WHEN THE FATHER OF WATERS GOES ON A RAMPAGE 



6(b 



haul of a short seine : and others are so 

 extensive at the time of the first visit that 

 they may properly be left for future at- 

 tention when their size shall have become 

 reduced to a point where thorough sein- 

 ing is possible. 



156,657,000 FOOD-FISHES WERE RESCUED 

 LAST SEASON 



It may not appear to be a matter of 

 great practical importance to know how 

 many fishes of the different species are 

 saved in the course of a season's work, 

 but it is at least a matter of considerable 

 interest to have such a record for each 

 of the various sections of the river and 

 for a series of years. Accordingly, the 

 seining parties are under orders to make 

 a count of the number of each species 

 taken from each body of water. 



The counting is done at the time the 

 fish are lifted from the seines into the 

 tubs with dip-nets. The tubs are half- 

 filled with pure water, and fish of given 

 sizes and species are counted into the 

 tubs until the water level rises to a ring 

 six inches below the top. 



Subsequently, actual counting may not 

 be necessary, but the number may be de- 

 termined with sufficient accuracy by not- 

 ing the water displacement. Frequent 

 test countings are made in the course of 

 the season, and a definite ratio of num- 

 ber to bulk is established for each aver- 

 age size of fish and each species. 



When the weather is warm or the dis- 

 tance to the planting place is consider- 

 able, the welfare of the fishes densely 

 crowded in the tubs requires that the 

 water be kept well aerated. This is ac- 

 complished by dipping up a little water 

 at a time and letting it fall back from a 

 height of several feet, and is always aided 

 by the squirming of the mass of fish, 

 which keeps the surface water agitated 

 and often frothy. Under the care of the 

 vigilant and skilled fish men, the mor- 

 tality among the rescued waifs while in 

 transit is negligible, and when released 

 the fish are healthy and active. 



Throughout the entire length of the 

 Mississippi River, except where the 

 banks are protected by levees or where 

 bluffs occur in proximity to the shores, 

 the annual floods leave temporary lakes, 



ponds, and pools that contain food-fishes 

 whose salvage is demanded. 



The territory covered by the govern- 

 ment's rescue operations in 1919 ex- 

 tended from Minnesota and Wisconsin 

 to Arkansas and Mississippi. The places 

 that were headquarters for rescue parties 

 were Homer, Minn. ; La Crosse, Wis. ; 

 Bellevue and North McGregor, Iowa ; 

 Quincy and Cairo, 111. ; Clarksville and 

 Canton, Mo. ; and Friars Point, Miss. 



The record-making efforts in 1919 re- 

 sulted in the saving of about 156,657,000 

 food-fishes. All parts of the river are 

 not equally productive and all sections 

 were not covered with the same degree 

 of thoroughness. The territory reached 

 from the base stations in Minnesota, 

 Wisconsin, and Iowa yielded by far the 

 largest returns in rescued fishes. There 

 the conditions are especially favorable for 

 an enormous annual destruction, and the 

 need for salvage work is most pressing. 



All the major and many of the minor 

 food-fishes of the river are represented 

 on the lists of those saved. Predominat- 

 ing in numbers are the staple fishes, 

 which support commercial fishing and 

 contribute largely to the food supply of 

 the region, notably the buffalo-fishes, 

 carps, catfishes, pikes, crappies, sunfishes, 

 and perches. 



Among the rescued game fishes the 

 large-mouth black bass holds an impor- 

 tant position, and with it may be classed 

 also the crappies, rock bass, white bass, 

 and various other excellent fishes which, 

 while taken for market, are much sought 

 by anglers throughout the Mississippi 

 Valley. 



THE FOOD-FISHES SAVED ARE WORTH MIL- 

 LIONS OF DOLLARS 



The young fishes that are salvaged and 

 replanted in the parent stream are of 

 rapid growth. A few of them may at- 

 tain marketable size in the year after 

 their rescue, and all of them are likely to 

 be available for human use in two or 

 three years. 



The most critical period in the life of 

 fishes is during a few weeks immediately 

 after hatching. For most of the fishes 

 rescued the principal danger from nat- 

 ural enemies and physical catastrophes 



