The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-08-19
BASS VS.. BEEF.
Fish Farming and Grain Farming
COmpared-AstOnis Results.
tor of the indianapolis Journal:

To the Editor Of the Indianapolis Journal:
1t is passing strange that in all the time,
labor and money expended in the Matching
and rearing of fish no experiments have
been made to determine the relative value
of water farming and land farming. There
are many and various theories and opinions
in regard to the matter, while there are
few, if any, authentic records of results
practically. Among the utterances and ex-
pressed opinions may be found one to the
effect that an acre of water will produce
five hundred pounds of fish, and another
that an acre of water will produce one ton
of fish per annum, and various others, all
showing more enthusiasm than absolute
knowledge.
Some facts of a practical character have
passed under my personal observation,
which L will briefly state. AT Warren, Hunt
ington county, Indiana, an excavation was
made in lot belonging to Smethurst &
Thompson, owners of steam flour mill,
for the purpose of obtaining gravel with
which to improve the streets The lot had
been carefully measured and staked, 50 by
12O feet, and when the gravel was removed
was in the form of cellar of that size,
six feet deep at one end and eight feet at
the opposite end, the bottom having slop-
water presented itself at the lower end,
which slowly and gradually increased until,
at the close of the dry season in 1884, water
was standing from one to two feet in depth,
and later after the autumn rains rose so
as to completely fill the space to the mar
gin, and so remained during the winter of
1S94-95. In the spring of 1895 Mr.. Thompson,
who has become authority in bass propaga-
,0Io
bass in the pond so formed He watched
their action carefully as the water was
clear, and as the warm weather came on
he saw that they were clearing off beds in
the gravelly bottom and preparing to
spawn. This was accomplished about the
middle OF May, and in due course of time
the Matching followed and thousands of
young bass SWarmed about the nesting
places. Mr.. Thompson was highly gratifed
at the success of his experiment of hatch
ing bass in confinement, as it settled a very
important question in regard to propagating
black bass which had occupied the atten-
ton or amateurs and professionals, as we'll
years, and subsequent experience has Veri-
fed his conclusions.
AS may well be supposed Mr.. Thompson
gave very strict attention to the progress
of his numerous and growing finny family,
as opportunity was thus afforded him of no.
growth. which was here for the first time
afforded. Having been advised by Mr..
Thompson of his success, made it conven-
lent to visit Warren about Sept. ! of that
year, and found a pond of fine clear water
Astounding in young bass a little more than
three months old, from three and one-half
to five inches long, lively and healthy and
in countless numbers, and watched
their movements an impression of thousands
was made on my mind, and up to this date
and after no food of any kind had been
given them. The cold winter of 1895. SO fol-
lowed, and the water in the pond al
most solid mass of ice; when it thawed out
N NJ Cnri11 hC nf ksa.s \
had been enveloped in the ice were found
dead around the margin of the pond many
of which were over six inches in length.
AS the season progressed there was no per-
ceptible change. The fish were constantly
increasing in size. and there was an entire
absence of sick or dead ones / visited the
family, in which | was now very much in
terested. again in August, 1896, when the fish
were one year and three months old, and
derful growth they had made during the
year; their increased size made it difficult to
realize that any had died or was missing
since had seen them nearly a year before.
But here was an opportunity to get at facts
such as L had never had before, for, in the
first place, knew definitely the age of the
his length and weight, so l rugged up a
hook and line and rod, secured few min
nows, and removing the barb from the
/ hooked my fish and lifted him to land, and
found a nice, plump bass eleven and one
half inches long and weighing thirteen
point for a statement. | continued fishing
until | had pulled in seven. the largest being
fifteen inches in length and weighing six
teen and one-half ounces, a little over a
pound, and there were some still larger than
ii was. From all this | learned first, that
bass will spawn and hatch In pond or in
closed water; second, that under favorable
conditions bass will weigh one pound each
at one year old; third. that brood of bass,
like a brood of chickens or pigs, Will vary
in size and weight at the same age.
The only item not attainable was the num-
Der of bass in the pond. ! estimate the num-
Der at one thousand, at the lowest, and Mr..
Thompson. who had watched them from the
day they were hatched was of opinion that
there were nearer fifteen hundred several
agreed with Mr.. Thompson. Now, the pond
contained 1900 square feet, which is less
than one--hftieth of an acre. and, estimating
the pond to contain one thousand pounds
of bass, which it would with a thousand
fish at one pound each, and for less than
one-hftieth of an acre you have one thou
sand pounds, at the rate of over fifty
thousand pounds per acre, or more than
twenty-five tons.
An acre of corn will make not to exceed
four hundred pounds of beef. or pork. or
mutton, which sells at from TO cents per
pound live weight; your bass brings 10 to
u cents. and. counting the cost of land and
seed, manure and teams, while the value of
its product, four hundred pounds, at. say.
3 cents, is $50 from which deduct expenses
and you have SIS from an acre of land;
while from an acre of water there are fifty
thousand pounds of fish at 10 cents, or 5000,
the sole and total cost of which is the item
of procuring the parent bass and placing
them in the water But suppose my estimate
of the number of fish in this pond is too
high: suppose there were only five hundred
instead of one thousand; then we have five
hundred pounds in the pond or twenty-five
thousand pounds per acre. Or, to go further,
say there were only one hundred pounds in
the pond. then we have five thousand
pounds per acre, or $500. or. to go still
further. say there was only one bass in the