The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-05-19

make a minute examination Of the opera
ton OF his tish-iadder there. while nearly
all the others of the party went on to VI
nita. six miles further up the river. 10 VII
ness the distribution into our waters OF
about one and 4 half millions OF Young
shad
siADOwY SHEEN.
The day was Is lovely as m Easter bon
net; the air rs bracing and inyigorating
rs choicest champagne, and The fields and
woods respondent in richest yerdure.
Al Ninita the river makes q long
"reach o.; the stream feels the back-watcr
Of the dam and washes slndy shores. de-
scending (ou The north side from high
hills. al0nosidc which the railroad runs.
The James here. rs everywhere, is "no-
ble." but Yesterday il was in a muddy
mood; not So bad rs we have seen and
drunk it. but still TOO taWny to arouse a
poetic sentiment in its behalf.
THE YoUNG sHAD.
The train was stopped no the station.
and the numerous tin-ca>ks i'm which he
young >had were brought from the Cow
ernment hatchery in Washington were
lifted down hill 10 the waters edge. where
man, standing q little way out in the
stream. hi, panal0ous rolled up. carefully
cmptiod them.
The shad were not 30 long as the small
est pin. a glass Of water from one OF the
casks held about three or four hundred Of
them. They Just could De- seen, so near
did they approximate ihe color OF the coll
Orle,s wafer. till 10y twist or twirl in the
sunlight they made lash or bubble, look
ine much the same gs lcrated water rising
from the bottom OF q tunbler.
TO RETURN AFTER SOME TINE.
The fishery force at hand was too small
10 get the casks down bin last enough. To
accelerate the work 4 number Of enthusias-
tic journalists. courcilmen. and other
statesmen formed line and passed the tins
along. They worked and looked Is coun-
trymen do who have constituted themselves
a bucket brigade TO put out house a-iire;
only here the vessels were empticd in. not
illed from the stream.
According 90 the information derived by
our special artist On The pot from a num-
Der of erudite gentlemen then and there
present, these young shad will linger up
there in the river till the fail, when they
will commence 10 migrate.
THE FISH AFLOAT.
They will descend BosheI's dam by
means OF Colonel McDOnald's ishway.
This is thirty-,ix feet long and ten wide,
and by its system OF eddies so breaks the
fall of water that it is possible TO row
. boat up it. giving IN easy descent
10 any fish possessed of enough modern
progress and dash 20 venture TO Use 10. or
course many OF these Young sh1d will 0c
dcvOured by bigger li,h. From the begin
ming of the world go the present day the
big tish have been swallowing little ones
bat some OF these little fish endowed with
luck and pluck VIII escape their cncmies-
bass. chub. eats. ecI-. and ail-and get
strong enough 20 fred upon still mailer
fish. and finally hud Cheir way through the
traps and nets to sea. and into the shoals.
which annually leave the rivers Tor the
mysterious depths Of the ocean.
ERrDUIoN.
Asto rlre the -had 20: one gentleman
said with great confidence that they turned
north 10 the Arctic waters; another ASSERT
ed that they sought scmi-tropic waters.
Another tlted chat they kept in the neigh
borh0od oi their native rivers. What Is
positively known is that in the spring hey
appear earliest in the south. They come
into markets ahead OF the strawberry; and
Nature provides that the people Who get
the earliest Strawberries also get the earliest
-had: not meaning, however. TO class The
strawberry us a marine animal. though the
fact that he is often seen in saloon, floating
in chalky liquid might deceive some un-
observant persons on that point.
WHEN THEY CONE HOME.
In the course Of time. say two or three
wears. our shad will come swimming home
10 spawn. That is the time 20 catch them.
and when only they are really lit for the
table.
II is asserted with great positiyenes- that
the shad. however widely he may roam in
foreign waters, is q dear lover OF home.
sweet home. and that the very Youngsters
aged four or i've days who on yesterday
were turned adrift 10 Nnita will at the ap-
pointcd time of nature come back 20 their
first haunts-tO the scenes OF their child
hood. so 10 speak.
If out Of the 100000 a few hundred
thousand return well conditioned we viii
bc satisfied.
SUCCESS OF TIsH-CULruRE.
Fish-culture has, however, long since
nasscd the domain OF experiment; il is
now an industry. II is rcplenishing rivers
long bare. and supplying dsh to people
who never before knew the luxury OF get
ting iisil-b0ne- in their thrOats.
Dr. Hudson spoke enthusiastically YES
terdav OF what had been accomplished N
fsh-culiure in Connecticut rivers.
Much. indeed, this country owes to seth
Green and Mr.. Baird and TO Colonel Ne
Donald. who is a Virginian and lover Of
his state.
THE WATER-wORKs.
Rut we have other fish to iry-yiz., the
coIncilmen. They-the Committee on
Water-at their own personal expense. or
oaDiZed Yesterdays excursion. After
snendiny as much time rs they could We'll
snare at Vinita. and when the work OF
eInptving the shad was done, they ordered
the train back. \ great many fish stories
were thus cut short. The spinning Of them
had begun ut q great rate, and the man who
could tell the biggest lie ION this sublectl
was advancing 10 the front.
0uietus was put 10 all Of this.
rhe tr,in was soon under steam. For
five minutes there was 4 stop at Bosher's
lam fN1np-Milc locks) for glances AT the fish
yoy in the river and at the masonry OF the
bead0atc, OF the city's race. The power
sor the new pumps comes from the river
into The canal here; for which purpose the
Old canal has been straighLened, deepened,
&c.1 Then onward the train moved to the
Three nile locks, or city water-works'
TIE PUMPS PUMP.
The object Of the excursion was TO show
everybody present that the new pumps are
\ success also TO suggest to the Council
not TO begrudge the sum OF $4,000 now
needed 70 nav up all outstanding bills.
The three wheels were found revolving
in snlendid style. One was making %
revolutions per minute, one 10, and one 20.