140 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [J.lll., 



Now, in Goshen, there is a lake — Tyler Pond — that is 

 famous for its fish. During the past summer, to my knowl- 

 edge, there has certainly been over a ton of pickerel taken 

 out of that lake. I saw three pickerel, out of a lot of fifteen 

 or eighteen, that were caught in that pond last August, that 

 weighed thirty-seven and a half pounds, after they had been 

 out of the water for some time. That pond has never, to my 

 knowledge, had any bass put into it. That shows what our 

 ponds in their natural condition will do, if they are protected 

 against this worst of all fishes, the black bass. I hope that 

 where we have ponds in this State that are in their natural 

 condition, we, as farmers and citizens, will see that the bass 

 are kept out. 



Mr. KiMBERLY. I would say that in their natural condition 

 the Ooshen ponds never had any pickerel. I was told that 

 they were introduced there in 1816. My father was one of 

 the subscribers to have them brought over from New Hart- 

 ford, or near there, and put into those ponds. 



Mr. Yeomans, of Columbia. I think it is hardly worth 

 while to bear down too hard upon the bass. I am not ready 

 to accept all that has been said here. If I have gathered 

 a correct impression (I have not been in all the time), I judge 

 that the remark has been made that the bass do not propagate 

 themselves to any great extent. I have understood from the 

 remarks that there are no small bass, but where they are put 

 into ponds or lakes, those bass grow, and if anybody is suc- 

 cessful in catching one, there is one less. If I am wrong in 

 that impression, it is a mistake. 



The Chairman. That only applies, I believe, to some par- 

 ticular ponds. 



Mr. Yeomans. In regard to bass not being caught, or only 

 occasionally one, I think that is a wrong impression. It is 

 possible that the difficulty may be in the want of skill in the 

 angler. Some ten years ago, there were a few black bass, 

 seven or eight 1 think, possibly more, taken from Bolton 

 river and placed in Columbia reservoir. Those bass were 

 protected by legal enactment for a certain time, and during 



