el ON awe S. FISH COMMISSION PLANTS SHAD. 
W. C. MARSH. 
We have seen the passing of another 
season of the shad, the “‘most delicious 
Alosa,” as its Latin name declares,—an 
assertion which many a lover of this aris- 
tocrat of fishes has corroborated during 
the few weeks when the markets give it 
forth fresh from the river, and the sten- 
torian voice of the fishmonger announces 
it even on the street. Likewise has passed 
the season when it reproduces its kind and 
gives our national fish commission an 
opportunity to assist it in maintaining its 
numbers against the heavy drains which 
the piscivorous portion of our population 
Make pom | Hone udeedantineariatial 
consumption of shad shows that it is a 
very important item in the bill of fare of 
the people, some 13,000,000 of these suc- 
culent fishes being eaten annually. These 
are worth over $1,500,000 and require the 
efforts of nearly 25,000 persons to capture 
and market them,—a body of men equal 
in numbers to our army in the Phil- 
ippines. A harvest of such proportions 
could never be obtained were it not that 
man takes a hand in the planting of the 
crop. It is here that the work of the Fish 
Commission plays a part. It gathers the 
eggs during the spawning season, hatches 
them in glass jars and “plants” them in the 
rivers. The shad itself of course does its 
best in this business of planting, but what 
with enemies in the water that, like the 
human race, consider shad roe a toothsome 
delicacy, and with the hard natural condi- 
tions with which it is surrounded, many 
of the eggs never hatch and the species 
cannot unaided maintain its abundance 
and at the same time supply a nation with 
a vast amount of food. But by taking 
the eggs artificially and hatching them un- 
der protection, a maximum number of 
eggs develop and produce living fry. 
Now if these tiny fishes could be kept 
in confinement until they reach a respect- 
able size many would be saved a violent 
death in the jaws of their predacious ene- 
mies that patrol the streams seeking whom 
they may devour. This, to a small extent 
the Fish Commission does, in the fish 
lakes over near Washington monument in 
the capital city; but so prolific is the shad 
and in such numbers do they come swarm- 
ing forth from the glass hatching jars that 
the great bulk of the season’s hatch must 
be planted at once. This process few 
people have an opportunity to witness: 
yet it is quite an interesting and not unin- 
structive sight. 
360 
A shad that has just begun its career 
by struggling out of the egg is one of the 
smallest and queerest of fishes, and re- 
sembles in no respect the big scaly fellows 
in the market. It has a slender transpar- 
ent body only a third of an inch long. A 
dipper of water might contain several 
hundred and yet one would have to look 
sharp in order to see them at all. No one 
would need to be told after looking at 
them that they cannot endure rough hand- 
ling of any sort. At the station where 
shad are hatched large numbers are placed 
in the river upon which the station is lo- 
cated and from which the eggs are taken. 
This is a comparatively simple matter as 
the water which receives them is close at 
hand. But i they are to be deposited 
hundreds of miles away, or even thou- 
sands, as has been done, special precau- 
tions are necessary in order to keep the fry 
alive during the journey. They must have 
a proper supply of good water ‘ich 
must be changed from time to time or else 
thoroughly aerated in order te keep it 
pure, and the temperature must be kept 
within certain limits. If thes> conditions 
are observed shad fry may be taken on 
long journeys lasting several days. 
Usually, however, the fry are deposited 
within 24 hours after the beginning of the 
journey. For purposes of transportation 
the commission uses railway cars con- 
structed for the puzpose. Exteriorly they 
resemble ordinary passenger cars and are 
attached to regular passenger trains. The 
illustration shows the interior of one of 
these cars. It is in charge of a “car cap- 
tain,’ who has as his’crew, beside the 
cook, 2 or 3 assistants known as “‘messen- 
gers.” It is fitted with sleeping berths 
and with a kitchen at one end so that all 
may live aboard the car “uring the con- 
tinuance of the trip. On cach side of the 
main space in the car is arranged a series 
of refrigerator compartments separated by 
cork filled partitions. Into these compart- 
ments are placed the receptacles—cans 
or tanks—containing the fry, and when 
necessary ice is used to keep down the 
temperature. The chairs in these cars 
have no legs. When not in use they are 
hung up out of the way, in the upper 
part of the car. At meal time they are 
placed on the top of the refrigerator com- 
partments and the table is placed in the 
passageway, to be removed after the meal: 
and thus there is plenty of room coupled 
with perfect economy of space. At the 
