The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-08-26
BIG AND LILLE TROUT.
Questions Involved In Raising aud Pro-
a.1.lina- Them.

DO intend TO keep this small fish, or
course ! shall keep him. You have the COM
mon notion that small trout should be put
back and only large fish taken home. This
notion is one of the absurdltes of angling
literature and angling legislation. II is
lust possible that continual combating
NAV in time educate the people, 40 that
what IL called "fish culture" may proceed
on correct principles.
The best way 20 combat II would prcDa-
bly be 10 take the boldest course. and adj
yocate statute law forbidding the capture
of any trout weighing over pound. Bet
ter still. for a few years nj least, would ne
the preservation. in some waters, Of all
weighing over half pound.
The indignation with which the city
sportsman has met this proposition when
have heretofore made it has been very anus
ing. But no one ventures to answer the
common sense argument, namely. mat II
Won wish 10 breed for food or market puf-
noses any animals, cat L.. sheep. chickens,
trout. YOU are very ignorant indeed II YOU
adopt the practice OF killing of your old
breeders every spring. depending tor !uiure
Increase on the young animals. rake,
for example, farm through which
runs good stream. lhe owner
desires 10 restore the trout fshlng
which was once good. and which supplied
his family with many luxurious meals
They eat lamb, chickens. veal. various
meats. They consider the question Oh add
ing fish 20 their home supply. The farmer
mn rciases "A lot of trout and stocks the
stream. Then he consults books, anglers
and statute Law. for instruction how To So
cure "A steady supply Of trout IN hrs brook.
He is told never TO Kill small fish, but when
they grow large 10 Kill and eat them. lie
tries the experiment. catches all the trout
he can which are over five inches long, and
expects lot more from year 10 year. lie
finds his experiment is dead failure, a.
ninetv-hia. n.,t of q hundred nave iOund II
Of late years. Then he tries again
on common sense principles. lie
treats trout as he treats his hens
aud his sheep. keeping the well-erown Tor
breeders. and killing each year more or less
Of his lambs. chickens. and young trout
This time he il successful. Ia his stream
are a gOOdly number of large trout. lhey
grow 10 weigh from one TO three or four
pounds each. tie would no more Kill one
| Of those large trout than he would XII his
breeding sheep. From each pair Of them he
expects and has every year many thousand
of young fish. lie preserves them Two years
| by which time they are good little food ilsn.
] The stream swarms with them. lie Kills
| UAi lIUEN. rMt - anu 'tii 'tANiAAN' ~ t''
eggs and Young fry. But even without
special care he finds that his large trout
afford his family and his friends an ample
supply Of fish every spring.
have no doubt the total disappearance
Of trout from very many streams Is que 20
the fact that the large fish have been killed
out. Apply 90 the streams Of all the couh-
try the same principles which the breeder
OF trout for sale applies IN his artificial
tanks and ponds. Repeal the ridiculous
statutes which forbid killing ana eating the
trout chickens. and enact and enforce stat
utcs forbiddng the taking Of amy breeders,
in short Of all which weigh over pound.
Each pound trout. If left 90 live viii he
ancestor of a hundred thousand trout
and the breeders viii live ten oi
twenty years continually producing. Livery
| year few young fish VIII escape the
nook and grow up 10 bee within the protee-
ton Of law. The doctrine of heredity prob
ably has much % do with the small SIZE 0
trout in many streams. II Is possible, aho
probable mat the continued breeding IRON
small fish IN successive generations estaD'
fishes a small anatomical structure I'm o.,
race. IL is so with mammals. why not 'o
with fish? There are waters in which trout
never crow large. have fshcd tbD
| Pemigewasset river for thirty years
from Profile lake 10 the Flume bridge
about six miles Of stream. and 10 it
safe to say have taken more than fifty
| thousand trout ont of IT, nave seen more
than four times that number Of trout which
others have taken from IL. Lafe never %
all these years seen six trout taken in thai
part Of the river, which weighed hall
pound EACH This is not due % much ang
ling. ana the reduction of size by killing ihl
large fish. but seems due 10 the fact that tn.
race Of trout in the river are small from an
cient origin. For when, more than thirty
years ago, first iished it, the catch was iu-
as now. all small fish. rarely one oi Whicl
weighed four ounces. But these are anon
the most delicious table fish IN the world
vastly superior u large trout.
The sole question in trout raising and pro
lection is the food question. The sports
mans pleasure i'm taking large fish Is not u
be considered. But pretty much all oul
game and fish legislation is dictated by IN.
desires Of the sportsman, instead OF directed
toward the food supply Of the people. No
il IL at all probable that We shall have any
reform. unless we can rcle-ate the whole
business of fish and game laws 10 th
local authorities. i'm counties or sections
Of country. This Is very certain ,stha
the agricultural populations OF New
England are growing very FESTIVE unue
the foolish laws which now prevail ia d.
gard To fish. birds and Wild beasts. and il
would not BE surprising II thcg should 10
solve on repeating all laws. They recOr
nize the fact THAI while during the pas
twenty-five years there have been all sort
of laws devised In the cities, and scores 10
fish commissions appointed with public
money 20 cXpend. the result has not been 4
restore salmon 10 the rivers OF trout % th
streams. That. on Ill" contrary, the trlu
are less numerous from year 10 year, in thI
settled parts of the country. ANA are dimin
ishing rapidly in the lakes ana rivers OF lh
wild country.
am perfectly aware OF The onense which
my plain speaking will give. But there is
limit 10 patience. / have watched Tor
long succession of years the work OF iisl
commissions on the Merrimack, Connect
cut. and other MYERS. | have read the an
nual flaming account of a salmon caught a
~avbrOok. and another at liycrm0re Falls
If il be fact that "A salmon on two or ma
have been taken i'm nets at the mouth Of Tia
rOnnecticut-if il Doe "a iact-it is a mos
ridiculous result OF the years Of experiment
at restocking the river with the great FOO
fish which once sWarmed In il. There j
not the slightest promise in it for the future
Nor will the tout be preserved i'm on
streams by the protection of small iish. 81
the vain hope that they Will grow up ip D.
the large delight of the city angler.-Dr. VI
G.. Prime in New York Journal Of Com
mcrcc.