The San Mateo item. (San Mateo City, Putnam County, Fla) 189?-19??, 1909-07-24
AFiSh-
Hatchery
on Wheels
.o.o.e.e.0.e.0.o.u.o.o.a
BY MARY HAMILTON raIBorr.

IL has been estimated that one
fourth OF the worlds diet is fish. Al
though that proportion Is hardly true
in the United states, yet this coun
try ranks first in the value of It's fish
cries, the annual catch amounting tC
one-fifth OF that OF the who'd world
which Is estimated to be ten billion
pounds, valued at three hundred mill
ion dollars.
This country would not hold its
rank were it not for the work OF tbs
government Bureau Of Fisheries, ana
one of the most interc ting features
of this Office is the introduction oil
fish into other than native waters and
the bringing of foreign fish into
American waters.
A most noteworthy instance Of its
success in this direction was the &C.
climatiz3tion OF TIE sad and striped
bass on the Pacific coast, where the
annual catch amounts to thirty mill.
ions, valued at one million dollars.
The bureau is meeting with crafty
ing success in transferring the Allan
tic lobster TO the Pacific, and the
Pacific salmon TO the waters of New
England and the Middle Atlantic
States.
The method of transporting the
various fish from one end of the con
tinent to the other, often Matching
them en- route, has been reduced TO
a science. The travelling incubator
is a queer kind OF car, resembling IN
some respects an ordinary Pullman
sleeper But along the sides, instead
of rows of chairs, there are galvan-
lied iron tanks in which are set the
ten-gallon cans -somewhat like large
milk cans-in which the fish fry are
shipped This replacement is not
complete, however. for a part of the
space is occupied by a strange-look-
ing apparatus consisting of glass
jars, glass aquaria, and a complicated
arrangement of glass tubes and rub
Der piping, which are the Matching
batteries.
At one end OF the vehicle is a
stateroom belonging to the captain.
At the other end Of the car is
kitchen. Beds for the rest of the
crew-whlch, by the way, consists Of
the captain, three messengers and
cook--are exactly like the upper
berths of an ordinary sleeper. The
chairs have no legs, but are placed
on top of the fish-tanks. Adjoining
the kitchen is an engine-room. which
contains the steam-pumps for circulat-
ing water and air, and a five-norse-
power boiler.
When practicable, the young fish to
be planted in the various waters are
shipped as fry, but when time may
be saved by Matching them on the
way, the eggs are forwarded from
the various fsh-collecting stations OF
the government,
The captain OF a transportation car
is overwhelmed with urgent duties
when he receives consignment OF
fry and eggs, for he often has upward
OF three million baby fish and fifty
thousand eggs TO care for.
In the case OF a shad shipment,
peculiar care has TO bs-exercised, as
tie baby fish are more delicate than
any other scaly youngsters. The
young fish, twenty thousand in each
can, have 20 be examined at once,
and the water containing them aerat-
ed. This is accomplished by drawing
on carefully a portion OF the water
from each receptacle, dipping II up
with a dipper and pouring II back
again, so as to mix air with II. Fresh
water Is added. and Ice is put In to
chill II to the proper temperature OF