American Fisheries Society. 109 



of fry at hatcheries siip|)lic(l witli water of poor quality for this 

 purpose, but I can suggest no wa}^ of proving the quality except 

 by trial. ]\Iost likely if wild trout are known to inhabit certain 

 waters during the year the conditions are suital)le for their main- 

 tenance, and this should go a long way toward deciding on a suit- 

 able location for a hatchery. But one will see that although 

 trout may be found in a stream during most months of the year, 

 and living in a perfectly healthy condition, it does not follow that 

 they were hatched in that particular water. It may be that some- 

 where tlie length of the brook a spring or tributary makes in 

 where the spawn was given out l^y the parent trout, and while 

 this smaller creek is of just the right quality for the young trout- 

 let during the first few months of his life, perhaps the stream in 

 which the larger trout was ol)served would prove very unsuitable. 

 I think that it might be perfectly safe to say that where trout fry 

 will live mature trout will live also, but many a failure will be 

 made trying to rear fry where tlie larger fish will do fairly well. 

 And lots of nice trout fry are wasted yearly by being planted in 

 vmsuitable places, where fingerlings or yearlings would live and 

 grow. And almost everyone admits this, and still the same 

 thing is done again and again. 



Speaking of the planting of trout fry and fingerlings, I have 

 never yet met anyone who advocated the planting of trout fry 

 exclusively who was successful in rearing them much past the 

 sac period. However, better to hatch a few million fry and scat- 

 ter tliem l^roadcast into our waters than to do nothing; better 

 still to raise some fry, some fingerlings, and plant them in an 

 intelligent manner. And Avhy cannot this be done? It can and 

 should be done in every state having natural waters for this fish, 

 for springs of the right qualify can he found where the fish 

 could be reared easily, for almost with neglect will they thrive 

 and grow in waters just suited to the purpose. I feel that the 

 idea I have tried to present should be nothing new to most of 

 you jiresent, but if generally thought of I would like to ask why 

 it is that so many of our i^ublic hatcheries are maintained year 

 after year on a water supply that makes success of rearing the 

 fish impossible. True they ma}^ be hatched and planted when a 

 few weeks old, but how much better to rear a portion of them for 

 as many months, how much more gratifying to grow some of 



