Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-11-27

tneSe cars Whlle they are travelling at the
rate of sixty miles an hour.
X
One of the most important functions of
the work of the bureau of fisheries is it's
biological inves-
Work of Inquiry Is tigation. which
Very Important. ns,,r e inc ronslM
During the past year considerable atten-
ton has been given to the investigation
Of parasitic larval stages of two kinds of
mussels valuable to pearl-button makers
which have heretofore been puzzling to
scientists. The pearl mussel resources of
the Cumberland, Illinois and Arkansas
rivers. as we'll as of several streams of
Minnesota. have been studied and the re-
suits published in some circulars which it
is believed will be of value both to mus
sci fishermen and to button manufac-
turers. In this work the bureau has had
the active cooperation of the professors
and the laboratories Of the universities of
Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri.
Attention has also been given to the
diseases OF fish. The discovery of can
cerous and other humorous growths has
caused much study for the last ten
years. Certain types of cancer appear
to be more frequent than others in
domesticated fish. and cancer of the
thyroid gland has been observed at
hatchery stations. OF late the disease
has appeared to be upon the increase.
and the bureau has made a number of
investigations which go to indicate
that 1t is the result of certain pollu-
lions of the streams. II this theory
can be established and the sources of
the disease localized the serious losses
of the artificially Matched salmon and
trout each year can be largely over
come.
The acc!imatization Of certain kinds
of fish and their transfer from the
waters of one
Fish Are Moved locality to
to Strange Waters. otb u are s a
jects upon which continual experiments
are in progress, and the results have
already proved to be Of great economic
value. The colonization of shad along
the Pacific coast has been one Of the
greatest achievements in this respect.
Aside from the financial cOnsidera-
ton. the experiment was noteworthy
because Of the difficulties in trans
porting shad across the continent as
far back as 1871. when the first plant
ing Of shad fry was made in the Sacra-
mento river. and these were added to
for mine consecutive years. In 1873
the first shad were taken in California,
but by 1886 it had become one of the
most important food fishes in California
waters. and is now found from Puget
sound to the Los Angeles county coast.
The introduction of striped bass from
the New Jersey to the Pacific coast has
been equally successful.
In return. the west has contributed
number Of new fish to eastern waters.
one of them being the rainbow trout,
which is fast becoming one of the best
cess in the Allegheny mountain region
has been especially gratifying. 1t is
not designed as rival to the brook
trout native to this region, but rather
as a substitute for species which has
become scarce chiefly because of mod
ern industrial conditions.
A number of old-wOrld fishes have
also been introduced here with good re-
suits. the best known being the Ger
man carp. This fish has been sub
jected to a good deal of criticism, but
as a commercial proposition it's intro
ductiOn was success. 1t supports
special fisheries in fifteen states, and
is regularly taken for market in nearly
all of them. It's sales amount to more
than 100000 pounds annually, which
affords considerably over half a mill
lion dollars to the fishermen, and 1t is
caught with less time, expense and risk
than most other varieties of fish.
The first Investigations carried on for
the purpose Of studying the conditions Of