The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-06-11

Prof. L. L. Dyche Therefore
Orders 900 Tadpoles.
NEARLY REALIZES HIS DREAM
Game and Fish Warden Writes
Of Hatchery Plans.
Kansan Preparing q Bulletin
ON Fish Culture.

Washington. d. c.. June u.-Profess-
or L. L. Dyche of Kanses. the famous
naturalist and explorer, had a dream
some years ago. It WIS the building OF
| a great fish hatchery, with biological
laboratory attached, that would fur
nish fish for all the streams and for
every farmer in the Sunflower state.
and when every farmer built a pond
the water thus impounded would. IL put
in one body, reach across Kansas four
hundred miles, and be four miles wide,
producing 81. 900 600 worth Of fish per
year. This dream has been largely
realized. as indicated in q letter to
General w. H. Sears. q former kansan
now in Washington.
Professor Dyche writes that he dis
tributed twenty-nine carloads Of fish
to Kansas farmers from last October
to the first of May. and that the fish
hatchery is a great success. In nus
letter, Professor Dyche says:
The new office. laboratory and
aquarium building on the fish hatchery
cry grounds has at last been completed
and it is not only nice looking build
ing, but well adapted to the purposes
for which it was constructed. We have
fine office rooms, in the second story.
while the first story will be given to
experiments, laboratory and general
fish hatchery work. It took about ten
days to move my laboratory and ar
range it in the new building. II you
ever get to Kansas again. hope to be
able to have you down on the hatchery
grounds. The entire plant is complete
now with the exception OF some detail
work, such as the building Of cement
walks and the laying out of permanent
roads.
Commencing about the middle Of Oc-
tober and from that tinae up to the first
of May, we distributed twenty-nine car
loads Of fish. In addition we also dis
tributed about 10000 tadpoles Of the
large bullfrog variety. Owing to some
articles that were published in the
newspapers concerning bullfrogs, con-
siderable Of a demand has been created
and nearly every one in the state
who has a pond wants bullfrogs as well
as fish.
Hear Bullfrogs Sing.
THE editor of the New York Ameri-
can sent me letter the other day ask
ing what Kansas wanted with bullfrOgs.
wrote him in substance, that IN this
part of the country bullfrogs were con-
sidered not only good food but a very
great delicacy and that there Is moth
ing in the country too good for the
many Of the farmers want bullfrogs
not only for food. but they want to hear
that old bullfrog song that they heard
in the eastern part of the country In
their boyhood days. One farmer near
Coolidge said he would give $40 for a
other way. He wanted to hear stheIn
sing again. We have a few hundred
very large specimens in the hatchery
ponds which sing more or less all the
time and at times most OF them seem to
get under Roadway and produce a
string Of solos. which considered all to-
gether make a not unpleasant noise or
song. but is hard to describe.
"Since the middle of October we have
| delivered fish to 1O2 counties in the
| state and of course 1t will take some
b, time to get the state well stocked with
/ fish, but II the people get interested
! ard there seems to be very considerable
| interest shown, there is not doubt In
| my mind but that the fish supply In
!. the state can be greatly increased, and
| that means more fishing and more and
better fish fer great many people.
/ Writes Fish Bulletin.
about ten days ago completed 9
bulletin on fish culture. It is goina
through the state printing plant at the
present time. There will be one hun.
dred or more pages in this bulletin and
| We have tried to make it a bulletir
which will give much Information
| about fish culture. 1t is confined t.
the kind of fishes that we raise here In
Kansas.
Il was on the fish car myself thii
spring about eight weeks. 1t Is really q
hard life when one sticks to 1t day after
1 day. Delivering fish to from fifty t.
seventy-f1ve persons on each trip an6
making two trips each week means &
great deal OF work. It was no LITTLE
job to keep the car properly lined up OF
the railroads and to meet all of oul
fish customers on time and keep then
informed just when to meet the car
l L. w. THAVIS