American Fisheries Society. 6T 



any better than some other foods, or perhaps as good; and the 

 only point I can urge in their favor is, that the fish appear to 

 grow well and be healthy on them, and that they are cheap. As 

 to the cost, I have here in my notebook the figures. Last }'ear, 

 1902, between j\Iay and October, that is the principal season of 

 our feeding, we had a stock of fish in which the number of fry 

 have averaged 447,000, that is to sa}', that is the mean be- 

 tween those we started with and those we closed with; and the 

 fish, one to four years old showed a mean of 5,400, and thi 

 amount of hogs" plucks (it was nearly all hogs' plucks) used, 

 was 25,241 pounds; actually fed to the stock 16,408 pounds; cost 

 $262.52. We fed 447,000 fry on the average from May to Octo- 

 ber, giving us a cost of four and one-half mills per fish, or per 

 1,000 fish, $4.56. I rather think that is the cheapest we have 

 ever succeeded iii carrying any large number of fish through on. 



Mr. Titcomb : Have you the cost when you fed beef livers, 

 in comparison ? 



Mr. Atkins : No, sir, I have not figured this up. 



Mr. Titcomb : Is it about twice as much ? 



Mr. Atkins : I would not dare to say off-hand — I would have 

 to look that up. 



Mr. Clark: Our expense l)ill will run from $15 to $18 a 

 month for 25,000 fish, ranging from one and one-half to four or 

 five years old, we feed beef liver to the smaller fish and to the 

 yearlings, the 5-earlings taking at least half. 



Mr. T. H. Bean took the chair. 



Mr. Titcomb : I think it is a very important question from 

 a financial standpoint, and the figures of course won't lie. We 

 have these figures of Mr. Atkins, but we cannot compare them 

 with yours, because the hatcheries are not located where the 

 prices may range the same, but in comparison with the purchase 

 of beef livers which he used previously. Mr. Atkins has made a 

 great saving. Mr. Oeorge A. Seagle has made a saving at his 

 station at Wythevillc, Ya., using hogs' liver, and Mr. W. F. Hub- 

 bard at Nashua, in his annual report this last year, gives a state- 

 ment of a saving of $200 or $300 in the course of a year on fisli 

 food, without any evil results, apiiarently. 



Mr. Willard : T understand that the American Fish Culture 

 Company, of Carolina. Khode Island, one of the owners of one 



