﻿IV 
  

  

  supplied 
  with 
  a 
  constant 
  change 
  of 
  water 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  a 
  

   steam 
  pump, 
  whicli 
  kept 
  a 
  reservoir 
  tank 
  filled 
  with 
  water 
  

   from 
  overboard, 
  distributing 
  it 
  to 
  each 
  of 
  these 
  vessels 
  through 
  

   the 
  bottom 
  or 
  apex 
  of 
  the 
  inverted 
  cone, 
  the 
  overflow 
  being- 
  

   wasted 
  overboard. 
  The 
  other 
  consisted 
  of 
  number 
  of 
  metallic 
  

   cylinders 
  with 
  wire 
  gauze 
  bottoms, 
  suspended 
  in 
  the 
  water, 
  to 
  

   these 
  cylinders 
  an 
  eccentric 
  up 
  and 
  down 
  motion 
  was 
  given 
  by 
  

   "cams" 
  fixed 
  on 
  the 
  constantly 
  rotating 
  shaft 
  of 
  a 
  small 
  

   steam-engine. 
  The 
  Eeport 
  announced 
  also 
  an 
  additional 
  im- 
  

   portation 
  of 
  the 
  best 
  varieties 
  of 
  European 
  carp 
  and 
  tench,, 
  

   their 
  successful 
  transfer 
  to 
  the 
  Druid 
  Hill 
  Park 
  ponds, 
  and 
  

   successful 
  experiments 
  in 
  propagating 
  artificially 
  the 
  smelt 
  — 
  

   between 
  four 
  and 
  five 
  hundred 
  thousand 
  of 
  these 
  fish 
  were 
  

   hatched 
  at 
  New 
  Brunswick, 
  New 
  Jersey, 
  and 
  transported 
  to 
  

   the 
  waters 
  of 
  Maryland. 
  As 
  the 
  smelt 
  had 
  never 
  before 
  been 
  

   successfully 
  propagated 
  by 
  fish 
  culturists, 
  this 
  was 
  an 
  important 
  

   step 
  in 
  the 
  investigations 
  of 
  the 
  Maryland 
  Commission. 
  The 
  

   report 
  also 
  showed 
  a 
  gratuitous 
  distribution 
  of 
  50,480 
  brook 
  

   trout 
  to 
  the 
  citizens 
  of 
  Maryland. 
  

  

  During 
  this 
  year 
  (1877) 
  8,444,330 
  shad 
  were 
  hatched, 
  of 
  

   these 
  7,319,300 
  were 
  distributed 
  in 
  the 
  State 
  and 
  1,125,000 
  

   turned 
  over 
  to 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  Commissioner 
  for 
  other 
  

   waters. 
  

  

  We 
  are 
  now 
  able, 
  in 
  giving 
  a 
  summary 
  of 
  the 
  work 
  accom- 
  

   plished 
  during 
  the 
  year 
  1878, 
  to 
  record 
  another 
  important 
  

   advance 
  in 
  fish 
  culture, 
  the 
  successful 
  artificial 
  propaga- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  herring 
  As 
  this 
  fish, 
  once 
  exceedingly 
  

   abundant 
  and 
  still 
  very 
  plentiful, 
  is 
  wonderfully 
  fertile,, 
  

   there 
  did 
  not 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  necessity 
  for 
  its 
  artificial 
  pro- 
  

   pagation, 
  but 
  we 
  have, 
  during 
  several 
  seasons, 
  looked 
  care- 
  

   fully 
  among 
  the 
  herring 
  caught 
  in 
  the 
  large 
  haul 
  seines 
  

   in 
  hopes 
  of 
  being 
  able 
  to 
  secure 
  a 
  sufficient 
  number 
  of 
  

   ripe 
  adults 
  to, 
  at 
  least, 
  experiment 
  with, 
  but 
  we 
  did 
  not 
  suc- 
  

   ceed 
  in 
  finding 
  any 
  number 
  of 
  fish 
  with 
  the 
  eggs 
  in 
  a 
  proper 
  

   stage 
  of 
  development. 
  Their 
  abundance, 
  which 
  is 
  sufficiently 
  

   great 
  to 
  indicate 
  that 
  they 
  have 
  not 
  decreased 
  to 
  the 
  same 
  

   extent 
  as 
  the 
  shad 
  have, 
  can 
  be 
  accounted 
  for 
  by 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  

   their 
  habits 
  of 
  spawning 
  differ, 
  and 
  the 
  localities 
  selected 
  by 
  

  

  