CALIFORNIA FISH AXD GAME 149 



effort to bring across the continent the food fishes of the east, and with 

 the experience which we have had and the additional knowledge we 

 have gained, we have hopes of not only repairing our loss of last year 

 but largely to improve upon that effort. "We regret to say that our 

 loss was large. "We had embarked in it all the remaining funds of the 

 commission, but no human foresight could have predicted it or guarded 

 against it. and we can only say that it is worth all that it has cost to 

 know the fad That an aquarium of living fish, eels and lobsters, pro- 

 vided with both fresh and salt water, <-an be brought from the Atlantic 

 to within one 'lay's travel of the Pacific, in good order and in healthy 

 condition. 



Since our lasl report the Commissioners have given somewhat of 

 their attention to placing in ^>me of the streams and lakes different 

 kinds of native and other fish, although they have not been able to do 

 bo much as they would desire to do were the means at their command. 

 There is no cheap way of doing this work; everything pertaining to it 

 requires dispatch and care. We are handling a delicate and perishable 

 material, under circumstances in which the painstaking and expense 

 of the mosi careful preparations may, in a momenl of neglect or 

 accident, be lost entirely. Consequently, we have refrained from any 

 expensive experiments, and confined ourselv< the introduction of 



food fishes fully known to be profitable in other States, and the dis- 

 semination of such domestic fish ;h can be easily and cheaply trans- 

 ferred from on,- part of the state to another. In this way we have, 

 during the past season, placed some ten thousand Lake Tahoe trout 

 in the South Yuba River; Troul from the mountain lakes have been 

 placed in the north fork of the American River; we have purchased 

 from the breeders of Tahoe Trout, also, six thousand Trout, which have 



I n placed in Lake Merced. We have also purchased two thousand 



Eastern Red Speckled Trout Salmo fontanalis — which we placed in 

 the north fork of the American River, near the summit. Two thousand 

 of the same and six thousand Tahoe Troul we have placed in the head- 

 waters of Alameda ('reek, and two thousand more Eastern Speckled 

 Trout in San Andreas Reservoir, near this city. 



The Commission feels greatly encouraged in its efforts to preserve 

 and increase the fish of California by the jreneral interest taken by the 

 people in this Aery interesting subject. On all occasions we have had 

 the most ready aid, and in many cases gratuitous services from those 

 with whom the operations of the Commissioners have brought them in 

 contact, and we would respectfully suggest that we believe that the 

 people are now willing to incur a moderate expenditure in order to 

 have this work continued. This Commission does not believe that any 

 large appropriation for this purpose is now necessary. Time is 

 required to develop and perfect the successful propagation and pres- 

 ervation of foreign varieties of fish. We have yet a great deal to 

 learn in regard to this subject, and undue haste and lavish expenditure 

 are by no means the most certain way to success. It is now three 

 year- since the first attempt to bring shad across the continent was 

 commenced. We now know that some of the shad brought here in 1871 

 have lived and grown to good size. The shoal of shad are not due in 

 the rivers of California until June, 1874, but we have had in our hands 

 three specimens, which are, of course, exceptional, and we have heard 



