100 
FOREST AND STREAM 
Sell (feultmit. 
[Prom Prooocdlnee of American Fish CaUuilals' Aaeoclatlon 1 
FISH CULTURE ON THE YANG-TSZ 
KIANG — THE SAMLI, OR CHINESE 
SHAD. 
BY 0. H. COLTON BALTER, EX-UNITED STATES CONSUL TO 
TIIE TREATY TORTS OF THE YANG-TSZ KIANG, CHINA. 
I N 1802 I occupied 150 days in going from New York to 
Shanghai in the Ocean Charger; to-day, thanks to the 
steam lines, wc can connect the two cities in forty to forty- 
five days. As we approach the China coast we find the 
water very muddy, caused by the vast flow of the Yang- 
tsz, carrying with it an immense amount of earthy de- 
posit. in fact, islands arc formed and new shonls are dis- 
covered every year, necessitating eoustaut surveys of the 
channel. 
I should call the Yang-tsz Kinng not only the great shad 
river, but the great fish river of the globe; so vast and of 
such majestic proportions that the Chinese familiarly and 
poetically speak of it as the “Child of the Ocean." I have 
explored it in my little yacht, the Fuustiuc, about 1,000 
miles from its mouth. 
I believe Prof. ISaird, of the Smithsonian Institute, and 
the United States Fish Commissioner, has in view the 
stocking of the Mississippi with shad; but the question has 
arisen, Will the shad ascend the river to nny grent distance 
in view of the very muddy character of the water? I re- 
ply that the Yang tsz Kiang is Jvery muddy, the color of 
thick pea soup, yet the tamll (shad) we found there in great 
numbers. They are of superior llavor, of great size, are 
held in great favor by both rich and poor, and are sent 
from the river to all parts of the vast empire in large ves- 
sels, made of cartheu ware, called cangs. The Chinese 
have a very ancient custom of sending the first large shad 
of the season to the Emperor at Peking, and the custom 
requires that the Emperor should send the lucky fellow a 
hundred taels of sycee (silver), about $150 gold. 
The people of China hold in great reverence anything 
in the way of fish, fiesh, or fowl, which contributes largely 
to their support, and they ascribe especial virtues to the 
medicinal properties of the oil of the shad, considering it 
almost a specific for affections of the air passages, and, in 
its early stages, a positive cure even for consumption. 
I will remark here that agriculture is looked upon in 
China ns n most exalted calling. Once a year the Emperor 
visits the Temple of Agriculture, at Peking, a building on 
a stupendous scale, takes a golden plough and makes a long 
lurrow. Tins old custom is intended to convey to the 
minds of nil the people the idea that the tilling of the soil 
is a pursuit fit for an Emperor. Next to agriculture, iny 
researches show they place pisciculture. They give it tins 
place because the proper study of it, the constant stocking 
of the lakes, the rivers and streams with fish, supplies the 
vust population — estimated by many geographers at 500,- 
000,000 of souls— with an abundance of healthy food, 
keeps them contented with their lot, and therefore prolongs 
their lives and their spheres of usefulness. 1 have hud the 
jamli served on iny table nearly 1,000 miles from the Pa- 
cific Ocean, while sniling on this great river. Tli is, I be- 
lieve, will lie considered uu important fact, us showing the 
probability of stocking our great rivers at long distances 
from the sea. 
The dense population of the empire has stimulated inge- 
nuity to the highest degree, nnd it is fair to assume that 
witli a continuous experience of at least forty centuries they 
must have discovered and put to practical use all the meth- 
ods and appliances of pisciculture as practiced by the Cau- 
casian race, 1 am aware that European and American 
scientists hold fast to the theory that we are wholly in- 
debted to Jacobi, of Hoenhausen, anil after that to Joseph 
Remi, of Bressi, for t(je theory as well ns the practice of 
artificial impregnation; but I believe the Chinese discovered, 
Centuries ago, the same system of manipulating the ova 
nnd the milt by artificial methods. The Chiueso show 
wonderful ingenuity and inexhaustible patience in securing 
the eggs after impregnation, iu raising the infants, und in 
filling the lakes, rivers, and streams with the best and most 
profiiable species, as well as seuding the fish to the most 
distant portions of that vast empire of eighteen provinces, 
any one ol winch has a population perhups greater than 
the whole United States. They are very particular about 
catching their lood fish; if small ones are caught they are 
returned to the water to increase. This is the effect ot long 
custom, to them more powerful than any written code; 
they save where we waste. They have several ingenious 
methods of driving the fish to the nets by arranging a cor- 
don of bouts at one end of tiic pond ot lake, und boating 
tom-toms and gongs in unison, so that the tinny tribe, 
alarmed by the din nud noise, swim away from it and are 
caught in the meshes of the nets at the* other end. The 
practice ol employing tha» unwieldy bird, l lie cormorant, 
as a fish catcher, is curious as well as original. To describe 
the process would lake up loo much of your space. 
