Ui 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



<gisti <$ultm[$. 



THE HISTORY, DEVELOPMENT AND 

 UTILITY OF AQUARIA. 



ICHTHYOLOGY is a hard word to master, hnt it is never- 

 theless SO fast assuming prominence, that it promises 

 soon to become n household word. Very little was known 

 until qu the hi bits of the denizens of the deep. 



The movements of a few edible fishes which inhabit shallow 

 water had b eo studied a little, but of the greai mass of the 

 fihuy tribe, we knew absolutely nothing; not so much be- 

 rf H lack of interest iu such knowledge, as for the 

 reason that we had no meana of acquiring the desired infor- 

 mation. In fact, the inhabitants of our rivers, oceans, and 

 lakes were nearly as much concealed from observation as 

 they would be were thej inhabitants of another world. But 

 the activity and persistenc i of thought and research at the 

 ait day have most BfJ stu&lbj ■ i reome the principal ob- 

 stacles to studies of this kind, and finally, conditions and cu- 

 rious facts connected with life in the water. The dredging 

 of ocean beds and wen the deepest sea soundings have re- 

 vealed the most astonishing fact, tbat life exists even at very 

 great depth, and under conditions of pressure which seem al- 

 most incredible. But little difficulty has been found to learn 

 of life the sea contains; but to become acquainted with 

 the habit , mode of life, etc., of the denizens of deep water 

 i i impossible, until the aquarium was introduced, 

 ,v! i •• by we could preserve the lives of lishes under condi- 

 ii ni whioh would permit of our constant examination of 

 them while free to move and act at will. 



It has Long been kuowu that auimals living in water may 

 bo kept in transparent glass vessels by frequently changing 

 the water; but it is only by the modern discoveries of chem- 

 istry -and physiology that means have been pointed out, 

 whereby aquatic life may belong maintained without the 

 lit and inconvenient renewals of the water. Science 

 has now taught us that plants growing in water restore to 

 that element the oxygen so necessary to the life of the fish, 

 and remove therefrom, by absorption, the carbonic acid 

 thrown off by them, as by laud animals, in the process of res- 

 tion. Again, it, has been fonnd necessary to add certain 

 varieties of water animals, which feed on decomposing ani- 

 mals and vegetables, to act as scavengers for the more par- 

 ticular members of the fish community, to whom any consid- 

 erable amount of decaying matter is found injurious or fa- 

 tal. The discovery of these facts and conditions has made 

 the employment of aquaria on a large scale a practical possi- 

 bility, and introduced to the world a new and interesting 

 means of material progress iu the study of natural history. 



The first experiment of this kind on a large scale was un- 

 dertaken at the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park, London, 

 in 1853, only twenty-four years ago. Quite a number of 

 tanks were fitted up, the largest of which were 6 feet in 

 length by 30 inches iu depth. They were fitted very much 

 as those 7 now shown at "Woodward's Gardens have been, and 

 -applied with sand- gravel, appropriate vegetation, mol- 

 luscs for scavengers, etc. The water was simply allowed to 

 run oil' and be pumped back again, falling into the tanks, as 

 seen at Woodward's, iu such a maimer as to carry considerable 

 quantities of air entangled with it. Thus a quantity of wa- 

 ter can be used indefinitely, care being taken to secure the 

 presence in the tanks of such fish as will act as scavengers 

 in removing any decaying substances which may be present. 

 It should be borne in mind that air is as necessary to sustain 

 life i n aquatic animals as it is for those which live upon the 

 land, the gills of the former serving the same purpose as the 

 lungs of the latter, the blood being decarbonized or purified 

 I . , the particles of air, which are mixed with the water, com- 

 ing in contact with the gills, just as the blood of land ani- 

 mals is purified by coming in contact with the air in the 

 lungs. 



