82 AMERICAN 



The fishways at Lowell and at Lawrence, as had 

 been hoped, were finished, and the water let on, last 

 spring ; and thus the Merrimack was once again 

 opened, after bein^ closed for eighteen years. Al- 

 though the violent current could not be at once regu- 

 lated in the long fishway at Lawrence, it is gratifying 

 to know, thut, notwithstanding this unfavourable cir- 

 cumstance, salmon passed over this dam, and over 

 that at Lowell, and were taken early in -June near 

 Nashua, in New Hampshire. It seems therefore 

 reasonable that the five years "jubilee" allowed by 

 law to this river, assisted by artificial breeding, should 

 make fish abundant therein. 



Shad also appeared at Nashua, but it is not certain 

 that these actually surmounted the Lawrence fishway, 

 for about five hundred were, by order of the Commis- 

 sioners, carried above the Lawrence dam ; a difficult 

 operation, because this fish, like most of those with 

 loose scales, is extremely tender, and survives neither 

 confinement nor rough handling. They were taken 

 with the seine about two miles below the dam; were 

 at once put into a tank of cold well water, and car- 

 ried in a wagon to the mill-pond, where the wagon 

 was backed into the river, and the fish speedily libe- 

 rated. All attemps to transport them long distances 

 failed ; but it is yet possible that this might be done 

 by icing the water till the fish was nearly paralyzed ; 

 just as a trout laid on moist snow will live for hours, 

 though it would speedily die if exposed to a warm 

 sun. In addition to those which were thus artificially 

 transported, it is probable that a few passed up the 

 fishway, because fishes resembling shad or alewives 

 were seen going up. That eels found no difficulty 

 was quite plain when the water was drawn off, and 

 the whole floor of the pass was found to be alive with 

 them, great and small. Like unwelcome guests, they 

 came many and early, and ready to devour all the 

 spawn of useful fishes that they could find. 



