132 
FOREST. AND STREAM 
<gir>li $nlture. 
HATCHI NG APP ARATUS. 
W E presented to our readers in our number of March 
11th several engravings showing forms of hatch- 
ing apparatus used in France and Germany, as described 
by M. Koltz. We now give cuts of one of the more re- 
cent forms, having advantages over most of those hitherto 
used. It is a hatching jnr designed by T. 11. Ferguson, of 
Baltimore, one of the Maryland fish commissioners, and 
has been successfully U9ed by him for the past year. It is 
simply a glass jar, provided with u round hole near the 
top and one near tie bottom, on opposite sides; a series of 
these jars may be connected with each other, and with the 
water supply by means of rubber tubes, as in figure 1. 
The tubes are inserted into corks, which are provided with 
holes for the purpose, and the corks fit the holes in the 
jars, (figure 2.) The water is introduced at the side and 
bottom of the first jar, and flows from the top of the first 
to the bottom of the second, and so on through as many 
jars as may be employed. Each jar is provided with a 
eland made of two pieces of wire, bent as in figure 3, cross- 
ing each other at right angles, and soldered together, or 
joined by a wrap of wire. Thestauds should be sulficicntly 
high to raise the first tray ubovc the opening through which 
the water is introduced. The eggs are placed on circular 
trays, which fit the jars neatly, and are made of wire cloth, 
the edge protected by a rim of tin. Each tray is provided 
with a wire framo of similar construction to the stand 
above described, (figure 4 ) These frnmea serve the double 
purpose of bundles, by which the trays are lifted, and of 
feet to sustain the tray placed above. Five or six trays 
can be placed one above another in each jar. The wire 
work should be varnished to prevent oxidation. A box of 
thin wood or waterproof paper, made to fit loosely over the 
jar, with slits at the sides to allow the tubes to pass 
through, can be used as an extinguisher to keep the light 
out, and ns a cover to the jar. This completes the appa- 
ratus, which is peculiarly adapted to amateur and im- 
promptu fish culture. The water which supplies an aqua- 
rium may be led into the first jar, which can be used as a 
filter if necessary, the trays being covered with flannel, 
from thence puss through the next jar iu which the eggs 
are placed, thence into each succeeding jnr, and allowed to 
discharge itself into the aquarium. We give Mr. Fergu- 
son's letter, which will further explain the apparatus:— 
EDiTon Forest and Stream:— 
In replj lo your Inquiry as lo my success In hutching salmonidio In on 
aquiii turn, 1 send it sample of apparatus used by me for the past two 
eca-ons in hutching itont, solmon tjout. and salmon ovn In my library 
over my aquarium. A guince nt the Jar dltelosca what is going on, and 
by simply oruiwng the cork from the lower holo sediment or young fl*h 
wh cli may have hatched are removed at a:.y time without dlsuirbing the 
trays. Tho »| oarntus is »o simple that it will explain Itself. 1 have 
hutched au muuy as 1,600 eggs to the jar. 
T. B. Fkkousoh, Commissioner of Fisheries. 
TnE New Jerbey Fishery Operations.— Wo gather 
tho following from the Woodbury, N. J., Constitution, of 
the operations of the fish commissioners of that Stale for 
the past year: — 
Thuieportof the Slate Commissioners of Fisheries for 
the past year gives a very encouruging exhibit of the pro 
gross which liu* been made in stocking out rivers with food 
fish Dur iig the last two years, of 000,000 California sal- 
mon raised at Trouldale, 188,000 were placed in the Dela 
wate, which also received 77,000 of the Maine salmon. To 
t e Raritan River 47,000 Sacramento and 31,000 Maine sal- 
mon were assigned. Ten thousand Maine salmont went to 
the Hackensack, and 38,000 were placed in the Passaic. 
L rt rge numbers of the fishes referred to in these statements 
have found their way to the main livers, and were seen 
there Iasi Summer. They will not start for the sen until 
ibis year (some remaining in the river even longer), and 
they may be expected back the lollowing year, bo tar, the 
lamest salmon caught in New Jersey waters, of which we 
have authentic record, was one captured iu the Raritan 
near New Brunswick The weight was fourteen ounces, 
and the fish was taken with a fly. This must have been 
one of the lot placed by Dr. black in 1872. Two others 
were caught at New Brunswick. Two good sized salmon 
were taken l.elovv Lambcriville, but the weight and size 
were not noted, borne have been seen lately in the Mus- 
conetcong Irwin six to eight inches in length, and one of 
the commissioners has a specimen six inches long, taken 
by Dr. black from the stream. 