The success which attended the aquarium at Regent's Park 

 induced the construction of aquaria in several of the largest 

 cities in Europe, and finally in our own country. The largest 

 and most complete work of this kind has been constructed 

 at Brighton, one of the most famous and charming watering- 

 places in England. It was opened to the public about fire 

 fter nearly two years of time and a vast outlay of 

 money had been expended in its construction. This acpia- 

 ruim is divided into a series of corridors, the largest of which 

 is 220 feet long, most beautifully and appropriately orna- 

 mented. The aquarium contains a great number of tanks, 

 some of unusual size, and the largest of which is 120 feet 

 long. Several works of the kind have been constructed in 

 the United States, but that one lately rebuilt by Mr. Wood- 

 ward, at his Gardens in this city, is the second largest and 

 most complete after the New York Aquarium, and that gen- 

 tleman is deserving of the highest credit for the enterprise 

 and zeal which he has displayed iu furnishing the public of 

 California with such an extensive and useful medium for the 

 study of one of the most interesting branches of natural his- 

 tory. A most complete opportunity is here provided tor 

 watching the movements and habits of living creatures, pos- 

 g most interesting and remarkable characteristics, but 

 whose haunts have heretofore been confined to the most ob- 

 scure and unapproachable recesses of ponds, rivers, and 

 oceans. By the facilities whioh Mr. Woodward has here pro- 

 vided, the student is able to actually walk amid the very habi- 

 tations of the most ourioua and recluse of the finny tribe; 

 where their every movement is us open and free to observa- 

 ble i as is that of the tiny goldfish which disports itself it ... 

 crystal globe upon a parlor table. Such an exhibition cannot 

 fail to prove a source of unlimited interest to the sight-seer, 

 and an object of the most intense gratification to the scien- 

 tific investigator. A volume of natural history is opened 

 here, illustrated and illuminated in a manner which cannot 



fail to excite the interest and attention of the most indiffer- 

 ent; and certainly no one who will look upon it can go away 

 uuinstructed or unimpressed with the volume and its pages. 

 A writer upon natural history says: 



"Studies of animated nature have been pursued with in- 

 creased I dor and success since the establishment of aquaria, 

 us of animal and vegetable life, the mere existence 

 of which was kuowu to but a lew of our leading naturalists 

 ten years ago, are now explored by thousands of observers, 

 and the wonders of the brook, the river, and the mysterious 

 sea have familiar things among persons of intelligence and 

 scientific inquiry, who, without the help of the aquarium, 

 must, for lack of leisure and means, have remained content 

 with brief technical descriptions, conveyed in pondrous 

 books, to the perusal of which there would have been no sym- 

 patui to attract them. It has created a taste for deep-sea 

 studies, and then fed that taste with wholesome truths: and 

 bj giving delight to the eye, and stimulating, through the 

 medium pi recreation, the spirit of scientific inquiry, it has 

 brought subjects of profoundest interest within the practical 

 reach of the humblest student of the ways of God and 

 nature ." 



Who can tell the interest or enthusiasm in scientific study 

 and research which may be engendered in the minds of the 

 thousands of children and youth who weekly visit the vast and 

 instructive collections in all the various I 'ranches of natural 

 history, botany, mineralogy, etc., which have been collected 

 and thrown open to the public in this vast conservatory of 

 art and science? If Mr. Woodward had never done anything 

 else, this work alone would form a monument of industry, 

 genius, and usefulness .which any man might well be proxrd to 

 leave as a legacy of life-work to future generations. 



ncisco, Feb. 28, 1877. Osois Spitzes 

 ■♦•♦ 



GROWTH OF SALMON AND TROUT. 



Our illustrations herewith show the development of salmon 

 from its ova to the adult. They will apply equally to trout. 



1 2 3 



No, 1 shows the young ova developing the head (mag- 

 nified); 



No. 2 shows ditto developed (magnifii d ] j 



No. 3, the head and body of the fish developed (mag- 

 nified); 



No. 4, young ova before the developing in natural size; 



No 5 shows the ova of the natural size, after the vital prin- 

 ciple has been developed. The body of the fish in this stage 

 has a pinkish tinge and the eyes are very large. 



No. tl, the shell of the ovum j nst burst, and the head of the 

 fish protruding from it. 



