366 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



demonstrate. I feel quite sanguine, however, that this goodly plant of the Oswego 

 black bass will prove successful, and of incalculable benefit to the northern part of 

 Utah and the southern portion of Idaho. 



This being the largest and most important individual plant to be made in the 

 State, it received the first attention; and after its successful accomplishment, it was 

 deemed advisable to defer the plantings in the southern part of the State till the cool 

 weather in the fall, and for the further reason that the spawning time was dangerously 

 near for successful catching and transportation. Further stocking of the State 

 waters was therefore postponed until the 30th of October, when I took a shipment 

 of 130 large spawuers, ranging from 1 to 5 pounds weight, and 1,100 yearling fry to 

 Eichfield on the Sevier River in the central- southern part of the State and planted 

 them in a clear, sluggish stream of spring water tributary to the Sevier Eiver. This 

 spring stream is 15 to 20 feet wide and has its source in a succession of connected 

 spring ponds and lakelets of varying moderate depth, fringed and interspersed 

 with rules, flags, water-cress, moss, and other vegetation, and covering an area of 

 probably 200 to 300 acres. It is an ideal small place for the bass, and the whole 

 shipment was planted here and designed as a stocking plant for this section. Most 

 of the water to be stocked is of a pond character, with generally small and slowly 

 flowing streams, the Sevier River being perhaps an exception. 



This stream, although the main drainage avenue of this part of the State, can 

 hardly aspire to the dignity of a river, its channel being from 30 to 50 yards wide 

 only. For one or two months in the spring of the year, however, the melting snows 

 from the mountains along its course and the mountain streams tributary to it swell 

 its volume to the dimensions and character of a torrent or a small river, but in the 

 summer months the channel is drained almost dry in places for irrigating purposes. 

 Nevertheless the water drains and seeps back again into the channel, giving long 

 stretches of water with hardly a perceptible current. The bass might do fairly well 

 here, as the common fish abound everywhere in these waters, and the upper portion ot 

 the stream has a goodly supply of the same species of trout found in Utah Lake, and 

 all the streams tributary to it and where its source originates are thronged with 

 mountain trout. 



Sevier River has its source in the mountains forming the rim of the Great Salt 

 Lake Basin, near the southern boundary line of the State, and flows thence 200 miles 

 in a northeasterly course to a point at Gunnison in Sanpete County, where the course 

 changes to northwesterly for about 40 miles, and again to westerly and southwesterly 

 for about 50 miles; then, after flowing through the entire length of the Sevier Valley 

 and passing through six counties, it finally discharges into Sevier Lake in Millard 

 County. This lake has no outlet and contains too much saline matter for the existence 

 of fish life; but there are a number of square miles of connected lagoon lakelets near 

 the mouth of the river on either side before reaching the main saline lake, where the 

 water is fairly good, with an abundant supply of all the native common fishes, and 

 carp innumerable. Here I have high hopes that the bass will do well; and these 

 waters, together with a few other smaller patches in this locality, were the next and 

 last to claim our stocking attention for this season. 



On the 12th of November our last carload, consisting of 200 large spawners and 

 1,800 yearling fry, was started over the Oregon Short Line Railway from Utah Lake 

 at Provo. At Juab station, 60 miles south from Provo, 45 large spawners were taken 

 out and sent by wagon to Scipio Lake, 20 miles southwesterly from this point. The 



