The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-12-18
MINISTER WU TELLS1OF
 CHINA'S EXCELLENT ROADS

although, of course, not on such large scale.
 About the month of May the Chinese, In the years long gone, would draw mats across the great river Yang-tse-Kiang in order to stop the spawn, which they knew how to distinguish at first sight, though the water was scarce altered in appearance by it. With this water mixed with many spawn they would fill ves- sells and sell to the mercahnts, and 1t would be sent into different provinces and sold by measure to those who had fish ponds. In a few days the young fish would appear in great shoals. This work is still carried on in many portions of China.
 ''The Chinese display great ingenuity in fishing. I venture to say some of my people could give Mr. Cleveland valuable pointers in this sport. Besides the line, nets. reels and other instruments used in this country which the Chinese em- ploy as well as Americans they have two methods that may appear extremely old.
 "One is practiced in the night by moon- light. They take two long straight boats, and fasten them together, a board about two feet broad is painted white and finely vanished, and is connected with the boats. This board slopes outward, and almost touches the surface of the water. They turn it's surface toward the moon, that the reflection of that luminary may increase it's brightness. The fish, mis- taking it's color for that of the water, spring up toward it, and either fall upon 1t or into the boat. The fishermen, with very little troubie, fill their boat with good fish.
 Another mode, not now very largely practieed, seems at first equally surpris- ing. Cormorants are trained to catch fish. One fisherman can easily look after 100 or them. He keeps them perched on the sides of his boat waiting patiently for their orders until they come to the place designed for fishing in, and then at the first signal each takes it's flight and flies away to the locality assigned it.
 'The birds seek up and down; they dive, come up again, and hover over the water until they see their prey, when they instantly dart upon it and seize it with their peaks, and bring it to their master. When the fish is too big for one to handle the birds help one another, one taking the fish by the tail and the other by the head, in which manner they car ry it to the boat. The birds are given nothing to eat until their work is done. The throat of each cormorant is tied with a small cord to prevent it from eating the small fish, for when the birds are not hungry they refuse to hunt for fish,
 ''There is scarce any kind of fish in America but what is 10 be found in China -lamphrys carp foals salmon, trout, sturgeon. bass, perch and, in fact, every kind almost, and there are many in China which you do not get here.
 .One of China's most esteemed fish is the armor, so called from it's back, belly and sides being covered with sharp scales, regularly placed in rows one over another, much like the tiles on the roof of a house. It is an admirable fish, of about forty pounds in weight, with flesh exceedingly white, and resembles veal in taste.
 "There is another delicate fish called the meal fish There are such prodigtous shoals of these in some places that 5O0 pounds of them are frequently taken out at one drawing of the net. The Chinese gold and silver fish are very beautiful and are abundant. They are commonly of a fingers length, and approximately thick, the body being finely shaped. The male Is of beautiful red, and the female is white"