Report of the commissioner for 1875-1876.

  • United States Fish Commission
Date:
[1878]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the commissioner for 1875-1876. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    28/1102 page 14
    The work of the hatching of shad on the Connecticut River has been prosecuted with the moral co-operation and support of the fish commis- sioners of Connecticut and Massachusetts, although no funds have been contributed by them. In the hatching of shad in the Susquehanna, very effective and important assistance has been experienced from Mr. Ferguson, commissioner of Maryland. Inter-State relations and co-operation.—A very satisfactory feeling has been manifested by the commissioners of adjacent States in regard to mutual co-operation. The New England commissioners have for several years past had annual meetings for the exchange of experiences and tor the promotion ot the cause which they represent, all action in ref- erence to the fisheries of the Connecticut being decided upon by the commissioners of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hamp- shire, and all relating to the Merrimack, by those of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The commissions of several adjacent Western States have also main- tained a similar relation to each other. In not a few instances the eggs destined for States without State commissioners or without State hatch- ing establishments have been hatched out for them by their more for- tunate neighbors. Relation to the Government bureaus.—For the purpose of facilitating the operations of the Commission in the hatching of shad in the Potomac River, Captain Patterson, Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey, had special tables prepared of the variations of the tide in the Potomac River for the months of March, April, May, and June, 1875 and 187G. These wrere found to be of great service. Relation of United States and State Commissions to private individuals.— Private means have in a few instances been used disinterestedly for pub- lic purposes, well illustrating the existence of a generous appreciation of the work and the great faith entertained in its ultimate results. A noteworthy instance of public spirit in advancing a common interest has been exhibited by Mr. N. K. Fairbank, of Chicago, who has ex- pended several thousand dollars in stocking with fishes to its utmost capacity Geneva Lake, a body of water in Southeastern Wisconsin, spring-fed, deep, and remarkably full of invertebrate life, and with an area of from 10,000 to 11,000 acres. His object was to determine “as soon as possible, by planting a very large number of fish in a lake per- fectly adapted by nature—so far as any small fresh-water lake can be— the practicability of stocking small lakes with the better varieties of food-fishes.” In the appended table is given the number of young fishes introduced into this lake in 1875 and 1870, the two years during which Mr. Fair- bank has continued his enterprise. The California salmon and the land- locked salmon were furnished by the United States Commission.
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3