20 
FOREST AND STREAM 
&s ! r (gitlhtre. 
AMERICAN FISH CULTURISTS' ASSO- 
CIATION. 
SECOND DAY'S PROCEEDINGS. 
T nE association resumed its session on Wednesday at 
llie office of its Vice President, Mr. George S. Puge, 
No 10 Warren street, Hon. R. B Roosevelt iu the chair. 
Amon r tiie gentlemen present were H. J. Reeder, Fishery 
Commissioner of Eastern Pennsylvania; T. B. Ferguson, 
Fishery Commissioner, Baltimore; Dr. William M Hudson, 
Fishery Commissioner, Connecticut; M. C. Edmunds, Wes- 
ton, Vt ; George Shepard Page, B. F. Bowles, Springfield, 
Mass ; C. Van Winkle; Waller Arnold, Toronto, Ontario; 
Prof. Spencer F. Baird, Washington; Dr. Milnor, United 
Slates Fishery Commissioner; Eugene 0. Blackford; Prof. 
G Brown Goode, of l lie Smithsonian Institute ; A. S. Col- 
lins, i aledonln, N. Y. ; Samuel Wilmot, Newcastle, On- 
tario; Belli Green, Rochester; A. G. Koorbcck; W. F. Par 
Ver, Meriden, Conn.; T, C. Banks, Charles Halloek, B. 
Phillip 4 . Rudolph Hessel, Prof. Gill, Dr. Salter, N. Pyke, 
N W. Park. Detroit; Charles B. Evurls, Vermont; C. H. 
Raymond, President of the Morris County Sportsman’s 
C'liib; Prof. Henry Morton, Stevens Institute, Hoboken; 
Prof. Bickford, American Museum of Natural Histr ry. 
The proceed Inge commenced v ith a recital by Mr. Reeder 
of his experiences with the two species of black bass 
known as mlrnoulta and nigricans. A distinction hud been 
made, lie said, with regard to the geographical location of 
these fish; the general impression being that the sahrundts 
nre found in Southern waters, while the nigricans are con- 
fined to Northern rivers. Careful examination bus led him 
to the conclusion that this geographical distinction was a 
mistake, although the difference between the two kinds of 
lmss was distinctly marked. Alluding to the scarcity of 
tnis fish ill the waters ol Pennsylvania, which had origin- 
ally been slocked from the Potouiac, he remarked that he 
accounted for the circumstuncc in this way; iu the early 
pail ol July, alter the beds were prepared uiid when the 
bpawn was there, they had severe storms, which Hooded 
tlie streams and curried down mud and vurious kinds of 
debris. Their theory was that < lie sediment settled on the 
beds and killed the spawn. He would like to hear any 
suggestion which might he offered os to the loss of the 
young fish. 
Mr. Seth Green thought that what Mr. Reeder had stated 
would he very likely io happen. Thut on the other bund, 
if the liver hud been overstocked it whs possible that the 
muurul supply of food being exhausted ihe fish hud eaten 
their young. 
Mr. Reeder thought the explanation was hardly sufficient, 
Inu'tuiich as there was a large quantity of minnows ami 
other ti>h on which the bass coulu feed. 
1 rot. Baird made u brief statement as to the action of 
the United Stales Commission. Their operations, he said, 
had been principally connected with shad und salmon. 
6h id were quite plenty both in the Hudson and Connecti- 
cut livers, und they had been able to transfer a laigc num- 
ber of fish to the We.it. The aggregate distribution was 
but .veen two and three millions, some of which were car 
r;ul to Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, lowu, Minnesota, and 
Massachusetts. The German Governmeut hud forwarded 
then) 200,000 eggs of ihu Rhine salmon through Mr. Ues- 
eel, but neurly all of them died, and iu the same wu their 
nticmpt to Introduce Ameiicau shad into German wutera 
had also failed. The eggs were forwarded in charge of 
Mr. Mather and Mr. Anderson, hut after eleven days ihey 
all died. The salmon stations in Calilorniu and iu Maine 
had, Pmf. Baird said, beeu considerably enlarged. About 
o.uoo.uuo of eggs had been taken iu mo McCloud River, 
of which l.OUO.uOO or thereabout had been turned into the 
Sacramento River. About 2,500,000 of California sulmon 
ol iuM \ car's production were now in the streums for 
Vinca they were intended. The Buck-port settlement, he 
expluiued, bud also been more successful thun usual. 
