BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 377 



184.— EXPEKIMEIVTS IIV PEiVIVJIVO SEA-FISH. 



By SMITH E. IIUOHES. 



[From letters to Prof. S. F. Baird.] 



Five or six years ago I believed Sea Grove, l!^. J., now called Cape 

 May Point, wonld become a watering-place. I tliouglit that the mouth 

 of Old Pond Creek could, by artificial means, be made a harbor for 

 small boats, accessible at high tides, so I built jetties and wharves, and 

 had a basin of about l.J acres dug out, the mud and sand being used to 

 fill up the wharves. I succeeded in making it accessible for small boats 

 about three-fourths of the time, and several boat-loads of lumber and 

 material were delivered in that way, but in less than three years it 

 resulted unfavorably. 



I then determinc^d to make the basin a place for storing flsh, as they 

 could be caught in abundance in May and June of each year and be 

 disposed of in July and August. In order to do this, I fixed gates be- 

 tween the jetties, entirely controlling the flow of water. I also put in 

 iron grates to hold the fish. When all was ready, I put in a few hun- 

 dred pounds of trout or weak-fish as an experiment. They all died but 

 about fifty or one hundred pounds, which lived without much care until 

 the 25th of November following. The survivors grew to be large, fine, 

 fat fish. 



The meadows above for some weeks previous to that time had been 

 very dry, and about the 24th of November there came a cold and heavy 

 rain, which washed the meadows, and the water flowing into the basin 

 killed the balance of the fish in one night. I attributed the loss ot 

 these fish to impure or poisonous water. Some of the fish may have 

 died in handling. Last season I cut off the fresh water and put in the 

 basin about 5,000 pounds of fish. I drained it olf so as to give about 

 one-half fresh water from the hay every day. I think that the hawks 

 carried off one-fourth or more of the fish, for it did seem that all the 

 hawks in Cape May County fed there. They were shot at and some of 

 them killed, but we could not drive them away. I then covered the 

 whole basin with wires about 5 feet apart. If I had not done this I 

 believe every fish would have been carried off. It being still and clear 

 water, the hawks had little trouble in seeing and cai)turing their prey. 

 When the bay was a little rough we could see them by tens and twenties 

 for miles away m'aking straight for my basin. I assure you it is a waste 

 of time and money to stock ponds Avith any kind of fish when hawks 

 abound, unless they are protected in some way. 



By some mismanagement with the man in charge a quantity of creek 

 water got in the basin again and killed some fish, but this was made 

 good at the next flood tide, and the balanca lived, and were taken out 



