BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 329 



165 GKEAT RESUIiTS OBTAIIVEW WITH lilTTLiE WATER.* 



By Dr. BRUMME. 



I am of opinion that nothing is so much calculated to advance the in- 

 terests of the fisheries, and more especially of artificial fish-culture, as 

 truthful accounts of the establishment and working of artificial fish- 

 hatcheries. I presume that most readers have, like myself, perused with 

 pleasure and attention the various reports on practical experiments, 

 without in the least disparaging theoretical treatises on different sub- 

 jects connected with fish-culture, whose value and proper place in fish- 

 cultural literature no one will deny. For the practical man and the 

 fisherman, however, communications regarding the experiences of others 

 will be of special interest } for they will cause him to think and institute 

 comjiarisons with his own experiences, and may help him in making 

 the best use of the natural conditions of his own locality. 



I myself owe to such accounts and reports relative to different fish- 

 cultural establishments as have frequently been given in these columns, 

 the impetus and directions for creating a hatching and feeding estab- 

 lishment for trout and salmouoids, under such i)eculiar circumstances 

 that a description of these and a brief account of my little establish- 

 ment will perhaps be found welcome by some. 



There is a small spring at my disposal which rises under a neighbor- 

 ing water-mill, and which, even during a rainy season, yields only 20 to 

 25 liters [about C gallons] of water i)er minute. The water is perfectly 

 clear all the time, and both in summer and winter its temperature is 

 constantly 7|oR. [49^^ F.]. For about GO paces the water runs under 

 ground, through wooden jiipes lined with zinc, and then flow-s into my 

 grounds. My entire establishment consists of three basins laid in cement, 

 the first holding 1.1, the second 13, and the third 20 cubic meters of 

 water. The water in all these basins is renewed in about twenty-five 

 hours. Although the change of water is exceedingly slow (there is ab- 

 solutely no current inside the basins), the temperature of the water — 

 even during a period of excessively hot weather, such as we had during 

 last July — will never be higher than 10^=5 R. (54^° F.), because the basins 

 are in the ground and their sides are, consequently, not exposed to the 

 rays of the sun ; and because, in view of the possibility that the rays of 

 the sun may be very hot, the entire establishment is surrounded by an 

 earth wall feet high, planted with shrubs and trees. During midsum- 

 mer only the declining sun of the evening reaches the surface of the 

 water in the basins, while the fish can enjoy the cool shade during the 

 other part of the day. The water in the basins is 80 centimeters deep, 

 with the exception of the first and smallest basin, into which the spring 



* " MU tcenig Wasser viel erreichhar." From Deutsche Fischerei-Zei<un[i, Vol. vi., No. 48. 

 Stettin, November 27, 1883. Translated from the German by Herman Jacobsox. 



