﻿REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  57 
  

  

  QuiNCY 
  Station, 
  Illinois 
  (S. 
  P. 
  Bartlett, 
  Superintendent). 
  

  

  At 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  tlie 
  prosj)ects 
  for 
  a 
  good 
  season's 
  work 
  

   were 
  poor, 
  as 
  the 
  lakes 
  and 
  sloughs 
  from 
  which 
  supplies 
  of 
  fish 
  were 
  

   ordinarily 
  secured 
  dried 
  up 
  during 
  the 
  preceding 
  year 
  and 
  the 
  usual 
  

   spring 
  rise 
  occurred 
  too 
  late 
  to 
  permit 
  of 
  their 
  being 
  used 
  for 
  spawning- 
  

   grounds. 
  The 
  station 
  was 
  thus 
  left 
  dei^endent 
  on 
  a 
  few 
  large 
  flat 
  lakes 
  

   connected 
  with 
  the 
  river, 
  which 
  had 
  become 
  thoroughly 
  stocked 
  with 
  

   bass. 
  From 
  these 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  young 
  fish 
  were 
  collected 
  for 
  immediate 
  

   distribution, 
  and 
  50,000 
  additional 
  were 
  transferred 
  to 
  a 
  pond 
  near 
  

   Meredosia, 
  leased 
  from 
  Mr. 
  F. 
  H. 
  Ray, 
  who 
  had 
  constructed 
  it 
  for 
  the 
  

   purpose 
  of 
  storing 
  temporarily 
  the 
  fish 
  caught 
  for 
  market 
  by 
  his 
  men. 
  

   A 
  number 
  of 
  breeding 
  bass 
  had 
  also 
  been 
  introduced 
  into 
  this 
  i^ond, 
  

   and 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  fry 
  resulting 
  from 
  them 
  was 
  estimated 
  to 
  be 
  about 
  

   50,000. 
  

  

  The 
  distribution 
  made 
  early 
  in 
  tlie 
  year 
  was 
  fair, 
  but 
  about 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  

   July 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  unprecedented 
  storms 
  occurred. 
  A 
  cloud-burst 
  caused 
  

   the 
  river 
  to 
  rise 
  feet 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  hours, 
  overflowing 
  the 
  dam 
  and 
  permit- 
  

   ting 
  the 
  escape 
  of 
  all 
  but 
  2,000 
  of 
  the 
  100,000 
  fish 
  in 
  the 
  pond. 
  About 
  

   26,000 
  young 
  bass 
  Avere 
  gathered 
  fro'm 
  overflowed 
  points 
  near 
  Quincy, 
  

   and 
  as 
  it 
  was 
  thought 
  to 
  be 
  unsafe 
  to 
  keep 
  them 
  in 
  live-boxes, 
  arrange- 
  

   ments 
  were 
  made 
  with 
  the 
  city 
  authorities 
  for 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  a 
  fountain 
  

   basin, 
  50 
  feet 
  in 
  diameter 
  and 
  3^ 
  feet 
  deep, 
  supplied 
  with 
  water 
  from 
  

   the 
  city 
  reservoir. 
  The 
  fish 
  were 
  held 
  for 
  six 
  weeks, 
  during 
  which 
  time 
  

   a 
  quantity 
  of 
  ground 
  liver 
  and 
  300,000 
  river 
  minnows 
  were 
  fed 
  them, 
  

   but 
  notwithstanding 
  the 
  efforts 
  made 
  to 
  feed 
  them 
  to 
  their 
  fullest 
  capac- 
  

   ity, 
  the 
  larger 
  fish 
  devoured 
  the 
  smaller 
  ones 
  to 
  such 
  an 
  extent 
  that 
  

   when 
  the 
  basin 
  was 
  drawn 
  down 
  only 
  2,482 
  were 
  found. 
  

  

  Late 
  in 
  August 
  collections 
  were 
  again 
  undertaken, 
  and, 
  although 
  

   many 
  fish 
  were 
  secured, 
  the 
  greatest 
  difficulty 
  was 
  experienced 
  in 
  

   transi^orting 
  them 
  from 
  the 
  places 
  of 
  collection 
  to 
  the 
  live-boxes 
  at 
  

   Meredosia 
  and 
  Quincy. 
  They 
  seemed 
  to 
  be 
  in 
  a 
  diseased 
  condition 
  when 
  

   taken, 
  and 
  frequently 
  the 
  entire 
  catch 
  was 
  lost 
  en 
  route. 
  All 
  along 
  the 
  

   Mississii)pi 
  and 
  Illinois 
  rivers 
  the 
  fish 
  died 
  by 
  thousands, 
  and 
  even 
  in 
  

   the 
  deeper, 
  larger 
  lakes, 
  where 
  they 
  live 
  in 
  an 
  ordinary 
  season 
  until 
  

   there 
  is 
  scarcely 
  enough 
  water 
  left 
  to 
  cover 
  them, 
  the 
  bottoms 
  were 
  

   covered 
  with 
  dead 
  ones. 
  In 
  Spring 
  Lake, 
  which 
  covers 
  several 
  

   thousand 
  acres 
  and 
  is 
  fed 
  mostly 
  by 
  springs, 
  fish 
  of 
  all 
  kinds 
  and 
  sizes 
  

   floated 
  dead 
  on 
  the 
  surface 
  several 
  times 
  during 
  the 
  season. 
  Various 
  

   theories 
  were 
  advanced 
  to 
  account 
  for 
  this 
  unusual 
  occurrence, 
  the 
  

   most 
  probable 
  one 
  attributing 
  it 
  to 
  the 
  poisoning 
  of 
  the 
  waters 
  by 
  

   decayed 
  vegetation, 
  which 
  had 
  sprung 
  up 
  during 
  the 
  preceding 
  season, 
  

   when 
  the 
  lakes 
  were 
  dry, 
  or 
  partially 
  so. 
  The 
  refuse 
  from 
  the 
  cities 
  

   above 
  also 
  polluted 
  the 
  waters 
  greatly. 
  Taken 
  altogether, 
  the 
  seascm 
  

   was 
  without 
  a 
  precedent. 
  Sipiatters 
  planted 
  turnip 
  patches 
  in 
  many 
  

   places 
  where 
  carloads 
  of 
  fish 
  had 
  been 
  taken 
  without 
  difficulty 
  two 
  

   seasons 
  before, 
  and 
  in 
  several 
  of 
  the 
  large 
  flat 
  lakes 
  good 
  crops 
  of 
  corn 
  

  

  