36 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Black bass. — Both kinds of the black bass were raised— the large- 

 mouthed and the small-mouthed. On April 1 they were placed in their 

 respective hatching ponds. The small-mouthed bass spawned April 

 23, and the large-mouthed one week later. On May 8 the first young 

 bass of both species were seen. The large-mouthed variety soon 

 increased to about G0,000, while the small-mouthed did not produce 

 over 4,000 eggs. Soon after May 10, the young bass were placed in the 

 north pond and the old ones retained in the hatching ponds. The bass 

 were fed on live food, 500,000 tadpoles and 400,000 young carp being 

 placed at their disposal. 



With the arrival of the warm weather the natural consequences of 

 the October flood could be seen. Grasses and other water plants, the 

 seeds of which had been carried into the station by the high water, 

 grew very rapidly into a dense mass of vegetation, which had to be 

 removed over and over again to prevent their interfering with the 

 growth of the young fish. There also appeared at the same time 

 two kinds of Notonecta and Nepa, both insects being very injurious 

 to young fish. Daily efforts were made to destroy them, but without 

 success. 



Notwithstanding the abundance of live food, the young large-mouthed 

 black bass commenced to attack each other, thereby causing a decrease 

 in the number of young fish; and how to remedy this is a problem yet 

 to be solved. 



Carp. — The leather and scale varieties were raised in the new pond, 

 while the blue carp were placed in another pond. The carp in the new 

 pond suffered from the insects above referred to. 



Tench. — This species was hatched and raised in the south pond, and 

 the golden tench in a smaller pond. Compared with former seasons, 

 the young fish grew very fast. 



Pike perch. — A number of transport cans full of this fish were trans- 

 ferred to the new south pond, but the fish all died on account of the 

 too warm water, the pond being but one foot and a half deep. 



The shad hybrids also died from the same cause. 



Wythe ville Station, Virginia (George A. Seagle, Superintendent). 

 The product of this station during the season was as follows : 



Species. 



Rainbow trout. 



Rock bass 



Black bass 



Carp 



Goldfish 



Eggs. 



104, 500 



Pry. 



15, 000 



Yearlings. 



90, 640 



20, 750 



40 



790 



2,649 



Of the rainbow trout 2.10,000 eggs were collected from the brood 

 stock at the station, 114,000 were received in January from the Neosho 

 Station, and 10,000 from the Troutdale Fish Farm, Mammoth Spring, 

 Ark., making in all 374,200 eggs. Of this number, 180,360 were hatched 



