ARTIFICIAL PROPAGATION OP SHAD 



473 



and large seines were operated within easy distance. As early as 

 1886 the egg collections exceeded the capacity of the hatchery and 

 numbers were diverted to other points. In 1888 over 105,000,000 

 were taken, and in 1898 the egg collections totaled 209,992,000. 

 Both egg collecting and hatching were carried on, and the establish- 

 ment was complete in itself. Work at this point was iii-st undertaken 

 in 1877, and in 1880 a permanent station was established, which was 

 continued in operation during each shad season up to and including 

 the season of 1916. 



DELAWARE RIVER 



The steamer Fish Hawk was employed in shad hatching on this 

 river nearly every season from 1887 to 1910, the egg collecting and 

 other labor being performed by the crew. An intoi-esting feature of 

 the work was the large yield, of eggs per fish. Eggs from this river 

 were saved regularly from seines, but the available product among 

 the gill-net fisherman was never fully ascertained . The eggs collected 

 by the Fish Hawk numbered 51,983,000 in 1899. 



The abandonment of the work at both of these places was brought 

 about by the conditions already mentioned. At the present time 

 two stations are maintained for shad cidture — on the Potomac River 

 at Bryans Point, Md., and on Albemarle Sound, N. C. 



POTOMAC RIVER 



The Potomac River immediately adjacent to Fort Washington (12 

 miles below Washington, D. C.) was and continues to be more produc- 

 tive of ripe shad eggs than any other place of equal area. This was 

 discovered as early as 1880, and a station was soon developed there 

 with full equipment. In March, 1892, the station was moved to its 

 present location at Bryans Point, on the Maryland side of the river 

 opposite Mount Vernon. 



As sho^\^l in the following table, there has been considerable fluc- 

 tuation in the numbers of eg^s that have been available for artificial 

 propagation each year at the Potomac River hatchery since the 

 inception of the work at that point. 



