San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-01-20
YEARLING FISHES BY MILLIONS
Odd Facts About the Work OF the
United States Fish Commits
From the Washington Star.

/ uhiteu Stdtes Flsn COmmfS-
sion.
From the Washington Star.
Two and q half millions of yearlinp
fishes have been planted this yeal
in the waters of the United States by
the Fish Commission. This state.
ment is more remarkable than 1t may
s EN-. Up to 1885 all the fishes arti.
ficially Matched by the Government
were turned into the rivers and lakes
to shit 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 lew were expected to survive and
reach maturity. Five years ago q
fret experiment. was made with the
planting of Is. 90 "nngerlings"-tbat
is, fishes that had attained q seasons
growth.
Before long all the fishes artificial
| Iy propagated for planting in this
country will be allowed to get a years
growth before they are let loose. 1t
has been found that one acre of water
will accommodate 100000 Try from
the time they are Matched to the con-
dition of fingerlings, Under such
circumstances so per cont of the baby
| fishes survive the season, at the end
of which they are able to lake care of
themselves and have passed the dan.
ger point. In other words, when per.
mitted to escape and look out for
themselves in the streams or else
where they mostly escape destruction
and reach mature fishhood.
/ Pretty soon this plan will be ex-
clusively pursued in the propagation
of shad tor 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 10 fingers length
before they are let go. Fishes oaly
grow during the warm season, SO
that at the end of four months, when
Matched i'm spring, they are yearlings
| in size A pond leo acres in extern
will Accommodate $4,000 900 OF shad
| fry, and at the end ofl20 days COM
opened and %, 600. 900 little fish,s will
swim merrily away. to return in fu-
ture years of marketable siza.
Unlimited guam titles of shad eggs
are always obtainab BILE In the season,
] and AS many mil'ion Of them can be
Matched in glass jare as are desired.
Thus the results to be secured by ar
iificisl culture in any river Is only
| limited by the pond area used. A
majority of all the fipgerlings let 60
| will certainly live to grow up aud
| swell the schools which annually visit
the streams for spawning. Exactly
| he same proposition applies TO other
kinds OF fshes. The Fish Commits
sion il at present rearing trout and
salmon on a like principle and with
| similar results. A large pond il now
| being prepared at Gloucester, Mass
for stocking with newly Matched cod
fish. which will be put into the sea
as yearlings. In this way it ia hoped
that the catch of this valuable food
fish along the New England coast
will be greatly increased after q
while.
The same method would be tr ed
| with Holsters, but for the fact tina
these pugDacious crustaceans can
| lot be made to grow up together
peaceably. You put q dozen newly
Matched specimens iuto an aquarium,
and within a 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 gobbled by fishes. The
Fish Commission is Matching 5 900, 900
! of young Holsters yearly. When fe-
males carrying eggs are caught the
Ovs are scrsped off the swimmerets
| and kept in sort of water incu bator
until the funny little creatures burst
the shells Once upon a time, not
many years ago, 25-pound Holsters
were not infrequently captured, and
there is record of 45.pound specimens.
| but such giants are no longer seen,
because they do not have a chance TO
get very big before they are taken by
the fishermen.
One of the most profitable branches
of the Fish Commissions work con-
sists in stocking the streams, ponds
| and lakes all over the west with the
native fishes of the Mississippi Val
ley. They are taken in great guam
titles in puddles. big and small,
| where tney are IeIG Dy lne TetTeatlng
| waters after the floods, and are shipp-
ed alive to various parts of the Union.
J Thus black bass, rock bass, pike.
perch, croppies, spotted catfish and
| other species are being distributed
| throughout the United States very
| plentifully. Trout of six kinds have
recently been introduced successfully
to the Yellowstone Park region-a
territory as big as the State of Rhode
Island, which has hitherto been prac-