50 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
and rainbow trout are found above the falls. Furnace Brook is re- 
puted to be one of the best trout streams in Rutland County, and 
being easily accessible, is very heavily fished. 
During the 1935 season, 1,197 fishing reports were turned in, and 
during 1936, 1,107 reports were made. “The total catch of legal trout 
was 8,589 in 1935 and 6,995 in 1936. Breaking down the reports by 
species we find that in 1935 the catch consisted of 5,645 brook trout 
and 2,942 rainbow trout; while in 1936 the catch of brook and rainbow 
was 4371 and 2,624, respectively. The average catch per fishing effort 
was 7.2 trout in 1935 and 6.8 trout in 1936. 
Tt will be noted that the decrease in the number of fish caught in 
1936 as compared with 1935 was almost entirely due to a marked 
reduction in the number of brook trout, the decrease in the number of 
‘ainbows being too small to have significance. This result is even 
more remarkable in view of the fact that there has been no stocking 
of rainbows in Furnace Brook for several years, while large plants of 
brook trout, consisting of fingerling and yearling fish, have been made 
annually in September. It is evident, therefore, that not only are the 
‘ainbow trout in Furnace Brook self. sustaining, but they are able to 
maintain a fairly stable population without artificial aid even when 
subjected to intensive fishing. 
Neither the South Branch ‘of Middlebury River nor the West Branch 
of White River is as intensively fished as Furnace Brook and the 
total catch in these waters was much less. The average catch per 
fishing effort was 6.6 trout in the former stream and 4.6 trout in the 
latter. It is interesting to find that in Chittenden Reservoir the aver- 
age catch per fishing effort was only 1.4 trout, but the fish were much 
lar ger than those taken in the streams, aver ‘aging about a pound in 
weight. 
Collections of bottom samples in the three test streams during the 
summer of 1936 show an average of 1.167 grams of food organisms 
per square foot for Furnace Brook, 0.915 grams for South Branch of 
Middlebury River, and 0.732 grams for West Branch of White River. 
It is believed that these results are representative for mountain trout 
streams in this region. 
Arrangements were completed with the United States Forest Service 
for the operation of four experimental streams in the White Mountain 
National Forest for the purpose of obtaining information on the rela- 
tive value of trout of different sizes for stocking. The streams selected 
are Sabbaday, Downes, Oliverian, and Douglas Brooks, all tributaries 
of Swift River. These streams are very similar with respect to phys- 
ical and chemical characteristics and abundance of food organisms. 
Each stream is to be stocked annually with brook trout of a certain 
size as follows: Unfed fry in Sabbaday Brook, 2-inch fingerlings in 
Douglas Brook, 4-inch fingerlings in Downes Brook, and yearling trout 
in Oliveri ian Brook. The Forest Service has assumed ‘yesponsibility 
for obtaining a complete record of the numbers and sizes of trout taken 
from these streams each season, information that should be of great 
value in the development of plans for the proper management of 
streams in this region. 
Big Levels Refuge. —Studies on trout streams in the Big Levels 
Refuge in the Natural Bridge Division of the George Washington 
National Forest in Virginia were continued under the direction of 
