85G REPORT OP COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



derstorms accompanied by hail and rain made tbe Neckar a roaring tor- 

 rent, and enormous quantities of " maifiscbe " went down the stream, so 

 that no spawner was caught. Mr. Wilke therefore returned on the 24th 

 of June without having attained the object of his journey. 



As the result of my observations for this year may form some sort of 

 guide for next year, I will mention the following : 



1. From tbe beginning of May the Neckar fisheries, from Mannheim 

 to Heilbronn, should be carefully watched with a view of catching 

 spawning " maifische." 



2. Suitable hatching-places should be prepared and every arrange- 

 ment made for quickly transporting fish by railroad. 



3. The superintendent accompanying the fish should receive a permit 

 from the managers of the different railroads to stay with the fish in the 

 baggage-car all the time, and he should also have the privilege to use 

 fast or express trains. 



4. The manager of this whole enterprise should be allowed to exercise 

 his own discretion in making the necessary investigations, in engaging 

 assistants, and in making all the required arrangements. 



5. The most suitable stations for placing young " maifische" would be 

 Fulda on the Weser, Dresden on the Elbe, and Guben on the Oder. 



6. The fishing association of Seckenheim, Ilvesheim, and Fenden- 

 heim would be the best for trying the experiment of raising " maifische" 

 in an artificial manner. 



On the 8th of May, 1877, 1 was again commissioned by Chamberlain von 

 Behr-Schmoldow to make experiments on the Ehine and Neckar to ob- 

 tain if possible artificially-hatched spawn of " maifische," and transplant 

 the young fish into the Elbe, Oder, or Neisse. At 5 a. m. on the 14th of 

 May I left my home in company with Mr. Miiller-Tchischdorf, superin- 

 tendent of fisheries, and reached Heidelberg at 10 a. m. on the 15th. 



As my investigations of the previous year had taught me that the 

 bist way to reach my object would be to place myself in direct com- 

 munication with the fishing association of Seckenheim^ consisting of 

 sixteen members, who have the privilege of fishing in the Neckar with 

 a large net from Mannbeim upward as far as the mill at Bergheim, we 

 immediately went to see these persons, traveling via Mannheim by rail- 

 road, hack, and on foot. 



We found these fishermen enjoying a rest in a frame hut, where they 

 kept their provisions and implements. We immediately informed them 

 of the object of our visit, and placed ourselves on a friendly footing with 

 them. I handed them my card, from which they could see that I had 

 also something to do with fishing, and promised to pay them $3.50 for 

 the first female " maifische " suitable for artificial hatching. 



The fishermen seemed favorably inclined toward our enterprise, but 

 were doubtful of its ultimate success. They promised, however, to do 

 all in their power to further it, and thus we left tliem in order to get our 

 hatching-boxes, vessels for transporting fish, &c'., which had been left 



