The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1889-08-21

fRaN
Detroit INTERNATIONAL ENPosTIoN-THE
RESTAURANT BUILDING.
age speed i'll swimming of even the most
common fishes, nor how much muscular
strength any fish is capable of, nor how much
intelligence the brain of a fish is capable Of
being educated up to.
Among those who have made the artificial
propagation of fl ii an important industry,
the Michigan State Board of Fish Commits
sioners holds high rank. The value of its
Iabors to the commerce of the county counts
ap into
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ANNUALLY.
The results of its enterprise told i'll figures,
assume an imposing vastness Since its Or
organization in 1873, this commission has
stocked the waters OF Michigan with the fol
lowing enormous quantities of choice fish,
artificially reared:
Whitefish, 452, 500; brook trout
ts,O97, 900; carp, 700; schoodic salmon,
I76, 60; bass, 4, ,5O0 walleyed pike, 59 liz, ,O0O
Besides these it has distributed millions of
silver enls, California trout, grayling. lake
trout and various other valuable fishes As
a result the catch of fish is annually increas-
ing in the waters of the great lakes, and The
streams and inland lakes and ponds of the
state. Many heretofore barren waters are
now awe Will IlSLl, anu SteClco ChtAO
| were becoming extinct are now more numer-
Gus than ever before.
Michigan has the largest coast line of any
sta in the union. Its ii 'hing grounds In the
great lakes alone cover the vast area of
"a 900 SQUARE miles, with third as much more
| in its inland waters Or, i'll other words,
| the productive fishing grounds of the state
are as large as its land surface, if not larger
These waters teem with the choicest fish i'll
| the world from tho delicate whitetish, re-
nowned all over Christendom, TO the game
| lass. the delicious grayling and trout, and
the splendid muskallonge.
THE MICHIGAN STATE BOARD
| has performed its important work quietly
| and at points so secluded, that the general
public have little conception of the greatness
| of its achievements, or the rare skill and
knowledge displayed.
| The Michigan Fish Commission have
| charge of
| THREE LARGE STATE HATCHERIES
| for the rearing of fish. The largest neal
Detroit, has a capacity of one hundred and
sixty millions of whitefiSh annually. One al
Paris, near Grand Rlpids, has yearly ca
pacity for one and IL half millions. One al
| Glenwood is devoted to carp. The one al
| Petoskey, with a capacity of thirty-thrct
| millions, has been compelled to stop opera
tions owing to pollution of the water Be
sides whitcfish, trout and carp, the hatcherie:
are constantly experimenting with all sort:
of valuable food fishes and studying ths
habits of different fishes.
The commissioners in order to give tn;
public some idea of their work, and to CRAFTY
the natural curiosity to the methods fol
propagating and rearing fish, have resolvet
to make
| STRANGE PUBLIC EXHIBITION
| of their apparatus, methods and splendiC
display of all sorts of fish, at the Detroit In
ternatOnal Fair and Exposition, Septembc
1927 next. This exhibit will be the mos
complete and on the largest scale ever show
in this country. An artificial pool with rocl
| borders water lilies and other Ornamental
| plants will be constructed, and also an i'm
mense rock aquarium, built i'll cavern, Tx
the one now at the Paris Worlds Fair, s
that visitors can observe deep water fiS
| through glass i'll openings in the rock work
many feet below the surface. There will /
running brooks, waterfalls, fish stairways,
to show the way salmon and trout ascen
falls
There will also be an exhibit of breedin!
| apparatus and processes employed in til
state hatcheries. Fish of all sizes will b
shown, including the following varieties an
l
brook trout, small-mouthed bass, rainbow o
mountain trout, largemou he'd bass, Gerna
brown trout wall-eyed pike, grayling, pike
salmon trout, perch, carp (German), muskal
longe, whitefish, sturgeon, gar-pike, silve
| eels, catfish, rock Lass, blue gils, suckers
red horse sunfish, etc. The large Germa
carp will be shown in tanks. The exhibi
| will be arranged SO as to show nos only tn
| food an habits of each variety of fish, buj
as far as possible, to present each variety i
the character of wafer it prefers in nature
This show will no doubt conStitu;G one of th
great attractions Of the exposition for a
persons who love the study of nature Con
petent mon will spare neither expense no
labor to make it complete, unique and upo
a large scale. The exposition managers wi
grant ample grounds and facilities, and pre-
| vide an abundance of water.
Electric and colored lights will produc
rare and beautiful effects III the tanks grot
toes waterfalls and pools, and the mysteT.
Gus secrets of the waters will be laid bare t
the spectators This exhibition will be
DELIGHTFUL SURPRISE
to multitudes Of people, and an object lesso
| in natural history that will astonsh, inStruC
J and please the children beyond anythin
! | they can find in books. The beauty an
elegance of the live game fish, and the inte
ligence and tameness shown ly many c
those artificially bred, will long be remen
bered. People will be taught great pract
cal lesson of the ease with which fish can b
reared, and their great value. Many
| farmer W i'll be aStonisheii to learn that ever
acre of his pond or stream can be easl
made to pay him bigger cash return eac
| year than the richest land acre of his farm
Students of natural history will learn muc
| of the ways of fish, and fish culturists fro1
| other states Will obtain valuable practice
lessons Some day the art of fish culture ma
well reach such stage that iih fairs will b
held as often as cattle, horse or sheep fairs
to exhibit improved breeds of fish as veal t
] nrOducjn0 rr,ruIar ministry