Fish Culture or Pisciculture

The artificial propagation of fish, as a means of counteracting the destructive effect of fisheries. Nature has provided a sort of balance between the predatory onslaughts of the more powerful carnivorous fishes and the great powers of reproduction of the weaker kinds; but this balance has been seriously disturbed by man with his nets and lines, which have placed many of the weaker food fishes at a disadvantage in the struggle for existence. It is not easy to exterminate a species, but its numbers may be so reduced as to destroy the value of the fishery; while certain species have probably quite disappeared through man's persistent and ill-considered onslaughts. The destruction which has taken place is not due alone to over-fishing, but much of it has taken place in rivers and lakes by turning into them the acid and other deleterious products of mines, factories and sewers. These destroy the fish directly, by poisoning; or indirectly, by destroying the small organisms which form their food supply. Another method of destruction is through the building of dams upon rivers, thus preventing many valuable species of fish reaching their spawning grounds and checking their natural propagation. The art of F. C., taken in its broadest sense, demands attention to all these influences of destruction, and requires the prohibition of too destructive methods of fishing, the preservation of the purity of interior waters and the prevention of injurious dam building, the destruction of the more dangerous enemies of food fishes, the encouragement of the growth of plants and animals which serve them for food, and the artificial breeding and distribution of fishes. Efforts have been made, with more or le succe , in all these directions; but the most notable and important have been those in artificial propagation- F. C. properly so called. The art of fish-fertilization by artificial means is comparatively new. The Chinese, though they have long cultivated the eggs and fry of fishes, failed to arrive at the conception of stripping the ova from the female fish and mingling them with milt taken from the male, now so largely practiced and with such important results. This art was first devised by Stephen L. Jacobi, of Westphalia, in 1763, and was carried on to some small extent in England and France until 1850, when the first government F. C. station was established at Huningue, in Alsace. As experience added to knowledge of the best methods of operation, the art developed; wide distribution of ova and young fry was made, various species of food fishes being thus distributed to new waters in their own country and in some instances sent to far distant lands. - United States Fish Culture. The art of F. C., although not originated in the United States, has attained greater development here than in any other country, through the energetic labors of the Fish Commi ion and of the commi ions appointed by many of the States. The apparatus for hatching fish ova and for caring for the fry until old enough to plant in streams, has gradually been perfected, and only a small percentage of lo is now experienced. To prevent destruction of the ova by fungi, a constant motion of the water is nece ary. In this direction M'Donald's fish-hatching jar has proved very succe ful. This sends a current among the eggs which keeps them in regular, gentle motion, and is provided IMG:content-0280.jpg:[ocr errors][merged small] by the use of suitable sluice-gates, the enemies of the succulent mollusk could be kept out. As yet little has been done in this direction, though any approach to exhaustion of the natural oyster beds would probably be followed by the adoption of some such method as this on an extended scale. Fish'-ball, fish-cake, n. A cake or ball of fish and potatoes fried in lard or oil. Fish'er, GEORGE PARK, theologian, born in Wrentham, Ma ., Aug. 10, 1827; graduate of Brown University and And over; studied theology at New Haven, and in Germany; was profe or of divinity in Yale College, and later was appointed to the chair of ecclesiastical history. He is the author of History of the Reformation ; Discu ions in History and Theology; Outlines of Universal History , .; became (1892), one of the editors of the Yale Review, and was for several years one of the editors of the New Eng lander . Fisher, in Texas , a N. W. county; area, 900 sq. m. Traversed by the Brazos river and Elm and Sweet- water creeks, its confluents. Surface, undulating; no timber but mesquite; large beds of gypsum. Agricul- ture and stock raising the principal industries. Cap . Roby. Pop . (1890) 2,996. Fishing-rod, n. A long, slender, tapering-rod, to which a fishing-line carrying a hook is to be attached. Fishing-tackle, n. The apparatus required for fishing rods, lines, hooks, bait, . Fish'-pond, n. A