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Preface THE numerous essays and articles on Fish Culture which from time to time, have appeared in periodicals and newspapers, clearly demonstrate the increasing importance of this branch of industry, and have promoted a spirit of curiosity and inquiry amongst intelligent people. Some of the first minds amongst our countrymen are giving serious thought as to the means of arresting the gradual extinction of valuable fishes, and restoring our failing and exhausted rivers to their former fruitfulness; and are becoming convinced that the culture of water as well as of land, can be made to contribute largely to the supply of food required for our rapidly increasing population. Many of the short essays with their illustrations, which appear in periodicals, claim the admiration and excite the curiosity of readers. But most of them, with their few and imperfect directions as to the mode of procedure, are calculated to mislead rather than direct the inquirer. With these facts before us, the writer, as well as other practical fish culturists, have declined many solicitations to contribute essays of limited space and matter to agricultural and other periodicals; being impressed with the impossibility of doing the subject justice if thus abridged. In the mean time, those who have engaged in it and have a knowledge of the art, are applied to for information so frequently, that much time and some pains are required to put the inquirer on the right road to success. The two little essays which have appeared in the American Angler's Book, and the fact of my having engaged in the business since its publication, has made me the recipient of numerous letters and caused a voluminous correspondence. This has also been the case with my friend Stephen H. Ainsworth, who informs me that the aggregate time employed by him in answering letters and writing essays since he commenced his experiments, would amount almost to a year. For want of directions as to the details of breeding and rearing trout, inexperienced persons who have commenced it have met with difficulties; which has discouraged others who were anxious to engage in the business. With the pushing disposition and impatience of many of our countrymen, they frequently ignore the fact that in experiments we learn as much from errors as success. In view of these facts bearing adversely on this new branch of industry, and with a wish to promote it, I have, at the solicitation of several friends who sympathize in the desire to foster it, given all the necessary details to insure success in the culture of our brook trout; being assisted, as the reader will find, by one who is as well versed in the art as any of those whose names have become prominent in this respect in France. I have also, as the reader will find in the following pages, drawn largely on my experience at the establishment I inaugurated in Warren county, New Jersey. The artificial propagation of migratory fishes which enter our rivers, is destined to be the principal means by which we are to restock our exhausted streams, and restore those that are rapidly declining, to their former fecundity; as well as in naturalizing valuable species in waters where they have hitherto not been known. On this branch of the subject, I have brought to bear many years of close observation, and study of the instincts and habits of such fishes; and have availed myself of all the knowledge of others that has come within my reach. That my observations and directions may be intelligable to general readers, in laying such information before them, I have used as few technicalities as I consistently could. It will be seen that I have quoted largely from the great amount of useful knowledge elicited by the enterprising Commissioners of Fisheries for the New England States. One of the reasons for laying such information before my readers is, that many interested persons outside of those states may not be able to avail themselves of the important facts which have been brought to light, as the reports alluded to are published only for their own citizens, or those who may apply for them to the Commissioners. As I have duly credited the various sources from which I have received information bearing on fish culture, I will make no further mention of them here, than acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. Bertram's work, "The Harvest of the Sea," and Mr. Francis's book on Fish Culture. Although some statistics respecting salmon, and the consumption of Crustacea, will be found in this book, I have deemed that any account of fish that inhabit the sea exclusively, would be irrelevant to my subject. The publisher of an agricultural paper has urged my compliance with his request, to contribute a series of articles on trout culture, "if there were no state secrets." I might here suggest, that my starting a trout-breeding establishment for one of the subscribers to his paper (as I did for others, and that without remuneration), before I entertained an idea of writing this book, is an evidence that I have never had any "state secrets" on the subject. I have a poor opinion of the man whose narrow mind and heart would prompt him to withhold any knowledge that would benefit those who should engage in the business. The proprietors of a similar periodical, who offered to pay liberally for like contributions, and who must be aware of the small remuneration I shall receive for the labor bestowed on this book, I hope, will allow that such reward has been but a small inducement; and that the reason assigned, that I could not treat the subject properly in the space allowed in their columns, is a substantial one. In conclusion of this preface, I can truly say that I have undertaken the task from a love of it, and a desire to diffuse a knowledge of the art. THADDEUS NORRIS. Philadelphia, July 1868 Contents CHAPTER I. - INTRODUCTORY REMARKS ON FISH CULTURE. What it is. Its advantages over natural propagation. Time occupied in hatching. Number of ova of different species. Consequences of all the ova producing fish that would come to maturity. Object of Fish Culture. Its antiquity. Practised by the Chinese and Romans. Artificial propagation discovered by Dom Pinchon. Rediscovered by M. Jacobi. Subsequent discovery of Joseph Remy. Alleged