J. PISCICULTURE AND THE FISHERIES. 43V 



hatched successfully in the spring of 1872. The survivors of 

 tliese, 21,000 in number, were introduced, in May, into a small 

 brook emptying into the Androscoggin liiver. Here they 

 were visible during the whole summer and first of autumn, 

 moving up and down the river, and daily making their ap- 

 pearance as high as the hatching-house where they were first 

 placed in the stream. They disappeared during the high 

 water of the fall rains (having perhaps made their way to the 

 ocean), to re-appear at the end of two years as grilse, and sub- 

 sequently as salmon. The general theory, however, is that 

 they remain at least twelve months in rivers before going to 

 the sea. 



The Commissioners publish a letter received by them from 

 Professor Baird, United States Commissioner of Fish and Fish- 

 eries, in reference to the importance of the erection of fish- 

 ways, not so much for the upward passage of the salmon as 

 for that of shad and alewives. He calls attention to the great 

 diminution of the species of the cod-fish family on the coast 

 of Maine, and connects this with the erection of obstructions 

 preventing the anadromous fish from ascending the rivers. 

 The diminution not only of the adult fish, but also of their 

 fry, he thinks, has caused the abandonment of the coast by 

 the outside fish that preyed upon them ; and he concludes 

 that if the fish-ways are opened and steps taken to restore 

 the immense number of alewives and shad formerly existing, 

 as well as of salmon, this renewal of their food will brino- 

 back the cod, haddock, etc., to the grounds where the fisher- 

 men of the past generation caught them in abundance. 



EEPORT OF THE FISH COMMISSIONERS OF RHODE ISLAND 



FOR 1872. 



The third annual report of the Commissioners of Inland 

 Fish-culture of Rhode Island, presented in February, 1873, 

 has just been printed, and embraces a report of operations in 

 reference to the introduction of shad, salmon, and black bass, 

 and in regard to the construction of fish- ways. Shad were 

 introduced into the Blackstone, Pawtuxet, and Pawcatuck, a 

 supply having been furnished free of cost by the Connecticut 

 Commissioners. A large number of salmon were obtained 

 from Mr. Atkins, at Bucksport, Maine, as the result of a sub- 

 scription on the part of the State of Rhode Island to the im- 



