American Fislicries Society 145 



is duo to local conditions tliat lie is able to do it, with the bass 

 and suntish wbicli lie |ir()])a>i'atos, as he has a tremendous amount 

 of food there. The black bass have been known to grow to about 

 eleven jiounds in three years, illustrating the gTeat amount of 

 food tliat they find, and Mr. Leary can gather any great amounts 

 of natural food in tlie vicinity of his pond. The fish there at 

 two months of age. I tbink are two and three inches long. 



There is one uioi-e ])()int wliicli I want to bring np in con- 

 nection witb tlie geiiei-al subject, and that is in connection with 

 tbe coniniercial fisbes. tlu' perch and whitefish and all of those 

 that are propagated in large numbers, — the shad, for instance. 

 Tbe work of the states and of tlie bureau of fisheries, consists in 

 saving tbe eggs which otherwise would go to waste in most in- 

 stances. It is the saving of the eggs taken from fish netted l)y 

 commercial fishermen, going to market. This is generally un- 

 <lcrsto()d by tbe (ish culturist. We might say it would Ijc better 

 to propagate and rear them to fingerlings, l)nt we are trying to 

 save just as many eggs as ]iossible which otherwise would be 

 destroved — tlie eggs of fish going to market — and that is the 

 ])rinci])al work. 



President: I am very glad that ]\Ir. Titcomb made those 

 remarks. 1 bad the ])leasure of visiting the hatcheries some 

 years ago and considered tbe work be was doing and also th'' 

 type of waters. It was quite ol)vious that the fingerlings — or the 

 ponds in which they went — small lake, shallow water, weedy, 

 and frequently witli other fish tbeix' ahead, which would eat up 

 tbe bass miiiuows i»ut in. with comparatively small chance for 

 the fi'y to find concealment — that in waters of that kind, ilie 

 policy \\hich he was following was entirely right. J am not at all 

 convinced it is right for bass witb the lakes M'e are dealing witb 

 in our Xorthern states. 



r would like to refer you to one other matter. It st'cms to 

 me Mr. Atkins paper last year was extremely valuabk' to tliis 

 discussion,- — showing that the trout fry were able to stand starv- 

 ing for a considerable time, with no a])i)areiit injury at all. One 

 of the difHculties which always seemed to me attended the ])lant- 

 ing of fry was the fact that they were turned loose at a time 

 Avheu there was comparatively little food in the brooks, and it 



