The Opelousas courier., 1891-09-05
WONDERS OF THE DEEP
a GREAT FISHERIES EXHIBIT AT
TaE WoRLD,s FAIR.
Outlines the Magnificent Show to be
Expected.-A Brief History of Fish
cry Expeditions.

Outlines the Magnificent Show to be
Expected.-A Brief History of Fish
cry Expositions.
One of the most interesting exhibits
ut the Worlds Columbian Exposition
will be that of Fish and Fisheries. Cap
tain J. w. Collins, of the Fish and Fish
cries Department Of the Exposition, says:
Everything that science has rescued
from the depths of ocean. sea, lake or
river, will be displayed at the forthcom-
ing fisheries exhibit-inhabItants Of
deep sea g%rottos, the coral animal
builder of islands and continents-sea
anemones that blossom miles below the
surface. of the ocean, monstrous devil
fish, sharks and other terrors of the deep
will be seen, beside the speckled beauties
of stream or lake, plebian catfish, perch
and sucker, suggestive of the boyish
angler and the shallow stream. From
ocean depths will be brought specimens
of ~subaqueous life so marvelously deli
cate, and so richly beautiful hat the
microscope will only reveal, in part,
their wondrous beauty and flm-like
tracery. The methods, too, by which
the mysteries of the deep are penetrated,
the paraphernalia of the United States
Fish Commission, the inventions by
which the finny tribe is cultured, the
wonderful progress ma lie Ill the art of
fish farming, in addition to the imple-
ments of commercial fishing and the lat
est tackle for angling-all of these will
be displayed to their fullest extent.
The idea of a fishery exhibition seems
to have originated with the Dutch. and
to them belongs the honor of having in
augurated displays of this kind. The
first exhibition of this description was
held at Amsterdam in 1861, and for sew
eral years this was reputed,to have been
the best display of ifs kind, though, in
the meantime, there had been several
similar ones elsewhere. Much care was
exercised in drawing up the programme,
which, all things considered, was a COM
prehensive one, and the display so far as
it went was a thoroughly practical pre-
~sentation of the fisheries, and the several
arts connected Herewith. The second
fisheries exposition was opened at Ber-
gen, Norway, or the LIST of August, 1865.
In arranging their programme the Norwe-
gians copied closely after the Dutch; all
kinds of fishing apparatus for the capture
of aquatic animals, from the whale to the
shrimp, being included, besides models
of ~fsh-curing establishments, and various
forms of sea products. In the following
year 1856, a third fishery exposition
was opened at Archaehon, France, and
it seems that the French were determined
to leave no stone unturned to sNnder fish
ing popular in their country, 1r a little
later, in the summer of that Year, there
was also a similar exhibition at Boulogne,
the latter place, however, being far less
favorably situated than Archachon.
The success of the expositions at Ar
chachon and Boulogne seems to have in
cited other countries to follow the eN,
ample of the French, for in 1867 there
was a display of fish and fisheries at the
Hague, while the exhibitions held at the
same time at Aarhuus, in Denmark, and
at Vienna, though to a certain extent
general agricultural shows, nevertheless,
were chiefly remarkable for thespyesenta-
tionsof material illustrative of tAs fish
cries and the industries connecteA there
with. Comparatively little wasghown,
however, beside specimen of fish, and
the Danish affair was not, strictly speak
ing. q success. Sweden, was the next
to follow, a display of this kind being
iopened at Gothenburg in 1867.
In 1868 France again took the lead,
the Havre Exposition being inaugurated
lin June of that yeaaa under favorable
auspices. Strange to say, SO far as is
known, picked mackerel were shown
for the first time on this occasion, and
were looked upon as a novelty. For the
next four years things were at rest, but
in 1871 the Italians entered the field, a
fishery exhibition being held at Naples
that year. This was, however, compare
lively unimportant, and after its close
little was done by the promoters Of fish
cry displays until 1878, when tue pisci-
cultural exhibition twas held at the West
minister Aquarium, London; but, owing
to the haste with which the affair
was gotten up, the result was un-
satisfactory. During the same yeal
| 1879 the Germans begun to talk of
holding an international fisheries exhi-
bition at Berlin, and invitations were
sent out to all countries to participate.
After two years Of preparation the exhi-
bition was opened on the 18th of April,
1880, by the Grown Prince Of Germany.
Among those who gave prizes were the
Emperor, Empress, the Grown Prince,
the King of Saxony, and several of the
archdukes of the empire. It is now
matter of history that the display made
by the United States on this occasion far
exceeded that Of any other nation in com
prehensiyeness and in the variety Of the
| objects shown. The first prize of the
Emperor was awarded to AZ erica for
the completeness of its displasppkhile q
large number of medals, ETC., were re-
ceiyed by private American exhibitors.
Curiously enough, the English, from
being, apparently, the least interested,
become the most Jealous advocates oil
fishery displays, and April Is, 1881,
the Prince Of Wales opened a national
exhibition Of this kind at Norwich.
This proved so successful that it was fol
lowed the next year by the international
Fishery Exposition at Edinburgh.
The Great international Fisheries Elk
position was held at London, in 1888.
Ii was perhaps one Of the most impor-
tant events in the history of the fisheries
of the world, and did more to advance
these interests than had been done in
many years previously.