SHAD PROPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTION IN 1878. 613 



of Edenton, N. C, and Drum Point, were some eiglit'or ten more. At 

 several of these fisheries steam-engines are used in draAving the seiue to 

 shore. The catch of shad was quite limited, thirty to one hundred l)eing 

 near an average haul, while the alewives were very numerous. 



On April 1, a general move was made for obtaining shad ova. On this 

 day two hundred thousand eggs were taken, and from this time on a 

 considerable number of eggs were obtained up to the 1st of May, the 

 number reaching 10,387,000. The largest number of eggs taken in any 

 one night was on the 15th of April, when eighty-two shad were stripped, 

 affording what were estimated at 1,005,000 eggs. On the 17th fifty-nine 

 ripe shad were strii)ped, and on the 18th, seventy-six. 



A singular fact attending the work of gathering spawn was the con- 

 centration of the spawning fish upon the Avoca Beach, the one nearest 

 to our station ; so constant was this that fully four-fifths of the eggs 

 taken were obtained at this one point, although the fivsheries for twelve 

 miles up the Chowan, and for fifteen miles along the northern shore, 

 and five or six miles up the Eoanoke Eiver, were visited. As usual the 

 bulk of the spawn was taken at night, the largest amount being brought 

 from the seines coming to shore about an hour after dark; a few are 

 taken in the morning, but it seems to be the uniform law that scarcely 

 any are taken after broad daylight. Albemarle Sound proves to be one 

 of the best localities for shad production that has been tried, as the nu- 

 merous large seines are continuously hauled from Monday morning 

 (midnight) to Saturday midnight of each week. There is no tide in the 

 vicinity, and the hauling is not delayed at any time, as all hours of the 

 daj^ and night are favorable. 



The shipment of fish to remoter points began April 11. Correspond- 

 ence and a conference with the commissioner of Virginia, Col. Marshall 

 McDonal, and of North Carolina, Col. L. L. Polk, had resulted in their 

 assuming the distribution of young fishes to the waters of their States 

 at a distance from the vicinity. The first shipment was made to ISTotta- 

 way Mills, Va., into the Nottaway, tributary to the Chowan River, at 

 that date. From that time to May 2, when this work closed, 4,920,500 

 young fish were distributed; of these, 2,145,500 were put into the im- 

 mediate waters ; 1,039,000 were distributed in other waters within the 

 State, making 3,184,500 young put into the waters of North Carolina; 

 1,142,000 were sent into Virginia, while in other States 000,000 were 

 planted. The accompanying tables will show the details of the gather- 

 ing of eggs and of the distribution of the fish from the Avoca station. 



Although in every respect the region of operations was most admira- 

 bly adapted to furnishing a large number of young shad, it proved to 

 be rather inaccessible for railroad travel in the distribution of fish. 

 Two steamboats connect it with Franklin, a point on the Seaboard and 

 Roanoke Railroad, within the Virginia line, and about seventy miles 

 distant from our station ; but in shipping fish it was necessary to send 

 them by the steam-launch to an outside pier where they remained in 