discoverers. Experiments of Shaw and Young. Patronage of the French government. Its effects on Scotch and Irish rivers. Its use as an adjunct in restoring American rivers to their former fecundity. Commissioners of Fisheries appointed by the New England States, and the States of New York and Pennsylvania. Experiment in artificial propagation and hatching at Holyoke on the Connecticut. Experiments in trout breeding by Stephen H. Ainsworth. Progress in trout culture. Fish culture in France CHAPTER II. - TROUT BREEDING. The Trout, Trout Ponds, etc. The Trout. Its adaptability to culture. Season of spawning. Spawning grounds. Appearance of the sexes at spawning time, habits and condition. Subsequent recuperation. Water-supply. Effect of the temperature of water on the time of hatching. Spring water necessary for incubation. Series of Ponds. Their shape. Method of shading them. Raceways. Their construction. Protection of them from muskrats. Screens. Depth and size of ponds. Transfer of fish from one pond to another. Estimate of number of trout for a given supply of water. Jeremiah Comfort's ponds. Stocking ponds. Procuring and transporting brood trout. CHAPTER III. - TROUT BREEDING. Incubation and Treatment of Fry. Hatching apparatus. French and American plans. Supply of water for a given number of eggs. Hatching-house. Illustration with explanations. Filterer. Troughs. Nursery. Management of filterer. Washing gravel for troughs. Implements. Taking the spawn. Action of the female when about to spawn. Method of catching the fish on the spawning-beds. Indications of the maturity of the eggs. Manipulation. Placing the ova in the troughs. Packing and transportation of eggs. Manner of taking a large number of eggs for transportation from a trough. How to examine them. Illustration with explanations of the appearance of ova at different stages during incubation. Table showing progress of incubation with water at different degrees of temperature. Hatching out and progress in growth and activity of fry. Treatment of fry. Their food, and manner of feeding them. Their disposition to escape. Transferring them to the nurseries. Their admission into the first pond. Transportation of fry. CHAPTER IV. - TROUT BREEDING. General Remarks, Food for Adults, Profits and Statistics. Food of adult Trout. Curd, liver, maggots. Maggot factory. Allowance of food for a given number. Natural food. Stall feeding and its advantages. Trout culture a branch of farming. Facilities possessed by farmers. Will fish culture pay? Instances of its being profitable. Estimate of cost of feeding on curd. Proposed trout breeding at Ingham Spring. Growth of trout. Description of Huningue, and M. de Galbert's establishment, in France. Heidelberg. Fish cultural enterprise in Switzerland. Trout culture in the United States. Notice of Mr. Ainsworth's establishment. Description of Seth Green's CHAPTER V. - CULTURE OP THE SALMON. The Salmon. Its instincts. Difference in appearance and size of those belonging to different rivers. Their former abundance and cause of decline in numbers. Their growth and adolescence. Migrations. Time of ova hatching in European and American rivers. Growth of the fry, with illustrations. Early fecundity of the males. Attempts at artificial propagation in the United States. Their naturalization. Fishways, with illustrations. Salmon breeding. At Stormontfield. On the Dee. On the Galway. On the Doohulla. At Ballisodare. In Australia. Salmon statistics. CHAPTER VI. - CULTURE OF THE SHAD. The Shad. Its instincts, and analogies to the salmon. Migrations. Former abundance. Incubation of its ova. Its growth. Its introduction into rivers flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, by Dr. Daniell. Hatching its spawn at Holyoke. Ascent by fishways over dam of Susquehanna Canal Company. Report of Colonel James Worrall The Alewife CHAPTER VII. - NATURALIZATION OF FISHES. General remarks. SALMONIDAE. The Brook Trout. Instances of its naturalization. The Lake Trout. Mr. Robinson's letter on its propagation. The Schoodic and Sebago Salmon. Extract concerning its habits and propagation, from Maine Fish Commissioners' Report. The Sea Trout of Canada. Advantages of naturalizing it. The Grayling. New species found in Michigan. The White Fish. Its excellence, habits, and manner of propagating. The Otsego Bass. Not a bass. The Smelt. General remarks. PERCIDAE. The Rock Fish. The Grapple. The Black Bass of the Lakes. Its adaptability to naturalization. The Black Bass of the West and South. Its introduction into the Potomac. Mr. Wright's score of fish taken with the rod. Their naturalization in mill-ponds. SILURIDAE. Small Species. Their excellence as food. Manner of cooking them. Their proposed introduction into England. CYPRINIDAE. General remarks on. ESOCIDAE. Injurious results from introducing them CHAPTER VIII. - CULTURE OF EELS. Probability of eels being of sufficient importance to be cultivated. General remarks on eels. Eel culture at Comacchio. CHAPTER IX. - CULTURE OF OYSTERS. The Oyster. An hermaphrodite. Its fecundity. Its spawn or "spat," and its manner of incubation. Emission of the spat, and its destruction by marine animals. Importance of its finding something to fasten to. Places favorable to its growth. Transportation of seed oysters to the north. Growth of the young oyster. Chief object in the culture of oysters. Oyster Culture at Fusaro. Its antiquity. Its progress in France at the Bay of St. Brieuc and the Island of Ree. English and French oysters. Decrease of oysters in Eastern States. Governor Wise's estimate of the area and value of oyster-beds in Virginia. APPENDIX. I. NATURAL FOOD OF TROUT II. MESSRS. MARTIN AND GILLONE'S SYSTEM OF HATCHING AND REARING YOUNG SALMON III. CULTURE OF CARP IV. DISCOVERY OF ARTIFICIAL FECUNDATION BY JACOBI V. ARTIFICIAL SPAWNING-BEDS VI. THE GOURAMI. ITS HABITAT, OR NATIVE COUNTRY VII. COLD SPRING TROUT-PONDS VIII. CLOVE SPRING TROUT-PONDS IX. CULTIVATION OF FUR-BEARING ANIMALS X. AMERICAN FISH FOR ENGLISH WATERS XI. Dr. J. H. SLACK'S TROUT- BREEDING ESTABLISHMENT XII. STEPHEN H. AINSWORTH'S NEW HATCHING-RACE, FOR NATURAL PROPAGATION XIII. CRUSTACEA XIV. SALMON HATCHING ESTABLISHMENT ON THE MIRAMICHI End of Preview. RETURN to Main Titles Index or Self Reliance Gardening
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