FOURTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 31 



ing, and he thouglit that his experiments, taken as a whole, should 

 be considered as fairly satisfactory. As to my own experiments 

 since 1876 and 1877, the result serves to show greater success in 

 hatching smelt in comparatively stagnant water than in any 

 other manner. The smelt appear to be a peculiar form among 

 fish, and is at present no longer considered as one of the 

 Salmonidce. Young smelt will live in the same water for nine 

 days, and fish-culturists will at once recognize the vast difference 

 in this respect, between these minute embryos and those of some 

 of the Salmonidte, where a constant change of water is absolutely 

 necessary. Again, the warmer the water the better the smelt 

 appear to thrive. If you take the smelt out of this bottle (point, 

 ing to a bottle of young smelt on the chairman's table) and put 

 them in cold water, they will die. Place them near the stove 

 and they will become more lively than ever. I do not know the 

 limits of heat and cold which will respectively produce activity 

 or death with these fish; but I do not know that if water con- 

 taining smelt be cooled to a temperature in which trout would 

 enjoy themselves, the smelt would die. With regard to the 

 effect of fungus upon the fish, I think that, while in some cases 

 it proves fatal to them, yet in others, as Mr. Mather has 

 suggested, it forms a protection for the fish which are inside of 

 the bunch. Last year and also this season experiments have 

 been in progress to ascertain the feasibility of hatching young 

 smelt in comparatively stagnant water. So far this plan appears 

 to be successful. Large numbers have been hatched out and 

 with comparatively little trouble. This corresponds in a great 

 degree with what Mr. Mather has said, and I am inclined to 

 think that eventually we shall find that the less cold water we 

 use, the larger will be the number of eggs hatched out. It may 

 possibly be necessary to kill the fungus by the use of salt mush. 



Mr. Lyman: I recollect in 1867 or 1868 trying to hatch some 

 of the large variety called Belgrade smelt. I put them in run- 

 ning water, somewhat swift, in which 1 kept my trout eggs, but 

 none of them hatched. The smelt is, of course, a very interest- 

 ing fish, and is one of the first species by which the fact was 

 demonstrated that quantity might be increased by good laws. 



