BLACK BASS CULTURE 



197 



■was at the rate of 31 fisli to the acre. At the same time the pond was 

 stocked with adult gohlen shiners at the rate of 400 to the acre. 



The pond was fertilized with a 3 to 1 mixture of sheep manure 

 and superphosphate at the rate of 530 pounds per acre. 



The pond was drained, October 5, and a total of 4,393 fingerlings 

 removed, the production being at the rate of 6,800 fingerlings per 

 acre. The great majority of these fingerlings had an average length 

 of slightly over 2 inches (5.35 centimeters), although a few fish had 

 attained a much larger size. Only one adult was lost during the 

 summer. The fact that no shiners were found when the pond was 

 drained indicates that it was understocked with forage fish. 



The remaining 19 adult bass were wintered without loss and in the 

 following spring (1929) were placed in D 3 which is somewhat 

 larger than the pond used the previous season. This pond was 

 stocked on April 22 and the fish were sexed as 9 males and 9 fe- 

 males — the sex of one could not be determined from external ap- 

 IDearance. The stocking was at the rate of 22.4 fish per acre. For 

 forage the pond was also stocked with 583 golden shiners (700 per 

 acre). 



The pond was fertilized with a 2 to 1 mixture of sheep manure 

 and superphosphate at the rate of 472 pounds per acre. 



When the pond was drained, September 24 to October 1, 18 adult 

 bass and 6,010 fingerlings were removed. With the exception of 

 28 " selects " the fingerlings averaged 2.9 inches (7.25 centimeters) 

 in length with an average weight of 19.5 grams. The fingerling 

 production was at the rate of 7,092 per acre. In addition to the bass 

 730 large shiners were obtained when the pond was drained. The 

 small number of these fish recovered clearly indicates that the pond 

 was not overstocked with forage fish. 



The results for 1929 are much better than for 1928. The number 

 of fingerlings per acre is not much greater but they w.ere on the 

 average almost 2 centimeters longer and weighed almost twice as 

 much as in 1928. This improvement in production may be due, 

 among other things, to the larger numbei" of forage fish and the 

 larger proportion of superphosphate in the fertilizer. No attempts 

 have so far been made to rear smallmouth fingerlings in nursery 

 ponds. 



THE CRAPPIES 



The rearing of crappie {Pomoxis sparoides and P. arm/ularius) 

 has been a part of the pond cultural program at Fairport since 1925. 

 During the first two years, the two species were reared together, but 

 beginning with 1927 they have been reared separately. The best 

 results with crappie were obtained in 1925, the year before the pres- 

 ent investigations were inaugurated. During this year a small 

 pond, B 16, was stocked with these two species at the rate of 67 

 adults per acre. The yield of fingerlings amounted to 13,000 per 

 acre. The experiment was repeated in the same pond during 1926. 

 This time, how^ever, the pond was stocked at the rate of 217 adults 

 to the acre, and the fingerling production amounted to only 1,826 

 per acre. Obviously, this pond was greatly overstocked. Another 

 pond, B 14, was stocked at the rate of 555 adults per acre in 1926. 