pond for keeping or raising fish. Fish'-story, n. ( Colloq .) An extravagant or incred- ible narration; a story difficult of belief. Fisk, CLINTON BOWEN, soldier, statesman and phil an- throphist; born in Griggsville, N. Y., Dec. 8, 1828; entered the Civil War as a private, and attained the rank of brevet major-general of volunteers; was a istant commi ioner of the Freedman's Bureau and a firm friend of the colored race. He held a number of im- portant offices. In 1886, was the Prohibition candidate for Governor of New Jersey, and in 1888, the Prohibi- tion nominee for President of the U. S.; was one of the founders of Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn. Died in New York City, July 9, 1890. Fisk, JOHN, historian; born in Hartford, Conn., March 30, 1842; graduated from Harvard, and was afterward engaged in that college as lecturer on philosophy, instructor in history, a istant librarian, and finally as overseer of the institution. Has since been profe or of American History at Washington University, St. Louis. He has achieved fame as a lecturer and writer; his works include: Myths and Myth-Makers; The Unseen World; Darwin ism, and other E ays; The Critical Period of American History; The Beginnings of New England; The Discovery of America , . Fi enia ( fis -seen'yah), n. ( Bot .) A genus of plants, order Loasacesæ , found in Arabia and the interior of South Africa, remarkable as being the only represent a- tive of the family in the eastern hem- i sphere. It differs from other genera in having a 3 celled fruit, with one seed in each cell. The only spe- cies, F. spathulata, is a branching bush with straw-colored stems, alternate stalked lobed leaves not unlike those of the gooseberry but larger, and pale- green flowers four to six together at the ends of the twigs; the flowers Fig . 2877.-FISSENIA SPATHULATA. have ten petals, five large and rounded, and five small and narrow, very numerous stamens, and three styles. The little ten- ribbed fruits or nuts crowned with the five long narrow calyx lobes, look like miniature shuttlecocks. Fitzroy, ROBERT, British naval officer; born at Amton Hall, Suffolk, July 5, 1805; entered the navy; was engaged (1828-30) in surveying the coasts of Patagonia, and later in making a thorough survey of the southern and western coasts of South America. He was at suc- ce ive periods member of Parliament, Governor of New Zealand, and chief of the meteorological department of the Board of Trade; received the gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society; published works on navigation and meteorology, viz .: Barometer Manual ; Weather Book and Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of H. M. Ships , Adventure and Beagle . The third volume of the last-named work was written by Charles Robert Darwin, who was the naturalist of the expedition. Died May 7, 1896. Fix'ature, n. A gummy preparation for the hair, like bandoline. Flag-day, n. In the United States, the anniversary of the adoption of the national ensign, June 14, 1777, observed in some of the public schools with appropriate patriotic exercises, recitations and singing, display and distribution of flags, . Flagellum, n. ( Biol .) A slender, lash-like append- age, in bacteria and flagellate infusorians, which serves as a means of locomotion. (Bot.) A runner, as of the strawberry plant, which takes root at its joints. Flagg, ISAAC, educator, born at Beverly, Ma ., Sept. 7, 1843; graduated from Harvard with degrees of A.B. Flag'-station, n. A railway station at which trains stop only on signal of a flag displayed. Flameng', FRANÇOIS, figure painter, born in Paris in 1859; pupil of his father, Leopold F. , and also studied with Cabanel, Hedouin, and Jean Paul Laurens; re- ceived the second-cla medal at the Salon of 1879; a medal of honor, Paris Exposition of 1889; and was dec- orated with the cro of the Legion of Honor. His important pictures are: The Girondins Summoned; The Bowlers; Grolier and Aldus. Flam marion, CAMILLE, astronomer, born at Mon- tigny-le-Roi, Haute-Marne, France, Feb.25, 1842; studied in the imperial observatory; editor of Cosmos ; scientifio editor of the Siècle ; made several balloon ascensions to study the atmosphere at great altitudes (1868). He is the author of a number of works, including: Les Mondes I mag in a ires et les Mondes Réels; Dieu dans la Nature ; His to ire du Ciel; Uranie, ., and of recent years has contributed to American monthlies. Is highly imaginative in his descriptions of nature, and perhaps none too safe as a scientific guide. Flam'mule, n. [Lat. flammula , a little flame.] A small flame, or flamelet. In a specific sense, the little jet of flame which is used in representations of Jap- anese and Chinese gods to typify their celestial at tributes. IMG:content-0281.png:[graphic]