414 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



when it was put into the cans was 70'^ Fahrenheit, and we kept it at 

 about that temperature till we reached Chicago. 



I ought to remark here that the main points in carrying living shad 

 are : (1) To make constant and regular changes of water ; (2) To keep the 

 temperature even, not letting the water fall below 62°, or rise above 75° ; 

 (3) To avoid all sudden changes of temperature in the cans ; (4) To 

 avoid introducing impure, alkaline, or other unsafe water upon the fish. 



I remarked that we kept the temperature of the water about 70° till 

 we reached Chicago. The morning of our arrival here, however, was 

 very hot, indeed, the thermometer indicated about 100° in the shade, 

 and it was with great difficulty that the water could be kept down to a 

 safe point without producing too sudden a change of temperature, but 

 by making several changes in quick succession we succeeded in keeping 

 the water from rising above 74°, and a little after noon left Chicago for 

 Omaha, the fish being in good condition. From Chicago to Omaha we 

 took on water at La Porte, Bellow's Station, Bureau, Tiskilwa, Rock 

 Island, Davenport, Kellogg, Casey, and Avoca, reaching Omaha about 

 noon. 



During the previous night, on our wa!^ from Chicago, we had suc- 

 ceeded in bringing the water down to 68°, but before reaching Omaha 

 it was again to 72°. Mr. Welsher left us at Omaha, and returned to 

 Castleton, N. Y., his care and experience having contributed very much 

 to the success of the expedition so far. 



We left Omaha at 3 p. m., on the Union Pacific Railroad, the train 

 being several hours behind time. The fish were still as fresh as when 

 they left the Hudson. There were now but four days between us and 

 the Sacramento, and we took courage. Owing to the scarcity of suita- 

 ble water in the long reach of alkali country before us, I considered it 

 necessary to take on larger reserves of water at the few places where the 

 water could be depended upon. I accordingly procured at Omaha a 

 thirty-gallon tank which had been recovered from the wreck of the 

 aquarium car, and obtained permission from Mr. C. B. Havens, the 

 traiu-dispatcher of the Union Pacific Railroad, to stop the train at the 

 Elkhorn River, long enough to allow us to fill our tank from the Elkhorn. 

 The water which we took from this river proved to be the best for the 

 shad that we found on the road, although very roily and so hot (bring- 

 ing the thermometer up to 84°) that it ate up our ice-supply very fast. 

 About 8 o'clock Saturday evening we took on several hundred pounds of 

 ice at Grand Island, Neb., but as we climbed the Rocky Mountains the 

 air grew colder and we did not need much ice. During the night the 

 temperature of the cans fell steadily till morning. Just before day- 

 light we took on a small reserve of water at Big Spring, Neb. This 

 water was cold and clear, and brought down the temperature of the shad 

 still lower. At sunrise the thermometer indicated 67° to 6S° in the 

 cans, and remained at about that point till 6 o'clock Sunday afternoon, 

 when we reached Laramie, and took on fifty gallons of Laramie River 



