REPOKT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 51 



quite a number of the females became plugged, causing the yield of 

 eggs from the number of fish penned to run below the average. 



At Put-in Bay the first fish were received at the crates on October 22 

 and by the 30th of October 1,403 fish had been received. Owing to the 

 warm weather nearly all the fish taken at this time had to be returned 

 to the fishermen, and penning was discontinued until November 5, 

 when it was commenced again and continued until December 1. The 

 total number collected and penned after November 5 was 5,963 fish, 

 nearly one-fourth of which had been returned to the fishermen before 

 the spawning season commenced. The final results of the work at this 

 point, however, were very satisfactory. At the Port Clinton field 

 men were set at work on November 6 and at the Kelle}' Island and 

 North Bass fields on November 11. Although the weather was rough 

 and unpleasant through the greater part of the season, there were but 

 few da3"s on which the fishermen did not visit their nets, and the num- 

 ber of eggs secured was beyond all expectations, more than 100,000,000 

 in excess of any previous season's collection being taken. 



The number of eggs received from the different fields and from the 

 crates was 335,860,000, as follows: 



The increased collections were particularly noticeable at the Port 

 Clinton and Kelley Island fields, the first 3 ielding nearly twentj^-five 

 times as nia-nj eggs as last year, and more than twice the number taken 

 in any season since 1895, when 92,000,000 were secured. At the Kel- 

 ley Island field the 3'ield was more than four times greater than ever 

 before, and at North Bass it was twice as large as the greatest take of 

 any previous season. At Put-in Ba3^ the 3'ield was four times greater 

 than last year. 



The first eggs were received from the fields on November 12 and 

 the last December 2; the first collections from the crates arrived on 

 November 13 and the last December 7. A shipment of 48,160,000 

 eggs was made to the Pennsylvania fish-hatchery at Erie, Pa., and 

 31,212,000 were transferred to Cape Vincent; 256,488,000 were retained 

 at the station until e3^ed, when 8,100,000 were shipped to the New 

 York Fish Commission and 1,000,000 to the Central Station at Wash- 

 ington, the balance being retained for hatching. 



During the early stages of development eveiy jar in the hatchery 

 was filled, the surplus of eggs being cared for in floating boxes placed 

 in the fry tanks until arrangements had been made with Col. Horace 

 Park, superintendent of the Sandusky, Ohio, hatcher3', for the loan 



