FRESH-WATER SHRIMP, A NATURAL FISH FOOD. 857 



this food of nature, it is to be considered that ponds and streams which are 

 deluged with sand and gravel from land washing by rains to an extent to bury 

 and obliterate the bottom-plant growth will prove disappointing. I also men- 

 tion that the fresh-water shrimp can not swim against a strong current. 



To determine its power of resistance in any work looking to diffusion of the 

 species, I made experiments in 1896, as an agent of the United States, in trans- 

 porting fresh-water shrimps over long distances by express, with no attention 

 en route. The results were gratifying. 



I found the species extremely slimy, and that "sliming" was a necessary 

 prerequisite in order to hold them in tanks or transport them. The prevalence 

 of slime aided the removal of broken bits of bark, cj^press-tree leaves, twigs, 

 and all sediment. An upright tin dipper was immersed in the center of the 

 pan, and all the foreign matter, clinging together from the sticky slime in a 

 coagulated mass, was easily skimmed off, the shrimp bearing off to the sides of 

 the pan and none being caught in the dipper. Siphons and strainers and 

 hand nets were useless, the antennae of the shrimp, which are of wonderful 

 length, becoming tangled and fatal injuries being inflicted. In gathering cap- 

 tures from the nets the fingers were the sole instrument, though slight wounds 

 were received from the sharp needles about the head of the shrimp. 



Experimental shipments were made in 4-quart tin pails, the same in which 

 German carp were then being distributed, the covers being ventilated by means 

 of punched holes. Ten pails were packed in an open crate composed of thin 

 wood strips and the crate cover secured against opening. Each pail was 

 about two-thirds filled with water and contained shrimp as follows: Ten pails 

 contained 150 each, another ten 180 each, another ten 125 each, and yet another 

 ten 150 each, these several lots being turned over to the express company 

 October 7, 9, 12, and 13, respectively, at Halifax, N. C.,for delivery at Washing- 

 ton, D. C, 200 miles distant. The water temperature of streams at Halifax was 

 53 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit, the railroad journey 8 hours, and the lay-over in 

 the warehouse (at night) at Washington 1 1 hours, a total confinement in pails, 

 without icing, aerating, or other attention, of 19 hours. The losses were, 

 respectively, 2, 94, 15, and 10, or 121 out of the total of 6,050, or 2 per cent. 

 The second lot appeared to have been overcrowded, 40 out of the 94 being dead 

 in one pail. In two pails, containing 100 and 150 shrimp each, shipped October 

 15, from the same place to the Neosho, Mo., station, and en route 92 hours, there 

 were but 2 alive at the destination; but in four pails, in the cooler weather 

 of November 14, containing 50, 75, 100, and 150, all reached their destina- 

 tion alive except the 1 50 in one pail, all of which were dead. It was dis- 

 covered early that the species is quickly responsive to overcrowding; in fact, 

 notably so. When too thick in the pails they spring out of the water and die 



B. B. F. 1903— Pt 2—12 



