REPORT ON SHAD-HATCHING OPERATIONS. 407 



May G. — River rising. Could not haul seiue. Canglit three male 

 shad with skim-net. Temperature of water, a. m., 63°; p. m., 04°. 



May 7.— River reported rising. Forty miles up the river caught two 

 shad with skim-net, both spawned out. Temperature of water, a. m., 

 63°; p. m. 63°. 



May 8. — Water so high could not fish. Temperature of water, a. ra., 

 63; p. m., 60°. 



May 9.— River rising. No fishing. Temperature of water, a. m., 05° ; 

 p. m., 07°. 



May 10. — River rising. No fishing. Temperature of water, a. m., 60° ; 

 p. m., 00°. 



]\[ay 11. — River rising. No fishing. Temperature of water, a. m. 60° ; 

 p. m., 07°. Spawn beginning to hatch in boxes. 



May 12. — River raising, no prospects for more spawn. Temperature 

 of water 65° a. m. ; 67° p. m. 



May 13. — Turned loose 45,000 young shad in Neuse River. Pitchkill, 

 about twenty-four miles above New Berne on the Neuse, is the best 

 place for shad-hatching that we could hear of. 



3Iay 14. — Received a dispatch to go to Weldon, N. C, on the Roanoke. 



May 15. — Arrived at Weldon, N. C. They were catching some rock- 

 fish, but no shad. The Roanoke very high but fiilling. 



May 16. — Catching good many rock-fish. Shad do not run with rock. 

 No chance of getting any shad till river falls. 



May 19. — Got no ripe fish up to date. Got two ripe rock-fish ; 110,000 

 spawn. 



3Iay 20. — River rising ; no ripe fish. Temperature, of water a. m., 68° ; 

 p. m., 70°. 



May 21. — River rising; caught no ripe fish. Temperature of water, 

 a. m., 6SO ; p. m., 69°. 



May 23. — River rising ; caught no ripe fish. Turned loose 100,000 

 young rock-fish. Same i)rinciple hatches them that hatches shad. 



3Iay 24. — Fish slides all under water, but we caught no ripe fish. 



May 25. — Caught a great manj^ rock ; none ripe. 



May 29. — Did not catch any ripe fish up to date. River rising very 

 fast. Took the 4 p. m. train to Washington. 



May 31. — Went to the Rappahannock River from Washington. Shad 

 fishing all done and nets bung up. 



In order to build up the rivers that we operated upon there must be 

 a close time of two da3's in each week before they can ever be restocked 

 artificially, or in any other way. Tiie lower end of the riveisareso 

 completely barricaded with nets that the fish are nearly all caught 

 before they get to the spawning grounds. The rivers are so nearly 

 depopulated that there is scarcely any fishing done in the upper part of 

 the rivers, and there would not be any done if it was not for the enor- 

 mous prices they get for what few fish they do take. 



SETH GREEN. 



