Part III.] Pond Fish Culture. ]71 



and deliver fish "alive and kicking" at your nearest railroad 

 station, ready for your streams and ponds. You will under- 

 stand that these fish are for brood-stock purposes. They 

 should be protected and cared for until they have a chance to 

 spawn and rear broods of young fish. In this manner we hope 

 to stock and restock the streams and ponds of Kansas with 

 good fish. 



Fish from two to seven inches in length can be carried in 

 the fish car in much greater numbers than fish of larger size. 

 The capacity of our present fish car makes it possible to carry 

 from five to twelve thousand fish from two to ten months old. 

 When the fish are from one to two years old it is not possible 

 to carry so many, and when the fish are from two to three years 

 old the number that may be carried in the fish car ranges from 

 500 to perhaps 3000, depending upon kind and size. However, 

 the Department believes in delivering good-sized fish. Two- 

 year-old fish are of spawning age and size, and when placed in 

 a pond or river in the spring of the year they will spawn dur- 

 ing the season. The owner of a pond who receives such fish 

 does not have to wait for them to grow to spawning size. He 

 is immediately in the fish business, and a few pairs of such 

 fish will soon stock a pond with thousands of young fish. If 

 small fish are delivered, it is necessary to wait for them to 

 grow to spawning size. Personally, if we were stocking a 

 pond, we would much rather have twenty fish of spawning 

 size than two hundred or even five hundred small fish, such as 

 are ordinarily delivered from fish cars. 



A greater number of small fish can be delivered, but these 

 small fish run a great many chances before they reach ma- 

 turity. If there are any old game fish in the bodies of water 

 that are stocked with these small fish many of the young fish 

 may be destroyed before they are large enough to spawn. 

 However, it will be necessary for the Department to deliver 

 fish of different sizes and ages, all the way from an inch in 

 length to perhaps three pounds in weight. It is not always pos- 

 sible to load the car with just the kind of fish that one would 

 like to handle. It will frequently happen that the car will be 

 loaded with such fish as we have at the time and are able to 

 handle most conveniently. 



Again, the time of the year is an important factor when it 

 comes to handling certain kinds of fish. Large fish can be 

 moved best in early spring and late in the fall, when the 

 weather and water is comparatively cool. The smaller fish can 

 be handled almost any time. 



Do not be afraid to write the Department for fish ; write us 

 also concerning your successes and your failures. We will be 

 pleased to hear of your success; but if you have troubles and 

 failures, let us know about them also; we might be able to 

 assist and help you to that extent that you could succeed. 



