PROPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES, 1927 731 
stream or lake. The change should be gradual, at least half an hour 
being consumed in changing the temperature 10°. . 
Give the small fish a chance to live by scattering them in the 
shallow, spring-fed tributaries unfrequented by large fish, selecting 
places where there is plenty of natural food. Bear in mind that the 
smaller the fish the more care should be used in planting them. 
Make a wide distribution in order to insure a plentiful supply of food 
for the fish. If planted in deep water, a few large bass or pike may 
devour them all. Even in shallow water, if not scattered, they may 
exhaust the food supply, when the smaller fish will become the prey 
of the larger ones. 
Study the waters you intend to stock and spend some time in 
making the plant and you will be amply awarded for your efforts. 
. One hundred fish properly planted will yield better results than a 
thousand indiscriminately dumped into a stream or lake at the most 
convenient point. 
Take with you a dipper to aerate the water and to dole out the 
fish—a few at each place where conditions are ideal for them. 
The Federal Government is besieged with requests for fish, but its 
facilities for producing them are limited by its appropriations. It is 
never possible to furnish more than the nucleus of a brood stock of 
small fish. The bureau has no adult fish for distribution. As a 
rule fish are very prolific, single specimens producing thousands of 
fry, so by careful planting and proper protection a few will multiply, 
if conditions are favorable, until the waters become well stocked. 
DISTRIBUTION CARS 
The necessity for two steel cars to replace cars Nos. 3 and 4, which 
are of the old wooden type, is reiterated. The cost of repairing cars 
of the wooden type is very great, as they are antiquated to such an 
extent that much trouble is experienced in obtaining parts for re- 
placements. The annual repair bill is twice as great for a wooden 
car as it is for one of steel construction. Moreover, a wooden car 
carries but 150 pails of fish while the steel cars are equipped for car- 
rying 250 pails. It is believed that a new car could be built to carry 
300 pails or twice the number that one of the wooden cars is capable 
of transporting. 
The annual expense of maintaining a car in active distribution 
work, including transportation, repairs, etc., is approximately $10,000. 
The construction of one steel car will result in a saving of $5,000 per 
year if no extension is made in our distribution work. The oppor- 
tunities for extending fish distribution are without limit. The re- 
cently adopted policy of rearing trout on a cooperative basis until 
they are 4 or 5 inches long greatly increases the distribution work. 
Fish that formerly were carried 500 and 1,000 to the can now are 
reared to a size that permits only 100 per can. This policy of giving 
the public large-sized fish instead of fry necessitates more cars of 
greater carrying capacity. Furthermore, the wooden cars can not 
be used in the best trains; so with this type of car there are many 
delays that make necessary the renotification of applicants and even 
result in losses of fish. Finally, the wooden car is unsafe in a modern 
train made up of steel coaches. 
