The Washington times., 1895-05-26

city, where he is born. A handful OF the
eggs before they leave for washington
look for all the world like so much
'stapioca pudding as q lady visitor at
the station put it graphically few days
ago.
When the commission deals with the
private seiners-g ll-net and fish-trap peo-
ple-the twelve boats are manned and
towed down the river, and are left, singly,
here and there at the seines. Each boatman
handles the roe shad that he selects, and
after he has obtained a sufficient guam
tity he goes back to the river station,
where the process is repeated as above
described.
MEASURING THE EGGS.
The fishermen from hose shad the eggs
are accepted is In account with the station.
The eggs from each mans fieh are kept in
separate jars, which are labeled with his
name. The officers use measuring rod,
by dipping which into a jar they can tell
approximately how many eggs there are
in each jar, the rod being graduated and
numbered ut he graduation points.
The government pays at the rate OF two
cents per thousand for eggs. A fisherman,
who rs lucky enough 10 catch the right
kind of roe shad, with The average pfouuct
of 20 900 eggs, will make fifty cents on
the eggs alone. The fish is returned To the
fisherman, ,whosellsitandg observation-disclosures
price for his luck. The records show that
the fishermen have made by the sale ofeggs
sums ranging from $40 to $40 during the
shad season, OF about SIX weeks.
IL will be observed that the 900 fish
used for the propag gating station are but
an 1nconsluerabie number compared with
the total number caught during the sea-
son. One seiner is reported To have sold
So 900 worth of shad this season, and he
runs only one of the ten or twelve seines
constantly at work At So a hundred, that
seineT mu st have sold SO 800 shad
But the whole catch of all the seines is
said to be small proportion again of the
many millions OF shad that come into the
Potomac every spring. The Officers OF the
station are of the opinion that the migra-
tion into the river has been doubled since
the commission commenced stocking IL with
the orphan fish.
PUT BACK INTO THE RIVER
They keep them at the central station
until they are about as long as ones finger
nail, and then are put back into their
native waters. They then go out into the
ocean, make for the Southern tepid waters
in the fall and come back in the spring TO
mount the rivers and deposit their eggs.
1t is believed that the fish til at go out of
the Potomac River are the identical fell
lows who come back.
The commission replaces the little shad
in Occoquan Bay and its vicinity. 1t has
been noticed that the numbers that return
to these places are larger every year, and
/ it is supposed that those that are deposited
! there return to the spot with whatever in
telligence, aud affection the shad brain
may have for the spot where 1t began to
/ enjoy and celebrate it's liberty.
The commission sells the fish it takes
/ in its seine. Last year the profits were
saff
/ haulers and to produce a surplus of $3.50.
| Mir. Worth estimates that the income at
| the close of this season will not be suf-
| ficient 10 pay. these expenses, and that ii
will require last years surplus to meet
! the deficiency. The surplus is kept TO
meet emergencies such as that which is
/ now arising
Mr. Worth and Mr. Harron said that the
| fish, herring and shad were sold in the
4 Washington market and to the country
| people, and that they had always main
tanned their price at that asked by the
| fishermen generally. The fish sold in
Washington are entrusted to an agent, who
/ sells them to the commission merchants
/ here and receives one-seventh of the re-
ceipts, out OF which he is required to pay
the charges of the commission merchant.
! WILL USE NO SEINE HEREAFTER.
1t is said that the Fish Commission will
3
i season, and will work altogether by pur-
| chase from the fishermen. The seine now
/ in use is zoo fathoms in length. The
! largest catch made in it was 500 herring
and lao slIad. Did the commission de-
/ pend on this seine, ii would have taken sew
/ eral seasons to- collect the S4,000,000
/ eggs that were taken in one season three
or four years ago.
The little vessel that does the towing of
the batteaux fleet and other work for the
! officers is the blue Wing, y q neat launch
| of which the officers are Capt. A. B. Davis,
/ Mr. Wesley Sullivan first mate, Mr John
CasseI, engineer, aud Mr.. Ed. Flag, fireman.
I For over a year the Blue Wing was
haunted ship. The crew and other pas
sengers heard occasionally the most delight
| full music which sounded like a concert of
/ flutes at q distance. This happened so
| often that the crew began to think there was
something wrong about the exquisite har-
monies and began to investigate.
Late at night or in the early dawn the
magic flutes sounded in the boatmen's ears
tender, soft and supernatural in the
! sweetness of the sounds. A Times man
| on trip from Bryan Point to the city day
| or two ago was asked if he heard the music
at Marshall Hall. He said that he did,
but as matter of fact there was no music
| there.
Itwas in the air. Now it was heard from
one shore, and then from another, up
| stream aud downstream. The mysterious
| music which puzzled the crew for nearly a
year was made in this way: About year
ago they took down the netting which was
hung between the brass tubular handrail
of the Blue Wing. The netting was at
tached to the rod its under side by screws.
When the netting was taken away the
screws came with it, and left many holes
in the rod, which acted just like the holes
of flute.
This marine flute played whenever the
wind blew and the music is as wild and
weird as that of an Aeolian harp. Some
very fine phantom stories are made on
just such material as the concealed pipes
of the little Blue Wing.
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Rats Caught by CLAIMS.
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