[5] PROPAGATION OF SCHOODIC SALMON IN 1879- T 80. 737 



prevail after their fall it may easily happen that in the hurry of fish- 

 catching and spawning the few opportunities to gather them dry are 

 neglected, and the first fall of snow lays them so flat to the ground that 

 they never dry after it. So far as protecting the eggs against frost is 

 concerned, I doubt whether dryness adds to the efficiency of either of 

 these materials, but as deducting from their weight it is important. 



The route by which the packages were formerly shipped was through 

 Calais, from which point they were expressed by rail through Bangor 

 to their various destinations. This route had the advantage of only 

 twelve miles sledding to Princeton, from which place they went by rail 

 to Calais, but the arrangement of winter trains was such that eggs had 

 to lie over nearly a whole day in Calais as well as a night in Princeton, 

 so that they were fifty-two hours on the route from Grand Lake Stream 

 to Bangor. To save twenty-four hours of this time, I this year sent the 

 cases from Princeton by stage to Forest Station, on the European and 

 North American Eailway. This subjected them to a five or six hours' 

 ride in the open air, in the coldest part of the day, but my confidence in 

 our mode of packing was justified by the event, for none were frozen. 



The packages all went safely to their destinations, except one to France, 

 which was a total loss. Of the twenty-seven sent to various points in 

 this country, sixteen were reported as arriving in "good" condition; 

 one, "O. K."; two, "excellent"; three, "very good"; one, "first-class"; 

 one, "best ever received." None whatever opened in bad condition. 

 The aggregate deaths of eggs in transit to all points in America were 

 6,G21, being a little less than 1 per cent. 



The success of those who managed the hatching was very uneven. 

 In most cases the loss incurred was quite small, but in a few it was very 

 large. As in the preceding season, the losses were generally greatest 

 in those lots that were transported farthest. Those sent to Minnesota, 

 however, sustained but a very small loss. The losses reported both 

 before and after hatching amount to 101,910; the young fish sent out 

 from the hatching-houses to 840,871; and those actually planted to 

 832,131. According to this statement there was a shrinkage of 150,869 

 between the shipment of the eggs and the final planting of the fish, and 

 the small allowance to be made for the unreported lots hatched in New 

 York and Wisconsin will not affect the result materially. To go still 

 farther back, we find that of 1,113,456 eggs taken, 93.3 per cent, were 

 impregnated, 89 per cent, brought to the shipping stage, and 75 per 

 cent, brought to the feeding stage and turned free. 



Appended will be found, 1st, a diary covering the time of the most 

 important operations of the year; 2d, a record of fishing operations; 

 3d, a record of spawning operations; 4th, the result of the measurement 

 of the fish; 5th, meteorological observations; 6th, a statement of the 

 results of the development of the eggs at Grand Lake Stream; 7th, a 

 record of the shipment of the spawn ; 8th, a statement of the hatching 

 of the eggs; 9th, a statement of the planting of the young fish. 

 S. Miss. 59 47 



