American Fisheries Society. 85 



the cost of wild trout eggs laid down in the hatchery as eyed 

 eggs, because the cost of eggs thus collected should not exceed 

 the cost of eggs of the domesticated trout, either being figured 

 as eyed ova laid down in troughs where they are to be hatched; 

 otherwise it would be expedient to buy eggs already eyed. There 

 are some advantages about having the eggs of wild trout. The 

 latter, if in suitable waters, would naturally be stronger fish than 

 the inbred fish of the commercial hatchery. In answer to this 

 argument, the commercial fish culturist will tell you that he fre- 

 quently makes exchanges of eggs and fish and uses many pre- 

 cautions to keep up his stock of hardy fish. As a rule, the eggs 

 of domesticated trout will eye and hatch a larger percentage than 

 wild trout. Much depends, however, upon the facilities for taking 

 the eggs of the latter, which means, also, the methods of taking 

 the fish and retaining them until stripped. The lowest price I 

 have been quoted by commercial fish culturists for eyed ova of 

 brook trout is $0.70 per M. in lots of a million or more. To 

 this price must be added- expressage on the eggs to hatchery 

 where they arc to be propagated. To sum it up in one sentence, 

 the utility of collecting wild trout spawn depends upon whether 

 the cost of eggs thus collected is less than the cost of purchased 

 eggs. Another point to be considered is whether the spawn de- 

 posited naturally would yield a large percentage of fry. 



I have mentioned a so-called "dry brook" in which the trout 

 congregated in large numbers at one of my stations. One month 

 before these fish ascended it, I personally examined it. It was 

 then apparently a surface drain fed by a slight seapage of water 

 from the muddy soil along its banks, but practically dry. I de- 

 cided that it would be impossible for trout to ascend it even during 

 rain storms, and still believe that no spawn deposited in it would 

 ever mature. I have visited several ponds where the trout can- 

 not possibly ascend the feeding brooks until high water. When 

 they do succeed in making the ascent, they have no time to pre- 

 pare their beds, but must return to the lake in from twelve to 

 twenty-four hours. The results from eggs naturally deposited 

 in such places is practically valueless. In the case of lake spawn- 

 ers, the same spawning grounds where I operated were beinj;- 

 cleaned by later spawning trout for a month after I discontinued 

 my collections. The eggs of the fish I took, if deposited natur- 

 ally, would have been eaten by the later comers or by the suckers 

 and minnows which follow after them. 



Many private clubs have well stocked ponds and a man to 

 look after them, and yet purchase eggs for restocking. The 



