xlvi SUM) FlsHKi;y COMMIssIOX 



as peculiarly ditfionlt if not imiwssihle. In a report on tho vounu stages of shad, gas- 

 pereau and herring in the " Further Contributions to Canadian Biology," published 

 in 1907, as a scientific supplement to the rejxjrt of the Marine and Fisheries Depart- 

 ment, it is stated that at the twentieth day after hatching the European shad is over 

 three-fifths of an inch long, but on the thirty-fifth day it is four-fifths, and on the 

 forty-third day nearly one inch long. In its fourth month the shad is claimed to be 

 5 to 7 inches lout;-, at which ago the sea-herring is only about l.[ inches long. The 

 report goes on to say* — 



The gaspereau, from an experiment reported to have been carried out iu Maine, 

 T'.S.. by ilessrs. Treat & Son. reaches a length only half that of the shad at the age 

 when the shad is 3 to 5 inches long (4 months old). Of course, such fishes, when 

 confined in rearing ponds, are probably dwarfed in their growth, and may not afford 

 a certain clue to the determination of the age of specimens captured in their native 

 waters. Shad have, for instance, been taken 3 to 4 inches in length in February. 

 ■ liiV f-?cimon'> of the same leugth have been secured in great numbers iu Seiitciu- 

 ber: and in the Potomac river examples 3 inches long are abundant in Xovember, 

 while abo\it the first of that month shad 5 to 7 inches long are plentiful in the Maine 

 rivers. According to my observations, the first named specimens (3 to 4 inches long) 

 must have been hatched out in Xovember or December, a supposition which raises a 

 difiiculty, as shad enters rivers, in December and Januaiy, on the Atlantic coast, only 

 as far south as Georgia and Florida, while the small shad of the size named, capturei! 

 in September, as in the Potomac river, must have been hatched in June, though tha 

 main ascent is as early as April in that river. Shad 9 to 13J in. long are freriuentl.v 

 taken in Canadian waters in October, and as these fish cannot possibly be only four 

 months old. and nmst be the young of the year preceding, especially as shad 3 or 4 

 inches long are also captured about the end of October, and schools of fish 4 to ."> 

 inches long are observed in December. We know that shad are apt to migrate along 

 long distances of sea shore, as on the Pacific coast, where they have spread far from 

 the rivers where they were originally planted, so that they are not so true to their 

 native rivers as the salmon, and this may explain the very discrepant nature of the 

 facts alluded to. 



The New York Forest, Fish and Game State Commission have energetically 

 taken up this matter of rearing shad beyond the delicate fry or newly-hatched condi- 

 tion, when the shad is one of the most tender, transparent and diminutive of river 

 fishes and the following recent extract from " Rod and Gun in Canada " is of special 

 interest and importance: — f 



One of the interesting things in connection with the Fisheries Branch of the 

 Xew York Forest, Fish and Game Commission, is the work of rearing shad. It is 

 believed not many are aware of the fact that the department is producing at least 

 $.500,000 worth of fry and fingerling fish each year, and distributing them in state 

 waters. A hatchery has been erected at Linlithgo, near the city of Hudson, primarily 

 for the purpose of rearing fingerling shad to i-estock the Hudson river. As a secondary 

 matter it is producing small mouth bass, striped bass, perch and this year 500,000 

 trout fry. Rearing shad is a new business. They are a very delicate fish to handle ; 

 in fact to actually handle them kills them. They hatch quickly and grow rapidly. 

 Experience thus far has not been altogether satisfactory. ' We feel sure far better 

 lesults will be obtained in the future. Our men have learned something about the 

 rearing of shad. It is plain, now, the secret is to have very large ponds and not too 

 many shad in each. Millions of small trout may be crowded together in a small 



* The Eggs and Young of the Herring. Gaspereau, Shad. &c., by Professor E. K. 

 Prince. Dominion Commission of Fisheries. Ottawa, p. lOi. 

 t June issue, Woodstock. Out.. 1910, page 94. 



