184 Thirl y-niulh Annual Meeting 



Mr. DwKiHT Lydell: We have init into practice at the Mill Creek 

 station during the past two seasons a plan that has proved so successful 

 that every hass nest is productive. In the fall we put our brood fish 

 into a storage pond which is deeper than the others, and the fish are 

 lield there until just before they are ready to spawn. There are no 

 nests or spawning places in this pond and the fish are too much crowded 

 to spawn even under more favorable conditions, and they are held there 

 with a big flow of water until danger of the spawn being destroyed 

 by cold weather is past. In the meantime spawning ponds are prepared, 

 nests set and everything made ready for the time when spawning can- 

 not be postponed any longer. This season it was the 11th of May 

 before we decided that the fish must be put into the spawning ponds. 

 Within four or five hours after they were transferred nearly every 

 bed had been spawned on and every bed used produced fry. The fish 

 had plenty of minnows in the storage ponds, all they wanted to eat. 

 and were in the pink of condition when put into the spawning ponds. 

 Results were highly successful. There was not a single unproductive 

 nest out of 75. Of course in a latitude where the water warms up and 

 stays warm, results would no doubt be satisfactory witliout holding the 

 fish in a storage pond. At Mill Creek, however, we almost invaria1)ly 

 have several days of cold weather following a period warm enough to 

 induce spawning. Again, early in the season we are liable to have days 

 when the water warms up enough in the middle of the day to cause 

 tlie fish to spawn, yet during the night it becomes so cold that the eggs 

 are killed. In a word, the idea or plan of crowding the parent fish into 

 a storage pond is to prevent or postpone spawning until we are certain 

 that tlie temperature of the water will not drop below the danger 

 point. Perhaps this plan is not necessary at southern stations or in 

 warmer latitudes, but it works out very successfully in the northern 

 part of the country. 



Question 2. — Has any new method been discovered for 



Mr. Titcomb: I suppose the question lias reference to some other 

 inetliod than the use of copper sulphate. 

 President : Yes. 

 Mr. Titcomt. : I know of none. 



Question 3. — Slionld minnows l)c introduced into black 

 l)ass lireeding- ponds as food for the bass? 



jNTk. Lydell; During the spawning season we do not allow anything 

 there but adult lislu Tlie minnows would be very detrimental to tlie 

 young bass. We put no minnows in our breeding ponds at any time 

 of the year unless they are dead. The fewer live minnows you have 

 in tlie pond tlie more natural food there will be for your bass fry. 