it may be proper to usk here of what use is ull this labor 
in stocking our exhausted water courses with fish if we 
still permit ull the scourge of our cities and towns, all the 
liquid poisons from our manufacturing establishments, to 
kill the lisli after you have taken so much pains to hatch 
them. Mr. Seth Green and Mr. Fred. Mather have spoken 
well and vigorously ou the subject. Our laws are notori- 
ously defective, yet the Chinese show the greatest care iu 
keeping the waters free from taint and poison. There the 
all powerful custom, tho unwritten law, deeply giaven on 
the hearts of the people, is all sufficient, hence their rivers 
are probably as lull of fish to-day as they were 4,000 years 
ago. We, with the recklessness that characterizes our race, 
introduce the foul filth of our sewers at our very bed sides 
through the vents of our marble basins. We pour all this 
liquid excrement into our rivers — millions on millions of 
tons every year — which, if placed ou our fields, would 
make the waste Bpots bloom with beauty, and then we send 
to the Chichu Islands for guano. We call our race civil- 
ized, und the Mongolian savage. In China every' atom of 
this human excrement, as well as the deposits ot animals, 
is saved. It is carried away from the houses each day, ami 
iu adjacent villages the eaith system is carried on, ami has 
been carried ou lor centuries. The intelligent foreigner in 
China is constantly amused ul the claims of these so-called 
modern inventions — earth closets, for example. In the cu- 
rious boat life of the empire — thousands born, living, and 
dying on boats — you will see the same cure of the excre- 
ment, liquids and solids being saved and sold. Iu the 
valley of the Yang-tsz, under This system, three crops are 
raised during the year; iu fact, iu no other way could the 
vast mass of people exist. 
I may mention ns an equally curioufr, instructive and 
interesting fact, the artificial incubation of fowls, carried 
on in every villuge of the empire. You meet flocks of tiny 
S 'eese and ducks going to water led by little boys, with the 
umilinr bamboo wanu, and another flock Of small chicks, 
numbering a hundred or more, going to pasture led in the 
same way. In fact, there is wonderful accord between the 
beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the fishes of the 
sen, and the average Chinaman, who, patient and plodding, 
talks to all these creatures of God’s vast domnin, nnd brings 
himself to their level, or they rise to his, in a way utterly 
unknown to the more fiery or more aggresive Caucasian. 
The amount of phosphorus contained in certain fishes 
used for food has led many scientists to assume that a fish 
diet has a tendency to increase the activity of the bruin, 
nnd lienee is the only suitable diet for persons who tax the 
brain cells for long and continuous periods. This, I think, 
was a favorite theory of the great naturalist, Louis Agassiz, 
and many persons believe that he was the author of the 
theory. I found in China that the literary clus9 believed 
that a farinaceous and fish diet was more suitable for them 
Horn one composed of flesh; that while the former sup- 
plied the waste of the system as well as nourished it, the 
latter made the blood gross and heavy, and hence unfitted 
tlfe system for severe mental toil. 
I once visited a high ofllcial, living on the borders of the 
famed Tung ting Luke, the great lake of China. His home 
was about 800 miles from the Pacific Ocean, in the very heart 
of the empire. After partaking of his generous hospital- 
ity, and smoking the pipe of friendship, I asked him if the 
Chinese philosophers of the ancient days attributed any 
special properties to a fish diet as a brain producer and 
brain invlgorator. lie smiled pleasantly, and begged me 
to follow him to the Ilall of Ancestry — the sacred spot — 
the temple in the house of every Chinese gentleman in 
good circumstances. The walls were covered with numer- 
ous lengthy scrolls, commemorating the virtues of his long 
line of ancestors, going back, as he told me, to a period 
long before the birth of Jesus Christ. “Here," he said, 
pointing to au ancient scroll, "is one of the tablets our 
family hold in especial reverence. It tells the story of one 
whose life was devoted to the poor, the sick, and the dis- 
tressed. He was a great philosopher, a great scientist, and 
a great astronomer, and among his most celebrated literary 
productions was one on the ‘Uses and Abuses of Food.’ 
He gave a special chapter to fish diet, and maintained that 
it was pniticularly adapted to students and men of letters.” 
The theory of Agassiz is a very old one, and I was often 
reminded in China of the trite adage, “there is nothing 
new under tho sun." 
Tlie society, I believe, nre aware, that I propose to return 
to China with a view of a thorough exploration of the 
Znng-tsz Kiang, and I hope to send the American Fish 
Cullurisls’ Association some interesting facts about the 
mmii on the upper Yang-tsz Kiang. I believe I shall find 
the fish three thousand miles from the Pacific Ocean. 
