FOREST /I>'D STREAM. 



95 



■ he had gained, and Tige be turned loose to 

 finish iii i | ooon, we state that a hind- 



".y the fall at th< free 

 truggl i • '.■:..i--i'. i - no the restraint of the corn - 



I oosi rushed iat coon with the 



in dead. His master's exultant 

 pride ' iti and his attitudes were an 



lliipiiKin _ I O'" I ■. .: nlTlStali unlit:!! 



ti-r ri;u " Tho si Browd. was painful in, expo 



of thiil g dl - - tantaneous demolishment by furious 



Tiger, ljii t the wild whoop of a bond of Indian warriors is 

 ii the murmuring of a rivulet, compared with tho boister- 

 ous, thundrous uproar of laughter, which shook the very 

 trees, when Tige came yelping lustily with that crippled coon 

 proudly perched upon his left ham, teeth and claws too firmly 

 imbedded lor him to be rolled or shaken, off; Tige darted 

 I J in thai unfeeling, roaring circle, evi- 

 dently in cjueet of In master, from whom alone he could 

 Ln]i, !■ r .... i r. Failing to find him, Tiger sat down, the 



i : sticking to him," wept aloud, and most 



uough." if any quadruped ever did. 



The moment bhi toon raB removed Kg< c cleared the circle 



and struct a bee-line for home- at a speed which -would put 



to blush the swift-winged swallow. Mat was nowhere in 



b, nut doubtless heard the three loud cheers which were, 

 given for Tiger's culmination of that afternoon's sport. Fact, 

 every word of it, Kjsntuoeian. 



* 



4iH\\ £nltui[e. 



TREATMENT OF TROUT DURING 

 THE FIRST YEAR. 



THE preparation of the pond for the reception of the 

 young tish should be completed the previous autumn, 

 before needed for use in the following spring. In our trout 

 streams the first spawn is taken about the first of November, 

 and^the ova begin to hatch about the middle of December, 

 and the complete metamorphosis of the fish takes place the 

 middle ot February, wliice are in a condition for transferring 

 from the nursery troughs to the pond about the middle of 

 April. If the pond is now occupied by yearlings, they must 

 he removed, to give a home for the young crop. Before 

 transferring tbe yearlings from the pond the water must he 

 drawn down, and if the water plants are large enough to in- 

 with the working of the net, they should he cut with 

 a sharp scythe and raked out, as it is quite impossible to re- 

 move tbe young fish with a net until the pond is freed from 

 the rank vegetable growth. The net, of course, in its con- 

 struction must conform in texture and in mesh to the size 

 of the fish; and as many are yet small, therefore, mosquito 

 netting is the most appropriate material for its construction. 

 The nui maj be made about two and a half feet wide and 

 about four feel longer than the width of the pond. Anicely 

 could be ittaehed to the bottom and a 

 few wooden floats fastened to the top ; at each end there 

 should be a brail, as in the case of a common seine, and we 

 have a perfect minature net for tho removal of the fish. 

 Manned by two men, the. seine is dropped into the lower end 

 of the pond, and holding the brails steadily and uprightly, 

 is moved upward evenly across the pond to the inlet, where 

 it is carefully changed into a horizontal position, and being 



.! out of the water it is carefully carried to the second 

 pond, and its contents gently deposited therein. The net is 

 repeatedly useu until the fry are all removed. Since" the 

 autumn mowing of pond No. Two, the water-plants at the 



■ ■ ui, now in April, seem green, and every leaf and twig is 

 covered with minnate aquatic insects and water-bearing larrao. 

