36 Modern Fishcultitre in Fresh and Salt Water, 



market. An angler likes to capture a big trout to show, 

 but he prefers to eat the smaller ones. Many years of at- 

 tendance at Blackford's annual "trout openings" in Ful- 

 ton Market on the first day of the legal trout season has 

 shown that the desirable sizes are from three to five to 

 the pound. These are fried or boiled with the head left 

 on and are served whole to a guest. If a little larger 

 they would have to be cut and served in portions, while 

 those over two pounds should be boiled ; and that is not 

 what the epicure wants, because if his fish is to be boiled 

 he would prefer cod, salmon, lake trout or many other 

 fishes, for the idea of having brook trout served other- 

 wise than fried or broiled never occurs to him, and he 

 likes them whole. 



For some years Mr. Gilbert, of the Old Colony Trout 

 Ponds, and Mr. Hoxsie, of Rhode Island, have agitated 

 the question of selling the trout raised by breeders at 

 such season as they may choose. In the report of the 

 American Fisheries Society for 1895, page 80, Mr. 

 Hoxsie said : ' . . . Is there not some way in 

 which the man who makes a business of raising trout, 

 for what little money there is in it, can be allowed to ship 

 them into New York to the market whenever they are 

 fit for it? The law seems a little unjust. If I were in 

 Rhode Island and raised chickens and turkeys I could 

 send them at any time, but cannot send trout to New 

 York, it being the market for what I produce. One 

 year New York passed a law that we should not get 

 fish [there] until the first day of May. I am not doing 

 a large business, but that year we did not pay our ex- 

 penses by about $1,500. We have shipped already this 

 season over six tons of brook trout. The price has been 

 low, but we cannot govern that if we don't get fish there 

 until April i6th. I would rather have February, March 



