FISH CULTURE. _ 261 



tliesc lakes, perhaps fifty either are now, or have beeu iu times past, the 

 home of some variety of the white-fish. But in none of the inhmd lakes 

 of New York are they now to be caught in paying- quantities. Think 

 how much would be added to the wealth of New York State alone if 

 these one hundred inland lakes were stocked to their full capacity. 



In reference to our large lakes there is one point which will have to 

 be settled before any attempts at stocking are made. As these lakes 

 form, in part, the boundary between Canada and the United States, and 

 as the Canadians have, of course, an equal chance at the fish, some ar- 

 rangement must be made whereby they shall pay their share of the ex- 

 pense, or do their portion of the work. I am happy to say that the 

 project is favorably considered by the Canadian authorities having 

 charge of fish-interests, and it is probable that a fair compact can be 

 made. 



As to the iwoper methods of restocking the lakes, the details only are 

 now a matter of experiment. The great facts are established and ready 

 for use. It is likely that the hatching-houses should be placed at the 

 point where the eggs are taken, since it is much easier to transport the 

 young fish than to transport the eggs. The first costs more, but in the 

 long run is probably least destructive. In closing this section, I wish 

 to insist upon one thing. If any attempt is made to restock the great 

 lakes, or any one of them, means enough must be provided to do it 

 fully and completely. There is no possible good in dribbling a few 

 thousand fish yearly into a hundred-mile lake, and the money used in 

 such a way is simply wasted. 



There is one curious fact about the white-fish which I have never seen 

 noticed in print, and wish here to put on record. The white-fish (and 

 also the salmon-trout) have, during most of the year, except at spawn- 

 ing time, a certain svdng on and off shore. They will swing out, say, 

 fifteen miles into the lake, and then back again until within two miles 

 of the shore. The men who are fishing for them are well aware of this 

 swing, and set their nets out or in with reference to it. But the curious 

 fact is this : that at a certain season of the year, somewhere from the 

 middle of June to the middle of July, the white-fish forsake tlieir accus- 

 tomed haunts, and make a sudden night journey to some sand-bar, close 

 in shore, where they may be seen in great quantities. This visit lasts 

 about ten days, and then they all return to their former grounds and 

 accustomed motion. What may be the reason of this visit I do not 

 know. It looks to me like a summer pleasure excursion on a large 

 scale. There must be some good reason, of course, and some time it will 

 come to light. 



SALMON-TEOUT. 



The rate of decrease of the salmon-trout has not been so great as that of 

 the white-fish. This is owing to the fact that it is a deep-water fish and 

 the difiiculty of catching them is thus increased. The rate of decrease 

 has been rapid enough, however, to excite well grounded fears of their 

 total extinction. Witness the following facts ; they used to be sold at 

 $2.50 or $3 pfpr hundred pounds ; they are now sold at $7 per hundred 

 pounds. This fact on its face -u'ould seem to indicate a failure of more 

 than one-half of the old average, but in reality it indicates much 

 more, because improved methods of catching them are now in use. That 

 the decrease is more than one-half is sufficiently shown by the fact that 

 not so many are now caught in two miles of gill-net as used to be 

 caught in forty rods of gill-net. Besides this, in old times, owing to 