Helms V. Heritage, warden of Gloucester county, re- 
ports among oilier things as follows: — "I be past season 
lur chad and herring bus been very good. The number of 
cliud has been grenler, and the size larger, tbau any season 
lot the pad six or seven years. The gilimeu have aver- 
aged 2, but) Hub lo a net, b*-iug an excess of over thirty- 
tmee per cent, over lust year, while the shore fisheries have 
not dwuc so well us iu past seasons. The largest shad that 
cuuie under my notice weighed nine pounds; the average 
would be about four uud u half pounds. About severny- 
f[v would in- required when cleaned and salted to fill an 
ordinary fish barrel.” 
ABSTRACT OF THE FIRST ANNUAL 
REPORT OF THE WISCONSIN FISH 
COMMISSION ERS. 
^'P'lIE amount npppropriated by the Legislature lo be 
1 used in promoting artificial propagation and the in- 
troduction into the State of the better kinds of fish was 
limited to $300, all of which was expended under the di- 
rection of Prof. S. F. Baird, United Stales Commissioner 
of Fisheries. Of the fry of the spawn of that year, several 
thousand were placed in the lakes at Madison, and also 
several thousand in Geneva lake. As near as can he esti- 
mated, 20,000 salmon, hatched at the private hatching 
house of II. S. Dousman, Esq., at Waterville, in Wauke- 
sha county, were distributed in these waters. One hun- 
dred thousand spawn of the California salmon were re- 
ceived through Professor Baird. These were sent direct 
from San Francisco to Boscobel, in this State, and came 
unattended as express matter. Mr. Palmer, one of the 
commissioners, and who owns a private hatching house at 
Hcscobcl, undertook the hatching and distributing process. 
From these spawn he hatched some 01,000 fry, in excellent 
condition, and unusually strong and healthy. At the date 
or preparing the report, 19,000 had been distributed in the 
waters of Grant, Crawford, and Lafayette counties. The 
residue were to be distributed in the northeastern counties 
and among the lakes and rivers of Sheboygan, Fond du 
Lac aud Winnebago. 
The State is asked to make a suitable appropriation of 
money lo enable the fish commissioners to prepare a proper 
site and erect a Stale hatching house. These sites are not 
abundant in the State. They must have a fair scope of 
land near some ruilway centre, living water of proper tem- 
pi rature, and a full sufficiency for the accommodation of 
hatching troughs and ponds; such conveniences in fact as 
those possessed by the New York commissioners at Cule- 
donia. . 
For these purposes, and to carry on the operations of 
lunching spaw n and distributing the fry for 1873, an appro- 
priation of eight or ten thousand dollars is naked lor. With 
this sum, the commissioners feel confident that in a fesv 
months they could perfect the work necessary for nil hatch- 
ing purposes. As soon as the arrangements for hatching are 
perfected, responsible parties will take charge of the prop- 
erly and batch all the spawn which the State is likely to 
want, free of, cost, in consideration of bcmgjillowed to use 
tlie water which would otherwise run to waste for the arti- 
ficial propagation of brook trout. 
Trout streams are too local in their character to warrant 
the State in going to the labor and expeuse of stocking 
them; but the example set in stocking public waters would 
encourage farmers and others, who have the means at com- 
mand, iu cultivating the speckled trout. If the commis 
sion is continued, they expect in another year to collect 
much valuable information; but it is safe to assume now 
that no State in the Union, disconnected with the seaboard, 
is better suited for fish culture than Wisconsin. 
There are 225 lakes iu the following sixteen counties:— 
Kenosha, Racine, Walworth, Waukesha, Jefferson, Dane, 
Washington, Dodge, Columbia, Sheboygan, Fond du Lac, 
Green Lake, Marquette, Waushara, Waupaca, and Winne- 
bago. These lakes cover 388 square miles, or 248,320 acres 
of water, which large surface is now comparatively unpro- 
ductive. The beautiful lakes that adorn the State could 
und ought to produce as much food for mau as an equal 
amount of rich land. In most of these lakes valuable fish 
would thrive. Not until the inhabitants of these counties 
can catch trout, carp, grayling, etc., will they fully appre- 
ciate the importance of fish culture. Thus they will be 
more sensible of the great good that will surely How from 
the judicious use of a few thousand dollars annually. These 
benefits should not be confined to the lesser lakes, for it is 
iu the larger ones— Michigan and Superior— where the 
greatest interest should concentrate. The white fish and 
trout are, by the use of improved (?) modes of taking fish, 
becoming rapidly diminished in number. 
