The Washington herald., 1907-07-07
Government Is Constantly
Resisting Depletion.
HANDLES MILLIONS OF EGGS
Ninety Per Cent OF Those Treated
ArtihcIHIIy Are Hatcbed - New
emily of WushingtOn-Massac
setts Has Trouble with METERS.

] af'i t9llitu anu ulhetS are QepitlHk
Throughout the United States thousands
of dollars are spent every year TO keep
the supply Of fish as good as it should
/ be, says the Boston Herald The New
England States have been especially ac-
| live in fish culture The national govern
ment has been working very quietly and
extremely effectively In Maine, the bat
tie goes Well In Massachusetts, there
have been not a few protests.
Millions Of little fish, distributed to the
hundreds OF trout ponds. salmon lakes,
and streams OF Maine, help to make up
for the drain placed on those waters
every season by the thousands of fisher
men who wet a line and cast fly be
tween the opening Of the season and the
last day when one may legally catch
fish
In some Of the waters the supply is kept
up by natural propagation. In others. it
has TO be maintained by artificial stock
ing. owing 10 those places being more
constantly fshed than others less famous
or. perhaps. less easily reached. Millions
Of trout and salmon eggs. or spawn, are
collected each fall by the fsh-hatching
stations and by their tributary egg-coi-
lecting stations established in Maine by
the State and Federal governments, and
sent 10 the hatcheries.
Busy Times at Hatcheries.
II Is busy time at one Of these hatch
cries when the fish are just emerging
from their tiny shells, or have dissolved
the food sacs In their first few days Of
life, and are beginning TO look more Ike
fish and less like tadpoles. as they look
az first 70 the uneducated eye
The work Il securing a supply Of
spawn begins with the capture, IN the
early fall, Of the adult fish. The fish are
taken IN seines and put into big tubs,
whence they may be taken at leisure and,
if the spawn Is ripe stripped.
The female Is taken from the tub. the
spaWH-taker holding her as gently as
possible till all struggles cease. He then
presses with thumb and forefuger "A little
above the ventral fms, passing his hand
along until all the eggs are expelled. The
male Is Immediately treated In a similar
fashion. the milt passing onto the eggs.
and the eggs and miit thoroughly mixed
with d feather.
The eggs arr next washed thoroughly
and when the water runs off clear. are
ready 20 put away till time 10 be packed
iu boxes for shipment 20 some other sta
tiun or desposlted in the Matching tr0ughs
for development.
Million Eggs In Each Fish.
There is a tradition that every female
fish killed contains a million eggs, but
the yearling fish produces from 10 20 25J
eggs. while fully developed. mature nsh
produce as high as 25J0 eggs each. The
eggs average about one-slXth Of an inch
iu diameter. and from $50 10 80 of them
fill fluid ounce measure
The eggs are next placed I'm troughs.
in some cases directly on the board bot
toms and I'm others on a layer Of gravel,
and LEFT in running water for about
month. The bad eggs are removed and
the good ones constantly moved 20 pre-
vent aecumUlat.ons Of dirt They are
then ready FOR the Matching troughs,
where they are TO remain until they
come out fry" as they are called dur
ing their early existence.
The water flows freely through the
troughs throughout the period Of iHcuba-
tlon. coming in AT the top and passing of
through holes in the bottom As soon as
the trout begin % break out Of the
shells. the water enters from below and
passes off at the top, preventing the kill
ing Of the fry by forcing them against
the gravelly bottom or against the screen
at the end Of the trough
Attached u each little fish is a small
sac. This supplies food 10 the fish for
the first few days, or until It gets accus-
toned to its surroundings and begins 90
select its food for itself, the sac serving
from twenty-five 20 forty days
DepositinG of Fry Improbable.
In these days the stocking Of waters by
the depositing Of fry is conceded to be
the least profitable, since their size rea-
ders the fish most easily preyed upon By
larger fish. The most successful way is
TO feed the fish until they are a year or
perhaps two years old. then liberate them
In waters suitable to their habits At
the various Matching stations under State
and Federal control there ere usually ex-
tensive systems Of pools, each. perhaps,
containing fish Of different ages. thus
keeping the larger ones separate from tho
smaller and weaker. and at the same
time furnishing an object lesson in the
relation Of sizes OF fish as 10 age. Occa-
sionally some fish will grow much faster
than its fellows, and to prevent its prey
ing on its associates. 1t is dipped out
and put into a pool with those Of a larger
growth A pond five feet wide and TWEEN
ty feet long holds from 10000 20 10000 fry,
but as they grow they have to get into a
larger pond. One twenty by seventy-five
feet viii take care Of 10,OOO "yearlings,"
and orly about 5000 five-year-olds.
One Of the greatest developments IN the
work of fish culture in Maine has been
with salmon. To-day there are two very
important and successful Matching sta
tions maintained by the Department of
Agriculture, Bureau of Fisheries. one at
Green Lake, in charge Of Supt E. Z.
Race. and the other at East Orland. in
charge of Names veteran fish commits
sioner, the first the State ever had. Supt
c. c. Atkins. He is said to know more
about the habits Of sea salmon and pos
sbilities Of propagating them than any
other man in the country. For years he
has given the subject close study. and
has not only made important discoveries,
but has demonstrated their value in the
practical work of raising Atlantic sal
mon from eggs obtained from Penobscot
salmon caught in the down-river weirs
Mature Fish Put Back.
Hundreds of the fish are saved every
season. impoUnded at Craig's brook until
their spawn is ripe, and stripped. Then a
large percentage Of the fish resulting
from this work on the part of the govern
ment is returned to the river, to add to
the number Of salmon seeking a way to
the spawning grounds at the headwaters
of the PenobscOt. The balance is dis
tributed to other States. or in eggs is sent
to distant stations of the department for
n ,-f,-