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BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
FISH-CULTURAL METHODS AT THE AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL AT FREISING. 1 
Not far from Munich, is the little town of Freising, one of the most ancient places 
in Bavaria. At this place the ancient Benedictine convent of AA r eihen stephan has 
been converted into a school of agriculture and a modern brewery. When I learned 
that instruction in fish-culture was given at this school I was glad to accept an 
invitation of Professor Steuert, who has charge of the instruction in fish-culture 
and the care of fish, to visit Weilienstephan, and on December 12 I went there to 
study the methods pursued. All the arrangements are exceedingly simple. As the 
buildings of the ancient convent lie very high above the stream which flows through 
the town, the supply of water for the entire institution has to be forced up by a 
steam pump. From the general reservoir a small pipe leads the water to the place 
where the fish-cultural section of the establishment is located. 
This section, which is intended both for hatching and rearing trout, consists of a 
large box whose bottom is elevated a little above the ground. On this stand two Le 
Petit apparatus, which serve as filters, the hatching apparatus, and, when the fish 
have developed, an apparatus for raising larvae. Fig. A shows the appearance of the 
box. The water flows into the apparatus through the pipe r, is filtered, flows through 
the box and out into a collector at the side of the apparatus. Thence it is led into the 
collecting pipe B, which pours the water over a wheel m, which is in the trough t , 
above the surface of the water, and is thereby kept in rotation. In the trough t the 
young fish are generally kept till they are seven to eight months old. At the time of 
my visit Professor Steuert had in this trough both rainbow trout, which had been 
hatched last spring, and brook trout which had been used in autumn for supplying 
roe. All of these fish had been fed during the last few months on cheese, which 
seemed to have made them grow healthy and strong. 
Fig. B gives a profile view of the apparatus. To keep out the cold of winter, the 
inner walls of the box had been lined with straw h. We found the water warm enough 
to prevent all danger of freezing during ordinary winters. As both the Le Petit 
apparatus and the wheel m (fig. A) — the so-called “feeding wheel” — have been 
thoroughly tested and found to answer, a drawing and a short explanation of the 
apparatus may not be out of place. 
Fig. 1 shows the apparatus, viewed from the side, and a section of part of it. At 
a the water enters the apparatus, which is filled for about two-thirds of its height 
with gravel c, serving as a filter. Above this layer of gravel there is a perforated 
vessel (sieve), on the bottom of which the fish eggs are spread. Through the pipe d 
the water flows out into the collector above referred to. The apparatus is closed by 
a lid which has a small glass window at the top. After the young fish have been 
hatched and placed in the trough, and have grown so large that they begin to snap 
after larger morsels of food, the apparatus is made to answer another purpose (fig. 2.) 
The gravel is emptied out, the perforated vessel is taken away, and a frame with a 
coarser grating c is laid in the apparatus. On this frame meat (refuse from butcher 
shops) is placed, the lid is put on, and a cover is placed over the little window. 
Through the opening b flies go to seek the meat and lay their eggs thereon. 
' Letter from Bavaria, translated by H. Jacobson, from Fiskeritidskrift for Finland, No. 2, 
Helsingfors, February 17, 1895. 
