478 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[.Ian. 10, 1884. 



nance heightened the redness of his cheeks, as, with his 

 favorite expletive, lie said : "1 knowed there was a hig one 

 down there waitin' for me. I knowed it!" 



The morning had worn away, and as lunch time ap- 

 proached it only needed a hint that a visit to camp while 

 the fish were resting in the middle of the day would be 

 agreeable, and we went. As Jack and 1 strolled along the 

 shore I saw him pick up a small turtleand hide it in his coat 

 pocket, but made no remark on it, and he was not aware 

 that it had been seen. 



After lunch we lounged about, explored the woods, and 

 caught more minnows for bait. About 4 o'clock we 

 rowed out aud tried it again, but the fish seemed in no mood 

 to bite. The Colonel and I smoked, and Uncle Ben nodded. 

 Jack was busy doing something with his hook which occu- 

 pied him so long that I thought of offering to assist when I 

 saw that he was stealthily hauling iu Uncle Ben's line by an 

 occasional pull. Soon after this the old man awoke sud- 

 denly and felt of his line and said, "That ere big minny is 

 mighty lively, I thought I had a bite." A minute later and 

 he was rapidly hauling iu, and soon held up a small turtle. 

 1 looked at Jack, but he was too busy with his line to catch 

 the glance of disapprobation, but he afterward seemed 

 much surprised at the unusual catch. Later on I tpid him 

 that he should not play tricks on older people, but the lesson 

 was lost. He said he wanted to see the old man hop, hut in 

 this he was disappointed. Fbed Mather. 



MONTHLY LIST OF PATENTS. 



For Inventions Relating to Sporting Interests, Bearing Date 



Iter 20, 1K8'1. Beporr.-d expressly for this paper by Louis 



Bagger & Co., Mechanical Experts and Solicitors 



of Patents. Washington. D. C. 



$is1fcttl(me. 



*i»,o;Ci. Breech-loadii 



.xrraetor 



I, :: . .., 



' H. Em, 



n.— D. S. Cole, Columbus Juuetion, la. 



a.— D. Kirk wood, Boston, Mass. 



ns.— T. Gilbert. London, Etig. 



r. C. 1'e.tmecky, Austin, Tex. 



ir Breech-loading Guns.— P. and C. G. 



tk, Boston, Mass. 

 h-loading Gun.— L. L. Hepburn, Ilion, N. V. 

 me Hun Feeder.— J, (i. Andes, Hartford. Conn. 

 rm.-J. H. Brown, is'eu- York, N. Y 

 :h-loadiog Firearm. J. U. Brown, New York N Y 

 ,— J. H. McLean, St, Lotus.' Mo 



10,787. Br 



10,905. Breech-JondingFi: 



Ifp. 744 is the fast entry in tl.e January A, K. R. 



A NEW SYSTEM OF FISHWAY-BUILD1NG. 



BY MABSHALL MCDONALD. 

 [CONCLUDED FKOM PAGE 45T.] 



IF it be possible, by any practical construction, to deliver the 

 whole volume of a stream, over a dam or other obstruc- 

 tion, with such moderate velocity that the, weakest aud least 

 adventurous fish could readily swim against it, we would 

 practically destroy the obstruction, and would establish for 

 the migratory species a passage up to their spawning grounds 

 as free, and unrestrained as if no obstruction existed. 



In practice, of course, this ideal can be realized only in ex- 

 ceptional cases, for industrial necessities or consideration of 

 cost will necessarily limit the dimensions of the flshway, and 

 the amount of water that may be discharged through it, but 

 just in proportion as we approximate this ideal iu our flshway 

 consti-uctions, do we approach more nearly the solution of the 

 problem of free circulation of the anadromous fishes in conti- 

 nental waters. 



When the Commissiou of Fisheries was inaugurated in the 

 State of Virginia, in 1875, one of the most important questions 

 presented to it was, how to make adequate provision to get 

 the anadromous fish over the innumerable dams that obstruct 

 the main water courses of the State, and ah then- tributaries. 



The white shad [Alosa sapidissima) is one of the most im- 

 portant food fishes in all the tributaries of the Chesa- 

 peake, and in times past has furnished the motive of 

 immense and profitable fisheries. The restoration and main- 

 tenance of this valuable fishery was one of the most serious 

 questions presenting itself to the consideration of the Commis- 

 sion. The James and the Rappahannock rivers were ob- 

 structed at the head of the tide by insuperable dams, interpos- 

 ing effectual obstructions to the further upward migration of 

 the anadromous species. 



Years ago, before obstructions existed, the migration of the 

 shad hi James River extended into the heart of the Aliegha- 

 nies two hundred and fifty miles above tide water, and in the 

 Rappahannock to the very base of the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

 The curtailment of the breeding area by the erection of dams 

 on both rivers, had determined a corresponding reduction in 

 the productive capacity of the streams, and in concurrrence 

 with the irrational and unrestrained methods of fishing pur- 

 sued, had rendered franchises, once valuable, worthless, indus- 

 tries, once profitable, precarious and unproductive. A fish- 

 way that would freely pass shad up over these, obstructions, 

 and recover to production the breeding area of water from 



which they had been excluded, promised the means of restor- 

 ing these most valuable fisheries. 



The gentlemen who were then Commissioners of Fisheries 

 for the State, of Virginia were pleased to select me to visit the 

 Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, with instructions to 

 make a careful study of the models of all the forms of fish- 

 ways there exhibited, with the view of finding one that would 

 be adapted to our purpose. A careful study of all was made, 

 and I was reluctantly forced to the conclusion that none of 

 them fulfilled the necessary conditions of successful operation. 

 and I returned discouraged, with the conviction that an 

 'efficient shad way was a tiling of the future. 



The conditions to be satisfied in a successful llshwav con- 

 struction are as follows: 



First — The water should be delivered down a straight unob- 

 structed channel. 



Second— In sufficient volume to invite the entrance of fish. 



Third— With such moderate velocity as to permit their 

 ready ascent. 



Fourth — With a view to economy in construction it is im- 

 portant that the inclination or slope of the way should be 

 much more considerable, than in the ordinary inclined plane 



How to construct so as to fulfill these conditions was the 

 problem to be solved. Two methods suggested themselves. 

 It was possible to make the water do work in its descent and 

 thus control velocity. A flshway could be constructed on this 

 principle by an evident modification of the ordinary turbine 

 wheel, and such a flshway could be made to serve both as a 

 passage way for fish and as a motive power for machinery. 

 This idea, however, was soon abandoned for the double reason 

 of its complexity, and the limitation of its application that 

 would necessarily exist. 



The second fruitful idea was that if each molecule of water 

 could be compelled to traverse a constrained path, its final 

 direction in any one circuit being against gravity, it could be 

 brought to rest at a lower level— the friction developed in 

 movement having neutralized in part the force of accelera- 

 tion. 



The molecule falling from its second position of rest through 

 a similar circuit, and iu succession through any number of 

 circuits would finally reach any defined lower level with no 

 greater velocity than that attained in the Brat circuit de- 

 scribed. Were it practicable to subject every molecule of 

 water passing through a flshway to the constrained move- 

 ment above indicated, the result would be a descending cur- 

 rent, the average velocity of which would not exceed the 

 average velocity of a molecule iu passing to consecutive post 

 tions of rest under the'eonditions above stated. How this idea 

 has been realized in practical constructions, will be ani 

 by references to the following figures and descriptions: 



