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  REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES? 
  

  

  better 
  able 
  to 
  take 
  care 
  of 
  themselves 
  than 
  if 
  deposited 
  at 
  an 
  earlier 
  

   stage. 
  In 
  tlie 
  spring 
  of 
  189G, 
  about 
  1,000 
  wliiteflsli 
  fry 
  were 
  held 
  in 
  one 
  

   of 
  the 
  station 
  troughs 
  until 
  late 
  in 
  April, 
  with 
  no 
  other 
  food 
  than 
  the 
  

   eutomostraca 
  and 
  other 
  minute 
  life 
  which 
  came 
  into 
  the 
  troughs 
  with 
  

   the 
  water 
  pumped 
  from 
  the 
  lake. 
  They 
  grew 
  considerably 
  and 
  were 
  

   remarkably 
  active. 
  Cannibalism 
  was 
  of 
  frequent 
  though 
  not 
  of 
  general 
  

   occurrence; 
  toward 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  the 
  period 
  through 
  which 
  the 
  fry 
  were 
  

   held, 
  numl)ers 
  could 
  be 
  seen 
  which 
  had 
  seized 
  others 
  by 
  the 
  tails 
  and 
  

   swallowed 
  as 
  much 
  of 
  the 
  bodies 
  as 
  possible, 
  which 
  was, 
  of 
  course, 
  but 
  

   little. 
  I]i 
  every 
  case 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  larger 
  had 
  attacked 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  smaller, 
  

   the 
  victim 
  being 
  dead 
  and 
  his 
  destroyer 
  swimming 
  about 
  actively 
  with 
  

   the 
  body 
  of 
  the 
  dead 
  fry 
  trailing 
  along 
  his 
  side. 
  If 
  these 
  fry 
  had 
  been 
  

   regularly 
  supplied 
  with 
  food, 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  probable 
  that 
  cannibalism 
  would 
  

   have 
  occurred. 
  

  

  REARING 
  IN 
  PONDS. 
  

  

  There 
  have 
  been 
  few 
  attempts 
  to 
  raise 
  whiteflsh 
  in 
  ponds 
  on 
  a 
  large 
  

   scale, 
  but 
  experiments 
  lead 
  to 
  the 
  belief 
  that 
  under 
  favorable 
  condi- 
  

   tions 
  whitefish 
  can 
  be 
  raised 
  in 
  artificial 
  ponds 
  to 
  some 
  extent. 
  Of 
  

   course 
  an 
  abundance 
  of 
  good 
  cold 
  water, 
  suitable 
  ground 
  for 
  the 
  con- 
  

   struction 
  of 
  deep 
  ponds, 
  and 
  convenience 
  to 
  railroad 
  communication 
  

   would 
  be 
  essential 
  to 
  success. 
  

  

  A 
  successful 
  experiment 
  in 
  this 
  direction 
  was 
  begun 
  at 
  Northville 
  in 
  

   1882. 
  The 
  fish 
  were 
  treated 
  as 
  young 
  trout 
  are, 
  being 
  fed 
  wholly 
  on 
  

   liver. 
  Three-year-old 
  whitefish, 
  artificially 
  reared, 
  yielded 
  a 
  large 
  num- 
  

   ber 
  of 
  eggs, 
  a 
  fair 
  i^ercentage 
  of 
  which 
  were 
  fertilized. 
  Fish 
  weighing 
  

   from 
  3 
  to 
  4i 
  pounds, 
  that 
  had 
  never 
  been 
  fed 
  on 
  anything 
  but 
  liver, 
  

   were 
  plump 
  and 
  healthy. 
  Similar 
  successful 
  experiments 
  have 
  been 
  

   made 
  in 
  Europe 
  with 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  native 
  whiteflshes 
  {Coregonus 
  lavaretus). 
  

  

  The 
  most 
  noteworthy 
  experiments 
  in 
  the 
  rearing 
  of 
  whitefish 
  in 
  ponds 
  

   have 
  been 
  conducted 
  by 
  private 
  enterprise 
  at 
  Warren, 
  Indiana. 
  The 
  

   following 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  work 
  will 
  be 
  of 
  interest: 
  

  

  In 
  1890, 
  50,000 
  whitefish 
  fry, 
  obtained 
  from 
  the 
  Sandusky 
  station 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  

   States 
  Fish 
  Commission, 
  were 
  placed 
  in 
  a 
  pond 
  20 
  by 
  40 
  feet, 
  having 
  a 
  maximum 
  

   depth 
  of 
  5 
  feet. 
  In 
  November 
  of 
  tlie 
  same 
  year 
  864 
  whitefish, 
  averaging 
  7^ 
  or 
  8 
  inches 
  

   in 
  length, 
  were 
  taken 
  from 
  the 
  pond. 
  This 
  result 
  was 
  not 
  considered 
  satisfactory, 
  

   although 
  the 
  conditions 
  were 
  not 
  favorable, 
  as 
  there 
  was 
  no 
  natural 
  food 
  in 
  the 
  pond 
  

   and 
  no 
  artificial 
  food 
  was 
  regularly 
  supplied, 
  the 
  fish 
  feeding 
  on 
  various 
  kinds 
  of 
  

   food 
  thrown 
  into 
  the 
  pond 
  from 
  time 
  to 
  time. 
  The 
  fish 
  kept 
  near 
  the 
  bottom, 
  and 
  

   were 
  never 
  seen 
  from 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  planting 
  to 
  the 
  time 
  the 
  pond 
  was 
  drawn. 
  

  

  In 
  1891, 
  half 
  a 
  million 
  eggs 
  obtained 
  at 
  Toledo 
  were 
  hatched 
  with 
  a 
  loss 
  of 
  about 
  

   30 
  per 
  cent, 
  and 
  the 
  resulting 
  fry, 
  together 
  with 
  a 
  small 
  number 
  procured 
  from 
  Put-in 
  

   Bay 
  station, 
  were 
  planted 
  in 
  a 
  pond 
  containing 
  the 
  small 
  whitefish 
  previously 
  men- 
  

   tioned. 
  This 
  pond 
  was 
  65 
  by 
  65 
  feet 
  and 
  12 
  feet 
  deep. 
  It 
  is 
  supposed 
  that 
  practi- 
  

   cally 
  all 
  the 
  fry 
  were 
  devoured 
  by 
  the 
  larger 
  fish. 
  Prior 
  to 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  planting 
  the 
  

   young 
  whitefish 
  the 
  older 
  ones 
  were 
  very 
  inactive 
  and 
  seldom 
  seen, 
  but 
  as 
  soon 
  as 
  

   the 
  plant 
  was 
  made 
  they 
  became 
  very 
  active, 
  and 
  for 
  a 
  period 
  of 
  two 
  weeks, 
  about 
  

   sunset, 
  they 
  could 
  be 
  seen 
  leaping 
  and 
  darting 
  up 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  water 
  after 
  the 
  fashion 
  

   of 
  black 
  bass 
  chasing 
  minnows. 
  

  

  