 These are all the natural food of the young trout, and the 

 more, abundant these parasites are, the more rapid and striking 

 will be the growth of the fish. Pond No. One being empty 

 and ready for its new occupants, we set about the removal of 

 the new bruod from the hatching-house to their new 

 quarters. A small scoop-net, for removing small fishes from 

 the nursery-troughs, is the most convenient implement for 

 this purpose. It may be constructed of the same material 

 as was the minature seine. The bottom should be equal in 

 width to the width of the nursery-troughs and the height 

 equal to twice their depth. For fastening the netting, a 

 ■ of wire may be shaped, as outlined, and fastened into 

 a wooden handle, and the net is completed. The bottom of 



coop-net is pushed forward, and the entire contents of a 

 i pmpartmenl may be taken at one scoop, and being emptied 

 into a flat vessel of water, are transferred to the pond, where 

 they at once show their appreciation of their greatly enlarged 

 quarters, by darting here and there, and cavorting in various 

 A.ivs in their new boarding place. In this manner the fry of 

 one trough mo. r another is removed until all are placed in the 

 pond, lb -r. ■■ iiKh.-ir rtewhonv the future growth of these 



food given them during the iirst year. 11 must be remem- 



l, i hat in subjecting so many tish to live in such a small 



area of water, artificial food m suitable quantities becomes 



ary, ind I. indispensable. Foratime one gunerous 



in. :i! each day, with what insects are captured by them, will 

 be sufficient. If tho fish-tanner neglects to bestow upon his 

 . a necessary amount of food, the weaker and smaller 

 members of tin colony will rapidly diminish, thereby greatly 

 increasing the expense of board in tho aggregate. Trout are 

 cannibals, and all the arts of modern civilization applied to 

 their domestication have thus far proved entirely abortive 

 in con c,i ne.: • i r wild and gross natures. They 



delight in devouring one another, and hence should be so as- 

 sorted in their growth, aa to prevent preying upon them- 

 selves. Ii 'by accident any largo tish gain admission to ponds 

 containing small ones, they must be removed at ouce, evuu it 



mi push their re- 

 : for the young trout during tho 



. be 



ino: 



Hi. 



ble, man 

 supply t 



ufficiclit 



ding (he 

 impossi- 



ings of the colony may die from 

 ' oxygen— the vitalizing agi 



rforffl excellent n 

 Lcially in ponds where a strong ourr 

 a wiint of elevation in the water-i 

 is fish fai-m. The water plants should be BU- 

 especially tho hornworl (eonf/.o./os'/nw) and the 

 ,vort (eaUttriche). On tho other hand, the current 

 . IS to 'Ii'"' the small fishes into a puddle 

 i lower screen, amidst the debris which there eol- 

 tny must inevitably perish. As the young and 



■trong current, a eare- 

 ier of days, meantime 

 ne to suit the condi- 



ol the fish, they will 

 •efore, they should be 

 :iy rubbing the dirt 

 g brush, attached to a 

 ,' the ponds will over- 

 itable lcsiilt. To pre- 

 es, and other debris. 



• ■eens should 



I lo to 

 fnl watch will be necessary for a nur 

 regulating the ourMntirorn lame ha 



tion of the fishes. As the in sin -. ,,' 

 sarily be stmiU to in V9J I th e* EU 

 easily become clogged with dirt, tl 

 frequently inspected an ! 

 through them with a comn 

 handle of convenient length, othcrwi 

 flow mad a loss of stock will be the in. 

 vent tho accumulation of straws, h 

 which may be blown into the ponds, 

 be frequently cleaned out, or these, to. , 

 overflows, especially in connection with freshets, Tin. Ben i ns 

 should be examined at least daily, to prevent any as 

 that might ensue.from damming, especially during the preva- 

 lence, of high winds. Extra screens should always be kept 

 for an emergency, especially to supply the place of a broken 

 one. These, may be made and kept in the workshop, ready 

 for use at any moment. Any other tools liable to be broken, 

 which are constantly employed, should, by the same fore- 

 sight, be kept on hand, that they may be put into immediate 

 use. The fish farm should be supplied, in all cases, with a 

 convenient and roomy shop, even with a blacksmith's plain 

 outfit, for any man may soon learn to weld and shape a piece 

 of iron into a useful instrument with less expense than to 

 be obliged to go to a blacksmith for every trifling article, 



many of wh 

 found in feedii 

 increasing in v 



d "-: s.onv. and 

 and the last on 

 enable, them h 

 should be exeri 



-a.i.ov.l good 

 fish farmer not ti 



hi l: 





ed 



tsilv. It 



will be 



appetites seem to be 



ich day will become 



sal r 



.light is sufficiently strong to 

 ■ize every particle before it sinks. Care 

 :1 lest over feeding may occur, for it is con- 

 tho practice and management of the 

 keep the trout too fat, but only in a state 

 of thrift in keeping with health. 



