458 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



after impregnation, three or four thousand miles, in water occa- 

 sionally serated, and planted as successfully as if deposited by the 

 parent fish. For this purpose, form a hollow spot adjoining a 

 clear and rapid stream of water, say twenty feet long and eight 

 feet wide; fill this space with coarse gravel to the depth of six 

 inches, and on this foundation place fine gravel and coarse sand 

 to the depth of six inches more, plant your ova one and a half 

 inches deep, in furrows, and cover them so that the whole space 

 presents an ev^en surface, then let in the water to the depth of 

 seven inches at the upper end, and six at the lower, forming a 

 uniform gentle current over the whole space; the sluice must be 

 so regulated as to keep up the same supply and depth of water at 

 all times. In this way millions of fish may be bred, protected to 

 the proper age, and then turned into the rivers or ponds to grow 

 and increase. Last summer I impregnated the ova of shad, and 

 planted them in a ditch a quarter of a mile in length, extending 

 from one pond to another, in the most careless manner possible, 

 not even taking the trouble to cover them, and they produced tens 

 of thousands of young shad, which I use as food for my pickerel 

 and perch. 



A breeding pond should have grass around the sides, and occa- 

 sional gravel beds rising to within two inches of the surface, for 

 the fish to spawn upon; two females and one male will stock an 

 acre pond in two years; and in three years it will be necessary to 

 put in a few male perch or pickerel to thin them out. If eels 

 and bullheads get in your pond, as they inevitably will in a short 

 time, saturate the water with quick lime, and in a few hours the 

 fish will all die and come to the surface, when they may be used 

 as manure, and will produce, on account of their rich, oily nature, 

 the most luxuriant effect on land. 



Fishes, in natural history, form the fourth class in theLinnpean 

 system; their proper division is into fresh and salt water fish. 

 A very few species ascend rivers to deposit their ova. We know 

 something about four hundred varieties, and nothing about eight 

 hundred more. 



The Hudson River Sea-Horse {Hippocampus Hudsonius.) This little 

 creature is about six inches long, having on the top of the head 

 a large protuberance resembling bone, ending in five points; the 



