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two could aid each other. The University, or Agricultural 

 College, or both, might furnish the naturalist to accompany a 

 crew of Fish Commission men in examining interior lakes and 

 streams. They might do a notable service by furnishing a 

 naturalist, who is expert with the microscope, along with our 

 crews employed in gathering ova of different fishes ; and by a 

 critical study of ova and milt during the spawning time, 

 instruct the men as to the appearance of perfectly matured 

 male and female properties, so as to bring such operations still 

 nearer to perfection. At the same time, facts so acquired 

 might be an actual and useful contribution to scientific knowl- 

 edge. The Michigan Superintendent last fall proposed a very 

 similar method for the purpose of improving the already good 

 results in artificial fertilization. 

 Detroit, May i6, 1888. 



Dr. Sweeny was down on the programme for a paper on 

 " Stocking Western Lakes and Streams," but he claimed that 

 he was ignorant that such information had been required of 

 him and he was not prepared to present it in a formal manner. 

 He had no objection to talking on the subject, and said that 

 the work of the Minnesota Fish Commission, of which he 

 was a member, had been very successful, the failures, if there 

 had been any, were small and of no account, but the successes 

 were so much in excess of any failure that his memory refused 

 to get down to so small a matter. There had been great suc- 

 cess in the hatching and planting of brook trout, black bass, 

 and wall-eyed pike ; the returns from the fisheries showed that 

 the continuous plantings had borne fruit and that these fishes 

 have increased through artificial propagation. In Lake Super- 

 ior the plantings of whitefish have borne fruit and the fishermen 

 who opposed the work at first were now strongly in favor of it. 

 The increased catches have convinced the fishermen that the 

 work of hatching whitefish should be' continued. Dr. Sweeny 

 had a theory that it would be well to stock certain points 

 with whitefish and then have no fishing done there for five 

 years, next year take other points and stock them, and so on 

 in a circle. It seemed to him that this would be worth a trial. 



