American Fisheries Society. 155 



period of time simply to replace the brood stock. N"ever was 

 there a more favoral)le time to thoroughly test the value of plant- 

 ing and at the same time to answer the above question by a prac- 

 tical demonstration. In the spring of 1900, the United States 

 Fish Commission made heavy plantings of large, vigorous, well 

 fed fry from one to two inches long, followed by a summer dis- 

 tribution of two to four inch fish and winding up in November 

 and December with trout some of them even then above the 

 usual five and six inch limits. This work had been done so 

 quietly that few other than those actually engaged in the distri- 

 bution and planting were aware of this new factor. Hitherto 

 nothing but unfed fry had been planted. The arrival of the 

 open season scarcely created a ripple of excitement amongst the 

 anglers. Conditions and results though are best described in 

 the accompanying letter from Mr. W. H. Beasom, a prominent 

 citizen and former mayor of Nashua, as well as an ardent sports- 

 man. 



Nashua, N. H., July 1st, 1900. 

 Mr. W. T. Thompson, Nashua, N. H. 



Dear Sir: — For the past twenty-five years, with possibly three 

 or four exceptions, I have fished for trout in the brooks around this 

 city. During this period the number of anglers has increased to 

 such an extent, that about ten or twelve years ago, I came to the 

 conclusion that nothing except regular and intelligent restocking of 

 the brooks would save the trout from extermination — or at least 

 diminishing the supply to such an extent as to make angling a doubt- 

 ful luxury. In company with a friend, Mr. Geo. F. Andrews, I 

 applied for fry from the state hatchery, they were distributed and 

 each year since I have with Mr. Andrews or others planted from 

 15,000 to 25,000 annually. If I had any doubts as to the benefits of 

 restocking — which I did not — they would have been removed by the 

 results of this season's catch. The seasons of 1899 and 1900 were 

 extremely dry ones, some small brooks drying up for nearly their 

 whole course, while others were dry for quite long intervals — as I 

 found when woodcock shooting in October, I did not see any dead 

 trout, but it is fair to assume that many died as our trout are not 

 good tree climbers. During 1899 the streams had a good supply of 

 fry planted — but as I recollect it, the fishing of 1900 was below the 

 average — or at least not very good. In the summer of 1900 (Note, 

 Aug. 8), the United States Government Hatchery had a quantity of 

 fish measuring from two to four inches in length which I had the 

 pleasure to assist in planting in nearby streams. All previous plant- 

 ings had been fry about one inch long. The fall of 1900 was even 



