REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 27 



quis County. The field stations operated in previous 3'ears at (xreen 

 Lake, Pattens Pond, and Braneh Pond were also reopened and operated. 



At Alligator Ijake a lo*^- camp was constructed for the shelter of the 

 lishernien, and a temporary hatcher}^ for eying- eggs was erected and 

 equipped with the necessary apparatus for conducting operations. At 

 this point it was thoug-ht that brook trout could ho. captured on the bars 

 and hmdlocked salmon at the outlet of the lake, but although the 

 water and weather were both favorable, and the station in the hands 

 of experienced fishermen, no salmon and only 52 brook trout were 

 captured. From the trout 21,000 eggs were obtained, 7,000 of them 

 being transported direct to Green Lake Station within 24 hours after 

 being taken from the fish. The remaining 14,000 were laid down in 

 the temporary hatchery to be eyed, but after holding them from 15 to 

 20 days in a temperature of 38° F., it was found that the expense of 

 developing them at the point of collection would be very large; they 

 were therefore transferred to Green Lake Station before the eye-spots 

 appeared, but all died en route. 



Sourdnahunk Lake is 55 miles northwest of Patten, in an unbroken 

 wilderness, and is probably at the highest elevation of anj'^ lake of 

 equal size in the State. It is 4 miles long by li miles wide, and is 

 the breeding-ground for nearly the entire west branch of the Penob- 

 scot River. No fish are found in the lake except brook trout and 

 shiners. The adult trout averaged a trifle less than a pound in weight, 

 the largest weighing 2 pounds. Owing to the expense of transporting 

 suitable material from Patten, nets were used for the leads of the traps 

 and sides of the confining pens, but these were destroyed by a moose 

 swimming around in the lake about the time the fishing season began. 

 Temporary pens were built of poles and the fish were captured b}^ 

 means of seines. All the fish that could be safely held in these pens 

 were caught before any of them had commenced working on the 

 spawning-grounds, as many as 800 being taken at one haul of the 

 seine. The total number recorded as captured was 4,275 males and 

 5,725 females; 4,047 females were stripped and yielded 1,470,000 eggs. 

 As the lake froze over two weeks earlier than was expected, the rest 

 of the females were liberated by cutting holes through the ice and 

 removing the stakes in the pens. The eggs were eyed in troughs set 

 up in a small tent, the troughs being not more than 6 inches above the 

 ground; but notwithstanding the fact that two fires were kept night 

 and day, the water temperature dropped to the freezing-point several 

 times, and 190,000 were lost by freezing to the bottoms of the hatching- 

 troughs. On February 19 the eggs were packed out, but on account 

 of the deep snow between Sourdnahunk Lake and Patten the}' were 

 on the road three days, and 10,250 died en route. Of the 1,280,000 

 which reached Patten in good condition, 320,000 were shipped to the 

 Maine Fish Commission and 50,000 to the Parmachenee Club, Camp 



