The Washington herald., 1912-08-25
EXPERT PLAN TO CREATE
RACES OF FISH AND GAME
Selective Breeding to Be Extended to Finny Inhab-
itants of Rivers and Streams Fish Have
Human Diseases.

/ in our own country, new varieties being
developed from japanese stock by GER
tain societies of amateurs In large cities
New York. Philadelphia and Baltimore
have their aquarium societies, and Chi
cagora Fish Fanciers' Club. In the in
terest of these organizations q magazine,
called The Aquarium IL published.
Exhibitions are given periodically. and
prizes are awarded. Only a short time
ago the Philadelphia Aquarium Society
offered a blue ribbon for "scaleless
fringetail telescope" goldfish.
Amateurs May Help.
What has been accomplished with gold
fish can undoubtedly be done (say the
experts) with any OF the important food
or game species-not. however. with a
view to developing biologic curiosities,
but for their Improvement in size, food
quality. and hardness. It 10 altogether
likely that similar experiments will be
undertaken later on by private individ-
uals and concerns, and in the not-distant
future We may have competitions among
amateur trout culturists. with prizes
awarded for the largest and most beau
tifully colored brook trout.
The enthusiasm and ingenuity Of ANA
teurs may lend important help IN the
solution of a problem that is Of utmost
practical consequence. While the popu-
lation Of this country Is steadily and
rapidly growing, our natural fishery re,
sources are destined slowly. but surely.
to diminish. Accordingly, We shall be
obliged in the future to depend more
and more upon artificial culture, and fish
breeding as private commercial enter
prise will eventually obtain large impor-
lance. II follows. then. that We must
learn how to produce the best fishes pos
sible. We must improve them Just as
We have improved our domestic animals.
One of the most important objects Of
the contemplated experiment station will
be to develop hardy and disease-resistant
races OF fishes. The cultivation of finny
species. as OF domestic animals. predis-
poses to maladies from which the wild
are practically free Thus 1t is that Sc
rious losses are caused by epidemIcs
among young fishes and brood stock at
the Federal and State hatcheries. The
experts have already found out a good
deal about the causes and cures OF these
diseases, but It is important that they
should learn more.
Fishes Have Human Ailments.
It will surprise most people to learn
that fishes are subject to nearly every dis
ease that afiicts human beings. Amons
them might be mentioned boils. q malady
similar to smallpox: liver disease. fatty
degeneration Of the heart aneamia.
nervous disorders. and sleeping sickness.
II fishes escape pneumonia and whooping
cough it is because they have no lungs
Reckoning the cost OF manufacture
&C. the annual output Of the tfiirty-one
Federal hatcheries. eggs and fry" rep
resents a commercial value of at least
Q 49,
stantly imperilled by epidemics. The
BASES and trouts are particularly liable
to germ infections Not long ago at one
OF the stations OF the Fisheries Bureau
a prospective output OF 100000 yearling
brook trout was reduced to one-fifth
within a few weeks by an obscure BAG
terial disease.
The most serious and destructive Of the
diseases with which the fish culturists
have to contend is cancer. which affects
the thryoid gland of salmon and trout.
It makes frightful ravages In the govern
ment and State hatcherIes- At one Of the
New York State hatcherfes an epidemic
of this malady not long ago killed $500
brood trout. and in the following sum-
mer destroyed 5000 more, practically de-
populating the plant.
This is a matter of special and pecu-
liar Importance. because there Is no GER
tainty that cancer in fishes may not
have direct relation to cancer in human
beings. There is no more reason for
supposing that people contract the dis
ease as a result of eating infected fishes
than there is for imagining that the
fishes are infected through the pollution
OF water from human sources. But 1t Is
noticed that the finny victims of cancer
are native to regions where the malady
is most prevalent among human beings
that Is TO say. In mountainous, Wildwood
ed and well-watered districts For ex-
ample. cancer prevails to an alarming ex-
tent In the Adirondacks-
May Have Perfect Fish.
The successful efforts OF plant breeders
in obtaining races OF plants immune to
disease suggests similar possibilities
where fishes are concerned. With this
idea in view. an experiment in breeding
race OF brook-trout proof against BAG
terial infection is now being made at
Worthwhile. Mich. where 1000 fry have
been placed for the purpose in ponds
The idea is to take and fertilize eggs
from such specimens as survive in the
presence of a large number that have
and thus to obtain I'M
munes" which will be distributed to other
stations. To secure i'm :
munes" that can really be guaranteed as
such may require selection through Sc
ries Of generations. but the eventual re-
suit can hardly fail to be successful
There is O. connection. as yet not wen
understood, between cancer and water.
A case reported to the recent lnterna-
tional Cancer Congress was that OF a
certain count and countess in "urt-
temberg who both died Of cancer IL
came out that nearly everybody IN that
particular neighborhood succumoed 10
the same malady. The story reached
the ears of the German Kaiser. who
has cancer in his own family. and he,
being greatly interested. sent his per-
sonaI physician. DR.. Sticker. to tnvesti-
gate. DR.. Sucker visited the estate,
found there a pond 1000 feet long by
500 feet wide on one side of which
was the castle, while on the other
were farm buildings. and around one
end a village of the counts retainers-
the butcher, the baker. the shoemaker.
&c. II was learned that in the last ten
years twenty persons In the village
and castle had died OF cancer-eight
Of these from cancer of the stomach.
Further inquiry disclosed the fact that
water pumped out of the pond was used
both in castle and village for drinking
purposes. without filtration But the
most interesting circumstance of all
was that carp, taken from the pond
with a seine, proved to be afflicted with
,ancer.
The moral OF which, so far as 1t con-
,erns the government work. is that
he Fisheries Bureau must be sure that
he fish 1t matches and distributes
over the country are free from disease.