Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1922-04-14
BY JAMES w. CARR.


there is a strange industry. 1t stands
alone IN its class in Indiana for there
is nothing to approach it in magnitude.
And It is rapidly reaching that pinnacle
Of Rrestner which is denoted by the
saying" de greatest in America which
is equivalent, nowadays, to saying the
greatest in the world"
Few people know of this industry he
cause it has come gradually TO its place
in the sun. Others. when told about it.
look askance at the teller-if he is Of
the verlciOus species-and then look
skopticsl in spite Of il. And yet the
industry occupies nearly seventy acres Of
Indiana land and is easily one of the
attractive sites Of the State. Some day,
perhaps. when its owner reaches that
stage of development which is his goal,
Il will be the mecca of thousands.
Children will love it. They could spend
days In its enyirOns. 1t is one of those
human industries which appeal strongly
TO children. It is a pleasure-giving in
dustry and il will always attract because
it Is alive and mOving-constantly
moving Some day. perhaps, it will be
the center Of a great public park for
the setting is ideal.
SHIRENAN TAKEN
FOR LUNATIC.
They tell z story of It's owner which
illustrates the first hand skepticism Of
those who hear Of it. The story is on
an Indianapolis -.ian who has made
success Of his business.
One day me owner Of this remarkable
industry walked into the plant of the
hard-hes ded business man and asked
permission Of the owner u look at his
steam cooking plant It was q novelty
and peculiarly fitted for the uses OF his
particular business.
What forE' was the demand.
Il want to cook mush TO feed by gold
fish, IL was announced.
The business man maintained his com
pOsure with difficulty. After recovering
his breath he glanced futively about
him. No help was near. He made the
best Of a bad situation. Ii was dan
gerOus to cross 4 lunatic, he figured. So
he acquiesced and agreed TO show the
stranger sis plant on the way they
became better acquainted and IL was
then that the business man turned to
Gene Shireman. former state fish and
game commission and owner Of Grassy
Fork fisheries, and in a subdued voice,
announced:
Heavens. man, thought anyone who
talked OF feeding fifty wash tubs of muSh
to his goldfish every day certainly needed
q keeper. I thought that one bucketful
would feed all the goldfish in the world"
AND STORY
Is TRUE.
The story IS true and Shireman. known
throughout the State, is no lunatic No
lunatic would ever conceive the thought
IF raising more than two million goldfish
every year Yet Shireman raised that
many last year-1921-and this year will
surpass that record.
Furthermore, he sells them.
Goldfish from the Grassyfork hatcheries
go into every part Of the country. Thou
sands OF homes are frightened by tn
sands Of homes are brighteed by the bril-
brilliant hued, long-tailed comet; hun
dreds Of children stand wonder-eyed
while the strange telescope eye" swims
uncOncernedly in his narrow quarters.
Then there is the fantail, with its gor-
Eous spread in true goldfish colors and
in thOs eaddities Of color which dis
tinguish him from his fellows-for all
goldfish. despite the name, are not gold
en- in color.
There is the albino, transparent when
held 10 the light and sometimes rivaliug
in beauty the pure bred variety; the
lion head, which looks the part, an6 who
swims along sure Of his kingiy position.
All OF them are hatched and grown to
saIable size in the 100 ponds Of Grassy
fork Fisheries
THERE ARE PONDS,
PONDS AND PONDS.
Ponds, $50 Of them-many Of them not
real honest to goodness boyhood ponds.
Some of them get into the lake class
new one just opened up covers more
- than seven acres with the tide out"
They spread over nearly seventy Eve
acres and when Shireman has completed
his project another fifty ponds will con-
tain their quota of goldfish in various
stages OF DEVELOPMENT
The ponds begin near the heads or
three separate ravines, where spring
water is plentiful, for in that total of
acres Of water not 4 single drop reaches
its level by pumping. Running water
everywhere, coming into the highest
ponds and then reaching lower levels
from one pond to another, never once
needing artificial stimulus to make it do
the great duty which it performs for
Shireman. He has taken advantage Of
the goodness Of nature to the fullest
degree. He has helped nature help him
! to success. Nature performs wonders
for him, furnishing the water which feeds
and houses his tremendous annual
gathering of the most beautiful of the
fnny tribe. When it has served him,
completed its duty without cost, it finds
its way through pretty streams to the
muddy waters of White River while the
springs in the hills around the Shire
man farm unceasingly-even merrily-
provide another fresh supply
HUNTED STATE
FOR LOCATION.
81 hunted the State over for another
similar natural location" said Shireman,
-Seeking a place for a State hatchery
To my knowledge another similarly ideal
location simply does not exist"
Goldfish, like humans, grow best when
fed right. Likewise good feeding brings
them to the marketable stage more
quickly-like hogs. So Grassyfork
hatchery goldfish need never worry
amout, three squares a day" Food is
plentiful, but the variety is seldom
changed. Goldfish don't complain about
variety. They have much of the pig
about them. They crave food-and more
OF it. So, every day, during this time
Of the year, fifty whole wash tubs of
mush find their way into 100 ponds in
amounts in proportion to the number of
FISH Shireman estimates is in each pond
Feeding is a wonderful sight.
Standing alongside on one of the levees
one sees an occasional lazy flash as some
brilliant fish sTims toward the top and
then disappears into the blacker depths
A tub of mush. cooked hard so that 1t
viii not disintegrate easily. is thrown
Into one corner of the shallow pond and
instantly there follows a mad scramble
Of flashing bodies in search of food In
things so beautiful it seems unbelievable
y that so much greed could exist. The wild
y scramble brought TO mind the old
adage that beauty, after all is only skin