162 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



the alewife inignt be offered, a fish which should thrive in all the rivers, 

 ponds, and lagoons connected with the sea, whether in the warmer or 

 colder portions • and as they move in well-defined bands of vast num- 

 bers of individuals, within narrow limits, it would add greatly to the 

 food resources of the country. A very considerable expenditure of 

 money on the part of European Governments, especially that of Ger- 

 many, where the ordinary sea fisheries are restricted, would probably 

 be amply justified in a few years, the fish being by far more valuable 

 and worthy attention than the salmon and trout, and perhaps not ex- 

 cepting the shad. 



From present information on the subject there are no other European 

 sea fish, excepting the turbot and the sole, that would be especially 

 important in America ; possibly the fresh-water sterlet of Russia and 

 the hucho salmon of the Danube might be introduced to advantage. 

 This last-mentioned species remains throughout the year in theDanuoe 

 Eiver and its tributaries, and constitutes and excellent article of food. 

 It might, perhaps, be quite advantageously planted in the Mississippi, 

 where it would find an ample supply of the poorer sorts offish, for the 

 most part not considered worth anything for market purposes. 



The artificial propagation of sea fishes has not yet been attempted on 

 any experimental scale, although there seems to be no particular reason 

 why a vast increase cannot be accomplished in this direction, as with the 

 anadromous or interior species. There is no question as to our ability 

 to multiply salmon and shad to any desired extent, and the same gen- 

 eral treatment might readily be applied to many of our coast fishes. 

 The principal difficulty in the way would be the construction of the 

 proper establishments, although the recent experiments of the U. S. 

 Fish Commission, and that of Maryland, point out a reasonable method 

 of accomplishing this, as will be referred to hereafter. It would be quite* 

 impossible to undertake to feed the young fish when hatched, as is done 

 with trout; but the methods used for shad and in most cases for salmon 

 hatching, could be made use of, namely, that of introducing the young 

 fish into the water and leaving them to their own resources so soon as 

 the yolk-bag is absorbed and the fish is able to feed itself. 



According to reliable estimates, not more than 1 egg in 200 hatched 

 naturally in the waters produces a fish capable of feeding itself, this 

 representing by far the greatest expectancy of destruction in the num- 

 ber of eggs laid by the female. 



On the other hand, artificial impregnation and propagation should 

 give us not less than 175, or even more yet, of the 200, a vast differ- 

 ence, which could not fail to tell in the result. In other words, the 

 proportional result of artificial hatching is 175 fold that by the natural 

 spawning of the same number of fish. The young, when ready for in- 

 troduction into the water, could readily be placed in sheltered bays 

 and coves, and possibly fenced off for a time from the intrusion of 

 larger fish, and kept there until they had attained a sufficient size to 

 protect themselves to a considerable degree. 



