10 XJ. S. BUREAU or FISHERIES. 



A few years ago no catfish except the small bullheads had been 

 successfully propagated, although attempts to breed them in ponds 

 had repeatedly been made. Having at Fairport the facilities and the 

 personnel for continuous fish-cultural experiments, the channel cat, 

 or common spotted catfish, the most favored of the tribe, was chosen 

 as one of the fishes for experiment. Success was not attained in the 

 first two or three years, but finally the right thing was done, and the 

 propagation of the fish was found* to be practicable. The methods 

 may be and should be improved, but the results obtained can now be 

 made useful for the promotion of fish culture and increase of food 

 supply. 



All attempts at artificial propagation of the buffalofish yielded 

 most discouraging results until this station by properly conducted 

 experiment demonstrated its entire feasibility and thus made a par- 

 ticularly valuable contribution to fish culture. The buffalofish are 

 large species of commercial fish, in good esteem, formerly abundant in 

 the principal rivers of the Mississippi Basin, but of late years dimin- 

 ishing in numbers. The hatching of the eggs of bufi^alofish by arti- 

 ficial means with the subsequent liberation of the fry or fingerling is 

 now shown to be practicable, and it has been put into practice on a 

 large scale through the fish-cultural stations of the Bureau. There 

 are in progress at Fairport further experiments to determine if this 

 fish may be successfully grown in properly controlled ponds. 



Other experiments at this station relate to the growing of game 

 fishes in ponds. Incidental to the experiment work, a considerable 

 number of fish of several species are propagated each year and planted 

 in the Mississippi River. 



The task of fish culture is only begun when the fry or fingerling 

 fish are produced and placed in ponds. The success of the pond 

 depends upon the rate oi growth of the fish and the proportion of the 

 original stock which survives. The poultry raiser does not overrate 

 his accomplishment when several thousand young chickens are 

 transferred from brooders to yards. His success or failure is meas- 

 ured when the chickens are ready for market, by their number, 

 weight, and quality. If fishes are to be grown successfully in ponds, 

 it is necessary to know upon what they feed and how this food is 

 maintained in the pond, and what other conditions are favorable or 

 unfavorable to the survival and growth of the fish. 



Let us again find a partial analogy in the rearing of farm animals. 

 Is the farmer concerned only with his cattle, or does he in the selec- 

 tion, the preparation, and the conduct of his farm, give thought to 

 the growing of pasture plants and hay grain foods 'I Can he ignore 

 the parasites which cause disease or weakness among his animals; 

 Would he not be stupid to overlook the insects or plant rusts that may 

 sweep his pastures or crop fields bare ? Evidently the stock farm is 

 a good deal more than an abiding place for large and useful animals; 

 it IS a complex association of cattle, plants, insects, birds, worms, soil 

 bacteria, and what else, not to mention such inanimate things as soil 

 chemicals, water, and air. The fish pond or the fish stream is just as 

 much a complex — more of one, it must be thought, because, though the 

 air on the land farm is ever-present in unlimited quantities, the air in 

 the water farm is limited and variable. Suft'ocation of the cow in the 

 pastm^e is never feared, but partial or complete suffocation of fish is 

 a frequent reality. Furthermore, the movements of fish arc often 



