American Fisheries Society. 105 
merchantable fresh water fish than just plain ‘“‘whitefish,” and 
beginning with that I will try to give you some of the details of 
the work of propagating this fish as it is carried on at the Put- 
in-Bay station. 
The whitefish, like many other fishes, is migratory; its real 
home being in the deeper waters at the lower end of the lake, 
where it stays in summer presumably for the purpose of remain- 
ing in the cool water and where the food supply is more abundant 
and in winter, because that portion of the lake rarely if ever 
freezes over so as to exclude the air, and the temperature of the 
water at the bottom never falls as low as at the upper end of the 
lake where the water is shoaler. 
About the first of October as the spawning season approaches, 
the instinct of reproduction prompts it to commence its journey 
to the shoaler waters at the upper end of the lake where it goes 
for the purpose of depositing its eggs. 
The whole upper end of the lake is dotted with shoals and 
reefs which are the natural spawning grounds of the whitefish, 
and as the spawning season in Lake Erie begins from about 
November 5th to 17th, about the first of this month they com- 
mence settling in around the reefs, gradually working their way 
nearer, until by about the 10th, they have gathered onto the reefs 
in schools and the spawning season commences. 
It is at this time that the work of collecting the eggs for this 
station commences and men employed for the purpose, are sent 
out into the different localities or fields, where fishing is carried 
on, each man being provided with a keg, a pail, a tin dipper and 
a common tin milk pan. 
Upon arriving at the fishery a man goes out with each boat, 
and as fast as the fish are taken on board they are examined by 
the spawner and the eggs taken from the live fish. In doing 
this work what is known as the “dry method” is followed: The 
the pan which they would do if the pan were entirely dry; the 
egos of the female are then extruded into the pan by a gentle 
but firm pressure of the operator’s hand passing down over the 
belly of the fish; after the eggs are all secured in this way, a 
male fish is used in the same manner, the milt from the male 
being extruded over the eggs in the pan, males enough being 
used to insure a portion of the milt coming in contact with every 
