Fish Cultvrists' Association. 29 



After the e^gs are deposited, tlie salmon return to the sea, or in some 

 instances proceed into the LTrge lakes, and there recuperate for future 

 operations. Taking advantage of this habit of the fish, Mr. Charles 

 G. Atkins, the former Fish Commissioner of the State of Maine, under- 

 took, in 1871, the then untried experiment of securing the salmon 

 on their first entrance into tlie river, and penning them up until the 

 spawning season in the fall. The living fish were purchased from 

 the fishermen, and after remaining in the inclosure until the proper 

 season, the operation of taking their spawn was entered upon. His 

 success in 1871 induced me to join with the commissioners of several 

 of the States in giving to Mr. Atkins the means of carrying on the 

 work on a much larger scale, and this was prosecuted with such vigor 

 that as many as 600 sound, healthy salmon were secured. The sub- 

 sequent operations were successfully conducted, and, as the result, 

 Mr. Atkins now has in his hatching-house at Bucksport, Me., on the 

 Penobscot, about a million and a half of salmon eggs, which, at the 

 prices charged by the Canadian government, would be worth $60,000 

 in gold ; the actual cost, however, being something less than $8,000 

 in currenc3^ Half of these eggs are the property of the United 

 States. The European salmon and that of eastern North America 

 are believed to belong to the same species, aiid the same variety from 

 the Rhine is considered as pre-eminent for the excellence of its fish, 

 and for the sport it affords to the fishermen. Knowing that the 

 German government was carrying on the fish establishments at 

 Hiiningen (first started by the French, but subsequently, by the for- 

 tune of the late war, falling, with the province in which it is situated, 

 into the possession of their rival), I applied to some friends connected 

 with the German Fislierei-Verein to know upon what terms 1 could 

 obtain a large number of eggs. I was promptly informed that, desi- 

 rous of showing their appreciation of the American people, the Ger- 

 man government would present the United States 250,000 eggs, and 

 that these M'ould be ready at the proper season for transmission. 

 Very grateful for this unexpected act of liberality, I ordered an addi- 

 tional half million of eggs from the private establishment of Ober- 

 burgomeister Schuster, at Freiberg, and engaged the services of Mr. 

 Rudolph Hessel, an experienced fish culturist of Germany, to accom- 

 pany all these eggs to America, so as to be assured of the best atten- 

 tion for them on the voyage. These will probably leave Bremen 

 about the 11th of the present month, and be here before its close. 

 The magnitude of this transaction may be understood from the fact 



