Omaha daily bee., 1910-03-13
KEEPS FISH WITHOUT WATER
Device Of a Woman Who Has a Pri-
vate Hatchery.
OxYGEN-FED TANK THE MEANS
Mrs. Frank M. Johnson the Success
full Bxperimenter--She and Her
Husband Deeply Interested
IN study Of Fish Life.

NEW YORK. March 12-Alrs. Frank NJ
johnson. wife OF a Boston surgeon, has
devised a means of keeping alive without
water. Both Mrs. Johnson and her hus-
band are deeply interested In fish culture
and have at Springfield. N. H., a private
fishery Of their own.
Mrs. johnson. who is now staying In
New York, gives this account OF her de-
vice;
Il always was a lover OF outdoor life
and after my husband became wrapped up
in his fish hatcheries 1 was soon so en-
Unused by his experiments that took Il up
with him.
After a time sse naturally fell to ex-
perimenting with all manner Of fish life
not only together, but in a sort OF rivalry
1t was In some OF these experiments that
perfected my device that enables fish to
live without water. was not at our
hatchery at the time made the discovery.
but in my house in Boston, and when
actually proved that my theory was right
1 stepped to the phone and called up my
husband at his office and told him of It.
Nor he replied. 'Yesr 1 said. Then he
came home to see It.
Il first took a large glass Jar, much
longer than wide. IN the bottom Of which
placed thick pad Of dampened felt Then
near the top OF the Jar put In an intake
tube on one side and an exhaust tube on
the other, Midway in the Jar put a little
screen shelf on which l laid the fish. After
moisteninR It's gills with water closed the
top Of the Jar and started oxygen to work,
simply pumping It In the jar in the ordinary
way. not only kept the first fish alive,
but experlmented on others and they
thrived for days and weeks"
But what keeps the fish from Hopping
about on the screen in the maner Of fish
when out Of water?"
Because It is intoxicated. The fish is
simply drunk with oxygen and lies there
initiating its gills as regularly as when in
water
You can imagine how valuable this dis
covery may prove to government hatcheries
when you stop to think that In shipping
fish across the continent to stock streams
and rivers the government uses an espe-
cially improvised car for it's purposes.
This is so built that the water is forced
round and round in the tank in order to
supply fresh oxy gen, which not only keeps
the fish agitated, but results in great loss
Of life often, as well.
"A car built on the oxygen plan, which
now I have proved to be practical, win
keep the fish quiet and the oxygen will
keep them alive until they reach their
destination, when they can be returned to
the water.
Fish are experimented upon, you un-
derstand, by governments In order to bring
fish life up to its highest standard as q
food. The poor Of this country and others
must have fish as a food, and this is why
hundreds OF thousands OF dollars are ex-
pended to breed certain species to a hardI-
hood that will make It possible to live In
waters hitherto unknown. Take the Mis-
sisslppi river. for instance, slow, slug
gish water, where all sorts of experiment.
ing has been done in determining what
fish will live there. Carp were put there
by the government because they will live
there and was something that the poor
can depend upon as edible. Catfish,
buffalo fish and other hardy fish were
placed there for the same reason by the
millions.
"At one fishery in New Hampshire,
which, by the way, is named Ko-le-le-
nook, an Indian word meaning good fish
iEg and good hunting, we are back In the
hills twenty miles from railroad, and
stay there from the first of March until the,
streams are frozen over. Our fishery is
the cnly one where artificial feeding is not
resorted to. All our fish fesd naturally.
we have one large lake of thirty acres
with a system OF several ponds. all con.
nected by dropping the water level Of each
little lower than the other.
The government people have bee par
ticularly kind to me. too, and NJ We az
forded me many opportunities to expert
ment in fish life Whenever they want a
painstaking experiment performed they no.
tfy me and / am only too eager to take
II up Our life up at Ko-le-1e-mock is sim
ply roughing It all summer lorg. We have
so-called shanty to live In and the hills
and ponds to fill our lives have been
experimenting In fish culture myself over
seven years Fish are attacked with all
sorts OF diseases, and l set out with sue
cess to cure some Of them. 1 also cross
fish and breed hybrids and each year grow
more interested. We have a superintendent
on the farm, and DIR. Johnson spends every
minute OF time there that he can take
away from his practice"