FOREST AND STREAM. 
$s 1t §uU utit. 
EARLY FISH CULTURE. 
W E have before us a pamphlet, published about twenty 
years ago in Brussels, entitled Trail* tie Pisciculture 
Multiplication Artificicllt tit* Poissons, by M. Holtz. Some 
of the engravings we reproduce, with a translation of their 
descriptions. We have selected those devices which are 
employed in streams or ponds without the necessity of 
hatching houses, os this kind of apparatus is most suitable 
for the development of the ova of Spring spawners, com- 
prising, as they do, some of our most important food 
fishes. ’ The comparatively short period required for the 
development of their eggs renders it necessary to hatch 
them in the wntcra from which the parent fish are taken. 
The writer, after describing the devices used by M. Coste 
and others in hatching houses, which are too familiar to 
our fish culturists, and which have been, iu some particu- 
lars, improved upon by Messrs. Green, Stone, Clark, and 
others, to need reproduction, says: 
Where it would be impossible to construct any of the 
above described apparatuses, and where it is desirable to 
hatch the ova in water courses, wire cases could he used in 
pure and running water, (fig. 13,) or boxes of Messrs. 
a la—, Gekm & Hemy. The latter are 
used at Schnmhousc; but in order 
to avoid endangering the ova by 
the oxidation of the tin, Prof. 
RuefI has constructed them of 
zinc, and in addition thereto, fur- 
nished them with huoys or floats. 
Vessels of varnished terra cotta 
are likewise employed, which 
combine all the advantages of the 
Pig. 13. RuetT boxes, and are less costly, 
(fig. 14.) Different methods have also been found to pro- 
vide against the inconven- 
iences above mentioned, by 
employing wicker plats or 
baskets, with or without 
floats, (figs. 15 and 10.) fol- 
lowing the habits of the fish 
in incubation. M. Coste has 
also constructed an incuba- 
ting box, which should rem- 
edy all the inconveniences 
presented by the modes 
hitherto used. This box, 
fig. 17.) which Is a perfect 
improvement on that of 
Fig. 14. 
Jacoby, Is about one metre in length, one and a half metres 
in breadth, and tho same in height. Its bottom and sides 
are altogether of wood. The lid, placed on hinges, is 
divided transversely; In the centre of each is a square 
oponing of fifteen or 
twenty centimetres, 
covered with wire- 
work, and each end 
is closed by a frame, 
whose opening, a 
little larger than 
those of the lids, is 
also furnished with 
wire-work. Each 
open on hinges from 
the outside, and are 
held by screw rings, 
in which a cord, a 
pin or, for more se- 
curity, a padlock is 
passed. In the in- 
side this box is not 
divided, but has, at 
the ends and in the 
Fig* centre, about fifteen 
centimetres from the bottem, brackets or cross-pieces de- 
signed to sustain tho trays, which completes the apparatus. 
These trays consist of glass rods, encased in a wooden 
frame. But as these trays are designed to be placed one 
above the other, the frame should be somewhat deeper than 
the truys used in the - t\ 
troughs, and the ends 
should be considera- >*£-**f\ \ 
blv sloped, so us to 
allow a free passage 
of the water. Four 
of these trays can bo 
placed one on the 
other, rendering ' tho 
manipulation easier, 
and increasing the ca- 
pacity of the box This 
box, suitable to work 
in running water to 
receive free eggs os 
well as those which 
adhere to foreign sub- Pig. 17. 
Btances, suffices, in spite of its small volume, as well as ono 
of greater size, and can be maneuvered where it would bo 
difficult or prejudicial to use sieves. To watch what 
passes, to clean the wire-work where sediment obstructs 
the bars, one can open the doors or lid, as he desires, with- 
out drawing off tho water, without disturbing the trays, 
and without touching the eggs. Whether it is attached to 
a floatiug frame with cramps, or to stakes stuck iu tho 
earth, it should present to the current one of its ends, if 
the current be moderate, or one of its ingles, if it be too 
rapid. A bed of pebbles and fine sand placed at the bot- 
tom receives the young, which descend there as they hatch, 
and oilers them favorable conditions to their ulterior devel- 
opment, until the moment arrives to open the doors either 
to set them free, or transfer them to rivulets where their 
food is distributed. Those of small size can escaps through 
the wires and disperse in the waters where they are born 
When the hatching is completed, the trays are withdrawn 
from the box, in order to clean it easier and care for the 
young which remain. In using any of the above appa- 
ratuses iu still water, one must cover the bottom with 
aquatic herbs Theso vegetables prevent the water from 
becoming corrupt, and are an inexhaustible source of oxy« 
£eu, so useful in the development of the embryo. 
