C*56 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



of the river." Being on the ground at the time, I was offered all the 

 fish I could buy for 10 cents apiece. 



Approximately the same results are now being realized from the dis- 

 tribution of young whitefish in our great inland lakes. It is only within 

 three or four years that the young fry have been liberated in sufficiently 

 large numbers to increase the supply of the fisheries; and now from 

 every point where such distributions have been made acknowledgments 

 are numerous of the inestimable benefits already derived from this source. 

 Similar results have been obtained elsewhere and with other kinds of 

 fish; but these experiments have already entered into the history of the 

 science, and have proven, beyond any question whatever, that piscicul- 

 ture is the perfect solution of the problem of supplying the fisheries of 

 the world with an inexhaustible revenue. 



With this object in view, therefofe, fish-breeding establishments have 

 been erected at suitable localities in different parts of both the Old and 

 ISTew World. To begin with, these institutions were in many instances 

 the result of private enterprise ; but their work is now deemed of such 

 great importance that states and governments have purchased the 

 right of control over the best of these establishments. 



The hatchery at North ville passed into the hands of the Government 

 in the year 1880, and now to give a history of the inception and work 

 of this institution is the remaining purpose of this article. 



ORIGIN OF THE NORTHVILLE HATCHERY. 



In the year 1SGS, Mr. N. W. Clark, of Clarkston, Mich., became in- 

 terested in the subject of fish culture. His attention was first roused 

 to the subject by the enormous waste of embryonic life observed among 

 the fish, from which he concluded that not one egg out of thousands, 

 left sinrply to a course of nature, could reach mature development. It 

 is easily demonstrable that rivers, lakes, andoceans would literally over- 

 flow with their inhabitants if but a tenth or even a hundredth part of all 

 fish-spawn should grow to adult size. Such an increase would not of 

 course be possible, nor for many reasons desirable; but the question 

 naturally occurred to Mr. Clark, as it had to others, Cannot some means 

 be devised by which the prolific nature of the fish may be taken ad- 

 vantage of and the waste sufficiently prevented to annually restock all 

 the important fisheries of the world with an abundant supply? This, 

 as at once appears, was a most interesting and important question. He 

 therefore determined to devote to experiments as much time as could 

 be spared from his ordinary business pursuits, not so n^ch as a means 

 of personal profit as to appease his own love of research and experi- 

 ment. 



Having thoroughly informed himself of the nature and success of ex- 

 periments made in this direction by other men, he at once began the 

 erection of a building near Clarkston, and without and within he placed 

 nil the necessary appurtenances then known to the science. Here'" he 



