The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-05-02

tGehCBUEu from FIRST pHEe9
pounds. while in the more southern
waters of Michigan they will exceed
this weight. In the Rangeiey Lakes
of Maine they have been taken weigh
FIG 10 pounds or mere. but In Virginia
they rarely go over n pound and a
half. iii the small mountain streams
food Is scarce and difficult to get. and
the fisA.are kept smalt by scanty ra
tons and hard work. Under favor
able circumstances Their rate oil
growth IN from 3f ar ounce 10 one
ounce during tho first year, In two
years from eiEi9 TO tcn ounces ana
I'm three Nsetsfs Shoyswsif rfsnch a pound,
This is merely an average however
hand Is not Intended as an exact state
lment ...
life, History and Habits.
In It's native EaNnts the trout IL
usually found III CLEAR. cold water,
and il prefers brooks or small rivers
that 1ow swiftly over clean. gravelly
bottoms IL deiighta in deep, shaded
pools and eddies where y can lie
concealed heneath oyerhangipg gras-
sy banks or under log So that Il can
sec without being seen. Here 1t lies
Throughout the long summer days,
hardIg fpoying 81 Nm ncptA 70 make
a sulden tsrf whem Hfshtsned or
when its prey Somes w5thip IN range.
Woe betfde the fuckie&a grub or
worm that falls intp hhe water. or
the Untncky moth erinseyt that files
too near the surface. "A Sudden swirl
in theswater. glsafi1 or sfivery. jglist-
ening scaiess siD the Sunlight, and a
slight spasssss d fifMsahe fish drops
hack into its Infk ffsg place. is all that
marks little tragedy
Teie trout ssfafely' ffeifnd In water
that risess afsoy2 SfrTegrees Fahrenheit
but il can stand a higher tempcra =
fSift'.iIY svs fffss " Ell aarat~H water than
ftn~sfusgfsfl CREEKS -ur potsess. 1T must
be remembered that the trout Is an
extremely. active fish. and therefore
requires more oxygen than does q
less energetic one, and this oxygen
is gotten from the air dissolved In
Eihe watss' &oF tho amount Of ali
! ~ ana. ot har sas. that water will hold
.anssaplution. s.iiminishes~as the temper
aturw rises. /, and for, tiiisf reason the
saimon family ,seed cold water Oxy-
gen ix- fnoresa bufrtantg at the foot OF
fall or rapids where the air IL
churned info the water. and such q
place Is to the trout what a breeze
/ / X Il, tfts - = '.-sz.S,s
The brook, trout spawns. in the au-
tupn as the, tempafatpre of the
streams is failing. In Virginia this
wifi be about the first Of. November,
and as the spawning time approaches,
the fish, gra dually splish upward to-
ward the headwaters and into the
shafioms't The female selects spot
near the shore and there prepares a
nest. She washes the sand and mud
away from the-grayels. with her tail,
and thea pushes the gravel aside with
her snout pntyt4- she has a clean, slightly
concavgsdA and in this she de-
posits ~ J1ff3oH'spf her eggs. Mean
whiies The male mas abeen playfully
swimming around In the vicinity OF
the neat. and AZ sdoh Gas the eggs
are deposited, he comes up and emits
the nailt. over them. The female then
I covers ire ffhpfegnated eggs with
gravel. and begins the preparation OF
another nest in the same spawning
ground. and this routine of nest max
ing. laying fsnrregnating and cov'
ering the eggs goes on until all the
eggs have been deposited. After 9
spawning ground has been chosen Il
ia very hard 1 10 drive ,sthe fish from
IA y. A fa5pale has heeM marked and
taken = mile dswn stream. and the
next morning Was found back on the
nest as though nothing unusual hac
occurred.
The eggs are not uniform in size
but will average about one : sixth
Of an inch in diameter. The number
/ laid by fish depends on age and size
/ a yearling siepositing from f50 te
! ESQ, while a fully developed fish OF
some four or FIVE years will lay some
| SEQ. After fertilization rthe' time
! haeiied f6rithe developments of the fry
varies with the ftempefsttire 9f the
/ water Where this is at or about 81
degrees. the eggs will hatch intaboui
J / rs days, but il the temperaair'e il
/ nsar so degrees, rather less, thar
two months will see the fry Matched
! After Matching the greater part OF
/ the eggs. hangs on to the little fish
and supplies, it with food for some
/ three or four weeks. During this
time the. little cones lie rather quietly
on the uest y buki when it Is absorbed
the youngsters begin ravenouf
/ search for food. They win eat any.
thing that is available. including one
another. for the larger and stronger
I fry have no scruples against devour-
/ ifigsthSA smaller and weaker brethren
| In a pamphlet lately published by
! John w Tiiepmb commissioner OF
! fisherfes or Vtrisiont 'and one of ths
highest authorities in America on
trout culture, -ehaTsasis' q picture TAX
sa knens @sa- .hotoRralla lip, which two
trout, less than two inches in length
1 are shown each. with the tail fin Of
a bottled fry protruuing from III
MOUTH III trout hatGheries grea
! pains are taken With the feeding Of
the young fish y Fam liver lis the mos
generaiiy used foedvt This is Erount
| up andsth<n grained Through q fine'
paeshed screen aisfti ii 40 merely a stiff
paste a little 0E this 10 spread or
the water with 4 bmall brush or
I feaiher ana the na1s are fed some 81,
Or eight aues q day, No more foot
should be given t11en is eaten. AS ths
surpiuR Ii apt tON decay and caus,
disease II fhesfry are TO be planted
IN Mid streams Or lakes, the plan
shouid be made d few days befors
the yejk4zxe Is abs0rbsd as othefwis,
many wifi die of starvation sbefor,
4 the Yittisspnes feArn now TO get theil
own food -
Il Viewed from the standpoint OF /
4 food Product the brook trout IL in
slgniiicanb but Indirectly u may b