UNITED STATES, FISH-CULTURE IN THE. 



BOO 



French were soon appreciated in England, and 

 especially in America. One of the earliest 

 American translators to bring to notice the 

 essays of French fish-culturists was William H. 

 Fry, who, in 1854, published "A Complete 

 Treatise on Artificial Fish-Breeding : including 

 the .Reports on the Subject made to the French 

 Academy and the French Government, and 

 Particulars of the Discovery as pursued in 

 England," etc. Dr. Theodatus Garlick, who 

 is now generally recognized as the "father of 

 fish-culture in America," in the preface to his 

 treatise on the " Artificial Propagation of Cer- 

 tain Kinds of Fish " (Cleveland, 1857), bears 

 testimony to the value of Fry's contribution to 

 the history of fish-culture in Europe. Dr. 

 Garlick had previously prepared the reports of 

 Coste and Milne-Edwards on artificial fish- 

 culture, for publication in the " Ohio Farmer," 

 together with original articles, these papers 

 being afterward combined to form the treatise 

 above mentioned. 



Previous to 1850 all that was accomplished 

 in the way of artificial culture of fishes was 

 done by individuals at their own expense. In 

 1850 fish-culture was begun by the French 

 Government, and the first breeding station 

 under government auspices was established, at 

 Hilningue, in Alsace, under the direction of 

 Prof. Coste. Here the practical application of 

 artificial culture was first demonstrated. (See 

 engraving, page 792.) Public fish-culture was 

 not permanently established in the United 

 States until 1865, when New Hampshire formed 

 a fish commission, and the Legislature sent Dr. 

 Fletcher to Canada, to obtain salmon-eggs. 

 Massachusetts had taken a preliminary step 

 ten years before, but New Hampshire made 

 the first practical move. Massachusetts estab- 

 lished its fish commission upon a working basis 

 in 1865, and Vermont, also, created a commis- 

 sion in this year. The first hatching establish- 

 ment for public fish -culture in the United 

 States was the shad-hatchery erected at Had- 

 ley Falls, on Connecticut river, by the State of 

 Massachusetts. Public fish-culture in America, 

 originating in New England, has rapidly been 

 introduced into other States, and at this time 

 most of the States and Territories of the Union 

 have fish commissions. The total amount of 

 appropriations for State commissions from 1866 

 to and including 1882 was $1,101,096. 



On Feb. 9, 1871, the United States Govern- 

 ment authorized the appointment of a Com- 

 missioner of Fish and Fisheries, as stated at 

 the beginning of this article. The propagation 

 of fishes was not contemplated by the Govern- 

 ment till 1872, when, at the suggestion of the 

 American Fish-Cultural Association, Congress 

 requested the commissioner to undertake the 

 work of increasing the valuable food-fishes of 

 the country, and appropriated $25,000 for^the 

 purpose. The total amount of appropriations 

 for the work of the United States Commission, 

 from 1871 to 1883, is $1,190,955.45, of which 

 $727,545 was devoted to propagation ; the re- 



mainder was employed chiefly in the construc- 

 tion of hatching-houses and ponds and steam- 

 vessels. The work of the commission is di- 

 vided into three sections, as hereinbefore ex- 

 plained. 



The beginning of fish-culture contemplated 

 the propagation of different members of the 

 SalmonidcB trout and salmon ; the former es- 

 pecially occupying attention. These fishes still 

 claim a large portion of the time of fish-cult- 

 urists everywhere; but other species now re-- 

 ceive as much care. This is more noticeable 

 in the United States than elsewhere, because of 

 our numerous anadromous fishes of far greater 

 economic value than any salmon, unless we 

 may except those of the Pacific coast. The 

 shad, the alewife, and the striped bass are 

 among our most valuable anadromous species, 

 and, fortunately, they are good subjects for 

 artificial propagation. 



Hatching-Apparatus. The earlier forms of 

 hatching-apparatus used in the United States 

 were, naturally, imitations of foreign appli- 

 ances, particularly those of France and Eng- 

 land. Boxes were placed in streams, and the 

 eggs were received upon a bed of gravel. 

 Floating-boxes in streams were employed for 

 many years, and are still used to some extent. 

 The hatching-box invented by Seth Green, in 

 1867, was the first successful piece of apparatus 

 used in the United States for the. hatching of 

 semi-buoyant eggs. This is a rectangular wood- 

 en box with a wire-cloth bottom, and with 

 long wooden floats so attached to the sides as 

 to tilt the box at an angle with the current, 

 thus securing the necessary movement of the 

 eggs during the period of incubation. Until 

 recently, this was the only successful apparatus 

 used for the hatching of shad, and in it many 

 millions of this species have been developed. 

 Formerly, it was a matter of considerable im- 

 portance to select material for the construction 

 of hatching-apparatus which would not act in- 

 juriously upon the eggs, but this was soon ad- 

 Justed by giving a coating of asphalt to the 

 whole interior of the box. The use of the 

 floating-box involved the necessity of placing 

 it in a stream where it was subject to various 

 dangers. In tidal waters, too, there was fre- 

 quently entanglement of the series of boxes, 

 and a lack of current during the turning of the 

 tide. The introduction of glass materials for 

 hatching purposes, and the protection of this 

 apparatus in hatching-houses, either floating 

 or fixed, was a very great advance over the old 

 methods. In the glass vessel, thus protected, 

 it is much easier to regulate the force of the 

 current, and to remove diseased or dead eggs, 

 than it was in the early apparatus. Formerly, 

 it was necessary to skim off, or pick out, the 

 dead eggs; but this work is now done auto- 

 matically and with great facility. Floating- 

 boxes for the hatching of semi-buoyant eggs 

 could be employed only where there was a 

 current ; hence, it became necessary to substi- 

 tute some other form of apparatus, in Which a 



