.Imcncan fisheries Sociclw ICi 



arc the result of the hfelon^q; experience of Supt. Waldo \\ iluh- 

 bard, of the U. S. l'\ C, with the Pacific salmon. 



Who knows tlie cause of the ever-present hlue sac ? I lave you 

 a theory ? 



Remenrber, that all fry are restless, inquisitive little heinfjs, 

 poking- their noses in w lierever they find a hole sufticientlv large. 

 Isn't it surprising how small that sulificiently lurge can he? 



All our authorities seem to i)resuppose that the fry are fr-;e 

 swimmers, "able to balance themselves easily and gracefully in 

 the water," and ready to rise and strike at minute pieces of cork, 

 or other floating sul)stances, when ready for food. 1 wish to state 

 most emphatically that such is not the case with brook trout fry. 



On behalf of this Society, on behalf of my l)rother fish-cultur- 

 ists who may also be led astray by this false doctrine, on behalf of 

 the neglected and sutfering fr_\-, I wish to Iniild my lighthouse 

 right here. I would build the foundation so broad as to 

 entirely cover this rock of danger. 1 would have the 

 light so bright and far-reaching as to shine out wherever a 

 l;)rook trout is propagated. You will kindl}- remem])er that I am 

 not speaking now of trout in general, but the brook trout in partic- 

 ular. Aluch of the complaint of failure to get certain lots to feed, 

 much of the thin snakelike appearance so often seen in the troughs 

 in the early feeding period, and much of the death rate at this time, 

 are directly traceable to too strict adherence to this teaching. Sim- 

 ply because the brook trout is generally known as a surface feeder, 

 it is assumed that he must necessarily ])e such from the very liegin- 

 ning. I wish again to state most emphatically that while such may 

 be the case frequently from necessity, by choice, or, to put it more 

 correctly, by nature, brook trout fry are bottom feeders for a brief 

 period at first — in other words, they feed before they can swim. 



Let us consider the philosophy of the matter. The Creator 

 packs a month's rations in the little fellows knapsack, tells him he 

 must forage on the country for subsistence hereafter. In the wild 

 state do vou suppose he waits until this supply is exhausted before 

 making an efifort to skirmish for him.self ? I ask you, is it a reas- 

 onable supposition that the change from absorption to feeding and 