No. 7, the. state of the ovum shown after the bursting of 

 the shell, when the pulsations of the heart become visible. 



No. 8, the shell just thrown off, the tail drooping ; about a 

 third part of the shell, which is transparent, is fractured by 

 the fish in its exertions to extricate itself. Before the shell is 

 broken the tail envelopes the yolk, which is seen attached to 

 the body of the fish. 



No. 9.' The tail in a short time bi BOmi traight, and the 

 fish more lively; the mouth assumes a distinct form, and the 

 lower and pectoral tins, which are quite transparen ; are in 

 motion simultaneously with the actions of , the heart, which 

 beats from sixty to sixty-five times in a minute. 



No. 10 is a magnified representation of No. 7, the fish ad- 

 hering to the shell, which is partly broken. 



No. 11 represents No. 9 magnified; the heart is before the 

 pectoral fins, under the throat. 



No. 12 is a still more enlarged view of No. 9, showing the 

 direction in which the blood circulates, as seen by a niiero- 



jN<e 13. Salmon (developed shape). 



No. U. Salmon, male (in summer). 



No. 15. Salmon (in fall|. 



The blood flows from under the body of the fish through 

 the blood vessels, ramified along the Bides of the back, and is 



1 Ml into the large, vessel which run- 

 frout and bottom of the bag, communicating directly with the 



heart. An eq ual quantity of air, or some transparei i 

 "ri,;. ^tb the blood.' The blood is drawn by I 

 from the large vessel alluded to, and thrown 

 tidi into bi ressels of thfi head and throat, where it as- 

 sumes a dark color. The ni; of :':i> . ills are visible, and 



Salmon fry, or suiolts, for some time wander about the 

 sides of the stream, where the current is obstructed, but as 

 they acquire strength, they trust I the mid- 



stream, play in the pools and deep Spots, and on the setting 

 in of the spring rains in the following year, are earned down 

 to the junction of the river with the salt wa r, ' 

 remain till habituated to the novel element, into which they 

 then. proceed. T ' growth of ,L- smolts, or youngfish, is 

 very rapid. I rpi Sally i fl sr they have reached the sea, where 

 food is in abundant* Fry marked in April or May have re- 

 turned by tiie end of June, weighing from two to three 

 pounds and upward, and a month or two later they have 

 been found to weigh as much as six pounds. Ti, , 



sized fish under! he weigh! oi •.■ rum died 



peel," all above thai . e' " rth of the 



grilse during the see ad fo i sub 



sequent years equals, if ir does not of the first 



year. The land-lance and other fishes constitute ft 

 the salmon when out of sea; and that it is a voracious feeder 

 may be inferred, both from it | ... cf Size and its 



dental arrangement, — i-e : . 1 :'■*.■ ••',■,. • i Xrirs. 



ABSTRACT OF THE SEVENTH ANNUAL 

 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS 

 OF FISHERIES OF THE STATE OF 



NEW JERSEY. 



THE Commissioners open their Report with a reference 

 to the question of legislation, and finding that laws 

 relating to the same interests arc at variance in different 

 localities, they suggest that laws of a more general char iter 

 be enacted, to give the necessary protection to and fostering 

 care over the fishing interests on the seaboard, as well as oh 



the inland waters. Attention is also called to th a 



factory character of the laws regulating fishing in I 



ware, which river, once abounding in the choices* varieties 

 of permanent as well as anadromons e- _-, v. 1 1 ! >, 



depleted of them in late years. Riparian toth 01 



Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jen I these is 



interested to a greater or less extent in the fishing of this 

 great river and bav. As between the States of N 

 and Pennsylvania the laws have always been concurrent, but 

 Delaware claiming jurisdiction over the entire surface of the 

 river within the "twelve Mile Circle," the result has been 

 to permit illegal fishing to be carried on without let or 

 hindrance, to an extent which has seriously affected the 



interests of all three States, and it is hoped thai lie qv 



will be speedily settled. * The concurrent laws of New Jersey 

 and Pennsylvania have been so frequently supplemi nted fay 

 acts supplied to meet arising contingencies, that they have 

 become exceedingly complicated ana obscure. To remedy 

 this evil, the Commissioners of both States have p* pared a 

 draft of a law, which is printed in the appendix to be sub- 

 mitted to their respective, legislatures, winch it is thoutiht 

 will meet all difficulties. 



