34 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIO^^ER OF FISHERIES. 



At the Woods Hole (Mass.) station considerable difficulty M'as; 

 experienced in securine; a vessel equipped with a well for the trans- 

 portation of brood cod as a source of ec;^ supply, the vessels for- 

 jnerly employed for this work havino- either been sold or lost. A 

 small one suitable for the purpose was finally hired at Newport, 

 R. I., and, arrangements havinix been made with the various trap 

 owners to supply cod, approximately 2.800 were transferred from 

 the fishino; grounds to the station. These fish yielded 555,584,000 

 eggs, and 114,000,000 additional were obtained for the station by 

 spawn takers operating in Cape Cod Bay. Due to unfavorable 

 weather conditions in the Waquoit Bay collecting field, the collec- 

 tion of \^nnter flounder eggs for the Woods Hole station was the 

 smallest in several years, onlv 369.865.000 being secured. The work 

 with this species was undertaken on January 16 and completed 

 April 4, 



CULTIVATION OF FISHES OF INTFRTOR WATERS. 



Collections of eggs of the brook, rainbow, blackspotted, and Loch 

 Leven trouts at the various stations devoted to Avork with these 

 species amounted, in round numbers, to 47,349,000, or 8,823,000 in 

 excess of those collected in 1922. The increase in output over tliat 

 of last year was even greater, due to smaller losses sustained during- 

 the incubation and rearing periods. 



A very successful collection of brook-trout eggs was made for the 

 Leadville (Colo.) station, but there was a falling oil', compared with 

 the previous year, in the percentage of hatch. In accordance with 

 the usual custom, 500.000 of the eyed eggs were forwarded to the 

 Bozeman (Mont.) station, with the view of utilizing the resulting 

 fry in stocking suitable waters in the Glacier National Park. 



During the month of November the force attached to the Spring- 

 ville (Utah) station, in cooperation with employees of the Utah 

 State fisheries department, collected 8,250,000 brook trout eggs in 

 Fish Lake, of which the station received 3,200,000 as its share. The- 

 egg collections at this lake have shown a steady increase ever since 

 the work was inaugurated by the bureau in 1917, the number taken 

 that year being 2,785,000. Collections of rainbow-trout eggs were 

 also made at Fish Lake during the spring of 1923, the station 

 receiving 882,000. 



During April and May eggs from wild rainbow trout to the 

 number of 1,500,000 were "taken at the Meadow Creek field station, 

 in Madison Valley, Mont. Some trouble Avas experienced in fertiliz- 

 ing them and the losses to the eyed stage were abnormally large- 

 only 810,000 good eggs resulting from the work. These were of ex- 

 cellent quality, however. At the Bozeman (Mont.) station the entire 

 pond system is being remodeled, and when the work is completed 

 the capacity of the station for rearing fry and fingerling fish will be 

 materially increased. 



A very successful season was experienced in the propagation of 

 blackspotted trout in the YelloAvstone Park during the summer of 

 1922 under the direction of the superintendent of the Leadville 

 (Colo.) station. The egg collections, as compared with the previous 

 vear, were nearly doubled and the output of fry was proportionately 

 'large. It is planned hereafter to utilize a larger pereeiitage of 



