The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1916-06-08

| ped IN accidentally.
If you wish to obtain from the gov
eminent, fish with which to stock a pri-
vate pond. you will be required by fsh
commissioner to give an exact descrip-
ton of the body of water which you
propose to stock, including its depth,
size, summer temperature, vegetation,
and various other matters. The kind
of fish which you can raise depends en-
tirely upon these conditions. Generally
speaking, the more desirable species
require clearer and colder water,
and many inland dweIlers are unable
to raise any of the game fish. such
as bass or perch, because of the
high summer temperatures, and lack
OF a cold water supply. Fish of
lower type, however, will survive and
grow under almost any conditions. Thus
carp can be raised in all parts of the
country. The fish commissioners have
recently been making a study of the
buffalo fish, a denizen of the muddy
western rivers belonging to the sucker
family.
Although not game fish, and not as
delicately favored as bass and perch,
the buffalo will thrive almost anywhere,
and he is very likely to become the most
popular farm fish" of America.
Few persons realize how much the
fish supply of most of our inland waters
depends upon artificial propagation.
The shad that run up our Atlantic rivers
and supply many of our largest cities
with fish are of hatchery origin. With
out federal aid the shad of the Potomac
would have ceased to exist many years
ago.
The game fish of many small streams
are also dependant upon constant re-
stocking and especially Is this true of tn
brook trout. Recently rainbow trout
from California have been introduced
into some Of the Allegheny streams
where the native trout has been ex-
terminated, and they are now rapidly
multiplying. Their presence has been
reported in number of small streams
near Wytheville, Virginia.
Another experiment of this sort
proved itself successful this year when
a good sized catch of humpback salmon
was reported from the Penobscot river
in Maine. The humpback salmon is a
native of the Pacific coast, and was in
troduced into the Atlantic few years
ago.
The size and efficiency of the organi-
cation which thus keeps a nation sup
piled with fish and fishing is impressive.
During the year 1915 the Bureau pro-
duced over four billion fish and ova,
and distributed some IS, 900, 900 fish of
lingering or larger size. Egg collect
ing and Matching operations were con-
Quoted in thirty-two states and Alaska,
while the distribution extended into
every state and territory The great
er part of the output is planted in pub
lie waters on advice of government or
state experts, but most of the fish suit
able for ponds and small lakes are con-
gned to individuals This distribution
of fish to individuals in all parts OF the
country last year required 637, TIC
miles of railroad travel.
I In addition to propogating large
number of species of food and game
fish, the bureau several years ago took
up experimental work with the famous
diamond-back terrapin, which was
widely used delicacy several years ago
but Is now very scarce. The diamond
4 back has been very successfully raised
in captivity by the government experts,
and some have already been released to
multiply in the wild state.
This year still another new expert
ment is to be conducted in the propa-
cation of frogs, A large number of
persons have written to the bureau for
Information about raising frogs IN cap
tivity, and this experimental work is
being undertaken IN order to solye the
problem.