Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-01-05
rALUE OF della wAEE srURG EoN.



sioner Speaks Highly of It--what Pro-
fessor Ryder Says.
The annual report of the United States
fish commissioner, just to hand, is of
some local interest. The report is dated
as far back as 1888, although the printe
matter includes statements up to June,
1sS0. A report of information gathered
three or four years ago is under ordi-
nary circumstances, pretty stale news,
but this is government statistics, and
therefore must be looked upon as new
news.
The local hatchery maintained here
through the efforts of DR.. Shortlidge is
not n government station, and so does not
come under the commissioner notice.
The report says nothing at all about
Delaware shad, n fish subject Of most
natural interest to Delawareans.
Speaking Of sturgeon, the commits
sioner quotes Professor John Ryder, of
the University of Pennsylvania, upon
the apparatus used IN the bay for cap
turing these large fish.
The trays used at Delaware Citv,on board
the steamer Fish Hawk. We're made by tack.
ing cheese cloth to light wooden frames a
foot wide and Is inches long then load
ing the edges of the frames with strips of
sheet lead to keep them immersed These
trays, placed on lodges in a superimrosea
series, in a trough through which the
water is allowed to flow gently, is very
efficient Matching device. Floating hatch
| ing boxes with brnss-wire gauzc bottoms
and small openings at the sides covered
with the same kind of gauze have been
successfully used by the Germans, one
| having been brought from Germany by
| :; Feddersen of Port Penn, Del. from
| Hamburg. The floating box in which tho
writer succeeded in Matching out a batch
| of the eggs of the sturgeon was exceed
lngly. simple IN construction, and con.
| sisted OF soap box with top and bottom
removed, the bottom for which was then
replaced by tucking cheese cloth To the
lower edge of the rim, and by mailing
wooden strips to serve as floats to the sides
OF the box very efficient Matching device
was extempori2ed. These boxes so mod
| fled were placed at the edge of the large
tresh-water pool near the extreme eastern
| end OF the Chesapeake and Delaware cana
at point where there was q constant flow
of fresh water under them The only loi
of fortified eggs which the writer sue
ceeded in obtaining were spread on the
bottoms of these boxes and left to hatch
| In six days from the time of fertilization
the young fish made their appearance
water fungus, however, caused such ex-
tensiye mortality amongst the eggs that
| very few embryos survived to escape from
| the egg membranes, This fungus. which
appeared to be saprolcgnia, is developed
| from spores which seem to be almost
everywhere present in fresh water
Prof. Ryder regards the development
| of this fungus as one of the most serious
obstacles to sturgeon-cuiture and owing
| to the firm manner in which the eggs
are fastened together, the separation AZ
any time of the infested from the good
eggs is practically impossible. As q
| prevention he suggests the filtering OF
the water supplied to the Matching
boxes or its sterilization by means Of
| heat.
The best source of supply for eggs
was found TO be the live fish which arc
brought TO the Delaware City butchering
floats, directly from the gill nets Ii
handled with slight amount of care
they can be carried alive with the
| spawn in good condition. "Judging
from the number of live spawning fish
brought into Delaware City, Port Penn
and other places on the Delaware, there
is but little doubt that several millions
of ova for Matching purposes might be
| obtained each season by vigorous and
faithful exploitation of all the sources
OF supply"