8J8 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [6] 



in this way ; and tbc very best eggs at the Northvillc luitchery were 

 taken from fish brought from Lake Erie in casks and held in tanks in 

 the hatchery from six to seventeen days, until thej' had matured. The 

 high quality of the eggs in this particular instance may be credited to 

 the fact that they could betaken with much greater care than is possible 

 in the hurry and confusion of pound-net operations, and could be trans- 

 ferred at once to the hatching jars. For the approaching season we 

 hope to apply this principle on a large scale for filling both the Alpena 

 and 2s"orth ville houses. Having found a suitable depth of pure water in 

 some harbor, the immature fish can be conveyed thence from the fish- 

 eries in casks or tanks and held in pens, pools, or floating tanks until 

 all have ripened. 



THE LAKE TROUT WORK. 



The lake-trout eggs brought forward at the North ville hatchery were 

 obtained in the vicinity of Alpena, from fish taken in gill-nets set on the 

 " big reef" and along the shoals at the mouth of the bay. Most of the 

 eggs were taken by Mr. Wires, an expert, who at the same time initiated 

 a force of men into the business, in order to be i)repared for the collec- 

 tion of whitefis<h eggs, which was soon to follow on a much larger 

 scale. 



The weather was rather too warm at this time for shipping eggs. 

 which accounts for the poor condition in which some of the cases ar- 

 rived at ISTorthville. Another season we hope to make a much better 

 showing in quantity as well as quality. Plenty of experienced help 

 can be obtained near the fisheries, and we now have a hatchery near by, 

 in which the eggs can be stored until colder weather before shipping. 



In all 277,000 of the lake-trout eggs were taken, as follows : October 

 18th, 5,000; 21st, 10,000; 23d, 12,500; 24th, 15,000; 27th, 37,500; 28th, 

 12,500; 30th, 32,500; November 3d, 50,000; 4th, 62,000, and 8th, 40,000. 



The day the last trout eggs were taken (November 8) two ripe white- 

 fish were brought in from the Partridge Point fisheries ; the men were, 

 therefore, transferred at once to whitetish operations. 



Shipments of lake-trout eggs were made from Northville, as follows : 

 November 26th, 50,000 to the central station at Washington, D. G.; De- 

 cember 27th, 100,000 to Fred. Mather, Newark, N. J., for reshipmentto 

 von Behr, Germany; December 30th, 50,000 to Fred. Mather, for the 

 Society d'Acclimatation, Paris, France ; and 3,000 (January 27th) to 

 Fred. Mather for hatchery at Gold Spring Harbor, Long Island. 



GERMAN TROUT. 



Through favor of ^Messrs. Mather and Blackford some 5,000 trout eggs 

 from Germany (species not stated) were shipped to Northville, arriving 

 Blarch 26. The eggs were so far advanced when shii)ped that about 

 three-fourths of them hatched on the way ; the remainder, in good con- 

 dition, were placed at once in hatching-boxes and hatched in a few 



