Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-05-06
PLANTING FISHES.
Uncle Sam Provides for the sporD
 of the Angler.
How the Finny Tribe Is Propasated and Distributed-MllliOnso of Little Fishes Annually Liberated in
 Our Waters.

Two and a half millions of yearling fishes were planted last year, says the Washington Star, in the waters of the United States by the fish commission. This statement is more remarkable than it may seem. Up to 1886, all the fishes artifcially matched by the government were turned into the rivers and lakes to shift for themselves, as soon as they were out of the eggs. Consequently nearly all of them were devoured, and out of every thousand young fry but few were expected to survive and reach maturity Five years ago first expert ment was made with the planting of 13,OOO ''fngerlings," that is, fishes which had attained a seasons growth.
 Before long all the fishes artificially propagated for planting in this country will be allowed to get a years growth before they are let loose. It has been found that one acre of water will accom- modate 5OO,OO0 fry from the time they are matched to the condition of finger. lings. Under such circumstances 50 per cent. of the baby fishes survive the sea- son, at the end of which they are able to take care of themselves and have passed the danger point. In other words, when permitted to escape and look out for themselves in the streams or elsewhere, they mostly escape destruction and reach mature fishhood.
 Pretty soon this plan will be exclu- sively pursued in the propagation of shad for stocking the rivers. Con- veniently near to each stream will be established suitable ponds. The fish commission will simply hatch out the fry and send them immediately to these preserves, where they will be permitted to grow to fingers length before they are let go. Fishes only grow during the warm season, so at the end of four months, when matched in spring, they are yearlings in size. A pond 100 acres in extent will accommodate 50, ,00O,OO of shad fry, and at the end of 120 days com munication with the river can be opened and 25,000,O00 little fishes will swim merrily away, to return in future years of a remarkable size.
 Unlimited quantities of shad eggs are always obtainable in the season, and as many millions of them can be matched in glass jars as are desired. Thus the result to be secured by artificial culture in any river is only limited by the pond area used. A majority of the finger lings let go will certainly live to grow up and swell the schools which annual ly visit the streams for spawning. Ex- actly the same proposition applies to other kinds of fishes. The fish commis- sion is at present rearing trout and sal mon on a like principle and with simi- lar results. A large pond is now being prepared at Gloucester, Mass, for stock 1l GcL oSo1 will be put into the sea as yearlings. In this way it is hoped that the catch of this valuable food fish along the New England coast will be greatly increased l after awhile.
 The same method would be tried witt Holsters, but for the fact that these pugnacious crustaceans cannot be made | to grow up together peaceably. You put a dozen newly-hatched specimens into an aquarium, and within few | days there will be only one-a large fat and promising youngster. He has | eaten all the rest. Therefore, baby Holsters have to be let loose in the | ocean when they are just out of the egg, and in this plan not much profit is found, because they are quickly gobblet by fishes. The fish commission is hatch ing 5,OOO,00 of young Holsters yearly Once upon a time, not many years ago 25-pound Holsters were not infrequentlJ captured, and there is record of 40 pound specimens, but such giants art no longer seen, because they do no have chance to get very big before they arc taken by the fishermen.
 l One of the most profitable branches
 of the fish commissions work consists
 in stocking the streams, ponds ant lakes all over the west with the native
 fishes of the Mississippi valley. They
 are taken in great quantities in puddle'
 big and small, where they are left by
 the retreating waters after the floods and are shipped alive to various part' of the union. Thus black bass, rocl
 bass, pike, perch, crappies, spotted catfish and other species are being dis
 tributed throughout the United States very plentifully. Trout of six kind
 have recently been introduced success
 fully to the Yellowstone park region;
 territory as big as the state of Rhod'
 Island, which has hitherto been prac
 tically bare of fish.