[5] OPERATIONS AT NORTHVILLE AND ALPENA. 817 



ter while eggs were iu the house, and though the influx of moss and 

 sediment occasioned no loss of eggs, the greatest vigilance was de- 

 manded ou each occasion to keeiJ the faucets open and jars in opera- 

 tion. It was quite impossible to keep the flannel filters open, so they 

 had to be removed until the influence of the river flushing had ceased 

 to be felt. A repetition of this annoying feature is, however, hardly 

 probable for more than another season, as the complaints of consum- 

 ers and the increased consumption consequent upon a rapidly increas- 

 ing population, must soon compel the company to increase their inlet 

 capacity from the clear waters of the bay sufficient to meet the de- 

 mands of all occasions. 



Although the water company furnished water free of charge, and, in 

 common with the citizens of Alpena, lent every encouragement to the 

 work of the past season, it is possible that they may protest against 

 granting further supj)lies on this basis when the work shall have been 

 largely increased. In order, therefore, to insure a continuance of the 

 present terms and relations with the company, I would recommend an 

 early introduction of the McDonald system of hatchers, by which at 

 least three times the hatching capacity of the apparatus now in use 

 can be obtained with the same volume of water. 



At the IsTorthville station the question of water-power grows more 

 and more imiiortant with each succeeding season, as the work increases. 

 Although operations at the hatchery have not hitherto been sufli- 

 ciently extensive to consume the entire flow from the supplying springs, 

 the limit will soon be reached at the present rate of growth of the work, 

 unless the apparatus now employed be supplanted by some system 

 which shall include the McDonald repeating principle. Any system 

 that combines maximum of capacity with minimum of water-power is,, 

 moreover, especially valuable for hatcheries supplied with spring wa- 

 ter, which has first to be reduced in temperature by artificial processes 

 or exposure. 



PENNINO WHTTEFISH. 



Our whitefish eggs were obtained, as usual, from the ripe fish found 

 in the nets of the fishermen, men being sent out to take the eggs on the 

 spot. While this plan is quite satisfactory under the most favorable 

 circumstances, it is not very reliable, owing to the uncertainties of the 

 weather at this season of the year. Moreover, the opportunities for 

 getting eggs must, at the very best, be restricted to a narrow contingent, 

 as it is well understood that not one fish out of a dozen is fit for use 

 when caught, the rest being either unripe or spent. It is, therefore, im- 

 portant to note that experiments at the Northville hatchery, as well as 

 at the Detroit hatchery of the Michigan commission, have demonstrated 

 the perfect feasibility of holding the immature spawners in confinement 

 until every egg has been secured, thus making it possible to save the 

 entire crop of eggs not deposited by the fish themselves. The most of 

 the stock of eggs at the Detroit hatchery the past season was obtained 

 S. Mis. 46 52 