No tainted meats should be fed, for fish will not eat such 

 food unless compelled by hunger, while what is left soon 

 Contaminates the water, and if persisted in, would very soon 

 render the fish sickly, and perhaps permanently diseased. 

 Trout should be given a wide range of animal food, for it is 

 perhaps as true of fish as of every voracious animal, that a 

 change is desirable. The most of our American species of 

 fishes ore carnivorous. If we had the kind of fishes tho traveler 

 Huek speaks of, as existing in the southern provinces of China, 

 pisiculture would be as simple to practice as the plainest 

 principles of agriculture are in farming. He says of these 

 singular fishes, "a month after they are hatched they are full 

 of vigor, and this is the time to give them food in abundance. 

 Morning and evening the proprietors of the vhuarfa have 

 their fields mowed, and enormous loads of grass or herbs are 

 taken to the fishes. The fishes ascend to the surface of the 

 water, and dart with wild eagerness on this food, which they 

 playfully devour, with a rumbling noise, reminding one of 

 the noise made by a large number of rabbits feeding — indeed, 

 it might be supposed that they were a large warren of aquatic 

 rabbits. The voracity of these fishes can only bo compared 

 to that of silk worms when aboilt to prepare 'their cocoons. 

 After having been fed in this manner for about fifteen days, 

 they ordinarily attain a weight of two or three pounds, wh"en 

 their growth is arrested and they are caught and sold." 



If this observation is true, the Chinese have a valuable 

 species of fish, an unfailing food resource, that can only fail 

 when the forage crop fads, upon which they are fattened ; 

 but rather unprofitable, if the products of the water and land 

 ate both required for subsistence. This passage, of the pious 

 writer, who was sent by his country to disseminate religion 

 among these heathen, reads much like incidents related by 

 another celebrated writer, Munchausen. The amount of food 

 required by domesticated trout must vary with different fish 

 farms, for in some localities the water is richer in insects and 

 crustaceans than in others, Apropos of this proposition, 

 where a trout stream flows through a rich, fertile district of 

 country, with abundant drains reaching farmland, the trout 

 are usually well conditioned, and large, and of excellent 

 flavor; but when the land through which the stream flows is 

 sterile and rooky, without drains to bring down the rich, 

 coveted food of the trout, the fish will be found to be lanky 

 and without flavor; they may be numerous, as are all the out- 

 growths of poverty, but small in size and very indifferent. 

 There are differences to be found in the same stream. Some 

 of the trout are sharp in their colorings, have fine plump 

 shoulders, great depth, and the flesh is beautifully tinged 

 with the salmon color, and of excellent flavor; while others, of 

 the same blood and kindred, are lean and without flavor, It 

 may be accounted for in part in this wise. Those trout 

 which are so plump, fat, mid pleasing to the eye, are indus- 

 trious feeders, and become well conditioned, while the sloth- 

 ful feeders are lean and flavorless. The rule is, those trout 

 which are bred upon the beat feeding grounds, living upon 

 the worms and crustaceans of fresh water, are most desirable. 

 The fish farmer can only regulato tho amount of food neces- 

 sary for daily use, by the same experience which is exercised 

 by the agriculturist in stock raising. It varies one day with 

 another, as with all animals. As atmospheric changes affect 

 the appetites of mammals and other animals, undoubtedly 

 similar causes influence tho desire for food in lisle-;. Do- 

 meetioated trout, like those in the wild state, feed best just 

 after sunrise as a rule. Notwithstanding that this may be 

 accepted as a settled point, both the wild and the trout of 

 fish farm often appear to have a positive disgust for food. 

