PROPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES, 1924 425 



exception of Nos. 20 and 22, carry new brood fish obtained from 

 Langdon, Kans. As most of the young fish produced from the 

 spawning of 1924 are being hekl for fall distribution, the exact re- 

 sults of the changes made are not definitely known, but it appears 

 certain that more and better fingerlings will be available for the fall 

 distribution. 



Bourbon {Mo.) suhstation. — It is gratifying to note that the volume 

 of the work at this substation was increased more than 100 per cent 

 during the fiscal year 1924. Rainbow-trout eggs to the number of 

 588,000 were taken in the course of spawning operations in the fall, 

 from which stock 213,930 eg^s in the eyed stage were shipped and 

 150,000 fingerlings were reared, at a cost to the bureau's appropria- 

 tion of only $207.49. 



During the first four and one-half months of the fiscal year the 

 station was in charge of employees of the Von Hoffman Press, the 

 owners of the property, and with whom the fish-cultural work is 

 being conducted on a cooperative basis. While under such manage- 

 ment some difficulty was experienced in handling the fish. In Octo- 

 ber, after the occurrence of a loss of 8,000 large fingerling trout, the 

 food in use was suspected, but an analysis revealed nothing injuri- 

 ous. The mortality occurred within a 15-hour period, all the fish 

 previously having been in good condition, and those that recovered 

 were apparently in normal health on the second day after the death 

 rate. Later in the same month ''popeye" developed among the 

 adult fish held in Spring Lake. An analysis of the water disclosed a 

 supersaturation of nitrogen, a deficiency of oxygen, and the presence 

 of carbon dioxide. There seems little doubt that the concfition of 

 the water was responsible for the trouble, as it disappeared promptly 

 after changing the fish to another environment. The abnormal gas- 

 eous condition of the water of Blue Spring seems to be present only 

 during late summer and early fall. 



Langdon {Kans.) substatmn. — At the end of the first full year of 

 the bureau's lease of the Kansas property the results of the work 

 may be viewed from different angles. From the number of appli- 

 cants supplied and the size and condition of the fish produced for 

 distribution the results may be considered highly satisfactory. It 

 has also been the means of materially reducing the numbers of fish 

 diverted from the Mississippi River field to the general distributions; 

 and because of the superior condition of the fish reared in these 

 ponds — as regards their ability to withstand transportation— such 

 distributions have been more than satisfactory to all concerned, and it 

 seems certain that it will eventuate in more and better fish in the waters 

 stocked. Over 100.000 fingerling fish of the various pond species 

 were produced at a cost — including lease of the ])roperty hut exclu- 

 sive of salaries of statutory employees — of about $32.68 per thousand. 

 This compares favorably with the production cost per thousand at the 

 regularly established stations. It should also be taken into consid- 

 eration that there were several Cjuite unavoidable factors militating 

 against the highest production of fish and tending to increase the 

 cost per thousand. The most serious of these was the flood in May, 

 1923, when a large number of newly hatched fry were lost, materially 

 reducing the productivity of all the ponds. It seems certain that the 

 cost per thousand fish can be materially lowered next year. 



