Thompson. — Irrigation and Trout Culture 107 



local co-operation ; then came the larger enterprises financed 

 by outside capital; finally we have the immense enterprises 

 encouraged by state and nation. 



Many of these earlier and smaller lakes, as they are 

 frequently called, were promptly stocked with trout. The 

 results already attained have been absolutely incredible and 

 beyond the belief of those who have had no personal ex- 

 perience under similar conditions. I do not propose to 

 weary you by going into detail, but still I cannot refrain 

 from giving you several striking instances which may enable 

 you to realize to some extent the fish-cultural possibilities of 

 these lakes. 



Wellington Lake, located on the Colorado & Southern 

 Railway, about twelve miles from Buffalo, Colo., yielded 

 4,358,000 brook trout eggs during the fall of 1904, while 

 Island Lake, the summer of the same year, produced over 

 X, 000, 000 spawn of the native trout. 



Perhaps the most striking illustration, however, is in the 

 case of Ragan Lake, located some twenty-five miles from 

 Cree.de. This is a rather shallow body of water containing 

 approximately seventy acres and is operated by Air. B. C. 

 Hosselkus as a commercial enterprise. During the latter 

 part of February, 1906, Mr. Hosselkus received from the 

 Leadville station of the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries 100,000 

 eyed brook trout eggs in exchange for rainbow spawn. These 

 were shipped to Creede over the Rio Grande and arrived in 

 the midst of a severe blizzard. When the storm had ceased, 

 the trays were transferred from the heavier shipping cases 

 to light wooden boxes, such as are used by the oil companies 

 for the shipment of two square five gallon cans. They were 

 then placed on a pack horse and started up the mountain 

 over the unbroken trail. 



On several occasions the pack animal lost her footing 

 and fell, rolling down the mountain, but the heavy soft snow 

 prevented any material injury to horse or trout spawn. 

 To prevent freezing, one night the eggs were wrapped in 

 blankets and kept in a ranchman's cellar; the next night 