 The righteous bouI of many a patient, and 



has been tcrnbh cx.i 

 most alia 



fanner is greatly 



I i -apply id till stages of fish culture needs 



to be carefully adjusted. To this matter the farmer's care 



should be i sled, especially in hot weather, for 



led, in view o( this loathing of the 



. has designed, and the ill- 

 ld has often b.en obliged to quit 

 is n afiOn why every species of the 

 ks has never' yet. been explained, 

 u'y attending circumstance in na- 

 ifty thousand trout six 

 me about 



when at the same tim 

 turo seems to favor 



months old, well supplied with larvae, usual! 

 a pound of tin chopped hearts of beeves three times a weak, 

 Probably, tho larvae of flies are the most ecu; .mica] food the 

 fish farmer can use. They may be very cheaply obtained. 

 A cheap box, five feet long and two feet Bquara, s< t on end. 

 the upper end down two feet, should be thickly pierced 

 with holes. Eighteen inches down, a drawer six inches deep, 

 the inside of the box. should be carefully fitted, 

 end just over it slats arranged upon which the ofial is placed. 



On the top should be a close-fitting lid, and the " Larvae 

 completed. In order not to be offensive, this 

 box should be kept in an unfrequented point of the farm 

 Concealed from view. When the larvae are wanted they may 

 be poured into a small box, from which they may In 

 over the pond. Not a single grub will escape from 

 sharp-eyed trout. These may be used according to the quan- 

 tity that may be daily produced, and as the judgment of tho 

 fish culturist may dictate. It is said that trout fed upon this 

 grow more rapidly than those fed upon any other kind of 

 food, and amply repay the labor required for their produc- 

 tion. Nahtjm E. Bajuxw, M. D. 

 Sandwich, III., March 3d. 



FISH CULTURE AT THE AQUARIUM. 



a 



1 The following paper was read by Fred. Mather, Esq., Su- 

 perintendent of Fish Culture at the Aquarium, before the 

 recent meeting of the Fish Guitarists' Association: 



" The Department of Fish Culture of the New York Aqua- 

 rium has the honor to Teport as follows: 



• Sixty thousand eggs of the California salmon were re- 

 ceived in tho month of "October to be hatched for the United 

 States Fish Commission. They were packed in moss on the 

 McCloud Biver, ' Cal, by Mr, Stone, in the usual manner, 

 and arrived by express in good order, with a loss of not over 

 three per cent. Of these eggs 8,200 died, or were killed, bo- 

 fore hatching ; and I will here say that wo have had a dif- 

 ficulty to contend with that is not met with in an ordinary 

 hatching-house, viz., handling eggs by visitors. In the State 

 and other establishments there are no more people than the 

 attendants can watch ; but in the crowds at the Aquarium it 

 has been a common thing to find that while talking to one 

 party, another by your side has a handful of eggs going off 

 to the window to examine them, and which were invariably 

 killed. To remedy this I made the water deeper, which les- 

 sened the current, and was consequently injurious to some 

 eggs, and fatal to those of tho whitefish. The salmon eggs 

 were received Oct. 11th, an^ all hatched by Nov. 4th, the 

 water ranging from GO degrees at first, and steadily dropping 

 to 54 degrees. It is worthy of note, that while the time of 

 hatching from the first one out of the egg to the last was 

 only eighteen days, the difference in the time of the absorp- 

 tion of the umbilicus was nearly forty days ; that is. the first 

 fish took food Dec. 19th, and all were feeding by Feb. 1st,, 

 excepting, perhaps, a dozen individuals, whose sac was only 

 half gone. By the 1st of Jan. the temperature bar! lowered 

 to 10 degrees,' and has since stood at 38 degrees. Some of 

 these salmon have been distributed to New Jersey waters, 

 others to Long Island, and the remainder are destined for a 

 lake in Northern New York. 



"I would call attention to an experiment made in feeding 

 in the Aquarium. A month ago 500 of these salmon were 

 put in one of the small tanks in a temperature of 60 degrees, 

 or 22 degrees warmer than those in the hatching troughs 

 where tho Croton runs, and a great difference in size can now 

 be seen, those in tank No. 18 being much larger than the 

 others of the same age in the colder water of the troughs. 