.Ur. Grecu, in reicinug to ihe failure of the New York 
Con; m i-.-ioii to carry the sbad to Germany, stated that the 
boxes in which the eggs were placed were made of tin and 
ziue, which lormud a battery, 'toad the eggs, he believed 
■were kilhd by ihe ucid thus created. 
Mr. Reei er comm inicuted io the association the sub- 
siniiceot u coiiiinuuicuiiou from .Mr. Clarke, of Michigan, 
"'iiu regard to (he hutching ol whiteflsh. He had retarded 
the li.ncliing ol w'hitetish tor 186 days by the use of cold 
wu er und tee, when necessary, and it occurred to him [Mr. 
Reeder] 1 hat mis system might be made effective iu the 
ti utispoi lui ion of li-.il across me Atlantic. After they were 
ButeJy 1 1 unspotted, ihey might be then hatched. 
-'ll Grecu described the wuy iu which Ihe whiteflsh de- 
posited their spawn, which was, iu effect, thut they scat- 
tered it broadcast, while, on tho contrary, he said the sal- 
mon truui deposited it in hods, uud tried to cover it up. 
Mr. Reeder, recurring t,. the subject of returdin ' the 
untuning ol whil.-n-ii, said that Mr. Clarke’s plan wan to 
Jet llie water cool to ihe lemperuture ol the atmosphere 
an I in, n let it 1 U 11 over tho eggs, and, if necessary, u> cooi 
it with ice. 
’1 ho suuject of establishing an aquarium in New York 
on the principle ut that at Brigutoii, was introduced by 
Mr. Eugene G. Blutehmrd. lie represented that the studv 
oi ichthyology was attended with difficulty, uud urged thu't 
an oppoi muiiy shout, i be given for observing the habits of 
Lm ui ihoir uumrul element. This mutter hud been advo- 
cated iu me Turn*. App^tons Jour run, und Forest and 
bTi.EA.ti, and, in the hope that it would be favorably cu- 
tei laiueii, bo would present a resolution on the subject 
lie men moved u lesoiutiuu expressing in effect the belief 
ot mo r isU Culiut iois' Association thut an aquurium lu the 
city of Now VorK would he a great benefit to science gen- 
daily, mm ichthyology iu particular, und giving its favor- 
able cuuutcnanoo io any public or privule measure in that 
direeliou. 
in Central Park. Tho financial panic then intervened, and 
everybody was calculating what money he had to keep 
rather than what he had to spend. As far as he knew, 
there was no special scheme on foot. 
Prof. Baird thought a stock company would lie desirable 
as well as profitable, although it would be more desirable 
that it should be one of the public institutions of the city. 
The stocking of such an aquarium would he a very simple 
mutter. He would willingly give the use of all his trawls, 
nets, etc., used in his coast work, uud could furnish an 
abundance of specimens. The Central Park authorities, 
he believed, would facilitate the matter by every mcaus in 
their power, and other attractions might be added to the 
. Mr. Ward, of App cton’s Journal, said that having heard 
that Mr. baville Kent hud severed his connection with the 
Jingliiou Aquarium, he wrote to Mr. Kent with the view 
o.‘ 8 elll "o 111 ' opiiuuu as to the c>tabliahiueut of un aqua- 
rium m Ecu. rat Park. He [Mr. Ward] ihought if mey 
couid ■.l.iuiii Mr. Keuts services, uud me indorsement of 
the public, the mailer would be tuirly iu the way of pro- 
gicss. 1 lie idea lie had iu his iniud was to ugituie the 
.quo-lion in New Yolk so that some gentleman might be 
-Willing to come forward uud endow an aquarium building 
aquarium . 
