REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 17 



lake-trout work will reduce the cost of temporary labor for egg 

 picking at least 50 per cent. It will therefore be seen that at the 

 salmon and trout stations where millions of eggs are handled the 

 general adoption of this method means a large annual saving in 

 temporary labor. 



Spawning habits of the sfottcd catfish. — During the summer of 

 1910 an excellent opportunity was presented of observing the repro- 

 ductive habits of the spotted catfish, a subject about which little 

 definite information has been obtainable. Only July 9, between the 

 hours of 9 and 10 a. m., a pair of these fish confined among others in 

 a large aquarium in Central Station (Washington, D. C.) were 

 seen to be in spawning condition. They had prepared a nest 8 to 

 10 inches in diameter by removing the gravel from the bottom of the 

 aquarium, leaving the bare slate exposed. On this space the female 

 deposited a mass of eggs, estimated at 3,000, but all except 50 of the 

 eggs were devoured before the other fish could be removed from the 

 tank. The remaining eggs were taken in charge and tenderly cared 

 for by the male parent, the female apparently taking no further 

 interest in the proceedings. On the fifth day 41 fry were hatched, 

 the water temperature for the period averaging 81° F. The young 

 when hatched were three-eighths of an inch long and of a whitish- 

 pink color, which gradually became darker, assuming a light slate 

 by the eighth day. At 4 days old they became very strong and ac- 

 tive, and on the seventh day were fed canned herring roe, to the ex- 

 clusive use of which is attributed the loss of 29 within 3 days. Beef 

 liver was then substituted. The remaining 12 throve on this diet, 

 reaching a length of 31 inches by the middle of November, when the 

 water temperature dropped to 40° F. They then refused food and 

 hibernated in a little cluster in one corner of the aquarium. Early 

 in February the fish were attacked by fungus, which caused the 

 death of 8. The other 4 were in the aquarium at the close of the 

 year and apparently healthy, being 4 inches in length. 



Ohstructive attitude of States. — The absence of adequate protective 

 fishery laws in some States, lax enforcement of laws in others, and a 

 definite policy of some of the States to limit the Bureau's field of 

 operations greatly retard and curtail its activities. Some of the 

 untoward influences have already been noted, and others may be re- 

 ferred to. 



In Nevada the State board of fish commissioners reluctantly grants 

 the Bureau permission to conduct fish-cultural operations in the 

 Truckee River and then only on condition that an unreasonably large 

 percentage of the eggs collected be turned over to the State hatchery. 

 This unfriendly attitude and lack of cooperation is maintained not- 

 withstanding the fact that the Bureau was invited by public men 



