PROPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES, 1924 423 



of Dry Run. Although it is dry throughout the greater portion of the 

 year, this run carries a large volume of water in periods of heavy 

 rainfall, and the overflow from this source has in the past caused con- 

 siderable damage to station property and heav}^ losses of stock. The 

 new dike was designed to prevent a recurrence of such conditions. 

 A cement foundation wall was also placed under the main hatching 

 room to replace timberwork which had decayed. 



The sinall brood stock of brook trout on hand yielded some 56,000 

 eyed eggs of fair quality. Unlike the rainbow trout, adult brook 

 trout do not appear suited to the conditions at this station, and the 

 brood fish of this species are quite generally affected with a gill dis- 

 ease which causes heavy mortality. To all appearances the fish were 

 in prime condition last year, but with the approach of the spawning 

 period the usual gill trouble developed. In view of the difficulty 

 experienced it is proposed to discontinue the efforts toward brook-trout 

 culture at Manchester and devote the space heretofore occupied by 

 these fish to increasing the production of rainbow trout. This course 

 seems particularly advisable, since the rainbow trout produce highly 

 satisfactory results, and any surplus eggs of that species in stock may 

 readily be exchanged for brook-trout eggs, many of the commercial 

 trout breeders being ready to take advantage of every opportunity 

 of that kind. Included in the station output were the fry and finger- 

 lings produced from some 606,000 brook-trout eggs, 500,000 being 

 transferred from the Leadville (Colo.) station, while the remainder 

 were purchased from a commercial breeder in Colorado. 



The results attained in the propagation of rainbow trout were very 

 gratifying. The egg collections were larger by 200,000 than in the 

 preceding year, and the brood stock has increased in numbers and 

 also in quality. Of the 546,000 eggs obtained 235,000 were shipped 

 in the eyed stage to fill the distribution rec{uirements. From the 

 remainder a sufficient number of fingerlings were produced to honor 

 all applications listed. The output of the year also included limited 

 numbers of such species as the small-mouth black bass, large-mouth 

 black bass, and rock bass. An important factor in connection with 

 the poor showing along this line was the exceptionally unfavorable 

 climatic conditions encountered at the spawning time, particularly as 

 regards the small-mouth bass. The spring was a cold one, with pro- 

 tracted frosts and unseasonably low water temperatures. As a result 

 practically all the eggs of the first spawning were a total loss. In 

 addition to the pondfish produced at the station, several thousand 

 catfish, sunfish, and crappie were diverted to the station ponds from 

 the Mississippi River rescue work during the fall, the object being to 

 have such species available for early distribution the following spring. 



NEOSHO (MO.) STATION AND SUBSTATIONS 



[Fred. J. Foster, Superintender t] 



The fish-cultural work in this field was addressed to the lainbow 

 trout, brook trout, large-mouth black bass, small-mouth black bass, 

 rock bass, bluegill sunfish, crappie, and yellow perch, and the aggre- 

 gate output of fish and fish eggs for the year amounted to approxi- 

 mately 2,413,000. 



The outcome of the year's work, which was marked by an increased 

 production of fish and fish eggs at all points, tends to show the effi- 



261S7— 25 5 



