Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1913-08-03


creeks and sloughs for this purpose.
In the still water Of these streams
there are plenty of reeds and water
plants among which the fish car
spawn.
The purpose of the trip was two
fold. First, the determination Of the
kinds Of animals and plants found in
the Missouri and its tributaries. and
the conditions under which they live;
and second, to ascertain the economic
value Of any of these, their present
abundance and means Of increasing
them. N4lt Jbs KS.
These two phases of the work are
not distinct from each other, but are
really one. TO most of us the rela'
ton existing between the number u
fish in any body Of water and the
number and kind Of animals and
plants SO small as to be barely Wis.
ible to the naked eye is a very re-
mote one; but when we consider that
these minute organisms form the food
supply for the smaller fish and other
animals, upon which the larger fish
feed, w begin to realize the intimate
relation existing between those forms
Of life which have economic value
and those which are apparently val
ueless. When we consider that mos
quito larvae r eaten by fish, we
can find some excuse, If only taosMall
one, for the existence Of these pests.
We can also realize the value of en-
couraging fish in the breeding places
of the mosquito.
Huxley. think 1t was, who humor-
ously expressed the delicate balance
existing in nature, when he showed
how the price Of beef depended on
the number of spinsters in a CON
munity. Each spinster, he said. must
Of course have her cat, and these
would need mice to cat. Hence, the
more cats the fewer mice. Mice eat
grain and thus destroy the food OF
cattle. The fewer mice, the more
grain. and the more grain the more
cattle, and consequently the lower
tho price of beef. synN.uLi
However %grotesque this scientific
"House that Jack built" argument, II
nevertheless contains the great truth
Of the intimate dependence of, lone
living thing upon another. ,..g.
Apart from its historic and scenic
interest, the Missouri valley in NORTH
Dakota is a region of much interest
to the biologist, forming as it does
the meeting of three great life re-.
gions, the northern or "Canadian," as
1t is known, the southern or caro-
Imam and the western or plains
region.
This is we'll shown in the birds OF
the valley, the first region being rep
resented, among others, by the viii
low thrush. the least fly catcher, aud
the redstart, the second by the chat
and golden crowned thrush, and the
third by the maybe and clay-colored
sparrow. III yhou
The river itself is poor in life, apart
from the many fish which inhabit it.
This u probably due to its swift cur
rent and the securing action Which
It exercises on its bed. On the con-
trary, where a "relict" pool, as it is
called, is left by the river receding
from an Overflowed area, the organ
isms in it have opportunity to multi
ply In the quiet water and abundant
life results. The same is also true to
q great extent of the creeks which
flow into the river. These. are really
for the most part merely "relict'
pools, formed by the spring overflow
filling the channel Of the small
stream and the latter being damned
by the deposit of mud and sand at it's
mouth.
Apart from the expeditions sent in
to the field each year by the biologi-
cal station to study the waters of the
state, some of which have already in
vestigated' the lakes of the Turtle
mountains, 5 the Missouri, Sheyenne
and Red rivers. lit Is making an in
tensive study of Devils lake and the
problem of restocking it with fish.
This lake which up to Is years ago,
swarmed with pickerel, now contains
food fish, but the careful expert
:neDt Of the station director. DR.. N.
A. BrannOn, and his assistants have
shown that several species of fish
(among others the yellow perch and
steel head trout will live for some
months without apparent injury In
the lake water if introduced into it
with sufficient care.
The station is also cooperating
with the u. S. Biological Survey IN
a study of the birds and mammals Of
North Dakota. and is making a col.
lection of it's plants and animals for
museum purposes. It is also prepar-
ing material to be distributed to- the
schools Of the state for teaching
purposes. s..
= The work on the Missouri river and
other streams is necessarily only pre-
iminary as yet, but it is hoped that
his may lead to more detailed work
ii future. ,
Thomas Dixon, author Of "rhe
rlaDsuan." has established an office
ion. the D%rOductiOu Of his nlayS I'm.