Savannah morning news., 1885-05-29

ing car, whore the men sleep at night,
az" "nich are smut up out Of the way dur
ing the day.
WHY THE FISH DON'T COME BACK.
ne return OF the sbad in river which
ms oteh S'ocked Is sometimes complained
OF as unsatisfactory" SAID one of the old
est aud most experienced employees to u
reporter, but they don't take into con-
sueTatlon all the circumstances. Take,
Ior instance, the Potomac. which has been
wen stocked with shad, and which should
nave gwen large yield Of that fish this
season. Ii did not reach the expectations
OF some, but why? There is probably no
river which is filed with nets as the PotO-
mac. Its mouth is lined with them, some
tlmes extending into the channel, and
even encroaching on the bay. When the
ISh come up TO spawn and reach the
mouth OF the river 1t is difficult for them
10 una 4 passage up the river, and they
either run INTO one of the nets and are
/ captured or they 90 elsewhere. This wear
when they reached the mouth of the Poto-
mac, owing to the extremely cold and
backward spring, they found a current of
water pouring into the bay colder even
tban the salt water in which they had
been. So they turned away and sought a
warmer rlNer-going north TO the Della
ware, the Schuylkill and the Hudson. OF
| course, they didn't find any warmer water,
nut When they reached these rivers, they
had no time to turn back, for their spawn
my time had come, and they We're COM
PEELED TO yield up their eggs. These rivers
got me benefit OF an increased supply in
shad, which the Potomac rightfully eX-
pected. An evidence of the increased
supply in the Hudson is found in the fact
that on the first Monday in May there
were jl,000 shad in Fulton market, and
the price was lower than il had ever been
known betOre.'
THE NJ DONALD FISHwAYS.
How to get fish into the upper waters of a
river, over dams and falls, was problem
that perpleXed those interested in FISH
culture ard propagation. but it has been
nhally solved by an ingenious tishway,
invented by Col. Mcdonald, of the Fish
Commission. The sides of the way cOnta n
numerous pockets, with the edges iuttiDg
out at right angles, so that the water, as i
comes down from the head, strikes against
them and forms current i'm an upward
direction, describing an elliptical arc to-
ward the centre. These two currents
meeting, give an upward current in the
centre, which overcomes the downward
fall. and, consequently, the fish are ena-
bled to 20 up the inclined plane, climb IA
watery hill, as it were, until they reach
the top and find the smooth water. This
lishway has proved effective wherever
used, and Congress, at its last session,
appropriated $50,0 to build one at the
Great Falls. Work will be commenced
on it at the earliest opportunity, and when
it is completed the fish will &c enabled to
take an excursion to the upper waters of
the Potomac, where they will spawn and
propagate.
One of the interesting exhibits at the
armory building is a miniature model of
the Mcdonald fishway, on either side of
which is attached a small catamaran or
broad, fiat and shallow boat. This placed
in the fishway is forced fromthe bottom up
the incline to the top, thus illustrating
practically the strength of the upward
current.