REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XXXV 



that found at Grand Lake Stream, and of the greater accessibility of the 

 locality. 



It will be remembered that the Sebago is a large stream, situated in 

 Southwestern Maine, which discharges through the Presumpscat River 

 into Casco Bay to the north of Portland. The landlocked salmon found 

 in it have always been celebrated for their beauty and weight, a size of 

 six or eight and ten pounds, and even more being not unfrequent. 



Unsuccessful efforts were made some years ago to obtain spaAvning fish 

 from Sebago Pond, for the purpose of securing their eggs. It was imagined 

 that, owing to the protection afforded by recent legislation and the removal 

 of certain obstructions in the water, a new effort might be more satisfac- 

 tory. Acting ujion this imj)ression, Mr. Atkins was directed to estab- 

 lish a station, for the purpose of an experiment, which he accordingly 

 did, leaving Mr. Buck, one of his assistants of long experience, in charge. 

 After giving the matter a fair trial, the enterprise was abandoned, as, with 

 all the devices in the way of nets, &c., only ten males and six females 

 were captured, and the entire number of fish entering the river for the 

 purpose of spawning was estimated at scarcely more than fifty. The 

 largest fish taken was a female, weighing 8 pounds 10 ounces after 

 spawning, and the average was about three pounds. 



Whitefish. — (Coregonus chipeiformis, ) 



The great amount of attention paid to the artificial propagation of the 

 whitefish by the commissioners of the lake States, especially of New 

 York, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin, has rendered it unnecessary for 

 the United States Commission to take up the subject to any great ex- 

 tent, although Mr. Frank N. Clark usually collects several hundreds 

 of thousands of eggs, and develops them at his fish-culture estab- 

 lishment at Northville, Mich., for any desired assignment. These, for 

 the most part, have been sent to the commissioners of California, and 

 also to various parties in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Wisconsin, &c. 



The actual distribution made will be found in the appropriate page 

 of the tables. 



Shad. — (Alosa sapidissima.) 



As in previous years, the jiropagation and distribution of shad was 

 conducted under the able and.efQcient superintendence of Mr. James W. 

 Milner, co-operating for a i^ortion of the time with Mr. T. B. Ferguson, 

 the fish commissioner of Maryland, whose help, as in previous years, is 

 gratefully acknowledged. 



To Mr. Milner's report, in the appendix to the present volume, I refer 

 for details of the work accomi>lished, confining myself here to a mere 

 abstract. 



Albemarle Sound Station. — In i^revious reports reference has been 

 made to the advantages of substituting Mr. Ferguson's cone and bucket 

 apparatus for the floating hatching-boxes, so unsatisfactory in tidal 

 waters. Desirous of testing the exi>eriment with this apparatus on a 



