NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 367 



lake has an area of 1,000 to 1,500 acres, well snpplied with native common fish and 

 carp. Chicken Creek Lake, 3 miles south of Juab station, is a patch of clear spring 

 water covering an area of 500 acres or more, with every indication of being an ideal 

 small place for bass, with excellent spawning conditions and plenty of food. The rail- 

 way passing close to the shore of this lake at one point, I had the train stopped a few 

 minutes in passing and set 16 large spawners at liberty here. Passing on about 6 

 miles farther, to where the Sevier Kiver is first encountered on this line, a plant of 400 

 yearling fry was made, after which the bulk of the shipment was taken on to Deseret 

 and planted in the lagoon lakelets, near the mouth of the Sevier Kiver. Forty-five 

 large spawners were planted in Clear Lake, about 15 miles south of this point. This 

 lake contains only about 2,000 to 3,000 acres of water suitable for bass culture, but I 

 expect to see larger bass produced here than at any other place in the State. The 

 water, issuing from large springs bordering the lake, is very slightly brackish and 

 clear as crystal, with a fairly uniform temperature of 55 to 60 F. throughout the year. 

 Minnows and common fish are superabundant here, and carp planted here six or seven 

 years ago have grown very large, some of them, I am told, weighing 30 to 40 pounds. 



This being our last stocking shipment for the season of 1897, a recapitulation will 

 show that nearly 800 large spawners, averaging nearly 2 pounds each, and 5,000 

 yearling fry were distributed by the State fish and game department in the public 

 waters, covering a longitudinal area of about 450 miles, giving a long, if not a wide, 

 distribution throughout the State to this superior food and game fish. In addition to 

 the State plantings, 750 large spawners were furnished to applicants for private pond 

 cultivation throughout the State during the season, and 5,000 yearling fry to the 

 State of Colorado for distribution in public waters of that State, making a total of over 

 11,000 bass distributed for propagating purposes from Utah Lake during the season 

 of 1897. 



A few words as to the method of transportation and care in transit may not be 

 out of place. As we had no specially constructed tank car for the purpose, barrel 

 receptacles had to be resorted to; 50 barrels of 40 to 50 gallon capacity each were 

 placed in a large baggage car, kindly furnished by the Short Line Kailway Com- 

 pany. The fish were taken with small nets from the ponds close by, put into barrels 

 of fresh water in wagons waiting to receive and convey them a short distance to the 

 car, where they were again transferred from the barrels in the wagons to the barrels 

 in the car, which also contained fresh water to about four-fifths of their capacity. 

 From 10 to 15 of the large spawners were all that was deemed advisable to put in a 

 barrel, and 300 to 400 fry in barrels of the same capacity. Everything was timed to 

 make as close connection as possible with the north-bound express train. This was 

 our first experience in transporting the fish in carload lots such a long distance; the 

 undertaking was therefore largely experimental, and at this season of the year (May 4) 

 was attended with considerable hazard. 



Air-pumps and hand-bellows with rubber tube attachments to reach the bottom of 

 barrels for aerating the water had been provided, together with buckets for the same 

 purpose. We soon learned that the buckets were of far greater practical utility than 

 all the other contrivances. When the fish showed signs of discomfort by coming to 

 the top of the water, a few applications of the bucket would send them down again. 

 This was done by dipping the water out of the barrels and pouring it back again from 

 as great a height as possible by the attendants, and I observed that a quick and 

 violent return of the whole bucketful had a much better effect than a slow and gentle 



