372 TJ. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



March 15 the first fry of the season were observed. A large yield was assured 

 by weather and water conditions, which were generally favorable throughout 

 the season, and the output, amounting to 346,100, exceeded that of the previous 

 year by 124,000. In accordance with past custom all of the fish were reared 

 to the fingerling stage before shipment, the output including many thousands 

 that ranged from 3 to 4 inches long when distributed- The station produced 

 comparatively small numbers of rock bass, bream, and warmouth bass, while 

 considerable numbers of such fishes were rescued from overflowed lands of the 

 region and returned to their native waters. 



With the view of establishing a source of supply for crappie for distribution 

 to applicants, 275 brood fish of that species were collected from the Colorado 

 River at Austin Dam during the winter and placed in tanks or ponds belonging 

 to ranchmen in the vicinity of San Marcos. While none of the resulting fry 

 had been distributed at the close of the year, several tests with seines indi- 

 cated that good results might be expected later. In addition to the station 

 output of pond fishes a considerable number of black bass was produced and 

 distributed from the pond auxiliaries situated at Medina Lake and New 

 r.raunfels, Tex. 



Ti t pelo (Miss.) Station 

 [C. R. Wiant, Superintendent] 



At the opening of the spawning period, in the spring of 1926, the ponds at 

 Tupelo station w y ere carrying a brood stock of 458 largemouth black bass and 

 all prospects seemed good for a large production of young fish of that species. 

 This outlook was changed by the occurrence on March 24 of a sudden cold 

 spell that covered two-thirds of the pond area with a one-fourth inch layer 

 of ice. Under such conditions all of the fish abandoned their nests and the 

 eggs deposited in them were lost. Another cold spell late in April not only 

 resulted in the destruction of all eggs in the pondsi at the time but it was fol- 

 lowed by a period of storms and wind that roiled the pond water to such an 

 extent as to cause very unfavorable nesting conditions. Taken as a wmole, the 

 weather during the bass spawning season was the most adverse ever encoun- 

 tered in the fish-cultural work at this point, but notwithstanding this fact the 

 station's output of bass (aggregating 435,730, of which 73,230 were fingerling 

 fish), was the third largest in its history. 



A new method of procedure in the propagation of the bluegill bream was put 

 into effect in advance of the spawning of that species. During June and July, 

 after virtually all of the young black bass had been removed from the ponds, 

 these ponds were stocked with adult bream collected from neighboring lakes, 

 from 35 to 50 breeders being placed in each inclosure. The result was a de- 

 cided success, the year's distributions of young bluegills totaling 200,150, more 

 than double the record of any previous year. The year's work at this station 

 also included the production of a comparatively small output of crappie and 

 rock bass. 



A considerable amount of improvement work was accomplished during the 

 year, such work including the construction of one new pond 1% acres in area. 



Lakeland (Md.) Ponds Substation 



[Supervised by Washington office of fish culture] 



Early in the spring of 1925 four of the five ponds constituting this system 

 were stocked with adult fish, one with largemouth black bass, one with small- 

 mouth black bass, one with bream, and one with crappie. The prevalence of 

 cold, unseasonable weather during the spawning period curtailed the results 

 materially. Early in July, 3,405 fingerling fish seined from along the shores 

 of the largemouth-bass pond, were distributed to applicants. During the first 

 half of August large numbers of the fingerling fish in this pond were observed 

 to come in close to the shore line, many in a dying condition, and all of them 

 apparently distressed. An examination of the water showed it to be thick 

 with some substance (afterward diagnosed as alga? of special species) that 

 virtually covered the entire surface of the pond. About 2.000 of the fingerlings 

 removed from the pond were placed in fresh water, where they revived im- 

 mediately. When this pond was drained, later in the season, no live fingerling 

 fish were found, and all of the adults were in very poor condition. 



