8 COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 



decided that in almost all cases better results could be obtained by 

 liberating fish which were considerably older than the ordinary fry, 

 i. e., usually yearlings or fingerlings, and sometimes adults. The 

 principal advantage of liberating fingerlings instead of fry lies in the 

 fact that in the large retaining ponds the fry are protected from 

 natural enemies at a time when they are most susceptible to them, 

 and when liberated they are older and more vigorous, their larger 

 size at once eliminating many of their enemies. Another factor 

 which favors the planting of fingerlings in Rhode Island is the usually 

 hot, dry summer months. At this time of year the streams are very 

 low, and if fry were planted, most of them would die. The fingerlings 

 are usually planted in the early fall, when the streams have again 

 become filled, and by the following summer, they have become quite 

 at home in the stream or pond, and are thus better able to survive 

 an extended drought. In view of these advantages, your Commis- 

 sion believes that, as far as Rhode Island waters are concerned, it is 

 preferable to liberate fingerlings instead of fry, even though the 

 number liberated is reduced at the rate of 100 to 1. 



Your Commission considers the trout and both the large and small 

 mouthed black bass as worthy of the most consideration in any 

 efforts to stock the waters of Rhode Island, and therefore special 

 mention will be made of these three species of fish. With reference 

 to the trout, unfavorable natural conditions and great increase of 

 sportsmen have greatly reduced the abundance, but as was mentioned 

 in a previous report, it is certain that " were it not for the continual 

 and yearly stocking of the streams and ponds by your Commission, this 

 fish, which is now quite abundant, would be almost extinct." These 

 unfavorable conditions have been overlooked, even by many ex- 

 perienced fishermen, and therefore will be mentioned at some length 

 at the end of this chapter. 



THE BLACK BASSES. 



" The black bass is eminently an American fish; he has the faculty of 

 asserting himself and of making himself completely at home wherever 



