The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-06-01
MATCHING THE sHAD.
How the Propagation Is Carried on by the
Fish Commission.

MATCHING THE SHAD.
How the Propagation Is Carried by the
Fish Commission.
Washington S tar. h@s3f t3N
Few peonle who eat the toothsome shad salts
fed with the delicate flavor of its flesh, and
vexed with its innumerabe bones, have any idea
of the care that is taken in the DEVELOPMENT
and propagation of his species of the fnny
tribe. A visit to the old armory building, now
occupied by the y. S. Fish Commission, will
greatly enlighten them on this subject Here
may be seen long rows of glass jars, arranged
upon tanks and containing glass tubes to which
are attached rubber hose extending into the
tanks SO that the jars constantly supplied
with running water In these jars, if you look
closely, you will see myrads of tiny eggs. and
these are the eggs of the shad. Take other jars
and you will see on these eggs minute black
specks. These are the embryo fish who are es
Gaping from the egg, and so the process of hatch
ing goes on The primary step in the work of
shad Matching is taken at Fort Washington,
where the Fish Commission has a Matching sta
ton. Here the female shad are taken when
they are ripe for spawning and the roe pressed
out By skillful hands into bright basin.
Then the melt of the male is pressed
over the until it is completely covered. The
process of fertilization is allowed TO go on for
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 fiat upon the surface Other
covered sieves are filed in the same way and
piled eae other until crate is made. when
it is ready for shipment These crates are
brought to the city by the steamer Corcoran,
which is met on her arrival at the wharf by a
wagon of the Fish Commission and the crates are
at once taken to the arnory building, where
they are emptied of their contents. which are
placed in the jars referred to-
A measurement is then made to ascertain the
amount of the shipment, for accurate account is
kept so as to ascertain the numer of fish Matched
and the percentage of loss in the process 4
sieve will contain from ten to twenty thousand
eggs and as high as 100000 have been received
in one day. The method of measurement or
computing the number in a jar is ingenious A
square, something like that used by builder or
craftsman, is made the arm just reaching the
top of the jar, with the leg resting on the table
upon which the jar stands. This is graduated
so that it registers the number of eggs, and the
system of graduation was discovered by counting
the number of eggs in quart which was found
to be Is, 0OO The divisions and multiples Of that
standard were then easily made
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
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 escaped from the
egg and is seen swimming about with its little
food sac attachment. This sac is upon the
under side of the fish, and through it life is pre-
veloped, when the sac is absorbed and the food
is taken per Gram Before this development
takes place. however, the miniature shad are
Withdrawn from their tanks, placed in tin cans,
ana sent to stock the rivers IN the various parts
of the country, for so soon as the fish has es-
capped from the egg. and has attained growth
of from a quarter to half an inch it is then con-
sidered safe to be left to itself. 1t is funny
looking thing at this period of its existence, be
ing perfectly transparent, with tiny little bulb
of 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 at
uniform temperature, usually about sixty three
degrees Fahrenheit. The success which has at
tended the work at the armory hatchery has
been remarkable. Formerly it was hardly
pected to hatch over twenty FIVE per cent. of the
eggs received and if fifty per cent were hatched
it was all that could be expected. So excellent
are the appliances here, however, and so expert
are those pursuing the work, that the average
loss is now but six per cent
The same process that has been described as
to the shad is pursued in Matching the CARP the
salmon the trout, whitefsh and other species
that have been experimental upon by the Fish
Commission, and the results in all cases have
been generally satisfactory. An idea of the pos
formed from the following figures, prepared by
Prof. Ryder. who is an admitted authority of the
highest ranks: Shad $50 600; rock, 5000 600;
cod 1000. 900 to $1,000 000 pollock, A. COO 600; had
DOCK 100000; brook trout, 400. 900; salmon
5000. While these amounts have not been
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
The values of the labors of the Fish Commits
sion in increasing and cheapening the food sup
ply can hardly be estimated The demands for
fish are increasing daily from almost every sec
ton 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, ard are filled with multi
tudes of good fry, which serve as food to the
inhabitants of those localities In Texas, where
the streams dry up in certain seasons of
the year, and where great tanks are built to
catch rain water for the immense herds of cattle
that are raised there, many of these tanks have
been stocked with carp, and the herders and
cattlemen now enjoy the luxury of fish, which
they had not known before. The demands Of
the Southern States for Ash from the commits
sion are, perhaps, greater than those of any
other section. though carloads have been sent
to Maine and Oregon, to Minnesota and to Ari-
zona. A shipment made to Arizona
Monday of this week, million shad being sent
A., kha olo do ~