PROPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES, 1924 419 



past years, the principal work at St. Johnsbury and Holden has been 

 the incubation of trout eggs and the distribution of the fry. Only 

 such improvement work as was essential to the property was under- 

 taken, the object being to conserve all possible funds for the develop- 

 ment of the important trout-rearing project at York Pond. 



St. Johnsbury {Vt.) station. — BrooK-trout eggs to the number of 

 883,000 collected in the Darling Pond field were successfully incu- 

 bated, and the station received of this lot, in return for its work of 

 collection and incubation, approximately 250,000 of the resulting fry 

 for general distribution. The remainder w^ere disposed of to private 

 persons and to the State of Vermont in the interest of the pond 

 ownere. Of the brook-trout eggs purchased from commercial dealers 

 some 245,000 were retained and the remainder — -about 260,000 — were 

 transferred to Holden substation. Brook-trout eggs to the number 

 of 120,000 were also incubated for the Caledonia Forest and Stream 

 Club, and the product was distributed in the public waters of the 

 region by the organization. Such work, which has been practiced 

 for several seasons, has proved very profitable and it extends the 

 service which the bureau is able to render at a minimum of expense. 

 Other similar organizations are asking for this service, and the State 

 commissioner of fish and game has agreed to duplicate all such pur- 

 chases of eggs intended for the stocking of the public waters of the 

 State. The season's work with the brook trout was highly satisfac- 

 tory, the losses on both eggs and fry being quite trivial. Lake-trout 

 eggs to the number of 92,000, from collections made at Lake Dun- 

 more, Vt., were incubated at the station and distributed in local 

 waters. The planting of lake-trout fry in certain ponds in northern 

 Vermont has resulted in such marked improvement in the fishing as 

 to fully wan-ant a continuance of such plants. 



Twenty-five thousand landlocked-salmon eggs from the Green 

 Lake (Me.) substation and 50,000 steelhead eggs from the Oregon 

 field were also incubated. Most of the fry from these eggs were sent 

 to the State hatchery at Roxbury, Vt., for rearing, and the remainder 

 entei'ed into the general distributions. A small number of eggs was 

 obtained during April from 330 adult steelhead salmon held at the 

 station. These eggs were of excellent quality and yielded a large 

 percentage of fry. This item is of passing interest, since previous 

 efforts to obtain eggs from steelheads held at this station have 

 always resulted in failure. 



Holden (Vt.) substation. — The cooperative work at Lake Dunmore 

 resulted in a collection of 243,600 green lake-trout eggs. These 

 were transferred to the substation on trays, and on attaining the 

 eyed stage 50 per cent of the lot were delivered to the State of 

 Vermont and tlie remainder were sent to the St. Johnsbury station. 

 Some 50,000 eggs of this species were received from the Charlevoix 

 (Mich.) field and all of the resulting fry were planted in Lake 

 Dunmore. This substation also incubated approximately 260,000 

 commercial brook-trout eggs during the year for general distribution. 



York Pond {N. H.) substation. — The development work which has 

 been in progress at this substation for some time was vigorously 

 pushed during the year. Among the more important items accom- 

 plished was the construction of spawning races below^ the diversion 

 dam. Water is supplied to these races from the spring run along 

 the base of Bear Mountain, to which supply is added the flow from 



