American Fisheries Society. Ill 



to a great extent the period of incubation — especially with our 

 lake trout — turning out the fry at such intervals as are conven- 

 ient for distribution. In other words, fry from eggs of the same 

 age do not all hatch at the same time, some being retarded by 

 colder water. At Northville we can distribute fry for two 

 months — holding them right in the hatchery — and never plant 

 any with the umbilical sac completely absorbed. 



Mr. Bower: I have been personally acquainted with Mr. 

 Wood for some time and I believe he is one of the most intelli- 

 gent and successful brook trout breeders in the country today, 

 but I cannot agree with his conclusions as to the relative merits 

 of planting fry and fingerlings. He rather intimates that the 

 planting of fry is not very successful. I think there is no 

 example in the whole United States of more successful trout 

 planting than is presented in the state of Michigan. Over two- 

 thirds of the trout streams in the state toda}^, comprising some 

 of the very best trout waters to be found anywhere, did not con- 

 tain trout naturally, and their present standing as trout waters 

 is due wholly to the planting of fry and not fingerlings. Now, I 

 believe that if you plant a thousand yearlings or a thousand 

 fingerlings you will get more adults than if you plant a thou- 

 sand fry, but the point is right here : a thousand dollars' worth of 

 fry, in my judgment, will produce a much greater number of 

 adult fish than a thousand dollars' worth of fingerlings or year- 

 lings, because there is some loss in rearing and there is also a 

 heavy expense for food and care, and it costs twenty dollars to 

 distribute a given number of yearlings to one dollar for an equal 

 number of fry, so that you can plant such a vastly increased 

 number of fry for the same amount of money that you will get 

 much greater results for the money invested, presuming of 

 course that the fry are properly planted, and that you must 

 assume also with yearlings or fish of any age. So that, so far as 

 the state of Michigan is concerned, we are thoroughly satisfied 

 with fry planting and propose to continue it — it is no theory 

 with us, we have the results to show what the planting of fry 

 will do. 



Mr. Clark: I see that Mr. Bower sinie he went with the 

 Michigan Fish Commission, has become a great fry man. I 

 have had arguments with some of the members of the Michigan 



