THE PIKES: DISTRIBUTION AND COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE. 31 



eggs began to eye they became semibuoyant and often bouyant, and 

 unless prevented the eggs would have flowed out of the jars into the 

 troughs and been lost. This the whole batch was liable to do in a 

 few minutes. The flow of water through the jars must be barely 

 enough to shghtly move the eggs. It was in permitting this gentle 

 flow that the Meehan jar was an improvement over the Downing jar, 

 which required considerable force of the water to operate. 



Although a strong flow of water was impracticable and a light flow 

 necessary, the latter had to be augmented by some stirring of the 

 eggs in order to prevent their smothering just before the hatcliing 

 period. This was accomplished by occasionally rotating the glass 

 tubes that supplied the water, thus producing better circulation and 

 a change of position of the eggs. 



The eggs were found to hatch in about a week or 10 days, varying 

 somewhat with the temperature of the water, and were found to hatch 

 equaUy well whether they came into the station clean or dirty. It 

 was found that it was very injurious to attempt to wash the eggs when 

 brought in. They had to be placed in the jars together with what 

 sticks, weeds, etc., were chnging to them. At first in transporting 

 the eggs from the lake to the hatchery cans were used, but later the 

 eggs were retained in floating boxes until the conveyance came for 

 them, when they were packed in egg cases and carried to the hatchery. 



It seems that after 1910 pickerel propagation practically ceased 

 in Pennsylvania. To indicate, however, the magnitude to wliich it 

 had attained at that time, it may be said that in 1909 there were 

 distributed 300,150,000 pickerel fry and the number in 1910 amounted 

 to 226,100,000. In 1914 the only distribution of tliis species was 

 85 adult fish. 



CONSERVATION. 



In some States the pickerel has always had more or less nominal 

 protection of the law. In some, perhaps it may be said in most, 

 communities pickerel fishing has been a favorite pursuit of local 

 residents, particularly in winter, both for the sport and for their 

 tables. In the North pickerel was formerly caught to some extent 

 for the market. However, in aU locahties there have been those 

 who derogated the fish to the lowest degree. These were usually 

 anglers who preferred other fish and fish culturists who beheved that 

 to all the allegations regarding its rapacity and destructiveness much 

 more that had not been said could be added were their language 

 adequate. Even to-day fish culturists have inherited the ancient 

 beliefs and antipatliies against the pickerel, which were based upon a 

 small amount of truth and a great amount of fallacy. 



But there have always been and stiU are those who want pickerel 

 fishing and demand its protection and some who have wanted and 

 those who now want the fishing without the protection. Some of 



