[9] PROPAGATION OF SCHOODIC SALMON IN 1881-'82. 109& 



January 25. — Cold weather has shrunk the volume of water at the 

 hatchery from 30 to 20 gallons within two weeks. 



January 27. — This morning we had a smart rain for several hours ; 

 yesterday a thaw. No material change in the volume of water in the 

 hatching-house. Grand Lake is rising; the water is just beginning to 

 flow on our spawning-house floor. 



January 28. — Mr. Brackett writes that the case of eggs sent him on 

 23d arrived at Winchester, Mass., on evening of 25th, and on unpack- 

 ing next morning were found to be " frozen through and through, with 

 the possible exception of a small space in the center." [But this proved 

 to be an exaggerated statement, the actual loss being 8,000 eggs out of 

 32,000.] These eggs went down to Princeton on stage on 23d. ISext 

 morning, with the temperature of the air at 20° F. below zero, and a 

 high wind, they went to Forest on the stage, a drive of five and one- 

 half hours, thence to Boston by rail in a car warmed by a stove. 

 Doubtless the freezing was accomplished before the package reached 

 the railroad. This was the first instance of the kind that has occurred 

 since this establishment was organized. Probably the protecting power 

 of asbestos felt is less than I supposed. 



February 2, 1882. — Experiment with packing materials. — Last night I 

 took a box made out of an old packing-tray, 12 inches long, 9 wide, and 

 3| deep ; ends one-half inch thick ; top and bottom about one-fourth of an 

 inch ; all pine, joints open, construction loose. On the bottom I put 4 

 thicknesses of asbestos felt, then a board one-fourth of an inch thick ; 

 then I filled it with wet moss, just such as we use in packing eggs, 

 and pressed it in hard with my hands ; then put on another quarter- 

 inch board, and finally the cover. This was put together in our shop, 

 temperature 50° or 60° F. The moss was from the moss storeroom, 

 the temperature of which is from 35° to AQ^ F. About 9 p. m. this box 

 was put out of doors on our shop platform, stood on end, and there 

 allowed to remain till 7 a. m. I then took it in and opened it. The 

 out-door temperature at 6 p. m. was +80 F ; at 7 a. m. it was +18° F. 

 On opening the box I found the moss frozen nine thirty-seconds of an 

 inch on the bottom (the felted side). On the top (the board side) twelve 

 thirty-seconds of an inch, on the side without either board or felt, three- 

 fourths of an inch. Beckoning from the inside of the cover, the pene- 

 tration of the frost was, through felt and board and moss, about twenty- 

 five thirty-seconds of an inch; through board and moss, twenty thirty- 

 seconds of an inch; through moss alone, on narrow side, twenty-four 

 thirty- seconds of an inch; in the latter case had the side been broader 

 I think the frost would not have penetrated so far. 



[Other experiments with packing materials were tried February 4j. 

 and the results may be stated with tolerable accuracy, thus : Asbestoa 

 felt and common building paper vary very little in conducting power^ 

 frost penetrating through five-eighths of an inch of either material, and 

 further into wet moss, .25 to .35 inch in case of the asbestos envelope,. 



