REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. *21 



classes, domestic and foreign, both increasing very rapidly from year to 

 year. All requests of tliis kind are entered on proper blanks, giving 

 the date of application, the character of fish desired, name of applicant, 

 member of Congress or other person throngh whom the request is con- 

 veyed, the region or spot to be supplied, instructions as to route, rail- 

 road or otherwise, by which they are to be shipped ; all being informa- 

 tion necessary to a proper response. 



It is, of course, impossible to meet every call, and a selection of recip- 

 ients is sometimes necessary, the object being to diffuse the benefits of 

 the commission over the greatest possible extent of country. Accord- 

 ingly, if an application comes from a locality near the mouth of or low 

 down a current or stream, the actual x^lanting is made at the head- 

 waters of the river, so that the entire stream will receive the benefit. 

 This policy is based on the fact that an auadromous fish, introduced at 

 a given i^oint in a river, is not likely to ascend above that point, on its 

 return from the ocean. 



An accompanying table will show the number of calls, and the pro- 

 l^ortion of the demand for the different species. By this it will be seen 

 that the carx) is rapidly becoming the favorite, as its culture is more 

 within the reach of individuals than that of the salmon or shad.* 



It is customary for the Commission to request that all applications for 

 fish be made through some member of Congress, who can vouch for the 

 standing of the applicant and the character of the locality to be sup- 

 plied. It is, of course, impossible for any one resident in Wasliington to 

 know the persons asking for fish, whether they are responsible parties, 

 and whether they want them for the benefit of the community or for 

 some merely personal end. 



The demand from foreign countries for eggs or young fish is also in- 

 creasing very rax)idly and has been met as far as i^racticable, vdthout 

 affecting the interests of the United States. In most cases, especially 

 that of the California salmon, the only limit to the home applications is,iu 

 the first place, the amount of the Congressional appropriation for it, and 

 second, the extent to which the State commissions or clubs devoted to 

 the stocking of particular waters can meet the expense of hatching out 

 the eggs when received, and of introducing them into the waters. For 

 several years past a much larger demand might have been easily met. 



*2\^umber of applications for fish. 



1873 19 



1874 42 



1875 52 



The following are the different species applied for in 1877 



1876 174 



1877 254 



Shad 37 



California salmon 31 



Land-locked salmon 56 



Whiteliish 9 



Trout 12 



Carp 53 



Tench 6 



254 



