380 TJ. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



following year. Trout are distributed from stations in the Rocky 

 Mountain region from May to October, and in order to insure early 

 delivery applications from that section should be submitted prior to 

 May 1. Applications for such warm- water fishes as bass, sunfish, and 

 crappie should be submitted prior to May 1, as such species are 

 shipped between May and December. 



Fish are shipped in railroad cars especially designed for the pur- 

 pose or in baggage cars accompanied by messenger, and delivery is 

 made at the applicant's railroad station free of cost to him. On the 

 receipt of an application for fish the applicant is immediately noti- 

 fied as to the species assigned thereon and the approximate time of 

 delivery. Full directions as to the manner of receiving and caring 

 for the fish also are furnished him. Shortly before shipment is 

 made a second notice is sent, specifying the exact time when the 

 consignment will arrive at the applicant's railroad station. If for 

 any reason the delivery must be postponed, the applicant is duly 

 notified. 



DISTRIBUTION CARS 



Of the five specially equipped cars operated by the bureau in the 

 transportation of live fish, three are of steel construction and two 

 of wood. Owing to the increased carrying capacity of the steel 

 cars, which is approximately two-thirds greater than that of the 

 wooden ones, it has frequently been urged on the ground of economy 

 and efficiency, that the wooden cars be replaced with cars of steel 

 construction. The railroad companies object to hauling wooden 

 cars in their best trains, and as a matter of fact it would be dan- 

 gerous to place a wooden car between two steel coaches even though 

 it were equipped with the electrical connections required on cars 

 carried in modern trains. Furthermore, a car of wood construction 

 is not allowed to pass through the tube under the Hudson River. 

 In view of the foregoing, the saving i n transportation and mainte- 

 nance costs involved in the substitution of all-steel cars is obvious. 

 In the interest of economy and efficiency, it may be stated, to insure 

 the successful transportation of live fish they must be moved expe- 

 ditiously. Any considerable delay en route not only disarranges 

 the whole itinerary of a trip and necessitates the expense of tele- 

 graphing to a hundred or more applicants, but in many instances 

 it results in the loss of fish. 



CAR NO. 3 



[E. R. Widmyer, Captain] 



At the beginning of the fiscal year 192G the Fearnow pails on this car 

 were overhauled, cleaned, and restenciled ; the aerating equipment of the car 

 was repaired and its pumps and machinery placed in good condition. 



The distribution of warm-water fishes from the La Crosse (Wis.) station 

 was taken up on August 13, at which time a carload shipment of fish was 

 made to Milwaukee. Wis. During August and the three succeeding months 

 the car made 11 trips from Mississippi River stations, carrying from 156 to 

 201 pails of fish to a trip. In addition to this travel a number of messenger 

 shipments were made to points in Wisconsin. Minnesota. Iowa. Illinois, and 

 Michigan. In the course of the season the car and its crew carried from the 

 Mississippi River stations and delivered to applicants a total of 227,155 

 fingerling fish, of which 56,960 were black bass, 64,835 crappie, 46,745 bream, 

 25,775 yellow perch, and 32.740 catfish. 



