REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XV 



ments were made for building- a new liatchery and superintendent's 

 residence ; bj' December 1 botli buildings were completed. The hatcliery 

 is a two-story building, 69 feet long by 40 wide. Tlie first floor is utilized 

 for liatcliing operations and is equipped with the Clark-Williamson and 

 also with ordinary gravel troughs. It has a capacity for about 12,000,000 

 eggs. The cottage is a two-story frame structure with a cellar and attic, 

 40 by 31 feet, and contains four rooms and a hall on the first fioor and 

 six rooms on the second. Improvements to the water supply were made 

 so that the flow from one spring was increased from 180 to 438 gallons 

 per minute, and as it appeared that the rotting timber in the old rearing- 

 house was injuriously affecting the water from the other spring, the 

 building was torn down, the ground graded, and a stone wall built 

 around the spring. Another artesian well was also driven, which fur- 

 nishes 50 gallons of clear, cold water per minute, which will be of value 

 in regulating the temperature of the creek water used for the ponds. 

 The cottage formerly used as a superintendent's residence was moved 

 to a new location and remodeled for foreman's quarters. 



For the new station in Tennessee, authorized by act of Congress 

 approved August 8, 1894, after an examination of various localities 

 throughout the State a site was selected at Erwin, Unicoi County, which 

 appeared to combine all the important features necessary for a flsh- 

 cultural station, there being an ample supply of cold spring water, rail- 

 road connections, and facilities for collecting brood fish and eggs. The 

 ])roperty was surveyed and, as soon as a title was obtained, was trans- 

 ferred to the Fish Commission. Plans and specifications for the build- 

 ings, ponds, and water supply were made and a railroad siding arranged 

 for. A telephone line was constructed, and at the close of the fiscal 

 year contracts for the construction of the hatchery and buildings had 

 been let and some progress made in excavating for the water suj)ply 

 and ponds. 



Early in the summer steps were taken to have the station at Wythe- 

 ville, Ya., formally turned over to the Commission by the State of 

 Virginia, the necessary appropriation having been secured for this 

 purpose. Upon an investigation by the Department of Justice, how- 

 ever, it was found that the act passed by the Virginia legislature on 

 March 2, 1894, was defective, and an arrangement was accordingly 

 entered into between the Commissioner and the board of jiublic works 

 of the Commonwealth of Virginia, by which the Commission assumed 

 control of the property pending the comj)letion of the title. 



The act a])proved June 11, 1890, provided for the establishment of a 

 station in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and accordingly in Decem- 

 ber, 1896, a careful examination of a number of available localities was 

 made, and a site in the vicinity of Spearfish was found to be most suitable. 

 An abundant supply of clear, cold spring water, with a sufficient fall for 

 a gravity system for the hatchery and ponds, is available. The point is 

 dose to a railroad line and easy of access, and the topography of the 

 land is such that the necessary constructions can be economically made. 



