Fish Gulturists' Association. 27 



polis, witli a view of determining the practicability of transporting 

 young shad over long distances in midsummer (a problem already 

 experimented upon successfully by Mr. Seth Green, by taking young 

 fish from the Hudson to the Sacramento). Mr. Clift started for the 

 Kocky Mountains with the remainder of his fry, and, notwithstand- 

 ing the intense heat, succeeded in reaching Denver with several 

 thousand of living fish, which he placed in the head-waters of the 

 Platte. We have much reason to anticipate success in the experi- 

 ment of stocking the Mississippi river with shad, since we know that 

 the Alabama river has been stocked by the efforts of Dr. Daniel, by 

 carrying impregnated eggs from Savannah across to its head-waters; 

 and there are instances, which are detailed fully in my report, of 

 their occurring in considerable numbers at the hot springs of the 

 Ouachita; at Neosha Falls, Kansas ; at the fall of the Ohio, at Louis- 

 ville, and in the Wabash river. 



There is little or nothing to interfere with the anticipation that, 

 with proper efibrts, shad may swarm in the waters of the Mississippi 

 valley, including all the tributaries of the gulf, in the course of five 

 or six years, in numbers corresponding to those in the Potomac, 

 Delaware and other Atlantic coast streams generally. The experi- 

 ence of the State of Connecticut in this respect is a case in point. 

 The supply of shad in the Connecticut for several years had been 

 greatly diminished, as compared with its former usual abundance, 

 owing to the reckless methods of fishing. A few years ago the Com- 

 missioner of Fisheries of Connecticut undertook the business of 

 hatching out the shad, and has been turning out young fish, year by 

 year, in increasing numbers, until the aggregate in 1871 amounted 

 to about 50,000,000, and in 18Y2 to 91,000,000. The benefit of this 

 action was satisfactorily exhibited in the spring of 1872. Immense 

 schools of shad were met at sea, bound for the Connecticut river, and 

 the number of fine, marketable fish actually taken in its vicinity was 

 so great that they became a drug in the market, scarcely worth more 

 than five or ten cents each. This condition of things was, of course, 

 not very satisfactory to the fishermen nor the marketmen, who pre- 

 ferred larger profits with less trouble ; but the boon to the people 

 and consumers generally cannot be overestimated. 



I desire to commence operations in regard to the shad at a very 

 early period during the year 1873, by impregnating the spawn and 

 hatching out the young in all the Atlantic rivers, beginning, perhaps, 

 with the St. Johns of Florida, and proceeding, with the advancing 