Mr. B. Phillips, in advocating the establishment of an 
aquarium, referred also to some of the discussions which 
had occurred the previous day in relation to the impregna- 
tion of water to such an extent ns 'o alter the character or 
flavor of fish. This appeared to him to be an abstract sci- 
ence, something in the nature of the dilcttuntcisin of pisci- 
culture. His friend. Mr. Blackford, however, in asking 
for an aquarium, only asked for what would be of the 
greatest possible utility in the study of icthyology. 
Mr. Blackford's resolution was unanimously adopted by 
the association. 
Sir. Wilmot, of Ontario, Canada, read an interesting col- 
lntement from reports which he had submitted to the Ca- 
nadian Legislature on the subject of fish culture. He 
divided his statement into three parts. First, he insisted 
on the enactment of judicious protective laws; then he an- 
swered the question, which he said was frequently asked by 
the skeptical, as to why fish should be produced by artifi- 
cial means instead of allowing them to breed in the natural 
way, and lastly he pointed out the way in which the arti- 
ficial process obviated the numerous difficulties which be- 
set the natural breeding of fish. After referring to the 
general importance of pisciculture, he strongly urged the 
uecessity of legislatures making laws for their protection 
during certain seasons of the year, especially during the 
close or spawning season. The sea fisheries, he said, did 
not require the same protection as those inland. On the 
subject of nutural and artificial breeding of fish, he took 
the salmon as an example, pointed out the way in which 
the spawn was deposited in the natural process, showed 
the various ways in which the eggs were destroyed, such 
as fuilure in impregnation, attacks by fish insects, aquatic 
birds, etc., aud contended that not more than one per ceit. 
ever came to be mature fish. On the other hand, he showed 
that from the care taken in the artificial process, and the 
way in which the eggs were protected from danger of all 
kinds, the percentage was more than seventy-five or eighty 
per cent. 
A resolution was here introduced with the view of bind- 
ing fish culturists to sell spawn at certain rates, for the 
purpose of uniformity of prices; but most of the members 
of the association were opposed to it, and it was directed 
to be laid on the table. 
Mr. Green submitted some remarks on the subject of re- 
stocking our used up streams. He commenced fishing as a 
business, he said, in 1837, and had followed it up to 1800. 
He admitted that he himself Lad done as much as any man 
iu clearing out the streams, and he was now anxious to aid 
in restocking them. The first thing to be considered in 
this mutter was to find waters suited for the fish, und in 
which they would find the proper food. It was a mistake 
to suppose that a fish could live on water. It could uo 
more do so than a man could live on air. In such >t matter, 
too, it was necessary that they should have wealthy, pub- 
lic spirited, and earnest men as commissioners, and the 
superintendent should be a practical fisherman, aud it was 
all t lie belter if lie was a fish culturist as well. It was im- 
portant to stock the large lakes with salmon, trout, and 
whiteflsh, and he believed that this could be accomplished 
iu a few years. He suggested that the Canadian Govern- 
ment would possibly assist. Black and Oswego bas 9 and 
wall eyed pike he suggested as the proper food for inland 
waters. 
Dr. G. II. Colton Salter, for many years United States 
consul ut various ports in China, entertained the associa- 
tion with a recital of some ol his experiences with the fish 
and fishing in that kingdom. In a country so densely pop- 
ulated as China, where for nge9 the ingenuity of man had 
been tested to the utmost in supplying the wants of the 
population, it was hut reasonable to suppose that the sci- 
ence of pisciculture had attained a high degree of perfec- 
tion. Some of their fish are not dissimilar to our own. 
