138 Fortieth Annual Meeting 



carry any bass in the pond at St. Johnsbury, and so were obliged to 

 transfer bass a distance of 100 miles, a ride of four hours on the train 

 from Lake Champlain ; and almost immediately the bass commenced 

 building nests. 



Dr. Bean speaks of the temperature of the water. We had more 

 success in regulating the temperature of our pond by turning the supply 

 off. The water warmed up in a day; we turned the pond supply off at 

 night and carried our young bass successfully through the cold nights. 



Mr. Dwight Lydell : With respect to that part of my paper that the 

 gentleman read referring to the large-mouth black bass, I would say 

 that the advanced fry were not secured from the station but came from 

 auxiliary stations. 



Mr. Buck: I do not know that the area of ponds is stated in the 

 paper. It has been said that the small ponds mean results. 



Mr. Lydell: It is stated in the paper as being 364 by 170 feet. 



President : I think the entire pond area of the station is referred to. 



Mr. Lydell : There have been built thirteen ponds up to the present 

 time, with an area of four and a half to five acres. 



Mr. Clark : I do not care to talk extensively on the bass. I want, 

 however, to concur in almost everything that Mr. Lydell tells of in his 

 paper — that is, whatever is new ; there is no use of concurring in any- 

 thing else because we have already done that. I refer particularly to 

 holding the bass back. Put your bass in your pond today and they 

 will spawn tomorrow, and we will guarantee it. 



There is another thing that has not been touched upon that I would 

 like to speak about, and that is relative to breeders. As some of you 

 know, we have adopted the system at the government station at North- 

 ville of rearing our breeders. We have what is called a stock pond 

 which was commenced three years ago. Fish of about three years are 

 the oldest that we have transferred to the breeding pond. I think if 

 the bass men would adopt this plan they would not only have no diffi- 

 culty in getting breeders but they would get a better class of breeders. 

 They are domestic fish ; they do not frighten easily and you can 

 rear them. 



At any place you can breed bass you can rear your breeders. We 

 have his stock pond, and last year we probably had about 600 or 700 

 yearlings, two year olds and three year olds. We took out of that pond 

 enough breeders to restock what we lacked in our breeding ponds. 

 Now you will find those fish, and especially the males, are better than 

 the fish that you take from wild waters; and I think that the small 

 females (of course, they are not large at three years old, where they are 

 raised) will furnish more eggs for the weight of the fish than the 

 wild fish. 



I do not remember, Mr. President, hearing any of the bass men talk 

 about raising the breeders. We have adopted that plan, and for two 

 years we have not gone to wild waters for our breeders, which I think 

 is the better policy. We took out of this pond (which was not de- 

 signed as a breeding pond) last year probably 75 or 80 nice breeders 

 There is no spawning area that you would prepare, but around the edges 



I 



