lOI 



present season to 200 applicants, and the supply was insuffi- 

 cient to fill the demand, which at the first of the season was 

 4,720,000 fry, which were asked for by 286 applicants, and now 

 we have nearly 100 orders on file for next season's distribution, 

 and I dare say this number will swell to 350 orders before the 

 shipping season begins next season. 



Next comes California mountain, or rainbow, trout, which 

 have done remarkably well in some parts of the State, and are 

 prized even as high as its rival in beauty and delicacy, the 

 brook trout, while in other parts they rank inferior. These 

 rainbow trout seem to abandon the small streams and seek the 

 larger ones, and the rivers, where they appear to thrive wonder- 

 fully. A gentleman of good authority, from St. Croix County, 

 informed me that he caught a two-year-old that tipped the 

 scales at just 4 pounds, and I could relate several instances 

 where they have been taken at that age weighing from i ^^ to 

 3!/^ pounds. We have just begun the distribution of these 

 fish, and out of the 183 orders now on file I hope to be able to 

 fill 150 of them with about 1,750,000 fry. All orders remaining 

 unfilled, will be filled first, the following season. 



Owing to the extreme high water in the Fox river this 

 spring, where I collect my supply of wall-eyed pike eggs, I have 

 been unable to procure a full quota, but have now in the hatch- 

 ing jars at Milwaukee enough to bring forth about 8,000,000 

 fry, which will be eagerly captured by the 220 applicants 

 whose names are now on file. Since we have begun restocking 

 our numerous lakes we have met with success, and now reap 

 the harvest of our endeavors, by reading confirmed reports of 

 success from different parts of the State, and still continue to sow. 



The present season I placed in several inland lakes 800,000 

 Mackinaw, or lake trout, the eggs of which were collected 

 in Lake Michigan, and were hatched at the Madison Hatch- 

 ery. I do not approve of this method of stocking lakes with 

 lake trout hatched in spring water, for I think it can be done 

 with less labor and expense by collecting large quantities of 

 eggs and carefully spreading them on the shoal reefs of the 

 lakes intended to stock, and let them hatch and take care of 

 themselves. 



