Savannah morning news., 1885-05-29

IRISH COmlulssloHs VIII greatly
bnIgbten them on this subject.
bere NAV be seen long rows of glass jars,
krranged upon tanks, and containing
Ia loss tubes. to which are attached rubber
go extending into the tanks, so that the
rs are constantly supplied with running
Nater. In these Jars, if you look closely
Jou will see myriads of tiny eggs, and
kose are the eggs of the shad. Take
Slber lars and YOU will see ON these eggs
Hirute black specks. These are the
Imhrvo fish who are escaping from the
49,. and so the process Of Matching goes
THE PRIMARY STEP
Nkh the work of shad-hatching is taken at
#Fort " ashington, where the Fish Com
HHnission has Matching station. Here the
Afemale sbad are taken when they are ripe
! EIfor spawning and the roe pressed out by
Fl skillul hands into a bright basin. Then
u the melt OF the male is pressed over the
4 roe until it is completely covered. The
III nrocess of fertilization is allowed to 90 On
Il for a few hours, and then square sieve
is taken, over which is placed wet cloth.
and on this cloth is poured the eggs, the
sieve being gently shaken until all lay
fat upon the surface. Other covered
sieyes are filled IN the same way and piled
on each other until a crate is made, when
if is ready for shipment. These crates
q are brought TO the city by the steamer
a COrc0ran. which is met on Der arrival at
the wharf by a wagon fthe Fish Commits
sion, and the crates are at once taken to
q the armOry building, where they are emp
tied of their contents, which are placed
q In the Jars referred to.
COUNTING THE EGGS.
-s1.z L.
q tain the amount Of the shipment, for ac-
n curate account is kept, so as to determine
N the number of fish hatched and the per-
& centage of loss in the process. A sieve
& Will contain from ten to twenty thousand
q ecgs, and as hiah as 100000 have been
8 received in one day. The method of
measurement or computing the number
in a Jar is ingenious, A square, seme-
thing like that used by a builder or
craftsman, is made, the arm just reach
ing the top of the jar, with the leg resting
on the table upon which the jar stands.
4 This is graduated so that 1t registers the
81 number OF eggs, and the system of gradua-
5 tiou was discovered by counting the num-
ber OF eggs in "A quart, which was found
10 be 2S,000. The divisions and
3 multiples of that standard were then
easily made.
REMOVING THE DEAD.
Care must now be taken TO remove the
dead eggs, which are lighter and more
Opaque than the live ones, and which
readily rise to the top of the water, and
are withdrawn by means of a syphOn.
When the Matching commences care is
taken to notice the progress at each step.
from the time the little eye specks begin
TO be perceivable until the fish has es-
capped from the egg and is seen swimming
al with ifc 1iffln food sop attaRbTOppt
This sac is upon the underside of the fish,
and through 1T life is preserved until the
throat and stomach are developed, when
tAe sac is absorbed and the food is taken
per Dram. Before this development takes
place, however, the miniature shad are
withdrawn from their tanks, placed in tin
cans and sent to stock the rivers in the
various parts of the country, for so soon
as the fish has escaped from the egg and
has attained growth Of from quarter
TO half an inch 1T is then considered safe
to be left to itself. 1t is a funny looking
thing at this period of its existence, being
perfectly transparent, with a tiny little
bulb OF a head and a long slender body
underneath the upper part Of which hangs
the food sac. Its movements, however,
are decidedly active, and it Wriggles
through the water with the celebrity of
full grown shad.
THE PERIOD OF MATCHING
from the time the eggs are received until
the fish has sufficiently developed to be
ready for shipment averages about seven
days, and during this time the water
must be kept ut uniform temperature,
usually about G3 degrees Fahrenheit The
success which has attended the work at
the armory hatchery has been remarkable.
Formerly ii was hardly expected to hatch
over % per cent. of the eggs received, and
if 80 per cent. were Matched it was all that
could be expected. SO excellent are the
appliances here, however, and so expert
are those pursuing the work, that the
overage loss is now but 6 per cent.
The same process that has been des-
cribed as to the shad is pursued IN hatch
ing the carp, the salmon, the trout, white
fish, and other specifies that nave been
Experimental upon by the Fish Com
\ mission, and the results in all cases
1 have been generally satisfactory. An
idea Of
THE POSSIBLE YIELD OF EGGS
from a single fish may he formed from the
following figures, prepared by Prof. RYDER
who is an admitted authority of the high
est rank: Shad. 250.000; rock, 3,000,-
900; cod, 2,000,000 to 9,000.000;
pollock, 100000; paddock 2,0O0,-
600; brook trout, 100000; salmon, 5000.
" uuS lueS6 amounts nave not DSeu
verified, they are believed to be correct,
and in the case of the shad, single fish
was found by actual measurement to
contain 102 600 eggs.
WORK OF THE FISH COMMISSION.
The value Of the labors of the Fish Com
mission in increasing and cheapening the
lood supply can hardly be estimated. The
demands for fish are increasing daily from
almost every section OF the country,
showing the interest that is taken in the
work. Rivers that have not for years
contained fish have been stocked by the
commission, and now are filed with
multitudes OF good fry, which serve as
lood to the inhabitants OF those localities.
IN Texas, when the streams dry up in
certain seasons OF the year and where
great tanks are built TO catch rain water
LOT the immense herds Of cattle that are
raised there, many OF these tanks have
peen stocked with carp, and the hprders
ana eattlemen now enjoy the luxury Of
lSh'Which they had not known before. The
demands OF the Southern States for fish
rom The commission are perhaps greater
lhan those Of any other section, though
carloads have been sent 20 Name and