[Prom Proceedings of American Fish Colturlsis’ Association.) 
AQUACULTURE AND FISH PROTEC- 
TION^ 
BV SAMUEL WILMOT, NEWCASTLE, ONTAIUO. 
[ Concluded from our ionic of March 4 th.] 
Having explained the great necessity for passing laws in 
relation to the preservation of fish at certain seasons of the 
year it will he necessary now to *111001 the question, Why 
resort to artificial means for the propagation of fish; why 
not allow them to produce their young in the usual way? 
In contrasting the artificial with the natural method the 
superiority of the former over the latter sys'em will be 
easily understood, even by the great masses of the people, 
who are as yet wholly uninformed as to the novel science 
of artificial fish culture, not long since introduced into the 
country. , . , 
It has been advanced by naturalists of an enrly period, 
and upheld by eminent writers of modern times, that not 
more than one per cent, of the ova laid iu the natural way 
ever becomes a living fish. But in the present day it is 
possible, by artificial propagation, to rear from eighty to 
ninety living fish from every hundred eggs, which larger 
increase is actually needed for restocking the waters of the 
country with fish of such various kinds as may be required 
in various places, and for supplying in part the increasing 
demand in the markets of the country for fish food. 
As we have chosen to illustrate the necessity for legal en- 
actments for the protection of fish by introducing the sal- 
mon, we shall continue to take the same fish for an ex- 
ample while we explain the modus operand i of laying and 
hatching out of the fish spawn in the natural way, and re- 
late the many difficulties which beset the eggs at the time 
of their deposit by tho parent fish, and through the process 
of incubation, and until they are hatched out in the rivers 
or other waters. It may be observed that these operations 
nro performed at different times and places by the various 
kinds of fish. 
Salmon, after leaving their feeding grounds, will, after 
the somewhat lengthened migration previously mentioned, 
reach their spawning grounds far up river, or, in some in- 
stances, if very late in the season, near at hand above tide- 
way. A suitable gravelly bottom, rapid part of the stream, 
ie selected, where the female fish commences by writhing 
movements of her body to displace the stones and gravel 
in order to form the bed in which she may lay her eggs. 
In this work she is very much aided by the swift current 
of the water, which helps to move the gravel down stream 
that is being displaced by the exertions of the fish. In 
this way a hollow spot is dug out, and a small hillock of 
stones is formed just below. Into this scooped-out bed the 
fish, by contortions and strong muscular action of the 
body, ejects a portion of tho mature ova, many of which 
sinlc to the bottom amongst the gravel, whilst numbers are 
carried below and far beyond the bed by the current. The 
little ledge of gravel just above the bed is again disturbed, 
and the stones in the act of falling are by the action of the 
fish, assisted by the swift water, carried down over the 
eggs, thus partially covering them, and hiding many of 
them from sight, and also from many of their numerous 
enemies. 
This operation of spawning will take from two to three 
days to a week, and sometimes longer, depending much 
upon the lutencss of the season, and also the flow of water 
in the stream at the time. Should the season be dry, and 
tho water low, the fish will rest in the deep pools below, 
waiting for the water to rise in the rapids, that they may 
be enabled to get upon the shaljows to form their beds. 
All this time the eggs are maturing, and at last, late in 
the season, unable to retain the ova any longer, they will 
rush up at the first freshet, and in some instances lay the 
whole of their eggs in one or two nights. 
During the time in which the female is engaged iu depos- 
iting her eggs, she will generally be accompanied by a male 
fish, who performs very little, if any, of the labor in form- 
ing a bed; he is constantly hovering about just below the 
female, aud when she is in the act of laying her eggs he 
will run alongside, and, by a muscular movement of his 
body, eject some of his milt, which, if perchance it touches 
the egg, impregnates it. 
