368 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



pouring. Sometimes if a barrel chanced to be overlooked a little too long and the fish 

 were particularly uncomfortable, it would take from 8 to 12 bucketfuls dipped out and 

 poured back as rapidly and violently as possible to make them easy again. I found 

 that this performance had to be repeated with each barrel once every 30 minutes to be 

 safe, showing that these large fish especially consume the air out of the water very 

 rapidly. 



After an all night run of fifteen hours in the car, the nearest station to Bear Lake 

 was reached, and here eight wagons were waiting to take the cargo to the lake, the 

 nearest point being about 12 miles south of the railway. The barrels containing the 

 fish were soon transferred to the wagons and the lake was reached about noon, and 

 some of the fish planted at the first favorable place and opportunity. Three fourths 

 of the lot, however, was taken to the extreme southern end of the lake and planted 

 there at 9 o'clock p. m., after a 40-mile wagon-haul and thirty hours in the barrels. 

 The only change of water was during the first four hours of the trip, at Salt Lake City 

 and Ogden, where less than half the water was taken out and replaced with a fresh 

 supply. The lack of fresh water, therefore, had to be compensated by the vigorous 

 application of the water-buckets to supply sufficient aeration. An observation made 

 during the long wagon-haul should not be omitted. Wagons with springs and some 

 without springs were used, and I noticed that the fish in the wagons without springs 

 seemed to be in a better condition than those in the spring wagons; and in going over 

 rough places in the road the water showed less tendency to slop over and spill out. 



After getting the last of this consignment of bass into the waters of Bear Lake 

 with a loss of not to exceed 7 per cent in transit, and all in good lively condition, I 

 felt very greatly relieved, for I expected to lose a much larger percentage. The ship- 

 ments to the southern part of the State in the cool months of autumn were made with 

 less than 1 per cent loss, thus showing that the cool weather in the fall of the year is 

 the best time to transplant and distribute this fish in Utah. From the high parental 

 instinct and other good qualities of this great fish, I am strongly of the opinion that 

 it is the coming fish for pond cultivation in this State. 



I wish to express the highest appreciation of the conduct of our local railroads, 

 the Oregon Short Line and the Rio Grande Western railways, in furnishing cars and 

 free transportation for this State distribution of the black bass, and also to acknowl- 

 edge the important service rendered by the United States Commission of Fish and 

 Fisheries at Washington in first introducing the large- mouthed black bass in Utah. 



SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH. 



