﻿60 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  The 
  year 
  was 
  marked 
  by 
  four 
  unusiTally 
  severe 
  storms, 
  occurring 
  on 
  

   July 
  7, 
  Sei^tember 
  8, 
  December 
  17, 
  and 
  May 
  30, 
  all 
  of 
  Avbicli 
  did 
  mucli 
  

   damage 
  to 
  the 
  station. 
  The 
  storms 
  of 
  December 
  and 
  May 
  washed 
  over 
  

   the 
  north 
  end 
  of 
  grounds, 
  damaging 
  walks, 
  fences, 
  roads, 
  and 
  pond 
  banks. 
  

  

  The 
  theory 
  set 
  forth 
  in 
  a 
  previous 
  report 
  that 
  crawfish 
  would 
  not 
  

   enter 
  or 
  live 
  in 
  a 
  pond 
  the 
  banks 
  of 
  which 
  were 
  planted 
  with 
  mint, 
  was 
  

   proved 
  this 
  year 
  to 
  be 
  untrue, 
  as 
  the 
  experiment 
  was 
  tried 
  and 
  it 
  was 
  

   found 
  that 
  the 
  crawfish 
  were 
  not 
  affected 
  by 
  the 
  mint. 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  list 
  shows 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  enemies 
  of 
  fish 
  killed 
  during 
  

   the 
  year 
  : 
  Kingfishers, 
  19 
  ; 
  ducks, 
  25 
  ; 
  grebes, 
  2 
  ; 
  water 
  hens, 
  10 
  ; 
  bitterns, 
  

   IS; 
  fishhawks, 
  4; 
  herons, 
  2; 
  terns, 
  12; 
  owls, 
  4; 
  turtles, 
  20; 
  snakes, 
  22; 
  

   frogs, 
  3; 
  muskrats, 
  20; 
  water 
  rats, 
  6; 
  crawfish 
  (pounds), 
  1,385. 
  

  

  Black 
  h<(s.s. 
  — 
  The 
  output 
  of 
  black 
  bass 
  for 
  the 
  year 
  was 
  9,338, 
  which 
  

   was 
  50 
  per 
  cent 
  in 
  excess 
  of 
  the 
  number 
  distributed 
  in 
  any 
  previous 
  

   year. 
  As 
  in 
  preceding 
  seasons, 
  the 
  ponds 
  were 
  drawn 
  frequently 
  and 
  

   the 
  fish 
  carefully 
  assorted 
  according 
  to 
  size. 
  The 
  increased 
  output 
  is 
  

   attributed 
  in 
  a 
  large 
  measure 
  to 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  fry 
  Avere 
  

   transferred 
  to 
  hatching-troughs 
  during 
  the 
  summer 
  and 
  fed 
  on 
  grated 
  

   crawfish, 
  it 
  having 
  been 
  found 
  after 
  a 
  few 
  days' 
  trial 
  that 
  young 
  bass 
  

   could 
  be 
  taught 
  to 
  take 
  this 
  food 
  readily. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  spring 
  of 
  1890 
  ponds 
  Nos. 
  10 
  and 
  11 
  were, 
  as 
  usual, 
  selected 
  

   as 
  breeding-ponds, 
  15 
  brood 
  fish 
  being 
  put 
  in 
  No. 
  10 
  and 
  29 
  in 
  No. 
  11 
  

   on 
  April 
  3. 
  On 
  April 
  10 
  the 
  first 
  nest 
  was 
  observed, 
  and 
  the 
  first 
  

   young 
  fish 
  were 
  noted 
  on 
  the 
  25th. 
  Several 
  thousand 
  of 
  them 
  were 
  at 
  

   once 
  transferred 
  to 
  the 
  troughs 
  and 
  an 
  effort 
  made 
  to 
  raise 
  them, 
  but 
  

   it 
  resulted 
  in 
  failure. 
  About 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  May 
  12,000 
  fry 
  were 
  takeu 
  

   out 
  of 
  pond 
  No. 
  11 
  to 
  troughs 
  in 
  the 
  hatching-house, 
  and 
  no 
  difficulty 
  

   was 
  experienced 
  in 
  training 
  them 
  to 
  take 
  artificial 
  food. 
  About 
  the 
  

   middle 
  of 
  June 
  both 
  ponds 
  were 
  drawn 
  down 
  and 
  the 
  remainder 
  of 
  the 
  

   crop, 
  amounting 
  to 
  9,7G1, 
  transferred 
  to 
  the 
  troughs. 
  At 
  the 
  close 
  

   of 
  the 
  year 
  the 
  average 
  loss 
  of 
  fi'y 
  from 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  their 
  transfer 
  to 
  

   troughs 
  was 
  about 
  2 
  jier 
  cent 
  a 
  month. 
  At 
  this 
  rate 
  the 
  total 
  loss 
  to 
  

   the 
  time 
  of 
  general 
  distribution 
  will 
  be 
  10 
  per 
  cent. 
  Under 
  the 
  old 
  

   system 
  of 
  rearing 
  in 
  ponds 
  the 
  total 
  loss 
  frequently 
  ran 
  as 
  high 
  as 
  50 
  

   l)er 
  cent, 
  and 
  sometimes 
  higher. 
  It 
  appears 
  from 
  this 
  season's 
  expe- 
  

   rience 
  that 
  the 
  fry 
  of 
  the 
  black 
  bass 
  should 
  not 
  be 
  transferred 
  to 
  the 
  

   troughs 
  until 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  weeks 
  old. 
  

  

  An 
  effort 
  was 
  made 
  this 
  season 
  to 
  artificially 
  spawn 
  the 
  black 
  bass, 
  

   and 
  with 
  this 
  object 
  in 
  view 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  wild 
  adults 
  were 
  taken 
  from 
  

   Shoal 
  Creek 
  in 
  April 
  and 
  confined 
  in 
  the 
  east 
  pool. 
  They 
  were 
  held 
  

   until 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  the 
  season, 
  but 
  failed 
  to 
  produce 
  any 
  eggs. 
  This 
  can 
  

   only 
  be 
  accounted 
  for 
  on 
  the 
  supposition 
  that 
  the 
  water 
  in 
  the 
  pond 
  

   selected 
  was 
  too 
  cold. 
  Its 
  temperature 
  averaged 
  57°, 
  3° 
  lower 
  than 
  that 
  

   in 
  which 
  the 
  regular 
  brood 
  stock 
  spawned. 
  Efforts 
  were 
  also 
  made 
  to 
  

   collect 
  young 
  bass 
  from 
  the 
  natural 
  nests 
  in 
  Shoal 
  and 
  Hickory 
  creeks, 
  

   but 
  the 
  roiling 
  of 
  the 
  streams 
  from 
  excessive 
  rains 
  made 
  the 
  experi- 
  

   ment 
  unsuccessful. 
  

  

  