Arcadian (Hub, Roc York, March 13f/i , 1875. 
PROFITABLE FISH CULTURE. 
Baltimore, March G, 1875. 
Editor Forest and Stream 
Iu perusing the reported proceedings of the American Fish Guitarists’ 
Association at its last meeting, the conviction grew upon me that this or- 
ganization In not working so directly in the Hue of Its legitimate purpose, 
nor so clUclently In any direction aa we might reasonably expeci. The 
separate organization of the Fish Commissioners, subsequent to onr last 
convention, may fuirly, we think, bo taken as indicating two things; 
flrst, that they did not consider the existing body as organized directly in 
their interests; second, that they were not quite sntisGcd to work through 
it in behalf of those interests. We think tbelr conclusion well grounded 
nnd their uction wise, nnd we are Inclined to believe that It will not oulv 
benefit them, but us ns well. It will remove ihc chief obstacle that has 
stood In (he way of our legitimate work. Our constitution prescribes 
that the object of tbr association shall be "to promote the cause of fish 
culture; to gather and diffuse information bearing upon Its practical 
success; the Interchange of friendly feeling and intercourse among its 
members, and the uniting and encouraging of the individual interests of 
flsli ciilturists." There can be no doubt, I ihtuk, that some of these ob- 
jects have been greatly neglected, and that the time of the association 
lias been too largely occupied with topics that more properly belong to 
Fish Commissioners. Reports and speeches, which are mere saininarles 
of State nnd national work, however excellent mid Interesting, do not, iu 
any perceptible degree, assist in solving the problems witli which the in- 
dividual fl«h cullurist ho* to grapple. However informing these reports 
may be to the public, they coutaln little that is now to the intelligent 
flsli culturlst, parllcularly If he be a reader of your excellent paper, and 
cannot but return from the meeting disappointed when these have been 
allowed to monopolize the time. Let us have these reports by all means, 
but through the medium of the press rather than the speaker. This will 
Insure more careful preparation, give them moro value to tho public, and 
save the time ofcthe association. When these reports contain new mat- 
ter profitable for discussion, let each matter be offered by itself, that 
there may be time to consider It. Wliat flsli culjurlsts need in the way 
of Information relutos to the details of their business ratber than Its gen- 
eral features. Wo want experience meetings that will begin with the 
embryo, and follow it through all the stages of development until it Is 
lilted for the market. In what sort of nursery shall we most effectually 
rear the fry? How prevent disease, or remove It when discovered! What 
are the best kinds of food, and tile best methods of preparing! How 
'shall we secure Hie most rapid growth and the most toothsome flavor! 
All these and kindred topics we wont discussed anew. The best books 
are radically defective as guides in these matters, und the tuition that 
eouies through loss nnd failure, may come too lute for individual advan- 
tage, One pioneer recommends very strongly a publication of c-ur fail- 
ures. It would gratify ns exceedingly at the present time to hear of a 
few well authenticated successes. We don't object to being pointed to 
the rocks on which other crafts have been wrecked, but It would be emi- 
nently satisfactory to be assured that there is a reasonable chance of 
passing through them. Somehow tho conviction is rooting in my mlud 
that nobody has succeeded in making trout growing profiiable. If this 
is so, an honest confession would be healthy for quite a number of souls 
however It might affect an equal number of pockets. Let us have more 
light, If possible, ou this vital question. If flsli growing in private ponds 
cannot he made u profltnble and Independent busiiuMs, hatching estab- 
lishments are already numerous enough to meet the requirements of the 
country- If it can, nothing will give such an impetus to the business of 
those now established as the diffusion of this Intelligence. 
Before closing this 1 may just say that It was my Intention to attend 
the meeting of our association, but that circumstances prevented. 1 
hope that when we came together next year the legitimate ends of the 
association will be kept more steadily in view, and that the discussions 
I will bear more practically upon them. Yours truly, Alex. Kent. 
ABSTRACT OF THE FIRST ANNUAL RE- 
PORT OF THE STATE FISH COMMIS- 
SIONERS OF MINNESOTA. 
S ITUATED as this State is, upon the great water shed 
of the continent, nnd having within its borders the 
sources of the waters of the Mississippi, the St. Lawrence, 
and the Red River of the North; and being loented upon 
the northern border of the country, where the annual 
average temperature of the water of our lakes is about 43% 
it has the waters best adapted to the production of fish in 
the largest quantity and of the very best quality. 
A careful estimate taken from Township maps of the 
Stale shows that it has of inlaud lake surface, (exclusive of 
rivers and of the portions of Lakes Superior and Pepin,) 
within its borders no less than 1.001,840 acres of inland 
lakes alone. Assuming that the Stale contains 83,500 
square miles — or 53,440,000 acres, it will he seen that it has 
nearly three and a third acres, of water to every hundred 
acres of land. The capacity of this vast water surface to 
produce food is practically unlimited. 
