Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-01-04

opened. 30 as to let the water dow out into the
Potomac. The fish are then caught in deep
traps and melted out for shipment whitherso-
ever they are needed.
GATHERING sHAD EGGS.
The young shad grown to a fingers length
IN the six-acre pond by the monument are
only few compared with the $50. 900, 900 rep
resenting the whole number of small fry dis
tributed yearly by the fish commission The
great collecting and Matching stations for shad
are on the Susquehanna, Delaware and Potomac
rivers. 10 gather the eggs agents Of the COM
mission 60 out in the fishermen's boats, and as
the nets are drawn, expel the roes from the
females by passing the hand over the bodies of
the fish, so that the eggs are poured into
glass jars, where they are Immediately
fortified by milt obtained from the males in
like manner. Col. McDonald's men. to save
expert labor, have tried to teach the fishermen
how to procure and fertilize the eggs them
selves and with such success that now more
than half OF the Potomac eggs Matched each
year are sold ready-fertilized to the commission
by the people who make business of catching
shad The commission pays $50 a million for
such eggs-a liberal price, considering that the
average shad will supply $4,000. On receiving
batch OF eggs from a fisherman the agents of
the government fish bureau place them in a
glass jar, through which stream of water
runs, SO that all the bad eggs and refuse are
foated off, and the residue, if in good condi-
ton for Matching, is measured twenty -four
hours later and paid for. The good eggs hatch
out i'll week or less, and are either shipped on
the commissions cars to various points for dis
trlbutlon or are first Matched out and the new
born fish consigned to the streams. The bulk
OF the shad distribution is in the shape of fry.
FISH EGGS AND HENS EGGS.
A shad egg is very much like a hens egg in
the notion governing its structure; but whereas
the unborn chick, growing from the germ spot
on one side of the yolk, first feeds upon the
white OF the egg and then the yolk, coming out
only after 1t has consumed both, the embryo
fish, when it comes into the world, has the yok
OF its egg still attached to it's belly, being
equipped In fact with a weeks rations in ad-
vance. so that it may look around at convenient
leisure for future living. 1t is very curious
to inspect fish egg three days old under a
microscope and see distinctly not only the eyes
OF the coming animal but the very backbone
and the heart itself pulsating visibly.
Dr. Hessel has lot of goldfish even yet in
his ponds. and he is very proud of them. They
are species of carp also you know. The com
mission draws upon him for them, as you would
draw sight drafts on your banker-if you are so
lucky to have one and cash in his hands-and
sends these poissons dor all over the country
as gifts. In one of the ponds are number of
big goldfish weighing pound or more apiece.
Such. at any rate. you would say they were;
but, in fact, they are not goldfish at all, but
only the golden ide of the Danube. They are
"uSu octteT tudu SOlu1iSH however since tney
are just about as pretty. and they are also as
delicious to eat as trout.
THOSE INTERESTING TURTLES.
The doctor takes great interest in his turtle
pond. which contains fifteen varieties Of fresh
water turtles He exhibits much emotion when
he speaks of the intelligent manner in which
they lay their eggs. 1t may be said unquali-
fiedly that they beat hen hollow. Each
female turtle in the pool-there have been 200
turtles in it-has been accustomed to walk up
on the bank when she felt like it and lay an
egg. Her custom invariably was-this speci-
men mamma turtle representing the social set
IN the pond-to dig q hole about three inches
deep in the earth with her fore-fappers and
then scoop it into the shape Of an inverted cone
with her tail. In this hole the egg is laid, and,
Madame Tortoise would cover up the excava-
ton with earth and grass, SO that it would look
natural, and then slump back into the water
again. Next night she would come and re-
move the stopper of grass and earth. lay an
other egg, put back the stopper and depart as
before, and 80 on until four or five or six eggs,
maybe, had been buried Then she would quit
and leave to their fate the young ones. who,
quite equal to the exigencies of their case,
would dig out Of the ground in six weeks or so
and make for their chosen element The re-
markable thing about it is, however. as DR..
Hessel remarked, that no turtle ever seems to
miss its own nest or to interfere with another
ones Very weird. is it not?