Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1886-01-25
Raising Fish.
DIR. sMoRTLIDGWs RNTBRPRzBME
-ME PROPOSES TO Stock
THE nTREAEAS OF
DELAWARE WITH FISH.


On Saturday afternoon repressuta,-
tive OF the REPUBLICAN, went out 10
the city mills TO see DIR. II. @. Short
lidge's enterprise in FISH Matching. The
doctor was found moving around
amongst q number Of glass jars, water
pipee, small gum hoses, glass tubes,
strainers, tunnels aud tin pans, the
latter costing fifty cents II, the figures
on the inside of the bottom meant
money.
DR. Shortlidge, as everybody knows
who knows him, IL extremely fond OF
experimenting in fish culture, and II
| in each county of this State imbued
with the same spirit, there osn be no
doubt that tbs streams. lakes and ponds
| OF Delaware would soon have an abun.
dance of superior species of fish.
For the sake of making experiments
| in fish culture, and demonstrating the
| fact that fish can be raised IN sbund-
ance In Delaware, the Doctor applied
TO the Delaware Game Protective As
ISOLATION of the State TO aid him In his
lexperiments. As hunting and fishing
pastimes are nearly allied, and as the
DIR. himself was a member of the Game
Association, he was successful In iDdu-
cling the association to stand the cost Of
fixing up o place In corner OF the City
Mills, and stocking 1t with all the par
Iaphernalia for fishiag catching.
Francis ID. Talley, a competent car
Ipeuter, was employed and he made two
tables. The tables are eight feet long
and three feet wide. and stand about
three and a half feet high. One of
these tables has a beveled rim around
1t four inches high, intended to hold
the tish when hatched. The other table
is also pan.shaped, but has Stats over 1t,
upon which the jars stand.
Above these tables extend water
pipes " ith small faucets-one faucet
for every Jar. On the SLATED table and
'lunder the water-p pipe stand the glass
lars with air-tight heads, that can be
lscrewed on and off at leisure. A gutta-
percha tube about five-eighths of an inch
in diameter connects with the faucet
} and goes down through the head of the
Jar, keeping it Allied with water. a
screw regulates the quantity. Another
D gutta-percha tube inserted in the jar
= acss as syphou to carry off the waller
!, as fast as the other tube brings II In
Thus the jar is kept constantly filed
with fresh water continually In motion.
lin these Jars the eggs of the fish are
j placed. Eight of them contain the eggs
i of the lake shad, a fish common In the
northern lakes, nearly the size of our
rtown Delaware shad. Each jar con-
"a taius 100, 900 eggs, though they would
d hold three times that number.
+ These eggs are about the size OF
le medium birdshot, and they are Kept in
: lcontinual motion by the constant flow
% of water. The eggs are Of . brownish
d hue, and whenever one loses its vitality
7e it Turns yellow and comes TO the top.
Three other glass jars contain lake
SO trout, sometimes called California sal
mon, q fish that astains the weight OF
l75 pounds IL four or Ave years. There
are 10000 OF these eggs in each jar.
es They are yellow color and rs large as
of buckshot. Instead of being kept in q
u constant rotary motion they are per
mitted to lie still, though the two tubel
b; are changing the water continually
is like the other jars These eggA have
II. already been about two weeks N thu
sr Jars, and DIR. Shortlidge thinks tna
W, theywill hatch out 10 Ave or six weeks
nd but this depends considerably upon thu
er- tenn perature of the water. The eye
I'd Of the fish are plainly seen In all thu
al eggs, and this Is the only distinguish
G. able mark that indicates life.
it. When the fish are hatohed ont the,
IN live for several weeks upon the con
n; tents of an umbilical sac with whicl
A. nature has provided them, after Wh1ol
ls, until they eau take care of themselves
II, when they arc turned into the streams
les DIR. Shortlidge has large aquarium
j. into which he will turn his lake trou
nix when matched, and Mr.. Talley is Do'
N making for him an additional table
im into which he will turn the half of hi
an lake shad when they are hatched. Tn
on water In these tables will be kept cor
ha tinually fresh by two pipes, one a sur
Is. ply and the other waste pipe. AT tn
as, end little water fall is constructed
al towards which the fish will swim an
sport themselves. Several aquarium
in which small sun and red 6sh, ta(
poles, frogs and ether amph1bior
wo thinRs ornament the corner where ID
ill Shortlidge has his hatchery, and all tt
lay surroundings are fshy indeed, but NJ
md in AN offensive sense.
gil DR.. Shortlidge had these eggs sent
her him from Worthwhile, Michigan, whel
APPS the government has large fish hatcl
cries. They we're sent frea of charG
ind except the freightage, which was bl
md trifiing. The great object DR.. Shor
sin lidpe aims at iS to stock the streams
1rk the State with fish, and then to get u
lLegislature to protect. the culture OF NJ
We by wise and encouraging law Let tl
oah result be what IL may, there WILL
ear considerable anxiety over DIR. Shol
t hei lidee's large family of nearly e00,O
3 a fish when they are hatched out. The
ID a aIdistributed through the State ougi
face with proper care and attention, a
,av- by the aid of protective. law make
feet entire revolution in fish culture
on Delaware.
L