St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-09-20
MILLIONS OF TROUT.
Now Going Out to Stock
minnesota Running
Streams,
With Millions of Other Varie-
ties to Fatten Up the
Lakes.
Devastation Wrought Every
Day by the Voracious
Pickerel.
Good Work in the Fish Line
at the Willow Brook
Hatchery.

The state fish hatchery is a place re-
plste with interest for all admirers of
speckled trout, long-snoute pike and
the other inhabitants of lake and
stream TO be seen there, but Just now
there is an additional interest to be
found there. The last consignment of
young fish is just being got ready for
transportation to their future feeding
grounds. There are little sharp-eyed
fish of all colors and varieties darling
about in square tin cases, which to-
morrow will be taken with their living
freight to the streams in the inner tier
of counties. 1t is a really re-
markable place, this fish hatch
cry. The angler who could
not find diversion in contemplating
the thousands of fish there to be seen
from every civilized quarter of the globe
must be a churl. indeed. The place has
its vOtarieS, and they are many. Every
Sunday the attendants are kept busy in
showing visitors through the grounds,
and preventing the mschieviouslY in
clined from doing damage. Some of
these visitors seem under the impress
sion that the place is an aquarium for
public amusement, and that they are at
liberty 10 accelerate the motion of that
stately scavenger, the sturgeon, with a
prod from a walking stick or umbrella.
These little mistakes have to be cor
rected, and Purdy and Marti, the at
PENDANTS, are on hand to make sugges-
tions. The majority of the visitors,
though, are orderly and interested
enough in watching the maneuvers of
the fish.
The last legislature made an extern
sion Of the
Matching Facilities Possible
by increasing the appropriation an
nually made for its use. The appropri-
alton formerly was $4,000, which has
been increased to $4,000, for use jointly
by the fish and game commissioners.
Great improvements have been made at
Willow brook hatchery since last season.
New buildings and several hundred
new tanks have been added, so that to-
day the capacity of the place is in
creased to almost double what it former
ly was. Robert Ormsby Sweeney is
chairman of the commission, but he is
not often to be seen Oh the grounds, but
S. S. Watkins, the superintendent, is
always OH the spot. Sweet Sixteen
Watkins" some facetious indl-
vidual has dubbed the super
intendent. He is sun-tanned and
bald-headed, white bearded, and the
OCNO lulOl lldll Ill dll
tanning to fish culture to be found in the
state. This year the output from Will
low brook has been more extensive as
to brook trout than any other kind of
fish. Experiment has proved that these
hardy fish take as naturally to Mime
sofa streams as though they had not
been born and bred in tank. With the
Loeb Leven and the German varieties
the results have not been quite so sue
cessfu. though large number of these
have also been bred The superinten-
dent says that 100000 trout of all
varieties have been placed
I'm Minnesota Streams
this summer from the hatchery. Loeb
Leven and German trout have been
transferred to the number of 100000
Pike to the number of 22,000,000 have
found homes in the streams of Dakota.
GOodhue, Wabasha, WinOna, Fillmore
and Houston counties. In the same
Streams where trout and pike have been
placed during the past three years re-
ports have come in that fish weighing
from three and a half to four pounds
have been frequently caught. Great
care is taken not to place trout in
Streams where there are pickerel. The
latter is the most voracious OF all fresh
water fish. He can and does digest ten
times his own bulk every twenty-four
hours, and trout are bonanza for him.
Supt. Watkins hates pickerel as
4 shepherd hates a wolf. One good,
healthy pickerel will devastate a whole
seasons work in day if he gets into
shoal of young trout fresh from the in
cubator.
Ex-senator w. E. Lee, of Long Pra-
RE. once wrote to the superintendent
asking that some trout be consigned to
him to stock stream on his property.
lie filled out the required blanks on the
application in proper form, and when
the question as to what fish were al
ready in the stream was reached, Mr..
Lee wrote ''pickerel. Watkins promptly
refused to send any trout to feed pick
Rrel, and so Senator Lee
Wrote TO the Governor.
That dignitary addressed the fish
hatcher through his secretary, Mr.. Ell
liot.
This applicant is a prominent
man." said the governor; 'she must
have what he wants."
Again Mr.. Watkins refused to furnish
trout for pickerel bait, and it was not
until lie had established beyond
doubt that there were no pickerel in the
stream. that he gave. the prominent
Ford county man his trout.
Bass have not been bred to any great
extent this season, principally because
they are already more plentiful than
any other fish. The Scotch trout
are hardy fish and they seem to thrive
well in strange waters. Some sent out
TO lakes and streams in the s ate several
years ago have been caught recently,
and these were found to have attained
as great size in adopted waters as in
their native haunt, Loeb Leven. Eng
lish pike are safe anywhere. To use the
expressive phrase of an old fisherman,
''they would live in hell.' These fish
are good feeders and furnish magnificent
sport. True, they are cannibals, but
then so are all game fish, trout as well
as the rest No fish is game that is not
cannibal; pike, trout, bass, carp-all
of them will prey OH fish smaller than
themselves, and they are all the better
sport that such is the case. Superin-
tendent Watkins leaves tonight for
Duluth and Grand Portage after trout
spawn. He expects TO be gone couple
of weeks, ana will bring back some
valuable stock with him.
SUCCESS ARTISTICALLY.