LXXII REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



As the work of penning white-fish had been conducted on a very- 

 limited scale the previous year, it was necessary this season to con- 

 struct five new rafts, which, with the old one, gave a capacity for 

 from 15,000 to 18,000 fish. These rafts carry five crates each, each 

 crate being divided into two pens 8 feet square and 0^ feet deep. The 

 boom logs at the sides of the rafts were discarded, as they were clumsy 

 and did not afibrd sufficient space for walks. Gunwales were made of 

 4 by 8 inch hemlock joists, placed 2 feet apart and trussed at frequent 

 intervals by diagonal cross-ties and braces, on top of which were placed 

 two tiers of 2-foot- wide hemlock planks, making the gunwale, as built 

 up, 52 feet long, 2 feet wide, and 1 foot deep, strong and rigid, and able 

 to withstand seas of considerable violence. At each end and between 

 all the crates were 2-foot plank walks, giving ample room for working 

 on all sides, a consideration of the utmost importance in handling fish 

 and fertilizing eggs in stormy weather. With these improvements the 

 rafts are considered almost perfect for the work. 



A large live-car, capable of holding 600 fish, was also constructed at 

 Monroe Piers, to be used in conveying fish from the nets to the crates. 

 This did not prove as eflective or convenient, however, as tanks carried 

 on the decks of the steamers. 



The work at Monroe was under direction of J. C. Fox, foreman of 

 Put-in Bay station, who reported that of 8,779 fish placed in subnets, 

 8,624 were transferred to the crates, about half of them being females ; 

 3,307 of these yielded 62,208,000 eggs, an average of 18,961. At the 

 close of the season 8,584 fish were returned to the fishermen, only 195 

 having been lost. 



At Putin Bay 4,282 fish were collected, of which 1,217 yielded 

 39,843,000 eggs, an average of 32,738 per fish. Of the whole number 

 collected, 3,921 were returned to the fishermen, 237 died or were lib- 

 erated, and 3 were held at the station for experimental purposes. 



Comparing the cost of operating at these two points with that of 

 collecting from the boats of the commercial fishermen, it was found 

 that the cost per quart of those secured from the fishermen was 72.56 

 cents, those from fish penned at Put-in Bay cost 76.22 cents, and from 

 the Monroe crates 77.53 cents, the average cost of the crated fish being 

 76.87 cents per quart. With an ordinarily good season the 6,125 

 females should have furnished 171,500,000 eggs, on a basis of 35,000 per 

 fish, estimating four-fifths of them as productive. 



Of the eggs collected, 126,036,000 were held at the station to be 

 hatched and planted in Lake Erie, 32,508,000 were shipped to Alpena, 

 12,132,000 to Duluth, and 14,778,000 to Cape Vincent. The number of 

 fry hatched was 105,500,000. These were planted with comparatively 

 small losses on the spawning-grounds in Lake Erie, reefs and gravel 

 bars where white-fish deposit their eggs naturally being selected. 



The fry were planted under favorable conditions, the water being 

 clear, and immense numbers of Daphnia, Cyclops, Diaptomus, and other 

 Crustacea being observed. 



