St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-07-05
FISH BY THE MILLION.
Hatched Out Every Season by the State
Propagating Commission.
DETAILS OF THE SYSTEM
Employed for Transforming Minute
Particles Into Healthy Edible 5, e. !,
Food for the Public. scr

Over the bluffs and down the Missis-'
slppi river, about three miles from the
GLOBE building, is located the Mime
sofa fish hatchery, where thousands
upon thousands of: fn-bearers are annu-
ally brought into existence and sent all
over the state to stock the lakes and
rivers OF Minnesota. ,rr.
The Minnesota fish commission was
organized about 1870, but did no active
work until 1878, when Prof. r. O.
Sweeny, OF this city. was made chief of
the commission, a position which he has
held ever since. Previous to Prof.
SWeeny's appointment such fish hatch
ing as had been done was in the hands
OF private parties at Red Wing and
saltwater. In 1878, however, matters
were reorganized on new basis, and
the state fish hatchery was established
at Willow brook, below Dayton's bluff.
1he first year the state made an appro-
prlatloh OF $500, which has since been
increased to 81, 200 year.
The grounds of the hatchery comprise
about six acres, the larger part of which
is taken up with ponds and troughs for
breeding purposes. The fish raised are
Lake Superior, brook, California brook
ana native lake trout; wall-eyed pike,
salmon, and two
SPECIES OF GERMAN CARP.
Besides these there are some Loeb
Levin trout from Scotland and tench
from Germany, which are kept in small
numbers for experimental purposes.
The Loeh Levin trout. when matured,
exceeds in size the native species and is
SAID to be OF very superior quality.
The California trout, however, is by far
the handsomeSt fish kept here, and, with
Its Jet black spots and golden bands on
It's sides, is the king of the trout species.
LII the main building of the hatchery
are thirty troughS with gravel bottoms.
These are for holding brook and lake
trout. Hundreds OF thousands of fish
are swimming about in these troughs.
They are all little fellows, and as soon
as tney 0utgr0W their confined space
they are either transferred to the out
door ponds or are sent away to stock the
rivers of the state. Carp are raised in
small, deep ponds. Unlike trout, pike
and Whitefsh, they cannot be artificially
prOpagated.
Pike and whitefish are Matched from
the spawn i'll glass jars. Inside the
Matching house are shelves and tables
On which the Matching jars are ranged
In rows and crowded together as closely
as convenience in handling Will permit.
In the daytime the Matching appears to
be very plain, everyday business; men
travel about at work as calmly as
though they did not hold over million
lives IN their hands. But at night,
when the room is Illuminated by pale
lights that make the shadows look
Dlacker, it does not require strained
Imagination to picture a company of
inc lo1N
tractlng from the elements of nature
THE EI.IXIR OF LIFE.
Indeed, the work in which these men
are engaged is of kind that would
once have been prescribed as being in
the realm of the black art. 1t calls fora
thorough knowledge of embryOlogy, for
if the eggs are handled at any time ex-
cept certain critical periods, they would
fail to produce results and have to Be
thrown away.
The water from tank outside flows
through system of pipes suspended
overhead within easy reach. At regu-
lar distances rubber tubing comes from
these main pipes to the bottom of the
glass jars. The water flowing through
the tubing fills the jars from the bottom
and keeps them constantly overlooking
at the top. These jars are about
eighteen inches high and six inches in
diamater, with narrower necks. They
contain about 100000 eggs each, appear
ing like the tiniest soap bubbles, in
which, with microscope. the shadowy
outline of fish is observable. These
little glObules dance about in the water
as their little occupants struggle for
freedom. In some of the jars they have
already kicked themselves loose. and
disport their filmy bodies in the clear
water above The bad eggs sink to the
bottom and form dark colored layer,
in obedience to the laws of gravity.
When all the eggs are Matched the
myriads of little fish are siphoned off
into all aquarium and are ready to be
shipped away to the points where they
are to be planted
IN STREAMS OR LAKES.
Millions OF eggs are handled every
season at the station. Last season be-
tween 45,000,0CO and 5O.O0O,O0O were
Matched. In order to obtain this num-
Der of fish it is necessary to handle
fully six times as many eggs. The
workmen speak of 100000 eggs as a
small number. A single pike will
yield 10000 egg,sand at these figures the
number of eggs in the station in the
course of season would foot up we'll
towards billion.
Besides the regular work at the hatch
cry, experiments III nyDrldlZing have
been carried on. A cross between the
native brook trout and the California
salmon produces fish of superior quail
ity, which grows to weight of ten or
twelve pounds when fully matured.
Unfortunately these fish are not repro
duced beyond the second season, and
are hence known by the men as.
''muleS."
The fish when Matched are sent out to
all applicants in the state, free of
charge. Those desiring fish are re-
quired to send a statement of the kind
of water for which they are desired,
whether stilIor moving, freezing hard
in winter or not, and other particulars,
and the kind of fish best adapted to the
locality is sent out. The southern
counties have so far taken the largest
quantity of the fish.