At Racine alone, twenty five miles of gill nets are used- 
nnd Jacob Sclienkenbargcr. one of the oldest aud most in, 
tclligeul fishermen in the Slate, asserts that with an equal 
number of nets only one fourth as many fish are caught 
now ns were taken lour years ago. If there was a law pro- 
hibiting t lie selling of nets fiom the 15lh of October to the 
1st of April the fishermen would cheerfully obey it, so that 
the fish eoulii repair to their breeding grounds unmolested 
bv the destructive gill nets. 
"They have great hopes of success in introducing some of 
the varieties of salmon into the larger lakes, and Mr. N. 
F. Dousman has communicated the interesting fact that 
two years ago lie hatched l'or the Stale a lot of salmon eggs 
furnished by Prof. Baird. A few of the young salmon es- 
caped being captured, and have since remained with their 
li; lie cousins, the speckled trout. The last of the past No- 
vember, on examination, he found a female salmon that 
gave ripe spawn; these eggs were fecundated by the milt 
of a male. So there is the remarkable instance of salmon 
being hatched from spawn taken from fish that were 
hatched and grown in Wisconsin. However unfavorable 
this experiment may possibly prove, there is still enough 
of good fislt that they know will thrive and abundantly re- 
pay a hundred fold the expense of a Stale hutching house 
which would be conducted to tlie best interests of Hie 
Stale. The saltncn trout, carp, white and black bass, 
wliitelisb, and gra\ ling could be turned into the lakes in 
great numbers. The members of the commission hold 
themselves in readiness to give all the information and aid 
in their power in furtherance of the objects embraced in 
the report. 
Massachusetts Anglers' Association— The annual 
meeting of this association was held ut their rooms in Bos- 
tou ou Friday evening, April 2d. Vice President S. W. 
Hathaway, Esq., occupied the chair, and George B. Brown 
was Secretary pro tun. The following officers were unani- 
mously elected for the ensuing year:— President, Dr. John 
1*. Ordway; Vice Presidents, lion. Thomas Talbot, John 
F. Mills, 8. W. Hathaway, Hon. Chas. Levi Woodbury, C. 
Wurrcu Gordon; Treasurer, Charles Stanwood; Recording 
Secretary, George B. Brown; Corresponding Secretary, 
Charles JS. Pierce; Librarian, William F. Story; Executive 
Committee, James P Richardson, S. M. Johnson, Waller 
M. Brackett, James Walker. Benjamin P. Ware; Commit- 
tee on Membership, D. T. Curtis, E. Delano, H. M. For- 
estall. 
Dr. Ordway, the President, came in during the meeting, 
and was enthusiastically received. It was the first time he 
had attended a meetiug since ho was injured at the Read- 
ville railroad accident in February. 
D. T. Curtis, Esq., informally exhibited to the members 
some of Frank Good’s oil tanned moccasins; also a sam- 
ple eight ounce black bass rod made by Charles F. Orvis, 
of Manchester, Vt. 
DISTRIBUTION OF STATE FISH. 
• - » ■ ■ — 
In reply to certain inquiries relative to the distribution 
of fish in New York State, through the Commission, we 
are authorized by Seth Grceu, Esq., to print the follow- 
ing statement: — 
Rocuester, March 31, 1875. 
Editor FonssT ahd Stream.— 
A statement of the distribution of salmon and all oilier kinds of fi*h 
will be published in Fish Reports. We have not done distributing, and 
If any parties want any salmon for stocking any public waters, they can 
have them by addressing Skth Green, 
Rochester, N Y 
Next Season’s Operations ok tiie Fishery Commis- 
sion in California.— Mr. Livingston Slone expects to 
leave for California on the 9th instant. His instructions 
are on arriving at San Francisco to proceed to Oregon to 
investigate the salmon of the Columbia River till about tlie 
1st of June, then to return to California and take salmon 
eggs on the McCloud River next Summer and Fall, and 
next Winter to investigate the salmon of the Jouchiu River. 
California Brook Trout.— Ten boxes of California 
brook trout have been received at the New York State 
batching house, the gift of tlie Acclimatation Society of 
the Golden Slate. They are of about the shape and flavor as 
our own brook trout, but lack the vermilion spots. We 
believe this to be the first arrival of the kiud in Ibis part 
of the United States. _ 
—Mr. Seth Green advises us that young grayling four 
inches long may now be seen at the Caledonia Hatch House. 
They are the first aud only grayling ever hatched in this 
country except in tlie natural way. 
$;itur;il W istor S- 
PHOSPHOROUS IN FISH. 
