Median. — Goitre Among Trout 73 



taminate the water and spread the disease? But it did not. Of course 

 the stuff was removed every day even there. It would wash down and 

 was all taken out. 



There was another suggestion about the tainted meat. Of course 

 there is a possibility that there might not have been the closest atten- 

 tion paid to the inspection of the meat, but the presumption is that 

 there was, because it was the man who was left in charge that inspected 

 the meat, and not the man who had the fish in charge. 



Mr. Thompson : When the cat's away, the mice will play. 



Mr. Meehan : So that it does not naturally follow that carelessness 

 in the one would mean carelessness in the other. It is exceedingly rare 

 that we now ever find any tainted meat, for in the past we have thrown 

 back consignments on the hands of the shippers because of their not 

 being just what they ought to be. In the past we used to have many 

 plucks affected by tuberculosis, but we have practically none of that 

 any longer, because I suppose of the government inspection. The only 

 trouble we have ever had of late years was where meat might spoil on 

 the road. We have it coming now actually frozen when it arrives in 

 the summer months, coming as it does in refrigerator cars. We use 

 large quantities at our Bellefonte hatchery. The cost of food alone is 

 $1,200 a year, so that it pays the company from which we buy the meat 

 to send it to us in good condition. If any quantity of it is shown to be 

 bad at any time the whole shipment is returned. 



Mr. Thompson: It often happens that food spoils rapidly after 

 being cut up. It is not the ponds through which floating particles pass 

 that are contaminated, but those where the food refuse sinks to the 

 bottom and collects in the corners; here you have contamination to a 

 much greater degree than with the surface filth which passes off. My 

 contention was and is that these fish which have been heavily fed are 

 the best fish. 



Xow, by heavily feeding a lot of fish, I do not mean to feed the 

 pond; 1 believe in feeding the fish alone. When fish have taken all 

 they will eat, any additional food simply falls to the bottom and is 

 properly termed : "Feeding the pond." I do not believe in or endorse 

 this for a moment. If these conditions prevail, they certainly would 

 and should bring disease and death. My contention in this whole 

 matter is simply that young fish, say under a year old, cannot be over- 

 fed, provided they have a plentiful water supply and good range — T 

 mean in a practical way. Of course I do not claim that a man cannot 

 stand at a pond and deliberately overfeed the fish. 



Mr. Meehan: I agree with you on that point. The disease appeared 

 with greatest severity in fish over a year old out in the ponds. The 

 fingerlings apparently all recovered, and they were not affected by the 

 fungus at all. There was no trouble of any consequence among those 

 fish. It appeared among the yearlings, and two-, three- and four-year- 

 olds, and not among the very young fish. I am like you, a great be- 

 liever in feeding fingerlings with all that can be gotten into their little 

 bellies. 



