The weekly true Democrat. (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1905-1912, 1906-11-30
INVESTIGATION NOW
BEING CONDUCTED
The Rallst nun In TAis Seato i an
Event Of Great lnGDortAAes-
Interesting IAtOsma-
tioA REGARDING
This vIsh.

Washington, Nov. M.--An investiga-
ton Of particular Importance TO the
people Of the South country 4 being
conducted by tho bureau Of hshories.
It is an inquiry into the habits. spawn
ing and general characteristics Of the
mullst, one Of the finest food Gahes
that swims.
Curiously enough, little Il known Of
the mnllet. For several years efforts
have been made by the Fish Comnnis-
sion TO ascertain the habits Of the bah,
to learn when and where II spawns,
and to hatch the mullst fry from the
eggs taken from the female, but the
efforts have met with no success. An
inquiry extending over three seasons
WA made n the waters Of the South
definite information. Thus Ear, II n
not known where the DAB spawn. how
they spawn and whether they can Be
Matched artlhcielly.
The mulIet u abundant on the coasts
Of North Carolina and South Carolina.
Thousands Of barrels u them are
shipped annually from both of thoee
States and from Florida, The run Of
mullet begins IN the Carolinas early IN
the autumn. and Ia Florida waters, on
the east coast, 4 begins On November.
| The hsh appear IN untold uaillion8. The
schools sometimes are miles IN extent,
the fab seemingly being crowded To-
gether 90 closely 90 70 form solid
mass. In Florida, particularly the hrst
run" Of mulletl y 90 event q grees
Importance. Indeed, Il b said, that e
the announcement n made IN church
that the mullet have begun to'Eun al
the eloqunce Of the pastor viii not ~
strain the congregation. The people
will leave the church en- masso and
hurry to the riverside TO assist n catch
ing the Ash.
the nuIIat is regarded as one Of the
finest edible hshes IN the Atlantic
waters. In some Of the Southern
States IL Is protected by the laws n the
spawning season, the fish not being
! allowed to be taken In nets during the
season when they are supposed 70 Do
spawning. Opinions differ as 70 the
time and place Of their spawning, and
it Is to determine, II possible, these
points that the Fish Commission ls con-
Quoting its investigation
THE ACCEPTED THEORY.
The generally accepted theory IL that
the mullet spswns at sea, but this Is
contradicted by close observers OF the
habits Of the fish, many Of whom main
tain that the FISH spawns IN the creeks
adjacent to the ocean, where Il lies in
untold millions for several days &C .
time. Thus far the experts Of the Fish
Commission have been unable TO catch
| NaaanIn ssa.tllak sarhAra hoF
Just ripe for spawning, and TO catch
the male mullet when bis milk Will fer
tiize the eggs properly. II this could
be done land the fish culturists Of the
commission believe II may belt viii
be possible to hatch artificially the
mullet fry, just as shad fry and the fry
of other fish are Matched. To accom-
plish this result the Fish Hawk, the
largest steamer in the service Of the
Fish Commission, 10 now at Mosquito
Inlet, and the experts on board OF her
are endeavoring TO solve the problem,
which has puzzled the Fish Commission
for many years.
Il Is the purpose Of these experts 10
take the ripe eggs from the female,
fertilize them with the milk Of the
male and hatch them arti6cially. Once
this is accomplished, the fry will be
deposited IN the Wepefh OF the south
coast 70 add TO the vast number of
mullet already there. The fry will be
protected until they are large enough 70
take care of themselves.
No fish In Southern waters is OF
greater Importance, commercially than
the mullet. II is highly desirable.
therefore, that the fish not only be pro-
tected, but that It's habits be thor
oughly understood. IL will be q great
step forward IL the fish can be Matched
artihcially, as this will prevent its ulh.
mate extinction "a an article OF food
and preserve what Is now great in-
dustry on the South Atlantic coast.
~~~~~~~~-~~>~~~~~-~-~
Mr.. T. p. Strickland made The True
Democrat a very pleasant visit last
Friday.
We have seen a copy of the Tails
man, a bi-monthly magazine published
by the students of the Florida School
for girls at Tallahassee, One OF the
very best of the many good articles In
the book Is one written BY Miss John
ME Rutland on Mythology" Miss
Rutland Is one of the Sumter county
young ladies' who IL attending the
school she will graduate there next
year. Sumter county has held high
place IN this college Tor several years.
Sumter Times.