364 TJ. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



Berkshire (Mass.) Station 



[W. II. Thomas, Superintendent] 



The station brood stock of brook trout, consisting of 104 adults and 72 

 yearling fish, yielded 216,000 eggs. These eggs began hatching early in Jan- 

 uary, and incubation was completed on Match 2. about 82 days from the time 

 they were taken, the average water temperature for the period being 45°. 

 Hatching proceeded satisfactorily, and the young fish appeared to be healthy 

 up to January 19, when the fry from the oldest lot of eggs began settling to 

 the bottom and lower ends of the trough. On January 23 the second oldest lot 

 of fry began to show signs of disease, and each of the remaining lots was 

 similarly affected on reaching the same age. By February 2 the disease among 

 the two oldest lots of fish had reached an advanced stage and finally resulted 

 in the loss of all fry in the hatchery except about 11,000. In the last week 

 of December 150,950 brook trout eggs of excellent quality were received 

 from the South Side Sportsmen's Club of Long Island. They were divided 

 into two lots, one lot being carried in spring water at an average temper- 

 ature of 44°, while the other was placed in pond water at 40°. At the 

 expiration of 34 days the eggs in the spring water had hatched, but the 

 period of incubation of those held in pond water was extended to 51 days. 

 Both lots were of uniformly good quality and there was no unusual loss. At 

 the close of the year, however, the fish held in spring water averaged 1% 

 inches in length while those retained in pond water were one-half inch shorter. 

 A consignment of 57,500 rainbow-trout eggs was received from the Bozeman 

 (Mont.) field on June S, and the resulting fry were on hand at the end of 

 the year. No brood bass were obtained for breeding purposes, but 1,060 Nos. 

 3 and 4 fingerling smallmouth black bass, carried over from the work of the 

 previous year, were distributed in November, 1925. 



Craig Brook (Me.) Station and Substations 



[George N. Montgomery, Superintendent] 



Under the heading "Anadromous fishes of the Atlantic Coast" (p. 359) 

 will be found a summary of the operations at this station in the propagation of 

 Atlantic salmon and humpback salmon. During the fall of 1925, 25,500 finger- 

 ling land-locked salmon ranging in length from 2 to 3 inches, which had been 

 carried over from the stock of the previous fiscal year, were distributed to 

 applicants and planted in suitable public waters. From adult landlocked 

 salmon taken iu trap nets set in Toddy Pond 5,165 eggs were collected and 

 early in November 124,050 green eggs were received from the Green Lake 

 substation. On attaining the eyed stage 110,000 of these eggs were supplied to 

 applicants and to other stations of the bureau; the remainder (about 10,000) 

 were hatched at the station, together with 200,000 eyed eggs of this species 

 transferred from the Grand Lake Stream substation and 218,250 transferred 

 from the State hatchery at Caribou, Me. All of these were incubated with 

 merely nominal losses, and the resulting fish were released in suitable waters 

 as advanced fry and fingerlings or reserved at the station to be reared to a 

 larger size. Brook-trout eggs (13,630) collected from brood fish in the station 

 ponds were of poor quality, only about 46 per cent of fish hatched from them 

 surviving to the No. 1 fingerling stage. Other eggs of this species included 

 5SO.O0O eyed eggs received from dealers in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts in 

 exchange for those of other species and 751.000 purchased from commercial 

 dealers in Maine and New York. 175,000 of the hitter being used for stocking 

 the Grand Lake Stream hatchery. An excellent percentage of hatch was 

 secured from all these eggs excepting those received from the Maine dealer, on 

 which there was a loss of about 36 per cent. All of the young brook trout 

 resulting from this stock were distributed during the spring or planted in 

 suitable public waters, with the exception of 143,000 fingerlings. These were 

 on hand at the close of the fiscal year. 



Grand Lake Stream {Me.) substation.— Late in the fiscal year 1925, 150.000 

 landlocked-salmon fry were placed in the canal ponds and fed at regular inter- 

 vals from three to five times a clay on a diet of sheep plucks. It was noted 

 that after eating all particles of the heart and liver in sight the fish would 

 greedily consume the lungs, which floated on the surface of the water. The 

 132,405 strong, healthy fish resulting from this lot were liberated as 3-inch 



