PROPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES, 1927 707 
by great difficulty for the same reason. The presence of a tremendous amount 
of voleanic ash from Mount Shasta in the McCloud River has been a constant 
source of difficulty. The continual turbidity prevented examination of the 
racks to keep them fish tight, deposited thick layers of mud on the spawning 
grounds, and an inordinate amount of attention was required to prevent its 
smothering the eggs. 
Battle Creek (Calif.) substation—A repetition of the high water noted at 
Baird rendered seining difficult at this point and in November damaged the rack 
so that all fish could ascend the river. Four million salmon eggs were taken, 
with the probability that half that number was lost through the break in the 
scale Muddy water gave continuous trouble throughout the whole incubation 
period. 
Mill Creek (Calif.) substation.—Similar conditions washed out the rack at 
Mill Creek after 5,000,000 eggs had been collected, and as many more probably 
were lost on account of the accident. Muddy water hindered incubation here, 
also, with heavy losses resulting. Constant attention to the eggs was necessary. 
An aggravated condition of mud and high water in the river seriously curtailed 
all operations in the California field. 
FISHES OF THE GREAT LAKES 
Operations in this field also are contingent upon weather conditions, 
egg collections of the important lake trout, whitefish, cisco, and pike 
perch fluctuating with the prosecution of the fisheries. The four 
ain stations, with an equal number of substations and numerous 
collecting points, are concerned largely with the species mentioned 
above, though minor commercial fishes, such as yellow perch and 
carp and the game fishes, likewise are included in the output. 
DututH (Minn.) STATION 
[S. P. WirEs, Superintendent] 
The take of lake trout and whitefish was light this season although slightly in 
excess of that of last year. Unfavorable weather conditions influenced the 
limited collections and probably were partially responsible for a poorer quality 
of eggs. These conditions prevailed not only on the south shore but at various 
points on Isle Royale. From the 16,717,295 lake-trout eggs taken, 615,400 eyed 
eggs, 8,380,000 fry, and 321,000 fingerlings were distributed; 2,732,000 whitefish 
eggs were collected. 
Pike-perch work in cooperation with the State of Minnesota near Bemidji was 
successful. Eggs were eyed at the State’s hatchery at Bemidji and transferred 
to other points for hatching. The bureau’s share from these operations was 
19,600,000 eggs. Almost 250,000 brook-trout eggs from various sources were 
handled. The hatch of 204,000 was distributed to applicants. 
NoRTHVILLE (Micu.) STATION AND SUBSTATION 
[W. W. THAYER, Superintendent] 
The Northville station handles none of the commercial species but propagates 
game fishes, both trout and the pond varieties. Almost 1,500,000 brook-trout 
eggs were received from commercial dealers. Part of these were shipped to the 
Alpena substation. Of the resulting fry, 200,000 were shipped to the cooperative 
nursery of the Turtle Lake Club. Difficulty was experienced in holding brook 
trout in the ponds, although no trouble was had with rainbows under similar 
conditions. An attempt to hold the fish longer than usual undoubtedly made 
the losses heavier than would have been the case if all of them had been dis- 
tributed soon after May 1. 
The smallmouth-bass operations were encouraging, with a large increase in the 
fall distribution of fingerlings carried over. Winter losses of adult stock were 
lower than in the previous year. The 1927 hatch already has yielded 132,250 
fry and fingerlings. The usual collections of brood bass were made for other 
stations. Some bluegill sunfish also were produced. Several hundred thousand 
rainbow-trout eggs were hatched, and at the close of the year 118,000 were 
being held over. The work with this species was very successful. This station 