In reference to shore fisheries generally, the Commission- 

 ers are of the opinion that pounds, weirs, and other stationary 

 apparatus for the capture of fish should be prohibited, ex- 

 cept in certain eases, where Ishey should be lie. ns 

 reports of thePisl. V td as -.._■-.- that shad fishing iu the 

 Delaware was less remunerative the past season than the pre- 

 vious one, the reasons given being the severitv of the season, 

 and the fact of an unusually large number of dr 

 being in use on the bay, caused by an expected unusually 

 large demand at Philadelphia during the Centennial Exhibi- 

 tion, The aggregate catch, however, is admitted to have 



1 i far less than usual, for convenience, the State is 



divided into two departments, viz.: the Southern or Tidal 

 Department, and the Northern or Kon-Tidal Department. 

 The counties in the different departments are each in charge 

 of a Fish Warden, whose individual reports form the bulk 

 of the general reports. Our space will permit us to give but 

 a brief abstract of each. 



The Warden of Cumberland County reports U drift nets 

 in use, against 15 for 1S75, the lengths being also much 

 longer, averaging over 600 fathoms each. The average catch 

 was about 1,000 (shad) per net, against 2,500 the | 

 year. The price was about $25 per hundred. During the 

 season three schooners were engaged in sturgeon fishing at 

 the headwaters at Bay Side. They took betw. 



and 2,000 sturgeons, but we could not bbo-i.i I , i ■, 



came from. The Warden has neither seen nor heard of I he 

 black bass placed in the waters of the county the previous 

 fall, although he has made diligent inquiry concerning 

 them. 



The Warden for Salem County reports the catch of three 

 shore-nets in his district a + 5,000 shadand 200,000 herrings— 

 not enough to pay > ■ -r i I from Salem 

 County about 125 shad drift-nets owned and fished by resi- 

 dents, and about 100 of the same kind own id Q LBnedbj 

 non-residents, making a total of 285, against 175 of the pre- 

 sason. Tiie AVarden ascribes this increase of drift- 

 nets to the obnoxious "license' law of the .-,; 



rhicl discriminate! a itizens and non-residents, 



byi tax of a. the former and 520 on tl 



thus driving her citizens, and also non-residents, to I he 

 : 1 c nd men! B j ■ ■ ! ; ■ . 



'■ 1 B8i liii n-e from 325 to BtJi/fat horns in length, and 



are sunk I line. The catch by 



drift-nets was about 2-Hl,-j:i;i ...... 15,000 h< p I ptevj 



ous. The pi ■ .!•■..-,■.,,• ,i :ii, .i.t -,■:.; ■. inndred. The diffi- 

 culty-alluded to before, v. in , ■■_• ■■,■.! : .,■!•.._• .Mile 



Circle," was fully exemplified, as tl i v. i anted 



twenty nets fishing within Sunday, and was 



powerless to prevent them. On the 15th oi 

 the Warden assisted in planting fifty black bass in 

 Creek, below the dam at Hharptown, and forty-nine in Allo- 

 way Creek, below the elan I -. a, since which time 



he has neither seen nor he 



. if I n i !m_ □ ends a voluminous 



report, which is so distributed in rh _ j] | , , , , Mm -,t sum- 



le catches from the various fishing " '• 



tenor is the same as those given .ih ■ . ■■■ 



i the is.'i are reported t.e lea 



reports, it would seem that while thi fishing >r fil 

 below Philadelphia v, . i . ■ 

 as far as Trenton, was quite the reverse. The catch i 



ies afford a fair in 

 gradually going on a the into 



duction of the drift 



thero seemed lobe no diminution of shad caugh 

 shore fisheries. With the increasi 

 length of these drift-nets the catch has decreased, and to 