It does not necessarily follow that the female shall be 
accompanied by the male in the act of spawning, for ofteu 
it is found that she will lny her eggs without the presence 
of a male fish. It frequently happens that whilst she may 
be deeply engaged iu her work, several male fish will be 
fighting together to gain the superiority of place. Whilst 
thus engaged, the female, bent upon her work, is deposit- 
ing her ova without the vivifying fluid coming in coutact 
with them. Whilst this operation of laying the ova is go- 
ing on, the bed is generally surrounded by various kinds of 
small, predacious fish, watching every opportunity to prey 
upon the eggs as they flow from the female, or as they set- 
tle in the bed or drift beyond it. 
Trout cause great havoc in this way, nor is this fondness 
for the eggs to be laid to the trout alone, for young salmon 
(parrs), chubs, eels, aud almost every other kind of small 
fish are lying in wait to pe.form the same act of destruc- 
tion of the ova. It is a mere matter of masteiy which 
Blind get the lion’s share. 
Those of the eggs that shall have escaped these perils, 
together with those that have received the fecundating 
fluid, will be found embedded iu the gravel, where they re- 
main (should they escape all other dangers) during a period 
of from five to six months of the coldest season of the 
year, namely, from October till the followiug April or May. 
Various kinds of insects, water lings, and innumerable 
aquatic animals, whose nature it is to lie hidden underneath 
the gravel and stones at the bottoms of streams, whilst 
groping about for food, come upon these salmon beds, and, 
perforating the soft, filmy covering of the egg, with their 
needle-like teeth aud sharp claws destroy vast numbers of 
them. 
Add to this a great number lost by decay, for all those 
which have not received the vitalizing fluid die, and, be- 
coming putrid, there grows upon them a species of fungus, 
which, spreading its grasping web, catches in its poisonous 
folds any adjoining eggs, killine them at once. This in- 
sidious growth works great destruction to the semi-incu- 
bated egg. Clusters of a hundred and more are thus some- 
times found iu the crevices of the largei gravel iu a putrid 
state. This great scourge of the ova is verv difficult to 
overcome, even in the purest water, und where' the greatest 
atteutiou is given to prevent its growth. 
Auother great loss of the ova takes place during the long 
and inclement Winter months from the formation of anchor 
ice, which, in shuliow part* of river* aud itreams, prevail* 
to such nn extent as to become one solid mass, in many j„. 
stances forcing the stream out of the channel in which it 
flowed during the Autumn. The eggs thus having ] 0st 
their covering of water, become frozen and die. Great 
destruction is also caused by the shifting and shoving 0 f 
ice from the effects of heavy freshets. Whole section, 
where snlinon beds had been made are sometimes swept 
away, and become so changed as to leave no vestige of 
their original formation. 
The remnant of the eggs which may have escaped de- 
struct ion from the above mentioned sources will iu April 
and May hatch out and become young fry. At this ti mf 
they are helpless in the extreme, lying prone on their side, 
with a large bag or umbilical sac attached to their bodies'. 
In this stage of their existence they remain about live or 
six weeks, until by a process of a absorption, brought 
about by the increased warmth of the water in Spring, ti K , 
sac hitherto attached to the body disappears, and the little 
fish, now symmetrically formed, begin to roam about i n 
lively manner in search of food. From the time of emerg- 
ing from the shell up to the present time they are still an 
easy prey for their numerous enemies. 
The difficulties above enumerated, which beset the e*?g 
from the time when it was laid up to the period of j| s 
hatching out into a young fish, though somewhat numc. 
rous, are by no mcaus all that it has to encounter. There 
is to be added the destruction by aquatic birds, polluted 
water, deleterious substances of various kinds, which are 
constantly thrown into the streams from manufacturing es- 
tablishments, saw dust and rubbish from saw mills, wash- 
ings from barn yards and turnpike roads, natural and arti- 
ficial manures, and other foreign substances used upon the 
soil in farming, draining, etc. All flowing more or less at 
times into the streams, aud settling upon these beds, so 
pollute the water and otherwise injuriously affect them, as 
to cause immense losses to fish eggs, and also to the newly 
hatched out, and as undeveloped and very delicate fry. 
