REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XVll 



On the 13th of Jane a meeting was held in Boston, three days after 

 the -passage of the act, composed of the fish-coiumissiouers of the 

 jS"e\v England States and of members of the Fish-Ciilturists 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.ul, 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 av^ailable 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 ]S'ew 

 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 iu the Alleghany River at Salamanca, isT. Y., 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 July, 

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

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

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

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

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

 the Platte. 



Yery valuable assistance was rendered in this experiment by the 

 S. Mis. 74 II 



