52 FISH AND GAME. 



The increase in production has been due to the development 

 of two new hatcheries at Sandwich and at Palmer, in addition 

 to the extensions at the Sutton and Adams stations, all of which 

 are now in operation. The Sandwich hatchery is potentially 

 one of the finest trout hatcheries in the country, and at Palmer 

 extensive ponds have been made for the propagation of small- 

 mouthed black bass. 



Adams Hatchery. The Adams hatchery, in the Berkshires, 

 was established under chapter 60, Resolves of 1898, at a cost of 

 $2,500. At the present time, during the spring and winter 

 months this hatchery raises approximately 600,000 trout fry 

 which are distributed to the western streams. The State prop- 

 erty at the Adams hatchery consists of 2k acres of land and 

 a brick hatching house, 35 by 40 feet. The superintendent, 

 who receives $240 per year, is the only paid employee, and the 

 total cost of running the hatchery for the year 1914 was 

 $350.11. It is essential to have hatcheries of this type in dif- 

 ferent parts of the State to take care of the abundance of eggs 

 which are now produced at the Sandwich hatchery, and to dis- 

 tribute the fry. 



Palmer Hatchery. A distributing center of sufficient size to 

 comply with the increasing demand for fish propagation in the 

 western part of the State was at length provided by the es- 

 tablishment of a well-equipped modern hatchery at Palmer, 

 Hampden County, in 1911, under chapter 271 of the Acts of 

 1911. The choice of this location, and the general plan on 

 which this station is being developed, was adopted only after 

 careful study and upon the advice of the best experts in the 

 United States. When complete this hatchery will be one of the 

 largest and best in the country. The hatchery is ideally lo- 

 cated on a stream which is a tributary to Forest Lake, about 1 

 mile beyond Palmer Center on the direct road to Ware. Its 

 proximity to Palmer, an important railroad center 15 miles 

 east of Springfield, affords excellent facilities for rapid and 

 economical distribution of fry and fingerlings to all parts of 

 central and western Massachusetts. The natural facilities as 

 regards location, water supply and rearing ponds permit the 

 hatching and rearing of many species of inland fish, a strikingly 

 unique advantage, which should place Palmer in the class of the 

 foremost hatcheries. 



