Interior view of a fish hatchery, California, ca.1910

Photograph of the interior view of a fish hatchery, California, ca.1910. Vats (or tanks?), some covered, are lined up in rows across the room. The vat in the foreground has some type of filtering device attached to it. Lined along the walls are pipes where more filter devices (or water pumping devices?) can be seen pouring water into the vats. Dozens of glass containers, filled with fish specimens, sit on a table near the center of the room. Other hatchery devices are seen scattered throughout the room. Nets hang from the roof. In the center of the room hangs a sign that reads: "California Northwestern fish hatchery, [...]y Co."; "The hatchery still houses the initial stages of the process, where fertilized eggs are placed in plastic hatching trays and incubated with a continuous flow of fresh water to provide adequate oxygen. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, tall glass hatching jars were used for this process. Today, hatched fish are kept in rearing troughs. When the fish reach 3 to 4 inches they are transferred to one of the ponds. In the spring fish are distributed to the State's waterways. When this was done by train and wagon, fish were transported in "fish cans" with perforated inserts for ice that provided oxygen to the fish as it melted. Today, they are distributed by trucks in large installed tanks." -- unknown author.