 This bears on the question of their adaptability to southern 

 waters. We have also received 25,000 eggs of the whitefish 

 from Mr. George Clark, Commissioner on Fisheries for Mich- 

 igan; these, with 10,000 from Seth Green, were lost for want 

 of circulation, as noted above; 5,000 more have just been re- 

 ceived by favor of Mr. A. J. Kellogg, also of the Michigan 

 Commission, which will be put in a jar and hatched in bulk; 

 15,000 eggs of the Cisco, or lake herring, have been received 

 from O. M. Chase, Supt. of the Detroit. Hatchery, which are 

 doing well; 10,000 eggs of the Lake trout, from the New 

 York House at Caledonia, are still in process of hatching; 

 2,000 eggs of the land-locked salmon have been received 

 from Prof. Baird, and are placed in one of Ferguson's hatch- 

 ing jars, which has been presented by the inventor. 



"In the salt water department, in t'ankNo. 12, can be seen 

 tho curious eggs of the skate, or ray, with their yolks visible 

 when a fight is placed behind them; they are Supported by 

 a string in a good flow of water, and in nearly the same man- 

 ner as they are hung upon seaweed. Whether, these eggs are 

 impregnated or not, I am unable to say, as they were laid in 

 the great tank by the fish, and their development is not far 

 enough advanced to determine with certainty. A great many 

 valuable experiments can be conducted in an aquarium, both 

 in salt, and fresh water, that would be difficult at almost any 

 other place, and we wish the hearty co-operation of fish cul- 

 turists all over the country, and will be glad to work with 

 them, and perhaps try the same experiments under different 

 conditions of temperature, light, etc., that they maybe cm- 

 d noting, and so arrive at results in the shortest space of time. 

 Mr. Coup is disposed to place the whole Aquarium at tho 

 convenience of plasties! or scientific men to aid them in any 

 studies or experiments that they may wish to pursue. 



" The Department of Fish Culture is under obligations for 

 favors to the following gentlemen: Prof. S. F. Baird, V. S. 

 Com. on Fisheries; Hon. Robert B. Eoosevelt, Com. for New- 

 York; Geo. Clark, Ecorse, Mich.; Seth Green, Rochester, N. 

 Y. ; Monroe A. Green, Mumford, N. Y. ; A. J. Kellogg. De- 

 troit, Mich. ; O. M. Chase, Detroit, Mich. : Samuel Vilniot, 

 Ontario; Livingston Stone, Charlestown, N, H. ; T. B. Fergu- 

 son, Baltimore, Md. 



"Since writing the above Mr. Wiluiot has presented 1,000 

 eggs of the Ontario salmon (S, Wibaoii), which appear in 

 first-rate order." 



" Michigan Fish Notes. — The second season of the Detroit 

 branch of the Michigan State Fish Hatchery is drawing to a 

 close. It has been remarkably successful— more so than was 

 the season of 1875-6. Last 'season between 8.000,000 and 

 9,000,000 whitefish, salmon, and trout were hatched and 

 distributed through the lakes and rivers of the State, This 

 season about 8,000,000 whitefish, and no other kind, have 

 been hatched, and are healthy, and in a likely condition. 

 The percentage of loss in eggs this season has boon much 

 lesH than that of the season of 1875-6, showing that with 

 experience a gratifying improvement follows. Already tho 

 work of distribution has begun, and is going fon.v i . : 

 lently. To the mouth of Grand River, and the waters of 

 Spring Lake, and Muskogon Lake, 150,000 fish have boon 

 taken. Last week 50,000 were deposited in the Huron RiV8X\ 

 and an equal number in the River Raisin ; So, 000 tish have 

 just been shipped for distribution in the vicinity of Hills- 

 dale, and another consignment of 200,000 started for Port 

 Huron and vicinity. Rovbb. 



Dcttwt, March Wh. 



«.» 



—The Fishery Commission of the State of New- York will 

 distributo 1,500,000 young brook trout to depleted streams 

 in this State during the present year. 