Since entering upon the duties assigned them the Com- 
missioners have confined themselves to an ncquisilion of a 
knowledge of the subject, to correspondence with other 
Commissioners, and to the care of their Slate quota of eggs 
allotted by the U. S. Commissioners. 
On the' 4th of August 80,000 young shad fry were de- 
posited in the Mississippi nt St. Paul, ami at the foot of the 
rapids at Minneapolis. On the 7th of Oclober 1(50,000 
California salmon eggs were received, and from the care 
given them by Hon. E. Rice and others, they have now 
ready for distribution from 40,000 to 50,000 handsome 
young salmon. 
Being desirous to introduce tho white fish into Lakes 
Minnetonka, White Bear, and other large lakes in the denser 
populated districts of the State, they made an effort to 
transfer the fish alive from Lake Superior to these waters. 
For this purpose they made arrangements, nnd Messrs. Day 
and Latham left St. Paul for Bayfield, the nearest acces- 
sible point where they could be had, ou Oct. 1st, of last 
year, provided with twelve barrels, and the usual apparatus 
of syplious, air bellows, dippers, &c. for renewing and aer- 
ating the water upon the journey. 
Upon making thi9 venture they lnd taken such advice of 
the lake fishermen as seemed to them trustworthy, but 
which only proved that men may spend their whole lives 
in catching and killing fish, anil still know nothing of keep- 
ing them alive — as the result provc-d to us upon trial, for it 
was a total failure; the fish died— every one of them— on 
the way, and a miscellaneous lot of valuable experience 
was all we got for our pains. 
And notwithstanding this failure upon their part to bring 
the white fish alive, they believe the undertaking feasible, 
and one worthy of accomplishment, as l»y Ibis means it 
could be ascertained definitely und at once whether the 
Minnesota waters are adupled to the maintenance of this 
fish. The chief error made was in attempting to handle 
the white fish at a time so near its spawning season when 
they are weak and exhausted with the weight of spawu 
and milt. If their transfer were attempted in the Spring, 
say in April or May, when the fish are strong, with a large 
tank upon a platform car, they have no doubt of its suc- 
cess, and I hey believe also that it would he n paying in- 
vestment for the Slate. The U. S. Commissioners iiave 
offered a lot of Penobscot salmon eggs free of expense, 
except transportation, which will be gladly accepted, 
hatched and distributed. 
The sum of $500 is all that has been appropriated for the 
uses of the Commission, and a much larger amount is 
asked for in order to conduct operations as they should be. 
When the waters are once stocked $1,500 or $2,000 will be 
sufficient to protect and care for what has been done. 
Trout and White Fish. — B. B. Redding, of the Fish 
Commissioners, niul J. O. Woodbury, their Superintend- 
ent, passed through the city Saturday, en route for the 
Summit from Berkeley with 15,000 young brook trout, half 
of which where to be planted in the north fork of the 
American River, at Soda Spring, while it was designed to 
place the remainder in Prosser Creek, which empties into 
the Truckee. These trout constitute one-third of the 
number hatched at the State hatching establishment at 
Berkeley from 50,000 eggs received not. long since from 
New Hampshire. The oilier two-thirds have been placed 
in streams in different portions of the State. One hundred 
thousand white fish eggs arrived a few days ago from the 
Government hatching establishment at Niles, Michigan, 
hut it was found when they reached Berkeley that a large 
number had hatched oat while en rouUs and died. The 
young fish obtained from the eggs remaining will be intro- 
duced into Tulare Lake. It will be recollected that a large 
number of whitefish were planted iu Clear Lake two or 
three years ago. —Sacramento Record-Union. 
Natural ^jistorn. 
INSECT LIFE— No. 3. 
BY KKURA. 
I T is very difficult, without actually witnessing the suc- 
cessive stages of the lives of such insects, to realize 
the curious fact that the little merry dancing gnats, whose 
ferial gambols all have observed; aud the quick-darting 
dragon-flies, with their iridescent glisteniug wings; and the 
gay ephemera*, whose ferial life is to terminate in a few 
hours from the period of their assuming it, were once the 
inhabitants of au clement which would be fatal to them in 
their now perfect form. Yet, are there many insects whose 
lives nre passed under similarly opposite conditions; and 
still more numerous are those whose progress from birth 
to maturity is characterized by changes of structure 
equally curious, which, however, are «ot 90 strikingly 
marked, in consequence of their occurring iu situations 
and under circumstances less opposed than those we have 
been considering. 
Every resident in the country is well acquainted with 
the common cockchafer, or May-bug, but few, perhaps, are 
aware that the form in which they are most familiar with 
it — that of a large beetle— is the ultimate one of several 
