PROPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES, 1927 *715 
The small station stock of rainbows yielded 45,000 eggs. Over 800,000 more 
eggs were received from Meadow Creek, and 700,000 of the resulting fry are 
being carried into the new year. fingerlings to the number of 529,000 held 
over from last year were distributed during September, October, and November. 
The opening of the year showed a stock of black-spotted trout eggs and fry 
sufficient to permit distribution of 512,800 fingerlings, with an additional lot 
received from the State of Montana. One million three hundred thousand of 
the same species were being carried at the close of the fiscal year. Loch Leven 
fingerlings to the number of 17,000 on hand at the beginning of July, 1926, were 
augmented by the hatching of a stock of 2,765,760 eggs received from the Meadow 
Creek station in November. Virtually all of these fish were distributed as 
fingerlings No. 2. 
Meadow Creek (Mont.) substation The Loch Leven operations at this point 
showed an egg harvest exceeding last year’s by 2,225,000 at a reduced cost. 
The season opened a week early, and the high mark for a single day’s collection 
was reached on November 11, when 1,410,860 were secured. The quality was 
excellent, with a loss to the eyed stage of about 4 per cent. It has been found 
by experiment that green eggs can be shipped for short distances and periods 
during cold weather in ordinary distribution cans. The total output of this 
species was 13,476,212, and the cost of eyed eggs, allowing for all proper charges, 
was $142 per million. In spite of unfavorable weather, the spring collection 
of rainbow eggs at this point exceeded that of last year by 500,000. Forty per 
cent of the hatch of 3,300,100 was retained for stocking parent waters. A num- 
ber of the eggs were shipped to the Glacier Park station. 
Attempts to make the Madison Valley field a Loch Leven area have been 
continued, and to this end 1,809,200 fingerlings of last year’s hatch were planted 
in conjunction with the State of Montana and the local rod and gun club. 
There is indication that the grayling is becoming well established in Madison 
Valley. To further this desirable end, the Montana fish and game department 
in June made a shipment of over 2,000,000 grayling eggs from Georgetown Lake. 
These proved to be of exceptional quality, with a percentage of hatch far above 
the usual 50 per cent. They were planted as fry. 
Glacier Park (Mont.) substation.—At the opening of the year 1,022,000 black- 
spotted trout fry and 507,000 rainbow fry were on hand. These were planted 
by Glacier National Park employees as fingerlings Nos. 2 and 1 before the ter- 
mination of the season. During the spring of 1927 over 1,000,000 black-spotted- 
trout eggs were received at the hatchery, and these are being reared, with normal 
losses, for later distribution. 
Mystic Lake (Mont.) swbstation.—It has become apparent that the high altitude 
of this field station unfits it for rainbow-trout culture or spawn taking. Accord- 
ingly, it was deemed expedient to handle only black-spotted trout at this point, 
and the hatching equipment was utilized for incubating 275,000 eggs transferred 
here. During the early part of the year 248,000 fry of this species were planted 
in neighboring waters. 
LEADVILLE (CoLo.) STATION 
[C. H. VAN ATTA, Superintendent] 
The Leadville station differs from the other trout stations in that its entire egg 
supply is derived from field collecting stations owned by private parties and 
operated under an agreement whereby the bureau keeps the lakes stocked and 
turns over to the station owners a certain proportion of the output in return 
for the privilege of taking spawn. Brook and rainbow eggs to the number of 
6,944,000 were secured by conducting spawn-taking operations at eight different 
points during the season. This was three more stations than were operated last 
year, and the result was an increase of almost 1,000,000 in the take of eggs. As 
usual, there was a wide variation in the cost of collections, with a range from 
$0.016 to $1.55 per thousand. ‘These differences are due to the nature of the 
waters that are being worked and to deviations in the agreements under which 
the owners permit the work to be conducted. At some of the projects the fish 
are collected and penned ready for the visits of the spawn takers two or three 
times a week, while at other points it is necessary for the bureau’s employees to 
seine the fish as well as take the eggs. At the Hosselkus Lakes the loan of the 
services of an experienced spawn taker was repaid by the allotment of 752,000 
brook-trout eggs. One of the projects, Bolts’ Lake, which has been stocked for 
a number of years, is just coming on to a productive basis. Besides brook and 
rainbow eggs, a few Loch Leven eggs were obtained at Turquoise Lake and some 
black-spotted trout eggs at the Mount Massive Trout Club property. 