The sainli is identical with our shad, and the Doctor hud 
euteu them on the Yang-Tsze, 1,000 miles from its mouth 
The large lakes of TuujMing and the Poyang, communi- 
cating directly with the Yang Tsze, afforded excellent fish- 
ing and breeding grounds. 
Prof. Gill, of ihe Smithsonian Institute, furnished the 
association with a scientific discourse concerning the divi- 
sions of ihe various families of fishes found in American 
wuiers. With reference to the matter first brought for- 
ward by Mr. Reeder as to the geographical distinction of 
the species of bass known as the ealmoides aud nigricans, 
he said thut ih his experiences the latter were found even 
further South than the mlmoides. 
During the day several oil paintings from nature of trout 
salmon trout, California salmou, and grayling (the work of 
Mr. Robert Wiseman) were exhibited. 
After some formal resolutions, the thanks of the associ- 
ation were tendered to Mr. Page and the other members of 
his firm for placing the room at the disposal of the society. 
Ihe meeting then adjourned. 
MEETING OF FISH COMMISSIONERS. 
—The pressure upon our columns this week prevents us 
from publishing a report which we have on hand of a lec- 
ture delivered by Hon. Theodore Lyman, State Fish Com- 
missioner of Massachusetts, last week, before the Massa- 
chusetts Anglers’ Association. 
We have also some valuable official communications re- 
lating to fish culture in Switzerland aud Austria, prepared 
especially for Forest and Stream by Mous. Edward 
Guyer, of Zurich, which we shall print next week. 
A letter from Mr. N. W. Clark, of Northville, Michigan, 
will receive our notice. 
T HE first annual meeting of the Fish Commissioners of 
the various States was held Thursday at the Fifth 
Avenue Hotel. Among .those present were Professor S. F. 
Baird, of the Smithsonian Institute, Washington; E. m! 
Stillwell and Henry O- Stanley, of Maine; A. C. Fifleld, 
of New Hampshire; M. C. Edmunds, of Vermont; E. A. 
Brackett, of Massachusetts; Wm. M. Hudson, R. J. Pike 
and James A. Bill, of Connecticut; J. H. Burden, of Rhode 
Island; R. R. Roosevelt, of New York; J. P. Clark, of 
Michigan; B. P. Howell, G. C. Anderson, J. It. Shotwell, 
of New Jersey; H. J. Reeder, of Pennsylvania. There 
were also present: C. G. Atkins, of Maine; T. B. Ferguson, 
of Marylaud. Samuel Wilmot, from Ontario, Associate 
Fish Commissioner of Canada, represented that Dominion 
iu the conference. Among others present, not membors 
were Mr. Milner, and Professor Gill, of the Smithsonian 
Institute. The editors of Forest and Stream and 
American. Sportsman were also courteously invited to 
attend the meeting. 
IIon.'R. B. Roosevelt was unanimously elected to the 
chair. Dr. Hudson called attention to the fact that the 
meeting was brought for the purpose of devising means of 
co-operation; that through discussion of fishing interests 
more knowledge of the subject might be disseminated and 
that the Commissioners might be better known to each 
other and with the plans of the different Stales. 
I)r. J. W. Milner read a long paper summarizing the 
present condition of pisciculture and giving suggestion for 
the most effective action looking to a restoration of the 
fisheries. He considered that the extension of railroads 
throughout the country had opeued much more exten.ive 
markets, that the enterprise of dealers in finding new 
sources of trade had increased the demand, and that fisher- 
men, incited thereby, had greatly improved their nets and 
given increased energy to their occupation. Besides the 
increased capture of fishes for food the establishment of 
industrial enterprises iu the vicinity of streams had acted to 
decrease the supply, through a pollution of the waters by 
the means of deleterious drugs, etc. The subject of the 
adaptability of different waters for various species was 
discussed, and they were divided, with regard to their vari- 
ous temperatures, into rivers, lakes aud ponds. The vari- 
ous causes of disease arises from obstructions in the rivers, 
preventing ascent to the spawning grounds, pollution of 
waters from tho refuse of manufactories, etc., were con- 
sidered, as well as the abuses of fishing and the presence of 
predatory species. The paper deprecated protective legis- 
lation, which had been in use since the middle ages iu 
Europe, and from 1023 in this country, 351 separate laws 
having beeu passed directly for the benefit of food fishes. 
