746 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [14] 



vent these two currents being too direct, thus robbing the middle trays 

 of proper circulation. The leaking* out of the water when the flow 

 ceases is also of advantage, in that it secures the eggs against danger 

 of stagnant water, which is much more to be feared than exposure to 

 air with accompanying danger of freezing in any except the coldest of 

 hatching- houses. 



November 25. — About 17 gallons of water per minute flowing in the 

 old hatching-house. We have laid some gravel drains to lead tributary 

 springs into the pool whence starts our aqueduct. 



November 26. — The old hatching-house has to-day a supply of about 

 14.C gallons of water per minute ; temperature in the troughs, 45° F. • 

 the main spring beiug 46£° F. At the new hatching-house the volume 

 is 12 gallons per minute for each trough, temperature 35° F. 



At Low's spring a volume of 2.15 gallons per minute, and at the spring 

 near the cove about 5 gallons per minute. 



Aqueduct at the old house discharging about 1| gallon per minute. 



In lot 1 (19 days from impregnation), the yelk is four-fifths covered 

 by the embryonic disk. In lot 2 (15 days from impregnation), the yelk 

 is one-half covered. 



Ice has closed the lake as far as Cedar Island since the 23d. We broke 

 through it this forenoon with the expectation of carrying the rest of our 

 fish up the lake, but the wind was boisterous and the cold closed the 

 new channel so fast that we were compelled to delay still further the 

 liberation of the fish. Commenced taking out the nets. 



November 30. — Heavy rain yesterday morning and warm weather took 

 off all the snow and a great part of the frost out of the ground, and so 

 weakened the ice in Grand Lake (which had only been frozen as far as 

 Cedar Island) that a crew of tannery men broke a channel through to 

 open water this forenoon. In the afternoon our men carried up four 

 boat-loads offish and liberated them ; we have very few left on hand. 



The rain gave us in our aqueduct a great flood of water, which was, 

 however, very muddy, from our newly filled ditches. To-day tbe flood 

 has somewhat sudsided, about 15 gallons per minute now discharging, 

 and it is much clearer, but not yet clear enough to use in the hatching- 

 house, to which it has not yet been admitted. The brook rose also and 

 was shut out of the house yesterday morning. For the present the old 

 spring (also much swollen but not muddy) gives us an ample supply of 

 water. 



At the new hatching house the water grew very clayey early in the 

 thaw, and continued so all of yesterday, but to-day is nearly as clear as 

 ever. Mr. Munson says not a great deal of sediment on the eggs, and 

 what there is washes off readily, unlike the sediment that came into this 

 house last year from the brook, which seemed to -'stick." This clayey 

 water must get into the conduit through cracks at the joints, and when 

 the filling is well settled it will doubtless cease to flow. This conduit is 

 153 feet long, and has its head in the stream about 2 rods from the bank, 



