, indeed. Up to that time all ar
tifciaI attempts to hatch and raise fish
from the spawn had failed. and [ was
compelled to experiment in an entirely
new manner. The work was a careful
and tedious one, but [ finally succeeded.
and to-day am able to hatch and raise
fully seventy-five per cent of all
spawn"
Enormous! Why. that is a larger
percentage than either the vegetable or
animal kingdoms produce in natural
condition.
4 know it, but we exercise the great
est care in the start, and guard the little
fellows until they become able to care
for Themselves
The foregoing conversation occurred
at Caledonia, where the representative of
this paper was paying a visit to the state
fish hatcheries. 1t has been his privilege
to report very many interesting sights
within the past twenty-five years, bu
the view presented here. exceeds in in
terest anything ever before attempted.
How many fish are there in those
ponds, Mr.. Green?"
AS we have never attempted to count
them, it will be impossible to say. They
extend way up into the millions, though.
We shipped over three millions out of
the ponds this year, and there seemed to
be as many afterward as before. We
have nearly every variety of the trout
Ct1Il1l CtIlII Italy lily UIIuS.
You speak Of hybrids, Mr. Green
What do you mean by that?''
q have experimented for years
in crossing the breed Of the various fish,
and am still working upon it. We cross
the female salmon trout with the male
brook trout, aud thus produce a hybrid
Then we cross the hybrid with the brook
trout, which gives us three-quarter brook
trout and One-Quarter salmon trout. This
makes one of the finest fishes in the
world. He has all the habits of the
brook trout, lives in both streams and
lakes, develops yermilliOn spots on his
sides, rises readily to fly, is far more
vigorous and fully one-third larger than
ordinary brook trout of the same age.
The possibilities Of development in the
fish world are great, and we are rapidly
ascertaining what they are
As the man Of news watched the cOUn-
tenance Of Mr.. Green while he was Civ
ing the above account, he could not but
feel that he was in the presence Of one
OF the few investigators who, from a
rich and lifelong experience, bring great
benefit to the world Let the reader
imagine a strong and staIwart frame.
surmOunted by a head strongly resem-
bling that of Socrates, and covered with
q white silky beard and luxuriant gray
hair. Seth Green, the father of fish
culture, is a picture of health and the
reporter could not help remarking SO
If you had seen me the last winter
and spring, young man, you might have
thought differently said the veteran.
How is that? One would think, to
look at you, that sickness was something
OF which you knew nothing
And so it was until last winter.
went down into Florida in the fall to see
what kind of fish they had in that state
and study their habits, and was attacked
with malaria in its severest form, and
when L came home [ realized for the first
time in my life, that [ was sick. MY
symptoms were terrible. I had dull
aching pains in my head, limbs, and
around my back. My appetite was
such as [ had often heard described. but
had never experienced. Any one who
has ever had a severe attack of malaria
can appreciate my condition. [ went to
bed and remained there all the spring.
and if there ever was a sick man was
the one"
sit seems hardly possible. How did
you come to recover SO completely"
My brother, who had been afflicted
by a severe kidney trouble and threat
ened with Bright's disease, was COM
pletely cured by a remedy in which I
had great confidence. [ therefore tried
the same remedy for my malaria, and
am happy to say l ara aweIl man to-day.
and through the instrumentality Of
Warmers Safe Cure, which I believe to
be one of the most valuable of medi-
cines. Indeed, I see it is endorsed by the
United States medical college of New
York, and that Dr.. Gum, dean of that
institution, has written a long article
concerning its value"
And are you now as well as for
merly?"
Apparently so. I keep the remedy
on hand all the while, though, and do
not hesitate to recommend it to others.
One question more How many
ponds of fish have you here, and how are
they divided %
We'll, we have 43 ponds which are
divided up as follows: % ponds Of
brook trout ponds of salmon front 4