EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XVll 



On the loth of June a meeting was lield in Boston, three daj'S after 

 the xjassage of the act, composed of the flsh-comiuissiouers of the 

 jS"ew Enghind States and of members of the Fish-Culturists Associa- 

 tion, at which the general problem as to the best method of carrying the 

 act of Congress into effect was presented. After full deliberation, it 

 was recommended that the services of Messrs. Green and Clift be se- 

 cured for the planting of shad in the Mississippi River and its tributa- 

 ries, and that means be furnished to Mr. Atkins, of Bucksport, Me., to 

 enable him to enlarge his operations on the Penobscot River, and to Mr. 

 Stone for similar labors on the Sacramento. 



In reference to sh.id, it was thought that they might even live com- 

 fortably the whole year round in the great lakes, with the exception of 

 a short run up the tributary rivers for the purpose of spawning. As to 

 whether they would push their way up from the Gulf of Mexico to the 

 headwaters of the main tributaries of the Mississippi River was, of 

 course, a problem which could not be solved without experiment. 



The proceedings of this meeting will be found in the appendix to the 

 present volume. 



9. — PROPAGATION OF SHAD IN 1872. 



Little time was to be lost in carrying out the suggestions with refer- 

 ence to shad, as the appropriation was not available until the 1st of 

 July, and the season during which the eggs could be successfully 

 hatched lasted but a few days beyond that period. 



Both Messrs. Green and Clift, however, undertook to do what they 

 could, and worked with great energy. In addition to the large num- 

 ber of eggs introduced by Mr. Green, in behalf of the State of New 

 York, into the Hudson River, Oneida Lake, Lake Champlain, and Gene- 

 see River, he furnished 50,000 fish for Lake Champlain to the commis- 

 sioners of Vermont, and, in behalf of the United States Government, 

 placed 30,000 in the Alleghany River at Salamanca, i^J". T., and 25,000 

 in the Mississippi River, a few miles above Saint Paul, Minn. 



The later period at which the shad spawn in the Connecticut enabled 

 Mr. Clift to secure a larger margin of time for his arrangements ; and, by 

 the kind assistance of the commissioners of the State of Connecticut, he 

 succeeded in procuring, from the State hatching-house at Holyoke, Mass. , 

 a sufficient number for his purpose. Mr. Clift started, on the 2d of J uly , 

 with several hundred thousand young fish, filling nine eight-gallon cans. 

 Of these, a portion, estimated at 200,000, were placed in the Alleghany 

 at Salamanca, and a like number in the Cuyahoga, in the White River 

 at Indianapolis, Ind.j the remainder were carried direct to Denver, 

 in Colorado; and, on the 7th of July, introduced 2,000 in number into 

 the Platte. 



Very valuable assistance was rendered in this experiment by the 

 S. Mis. 74 II 



