XX.-REPORT OF OPERATIONS AT THE WYTHEVILLE STATION, 

 VA., FROM JANUARY 1, 1885, TO JUNE 30, 1887. 



By Marshall McDonald. 



The plans projected during 1884 for extending and improving the 

 facilities for work at this station were carried out during the summer 

 and fall of 1885, under the direction of the Commissioner of Fisheries 

 for the State of Virginia, and the cost of the extensive improvements 

 made was defrayed by the State Commission. 



The station is now substantially complete in its equipment and ap- 

 pointments. Additional ponds will be needed from time to time to pro- 

 vide increased capacity for rearing trout and other species for distribu- 

 tion. 



Much also remains to be done in providing access to and circulation 

 through the grounds by the construction of good graded roads, in 

 erecting substantial inclosures for protection from depredations, and 

 in improving the amenities of the grounds by planting trees and shrubs, 

 clearing up the undergrowth, and % turfing bare and unsightly spots. 

 But the station may now be regarded as fully equipped for its work j 

 and a description of its location, buildings, ponds, and grounds, audits 

 facilities for production and distribution of the Saliuonidre will well 

 illustrate its importance and value to the work of the TJ. S. Fish Com- 

 mission. 



(1) Location. — The station is situated in southwestern Virginia, about 

 3 miles east of the town of Wytheville and immediately on the line of 

 the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad, which, with its extensive 

 connections northeast and southwest, traverses that broad belt of 

 mountain region which stretches from New York to Georgia and Ala- 

 bama and is the natural trout region of the Middle and South Atlantic 

 States. The facilities thus afforded for expeditious and satisfactory 

 distribution to the most distant points are all that can be desired. 



A railroad siding, not a hundred yards from the station and accessi- 

 ble by a good graded road, affords every convenience for satisfactory 

 distribution by car and messenger service. 



(2) Water supply.— This, which aggregates 1,100 gallons per minute, is 

 afforded by two bold springs, coming to the surface in an oval depres- 



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