94 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 
crappies, yellow perch, and other fishes rescued from landlocked 
ponds and pools in the Mississippi River Valley are from 3 to 6 inches 
long when distributed. 
It is the policy of the bureau to fill applications in the order of their 
receipt and to deliver fishes assigned as soon thereafter as possible, 
but there are certain conditions connected with the distribution work 
which should be thoroughly understood by prospective applicants. 
The cost involved in making shipments of fishes compels the bureau 
to exercise the utmost economy in arranging its distribution work. 
The delivery of special consignments and those intended for distant 
points must be delayed until a sufficient number of applications from 
the same section of the country have been received to warrant the ex- 
pense of a messenger shipment. The bureau can not carry a stock of 
fish for delivery on demand, and when the supply of one year is ex- 
hausted no more are available until the crop of the succeeding year is 
ready to be sent out. The shipment of trout from the bureau’s east- 
ern stations begins early in March, and all applications received after 
that time are carried over until the following year. Trout distribu- 
tions from stations in the Rocky Mountain regions are made between 
May and October, and, in order to insure early attention, applications 
from that part of the country should be in the Washington office of 
the bureau not later than May 1. The so- -called warm-water fishes, 
including black basses, sunfish, and crappies, are shipped between 
May and December, and requests for them should be submitted prior 
to May ie 
The fishes are shipped in railroad cars especially designed for the 
purpose or in baggage cars, accompanied by a messenger, and the de- 
livery is made at the applicant’s railroad station without expense to 
him. When an application for fish is received by the bureau the per- 
son submitting it is immediately notified of the species assigned there- 
on and the approximate time when delivery may be expected. Full 
directions for the reception and care of the fish are also sent to him. 
Prior to the shipment a second notice is sent, usually a telegram, speci- 
fying the exact time when the assignment will arrive at his railroad 
station. If for some unforeseen reason it becomes necessary to post- 
pone the delivery, the applicant is notified accordingly. 
O 