Of the eggs thus deposited, scarcely one in a hundred 
ever produces a living fish. \et withal, fish are so prolific 
in their nature that there would sfill be enough for supply- 
ing the waters iu abundance, and also a sufficiency to re 
lievc the wants of a considerable portion of mankind, were 
it not for the ruthless and barbarous manner in which they 
are killed by man, irrespective of the seasons in which they 
are foul and unclean for food, and of the time also iii 
which they are in the act of (laying their eggs for produc 
ing their young. 
Having now shown the manner in which the ova are 
laid by the parent fish in the natural way, and having de- 
scribed the numerous sources from which great destruction 
results to the egg by that system, it .will be necessary to 
fully explain the me'thod adopted by the artificial propiigu 
tion of fish. 
For this purpose we will commence - at the time at whic Ii 
the parent fish shall have reached the spawning grounds 1 
the river or other water, and when the ova and milt hav< 
become mature the egg9 are then taken from the female 1 
the opeiator in as gentle and careful a manner as possibl 
There are three methods practiced in securing the adi 
fish, male and female, for this purpose. One is to cid 
them by means of nets whilst they are upon the shallo 
and if found ripe at the time to then and there carefi 
extract the ova and milt from them. This will be found 
difficult procedure, both in the netting of the flsli and u! 
in the uncertainty of afterwards finding them perfect, 
ripe for spawning, and should not he adopted unless it 1) 
impossible to procure them by other means. Another p.. 
is to catch such numbers of tho adult fish as may be n- 
quired at the time of their migration up rivers during tie 
Summer months, by means of small meshed nets, and ear. 
fully put them into ponds or enclosures, and there secure! 
kept until they become mature for laying their eggs. Tit 
other method, which from the beginning has been used 
the Newcastle establishments in Ontario, is by erecting 
reception house alongside of the stream (through which 
sufficient body of water is made to pass), into which tl 
parent fish, on their journey up stream, are enticed to n 
ter through peculiarly formed traps, from whence llu 
cannot return or escape. 
This building is divided into several compartments, an 
the different sexes are placed in different pens, so that t In- 
can be more readily noticed and selected for rannipulalin 
purposes. When they ure found to he ripe, a female 
taken out of the water and held over a tin pan or otlu 
vessel, and the eggs are extracted from the vent by a gentle 
pressure of the hand lengthwise along the abdomen. A 
male is then tuken, aud the same operation is performed, 
aud the milt or semen which is taken from him is mixed 
with the eggs in the pan by gently stirring together with 
the hand, or by a tremulous shake of the vessel. By this 
means every egg will have come into contact with the fe- 
cundating fluid of the mule, aud unless from some natural 
defect, either in the egg or the milt, all of the ova will be- 
come impregnated. The pan or vessel containing the egg* 
is then laid aside for a short time, and iu order to ascertain 
the quantity they are measured out by means of a little 
measure, made to contain a certain number, and then 
placed upon the breeding trays; they are then laid in tin- 
hatching troughs, through which a constant flow of water 
from the stream is made to run. Here the eggs are allowed 
to remain during the whole period of their incubation, 
namely, from October uml November till the following 
April and May. 
During this time they arc closely watched, and should 
auy of the ova, from the want of impregnation, or from 
any other cause, become bad, they will turn an opaque 
while color, and being easily noticed are removed by means 
of forceps, or other instruments adapted for the purpose. 
Should tuese white, or dead eggs, be kept too long, they 
will become putrid, and a fungus will begin to grow upon 
them; this would seriously affect and destroy all adjoining 
egg*- 
Should any sediment or other deleterious substance set- 
tle upon the ova during the time of batching, it is imme- 
diately washed off by sprinkling water upon them with on 
ordinary gardener’s watering cun. By this means they are 
kept clean aud free from filth of all kinds. No frost is 
allowed to penetrate the building, and the flow of water i» 
regulated at pleasure by taps lending it into each of the 
series of troughs throughout the entire building. At the 
entrance of each trough perforated screens are placed to 
prevent the possibility of small fish entering them. In this 
thoroughly protected state tho ova are kept until the young 
fish emerge fn m the shell, generally in April and May, 
after which tin e also, and until the umbilical sac is wholly 
absorbed, they ar<s carefully watched and protected. 
Iu May aud June the fry wUi have become beautifully 
