EXPERIMENTS IN PROPAGATING MAIFISCHE. 865 



I clip from my diary the followiug table of temperatures : 



1 fish ; 500,000 eggs. 



1 fish ; 150,000 eggs. 

 1 fish ; 100,000 eggs. 



The fishermen ceased to fish. 



During the best time 100 to 200 fish have been caught iu Seckenheim 

 every day, aud in Neckarhausen 430 and 350 at a single haul. These 

 fish find»their market in Frankfort-on-the-Main, Mannheim, Strasburg, 

 and other cities along the Ehine. Their sale, however, comes to an 

 end with the 31st of May, for although even in June some very fine 

 " maifische '' are caught, there is a prejudice against eating them duriug 

 that month. 



The fishermen, unfortunately, do not take the proper care of the fish 

 which they catch ; after every haul they are piled in an open boat, cov- 

 ered with a little grass, so as to protect them against the rays of the sun 

 and the air, and are then brought to market the next day. The price is 

 not very high ; early in the season 23 to 39 cents are paid for a "mai- 

 fische" weighing 3f-5 pounds, and soon it gets down to 20 cents and 

 even less. 



2^0 one ever thinks of smoking these fish, because the fishing season 

 is of such short duration, and the results vary so much in the different 

 years, that it would scarcely pay for any one to come from a distance and 

 erect the necessary buildings. 



I was told that a Frenchman had in former times smoked the "mai- 

 fische" in Heidelberg, had only paid IJ cents apiece to the fishermen, 

 and had nevertheless become bankrupt. As long as the "maifische" are 

 only increased in the natural way the object of fishing for them will only 

 bo to sell fresh fish ; but if they are increased artificially, and conse- 

 55 P 



