BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 227 



From the experience of this season one di£ficulty has been overcome 

 which heretofore seemed insurmountable, viz., the successful hatch- 

 ing of fish from the eggs. In my former experiments and in that ot 

 jMaj. T. B, Ferguson, where the rock-fish eggs were handled in Mc- 

 Donald jars and Ferguson cones, there was a very great loss of eggs 

 in the process of hatching; but in the experience of this year it has 

 been found that by working the McDonald jar with a small quantity 

 of water, one quart of water every three minutes, barely keeping the 

 eggs in motion, the hatching resulted in ujjward of 50 per cent of the 

 total, showing a great advance on previous work with this fish. The 

 water used at Weldon is usually of a muddy character and requires 

 filtering for any kind of hatching. The method of filtering used in the 

 experiments this year was that of placing one tray above another, thus 

 making a series of from 6 to 15, covered with coarse blanket, canton 

 flannel, cheese cloth, and bagging. After operations were commenced 

 but a small quantity of water was found necessary, and through these 

 cloths the filtration seemed quite sufiicient. 



It may be well to call to your mind again the fact that the striped bass 

 handled at Weldon, were taken almost exclusively in skim nets from 

 bateaux which ply the river from Weldon, a distance of two miles be- 

 low, and secondarily from fish-traps w^hich are used on the fiills atWel- 

 don. About 50 or 60 of the canoes fish there daily during the height 

 of the season, when as many as 6 to 25 fish are taken in each boat per 

 day. All of the ripe fish observed during the season were taken from 

 these boats except three large specimens captured some distance above 

 the falls and above Weldon. Much zeal was required to collect the 

 ripe fish from so many boats scattered over so long a distance, but by 

 dint of effort and careful handling of the fishermen, it is believed that 

 no ripe fish were lost during the time when the hatchery was prepared 

 to receive the ripe fish. At a signal any of the fishermen along the line 

 would know whether ripe bucks were required, and so complete was the 

 co-operation that there was no hesitation on their part to bring the fish 

 promptly forward. 



The catch during the season of 1884, like that of last year, was abnor- 

 mally small, reaching a good many thousand short of an average year, 

 and said to be the smallest catch ever known. During the season of 

 1883, 9 ripe fish were handled; during this season, 12 were handled; 

 but of the 12 fish, ova were taken from only 6. The total number of eggs 

 this season was 2,420,000. Of these, 1,535,000 were placed overboard in 

 an impregnated state, the hatchery being unprepared for their recep- 

 tion, but of the 530,000 handled in the hatchery on May 12, and subse- 

 quently, 298,000 fish were hatched, showing a percentage quite credit- 

 able in work so new as this. At Weldon there were actually planted 

 280,500 fry. 



It is my opinion that Weldon, N. C, is altogether a favorable place 

 for hatching this species ; as the falls which obstruct the river at this 



