The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-01-16
PLAN FOR NATIONAL
AQUARIUM ENDORSED
Made by Secretary Rcd
field.
WOULD HELP CUT LIVING COST.
Acre OF Water For Fish Propaea-
ton Called just 4As Valuable N
An Acre of Land

Hearty approval OF the project OF
William c. Redfeld, secretary of cort.
lnerce, for the establishment of a large
national aquarium is expressed by ex.
perts In fish culture.
The aquarium would realize a favor~
lite plan of icthyologists They dersaps
there is mech to be said in favor OF
the remark quoted by Mr.. Redhetd thar
AN acre of water can be made 10 yield
as much as an acre OF land"
Dr. Charles II. Townsend, director
OF the New York Aquarium, who iias
made exhaustive studies of the sub
ject, said the idea was of incaicu!ahic
value.
Idea of Professor Dyche
In It's general scope the proposal foi-
lowed the work of the late Professor
Lewis Lindsay Dyche, who gave many
years of his life to promoting Iegfsla
tion and introducing methods by
which every farmer could have his
fish pond"
The professor died on January Is
1915, but his associates OF the Amert-
can Fisheries Society would see I'm tho
starting OF n national aquarium tbs
fruftion of his long years of EFFORT
They would regard such policy as Il
memorial to his long work along that
line.
Kansas. DIR. Dyche induced many OF
the farmers to introduce fish ponds on
their farms and the results were most
satisfactory.
DIR. Townsend said that although
there was at present "A small aqua rfutn
in Washington, il was not adequate To
the needs Of study A large and WE'LL
equipped institution would be tn.
means of spreading through all parts
of tho Jcde -
fish and would encourage the RAISING
of them.
Can Ea~il. Raise Fish.
For the encouragement of those who
are disposed 10 make a trial it may be
truthfulIy stated" said he that food
fishes can be raised with no more dit.
1culty than are chickens or Vegetables
All persons who have experimental
with the poultry yard and the garden
know that they demand attention. A.
neglected fish pond may be compared
70 a neglected garden, and 1t will even.
tuaHy reach the same gone-to-secd
condition.
ut is true that an acre OF watess
will yield profitable an increase as
IN acre of land. only when the acre IT
water receives proper care. An acre
OF oyster beds properly manages will
tie very profitable. indeed. The ssh
ard way. A farmer. however may have
ponds which he can cultivate just as
profitabiy az he can his corn field
The late Dr. Dyche believed that
by using the raising of fish In the In
land States there could he satstati-#
tiaI reductions made in the cos. Of
living. The belief that 4 fish pond c1n.
be managed just like poultry yard
goes back for many centuries before
him In the Middle Ages the fnoHls
reared carp in ponds so as 10 havs
them always available for food"
Trout Not Considered.
Dir. Townsend. in a paper prepared
for the New York Geological Society.
wrote that, as they require special con-
dittons. trout could not be considered
IN this scheme Of popular piscicultufa.
With the ordinary run of ponds IN
the New York region" he added.
where the water becomes rather warm
in summer; il ia necessary TO restrir.
the list of available fishes TO the BASES
perches and suuishes which are adapt.
ed to such conditions, There are few
sections OF the country so lacking In
native fishes that enough black bass.
rock bass. yellow perch. white perch
crap pie, blue gill. suntish. long -earsd
suntsh or catfish cannot be secured fof
the purpose Of stocking
with tho State Fish Commissions al.
ways Al work and the National Gov.
eminent with an aquarium for the de-
velopmeut OF the fish industry. Or.
Townsend thought that the harvest ~
nsh in this country could be made most
valus BILE.