The inadequacy of these had been proved by experience. 
The feasibility of artificial propagation had now been 
hbunduuily proved. In Norway, Canada and Scotlaud 
salmou had been successfully reared, and shad had in- 
creased iu the Hudson and Connecticut rivers under scien- 
titiic treatment, and numerous other species had also been 
propaguted iu the waters of the interior. 
Most of the Commissioners took part in the discussion 
which followed, and gave interesting recitals of their per- 
sonal experience, and the prospect of fish culture in their 
several jurisdictions. Mr. Wilmot told what the Canadian 
government wished to do on the Detroit River, bin for 
want of similar action or interest on the part of the Michi- 
gan authorities on the other side of the river, he thought 
it would be necessary to ask the joint action of Congress, 
but was at raid the jealous care of Slates right would lead 
to opposition. 
It was suggested that the question of legislation be re- 
ferred to Professor Baird, with another suggestion that 
the proposed action take the shape of a memorial to the 
Senate in relation to international waters between Canada 
and the United States, and be submitted to the Commis- 
sioners for their signatures. 
Professor Baird said that there were two parts to such a 
movement; one related to legislation, the other to joint ac- 
tion in the matter of hatching. If his appropriation from 
Congress was sufficient, Professor Baird would not hesitate 
to join hands at once in a fish propagating measure with 
the Canadian authorities. 
Commissioner Edmunds introduced the following resolu- 
tion. to be presented to the Congress of the United’ States : 
Whereas, There is a great decrease in the supply of food 
fishes of our sea coast and in the international waters on 
our northern frontier, therefore be it resolved that the Fish 
Commissioners of the several States humbly petition your 
honorable body to take some action in relation thereto. 
Prof. Baird suggested thut his name should not be intro- 
duced in the matter, the memorial standing by itself. He 
thought it was only necessary to draw up the memorial in 
the usual form, asking Congress to consider suitable laws 
for the protection and multiplication of the fishes on 
the northern border. The motion was then carried, and 
the Convention adjourned subject to Prof. Baird’s call, the 
place of meeting to be named by him. 
— The Maine State Association for the Preservation of 
Fish was incorporated last week, with John II. Kimball, 
Bath, President; Wm. S. Badger, Augusta, Vice President; 
J. W. Clapp, Secretary and Treasurer; a board of firteen 
directors, also a committee of three, were elected. The 
annual meeting of the association is to be held at Augusta 
on the third Friday of January each year. 
—A dispatch from Sioux City, dated February 2d, re- 
ports that on the morning cf thut day Fish Commissioner 
Charles Ilai ues deposited 5,000 young California salmon in 
hloyd River, and intends putting the same number iu the 
Big Sioux. Both rivers empty into the Missouri within 
the city limits. 
Mr. H. L Leonard, of Bangor, has just returned from 
his trip to Sebec lake, whence he took 200,000 salmon eggs 
from the Bucksport hatching works. Mr. Leonard has 
charge of the hatching house at Sobec, and states that the 
transfer was entirely successful. 
— Messrs. E. M. Stilwell, and II. O. Stanley, of Dixfleld, 
have beeu reappointed as Fish Commissioners of Maine. 
Both gentlemen have proved very zealous and efficient. 
— At the close of the late exhibition of the Mass. Poultry 
Association at Boston, Mr. Fred. Mather wa9 presented 
with an elegant silver mounted fishing-rod by Bradford and 
Anthony, dealers in fishing tackle, &c., for Ills fine display 
of ffsh and fish culture. 
