The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1899-10-14

perch an hour, and viii back himself
TO clean eighty pounds for money, Tbs
insides OF Augusts hands are i'm,
network Of scars and new gashes,
There are three main fishing points
where the dwellers In Lake Michigan
are captursd, They are Petoskey, ST
James and ManistiQue, st. James Is
known sometimes as Beaver Island
and here there is fishing colony OF
400 men, with their wives and children,
AZ these places trout and whiteilsh and
some sturgeon are taken. Nobody pays
any attention to perch. Gin nets are
used and, In the shallow waters, pound
nets. The pound net takes its name
from the enclosures in cities wherein
stray animals are confined. II is a
circular net with openings at the bot
tom through which the fish enter Once
in, they cannot find their way out and
are lifted In masses and unresisting
This industry is one OF the most thriv-
ing and valuable in the northwest. In
Its effect upon the health and we'll be-
ing OF the people at large Il Is one OF
the most important Thousands upon
thousands Of dollars are invested and
the annual take is something enormous.
II runs far into the thousands OF tons
in weight and into the hundreds and
thousands in value. Invested at the
three points mentioned is more than
S250cOo. Il has been put into miles OF
nets, into steamers into tugs, into sail
ing beats. into donkey engines, ice
tanks, nefrigerator cars and kindred
things. The total poulation deriving a
living from the white fish and trout
industries is more than I've thousand.
More picturesque places are not to
be found in this country. Each morn
ing three small steamers leave Petos-
key for visits TO the sill nets, which
have not been lifted since the day be-
fore. In each one is a donkey engine. I
whose power is used to lift the nets.
Their weight when loaded with fish is
beyond the strength OF the men aboard. /
Quarter-mile after quarter-mile OF !
the mesh is lifted from great depth, +
and il comes to the surface showing
silveIy with the fish. Il looks like an
endless and broad ribbon Of a metallic
lnster, aud when the morning sun
st1k's il Is a Singularly beautiful
thing The fish from the gin net are
all removed by hand. and it is a tedious
as well as painful process, but the
pound net is simply lifted 10 the sur
face and its capuves are scOoped up in
large weden shOvels. Near the bow OF
each of these boats is a large compart-
ment holding ice, and the fish arr
thrown into it in a stream 1t is the
object to chill them through at once
and by the time the steamer reaches
shore they are dead and cold. They
are dtsembowled. but are not cleaned
otherwise. Many a housewife has
wished that the company would remove
the scales, but that would be too much
trouble for the company. Also, to-
some extent. it would detract from the
Aggregate weight. The man who buys
| whitebsh pays for the scales, Just
Is man who buys a roast pays for
he bone. When the fish have been
irawn they are placed into large :
quare boxes, ce-packed, which are
crmed carts" These carts il turn
IRE put into the cars, and so they are
lauled to Chicago. This city takes
learly all the Lake Michigan catch.
Milwaukee used to be a large fish mar {
let but 1t has declined Of late years.
The fishermen Of the upper lake waters
re reasonably well paid. Many of
hem work for the Booth company.
nj have no capital Invested. Boats,
icts aud other accessories are furn-
shed to them. Others own sail boats
Hd nets and simply sell their product
irect to the company.
The take Of fish from Lake Michigan
nd from the other bodies Of water con-
ected with 1t has been 50 enormous ,,
nd so long continued that there was
s ore time grave danger that both the ,
'hitensh and the trout would be ex-
erminated. Some years ago, however.
he national government came to the
escue and now the national hatcheries
re doing everything possible to keep
p the supply. The lake fish hatcheries
re placed at Cape Vincent. N. Y, Put {
l-Bay, Ohio Alpena and Worthwhile.
iich., and Duluth, MINI. At North Y
iile 4,00,0O0 trout are hatched each h
cal. Last year more than 95. .OOO, 900 4
whitefish fry were hatched by the r
Dmmission and liberated in suitable y
'a'ers. The enormous increase in the .
lumber Of the whltefsh thus attained n
.ay be appreciated when 1t is said Fl
nat Of these liberated fry by far the I
Irger part will reach maturity. The n
atching Of whitefsh eggs long ago G
from the experimental Il
-age. 1t is now exact. The commits g
oners are much more successful I'm V
atching than are the unaided fish ii
nemsalves. Under natural conditions a
My very small percentage Of the q
ggs hatch. Through artificial propa-
alton from IS to 95 per cent are pro- II
uctive. The microscope is a great aid If
D the fish culturist, enabling him to O
etermine the exact percentage of dead n
ggs, and in many instances, the cause +,
the failure. In order to provide /,
galnst the uncertainty Of the seasons n