The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1902-06-25
SOME QUEER THINGS DONE BY UNCLE SAM
Tagged Goldfish Thrown Them Into the Sea Agar
to Make Them Their History. Sent an Expedition
to Bring Back a Tiny Bug.
so eyer since.

so eyer since.
You did not know, did you, that the
government has tanned huge gray griz-
ely bears? Well, perhaps the authori-
ties did not think of achieving this
particular result when they establish
ed the Yellowstone Park, but it came
about so, anyway. Nobody in the park,
which is great government reserva-
tion, is allowed to shoot or modest any
wild creature, and now the animals
are so confident that they will not be
harmed by man that every evening
large bears come down out of the woods
and congregate near the back porches
of the big hotels in the reservation
waiting for table scraps. They know
the meal hours as well as the guests
do, and they betray no fear at all of
the many folks who watch them. In
deed, it is altogether certain that the
human guests of the hotel are more
timid about it than are the furry
ones.
And now our government has reach
ed into the sea and put its mark on the
fish In the Atlantic ocean today,
swimming many fathoms deep, from
Cape Cod north and south, there are
| Nd Of foh nf
which bears on one of it's fins shin.
ing copper tag. Each tag is mum bered
and stamped in such way that it can
be identified by the United States OIL
Gals.
This seems like an amusing kind of
play, but it has more serious purpose
than that. If all goes we'll 1t is posi-
! BILE that those tagged Goldfish will
teach the government things that may
end in making Goldfish cheaper for the
whole world For it is expected that
most of the tagged fish will be caught
again sooner or later and then when
the tags are returned to Washington
the fish experts Will be able TO study
how far the fish have swum and where
/ they go in various seasons Of the year.
Then fsermen will be able TO fish for
them with the knowledge thus gained.
Of course, the codfsh had TO be
caught before the tags could be put on
them. That is as plain as the need for
cltching your hare before you cook
him. These Goldfish were caught by
the government fishermen and taken
TO Woods Hole in Massac b usetts
where the United States has a great
fishery station. There the cod were
stripped OF their eggs, which were
used to propagate millions of young
cod, and then they were released after
the tag had been fixed to the fin of
each with a bit of copper wire.
A record of each tag was kept by the
government. In order to acquaint the
fishermen and fish dealers with the
purposes of the tagging, and to encour-
age the preservation and return OF the
tags, circular was printed and dis
tributed in the fishing towns. The cir.
cular contained cut of cod showing
the position of the tags, and asked that
any person coming into possession of a
cod having such a tag forward the lat
ter by mail to the United States Fish
Commission, Washington, D. c., or to
the United States Fish Commission
Station, Woods Hole, Mass, together
with the following information con-
corning the fish: The date when
caught, on what grounds taken, weight
before being dressed, total length
measured from end of nose to end OF
tail, sex and whether mill or eggs were
ripe, large but not ripe, or immature.
The novelty of the scheme excited
unusual interest, and the hearty coop.
GRAFTON of the fishermen was obtained
and very large number Of tags were
recovered.