*" REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 19 
young blackspotted trout were returned to its waters during the 
season. ‘The Glacier National Park hatchery was well stoc ked with 
eggs poner from other hatcheries and produced therefrom an out- 
put of over 2,000,000 fry and fingerlings of the brook trout, rainbow 
trout, blackspotted trout, and erayling, in addition to approximately 
450,000 fingerlings which were on hand at the close of the year. 
Under the handicap of exceedingly difficult natural conditions suc- 
cessful rainbow trout collecting operations were conducted in Wyo- 
ming on Sage Creek, Lost Creek, and Canon Creek, the two last 
named being in fields which have never heretofore been exploited. 
The results “obtained, despite the very limited means available, ap- 
pear to demonstrate ‘beyond question the wisdom of establishing a 
permanent collecting station on Sage Creek in order that the w ork 
may be handled in a manner in some degree commensurate with the 
otential value of the field. This stream 1 is a tributary of the North 
latte River, and as the other streams mentioned are within a few 
miles of it the eggs obtained from them and from other collecting 
points in the Pathfinder reclamation project could be assembled and 
incubated in a properly equipped hatchery on Sage Creek. 
_ The efficiency of the Spearfish (S. Dak.) ‘station has rec ently been 
increased as the result of an arrangement with the city authorities of 
Spearfish. Under the provisions “of a long-term lease the Bureau 
has secured without cost all surplus water from a reservoir lately 
constructed by the city. While this arrangement is satisfactory and 
gives the station an ample amount of w ater during the greater part 
of the year, with a surplus most of the time, the supply falls to a 
minimum during summer, when unusually large amounts of water 
are used for domestic purposes. In order, therefore, to provide 
against a shortage of water for the work at any season, it will be 
advisable to provide a storage reservoir for emergency use. A suit- 
able reservoir can be constructed at small cost ‘by placing a dam 
in a canyon on property adjacent to the Bureau’s reservation, and 
with this additional outlay the station would be assured of an ade- 
quate water supply for an ‘indefinite period of time. 
In the propagation of the domesticated rainbow trout the results 
show continued improvement as to both quality and quantity of eggs 
and fry. Small consignments of eggs taken from wild rainbow 
trout at the western stations have been transferred to the eastern 
hatcheries from time to time to maintain the virility of the brood 
stock, and by this means no difficulty whatever is experienced in pro- 
ducing this species in sufficient numbers to mect all requirements. 
Recent anatomical studies of the rainbow trout conducted by the 
division of scientific inquiry have disclosed a number of facts relating 
to the reproductive organs of the female fish that have heretofore 
been overlooked or were not understood at the hatcheries and may 
have an important bearing on fish culture, especially with regard 
to the manipulation of spawning fish. The experiments were con- 
ducted at the Wytheville (Va.) station, and preparations have been 
made to continue them indefinitely at the Erwin (Tenn.) station, 
or until the problems involved can be fully worked out. The scien- 
tific division has also rendered assistance in overcoming the mor- 
tality which usually occurs among adult trout at spawning time. 
A careful examination of specimens of trout dying during that time 