Rye Neck, March 27, 1875. 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
Just six months ago last Saturday, I determined to sacrifice tho llcsh 
pots of New York for the sake of science. Forthwith I proceeded to 
carry my determination into effect, so I packed tip my duds, kissed 
Betsy Ann and our three marriage certificates, jumped aboard the twin 
and was soon ou my way to that great land of fislt— Nova Scotia. 
Immediately on my arrival iu Yarmouth, N. S., I confined myself lo 
a steady diet, consisting exclusively of fish and cod liver oil, my object 
bcln" to settle the question whether a steady diet of fish would permeate 
the, human system with phosphorous, and invigorate the brain to the ex- 
tent claimed by some scientists. I hove ascertained to my entire satis- 
faction, and 1 herewith present to the scientific world the grand result of 
my self sacrificing iuvestigotious. At the end of the six months steady 
diet, my body bus become completely permeated with phosphorous; lo 
sncli an extent has the phosphorous become absorbed in my system that 
Betsy Ann and myself are seriously considering the question ns to 
whether It Is not a duty I owe to mankind to lease myself for a term of 
months to some large match factory. I would he invaluable to such a 
concern. Wo have not bought amatch since my return. Betsy Anu lias a 
bundle of splinters prepared, and during the evening, when I am around 
hanging pictures in my night gown, she occasionally jabs one into me, as 
the opportunity offers. These splinters, when dried, are far superior to 
any store matches nt ten cents a box. 
There is one inconvenience attending my phosphorescent state. I dare 
not go out nights. I tried It once, but tlie bojs thought I was a conflagra- 
tion, and before I could make them understand the nature of the case, 
they" had nearly drowned me with water, and had telegraphed to Port 
Chester aud Mount Vernon for their fire engines. But what u touching 
domestic scene It is to see me squatting a la Tun ■ iu tho middle of our 
centre table, surrounded by my happy family (including my mother-in- 
law) each one dec ply absorbed in the triple sheet of yesterday’s Tribune. 
Its a great saving of kerosene, but it sometime becomes rather monot- 
onous and decidedly uncomfortable forme. I cannot indulge in my 
evening smoke for fear the lighted segar will set my nose on fire, and it 
is as much as my life is worth to move, as it brings fortli n sharp ejacu- 
lation from my mother-in-law that she "can’t read when the light fllck- 
^Thnt fish contain a large amount of phosphorous, and that a steady 
diet of fish will cause said phosphorous to permeate the human system, 
I believe 1 have abundantly proved, but that said phosphorous does not 
invigorate the brain must be the inevitable conclusion of all who read 
ibis article. Lukb Tn,rp - 
THE GRASSHOPPER PLAGUE AND THE 
PRAIRIE CHICKENS. 
Geological Survey, ( 
Montreat,, March 31, 1875. f 
Editor Forest and Strbam:— 
I nolle.) that the newspapers are calling attention to tlie possible con- 
ncctlon between the wholesale destruction of the prairie chickens for 
export and the alarming increase of grasshoppers in the prnlric regions. 
On this subject I can speak only with reference to our own northwest 
territory and here I have no doubt the prairie chickens must exercise a 
greater or lees influence on tills pest. From the lime the young grass- 
hoppers come out in the Spring, till the last old ones disappear In tho 
F,i|| these insects contribute the favorite food of tlie chickens. When 
they are abundant their crops are generally stuffed full of them. On 
opening tlie crop of a newly killed chicken I have seen tlie last swal- 
lowed grasshoppers jump off. rejoicing In their unexpected deliverance. 
After the prairies generally have become brown and withered, the grass- 
hoppers are attracted to any bright gre.ui patch of grass which has sprung 
up where a fire bnd been. Tlie chickens know where to look for the in- 
sects, and the sportsman in his turn soou discovers the best spots for 
dndiiig the birds. Previous to 1857 the grasshopper plague had not vis- 
ited the Red River settlements for nearly forty years; but in Hie last 
Beven years there has been only one exemption from their visitations, 
and the probability Is that tbe young "hoppers’’ will again devour the 
crops the present Spring, the eggs huvlog been deposited in great num- 
bers last Autumn. Robt. Bell. 
Editor Forest and Stream :— 
I read with much interest the various letters which appeared in your 
Journal on the resuscitation of frozen fishes. The tom cods, which are 
caught in such quantities through the ice at Three Rivers and elsewhere, 
aud sold frozen by the bushel here and all over Lower Canada, will ofton 
revive when thawed out In cold water preparatory to cooking. 
Touts truly, Robt. Bell, 
