New England Salmon Hatcheries and Salmon Fisheries in the Late 19th CenturyVarious
History
New England Salmon Hatcheries and Salmon Fisheries in the Late 19th Century
Various
Fish hatcheries -- New England; Fisheries -- New England; Salmon -- New England
The station is located in the town of Orland, Me., 7 miles east of
Bucksport, a seaport on the Penobscot River. Its territory embraces a
tract of land extending between Allamoosook Lake and Craig Pond and
embracing within its limits the entire length of Craig Brook, which
connects those two bodies of water. Its latitude is about 44 degrees
42' N. The mean annual temperature and precipitation are believed to
approximate those of Orono, 25 miles distant, namely, 42.48° F. [5.8°
C.] and 45.44 inches [116 cm.]. The range of air temperature observed
at the station is from 18° F. below zero to 92.5°F. above [-27.7° C.
to 33.6° C.]. Frosts not infrequently occur as late as the 1st of June
and as early in autumn as the first week in September. The lakes in the
vicinity are commonly covered with ice before the end of November, and
they are not often released until near the end of April.
The water supply is derived from Craig Brook and from three large and
several lesser springs. The source of the brook is Craig Pond, which
affords a constant supply of exceedingly transparent water, warm in
summer and cold in winter, moderated, however; in both extremes by the
water from the springs, which mingles with the brook in its lower
course, forming about a third of its volume. It is this mixed water
which is mainly used in the rearing of fish. Its temperature ranges
from 34° F. [1.1° C.] to 70°F. [21.1°C.]. The lowest monthly mean in
1893 was 35.8° F. [2.1° C.] in February. The highest was 64.6°F.
[18.1°C.] in August. The total volume is variable, ranging from 875
to 3,000 gallons and averaging about 1,200 gallons per minute.
The difference of level between the source and mouth of the brook is
about 190 feet. The sharpest descent is just above the hatchery and
rearing troughs, which therefore receive well-aerated water. The
conformation of the ground offers good facilities for the distribution
and utilization of the water.
The leading motive in the foundation of this station was the desire to
apply to the Atlantic salmon the system of rearing fish to the age of
at least several months before liberating them. This motive has
determined not only the principal subjects of the work, but also to a
considerable extent the fixtures and methods. The scheme of work was
determined in outline several years before the acquisition of full
title to the premises, and, circumstances rendering it desirable to
enter at once on its development, it became necessary to have recourse
to movable apparatus, pending authority for permanent improvements.
Hence the erection of a series of small troughs in the open air, which
gave such excellent satisfaction that enlargement took the same
direction; and it has thus come about that the rearing operations of
the station down to the present time have been almost exclusively
conducted in open-air troughs. A series of ponds has been constructed,
but with the exception of a few small ones none of them have been as
yet brought into use.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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