THE FISHERIES OF DELAWARE RIVER IN 1837. 655 
“We may fairly infer that their nutriment consists of the mucilage or mattors held in solution 
by the waters. That they find congenial aliment in these waters is obvious from the fact that 
they increase in fat and flavor the longer they remain in the rivers. 
“Whether all the myriads of shad which enter the Delaware annually would proceed to its 
head-waters if unobstructed is quite doubtful. 
“There is some reason for believing that, like some of the migratory birds, they return annually 
to the parts of the river in which they were bred. How else are we to account for the marked 
difference observed in the shad taken in the different parts of the Delaware and its tributary 
streams? Those, for example, which are caught in the creek are so small and so inferior in flavor 
to those caught high up the river as almost to form a distinct variety of fish. 
“The Trenton shad, or those caught at the falls, have from time immemorial been proverbial 
for their superiority in quality as well as size to those taken in the waters below. 
“Tt would seem that these fish enter the Delaware in successive ‘runs’ or shoals, and the 
experience of all observant fishermen goes to prove that these runs make their appearance in 
ordinary. seasons. at definite periods. For example, there is a scattering run from the middle of 
March to the middle of April. These are for the most part small in size and not remarkable for 
flavor. 
“From this period to the 25th of April occurs the great run, and this is felt at each successive 
fishery for nearly a week if no storm occurs to drive them into deep water, for it is a fact well - 
ascertained that while in pleasant weather these fish swim near the surface, yet the moment a 
cold easterly wind commences blowing they sink so near the bottom that the deepest nets will 
sweep over their usual grounds in vain. This run generally continues until the beginning of May, 
after which period the successive shoals which enter the river are small and scattered until the 
termination of the season, which is usually about the 20th of June, though by an existing legisla- 
tive restriction it [the fishing ?] is limited to the 1st of that month in the lower waters of the river 
and to the 10th in the upper. 
“The distinctness of these different runs is proved by the appearance of the fish, by their 
quality, and by the state of roe in the female, those of the late runs being for the most part less 
forward than those of the great run in April. 
“The final cause of their annual visit is doubtless to seek a suitable place for the deposit of 
their eggs, which probably require a temperature higher than that of the ocean for their de- 
velopment, and a safe and appropriate nursery for their young during the early period of their 
existence, when they are of all others the most delicate. 
“After having spawned the old fish soon disappear. They are occasionally caught, indeed, 
in the nets, but they are thin and worthless, and, from their attenuated condition, are called by 
the fishermen “ racers.” 
‘The young fish remain in the river until towards autumn, by which time they have attained 
the size of small herrings, when they in their turn disappear. They are caught in immense num- 
bers in the weirs and racks and baskets which are constructed in the shallow waters above the 
falls for the purpose of taking the common river fish, and they are so tender as to be destroyed 
by the least violence. These contrivances, so destructive to the young fish, have consequently 
become objects of legislative prohibition. ; 
“The destination of these fish after they quit the fresh water is unknown. I have never yet 
met with an authentic account of their being caught or even observed at sea, nor have naturalists 
attempted to trace their route through the ocean, as in the case of the herrings. 
