REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. LXI 



The weather was very cold during the early part of the season, the 

 temperature from April 13 to 30 varying from 48° to 58°. About the 

 middle of May it rose above 60° for the first time since collections 

 commenced. These conditions, though not unfavorable to the collection 

 of eggs, were unfavorable to their development. Many lots were held 

 from 12 to 10 days before hatching, and the fry resulting from them 

 were not only weak, but the percentage hatched was very small. 



Particular attention was paid daring the season to the spawning- 

 habits of the shad, with the view to ascertaining the character of 

 river bottom most frequently resorted to in depositing their eggs. The 

 investigations seemed to show that at the head of the Chesapeake 

 Bay they prefer flats covered by debris, such as sticks and trees, and 

 this theory accounts to some extent for the frequent changes of the 

 spawning-grounds. The most successful fishermen select such places 

 when in search of ripe fish, the collection of eggs forming an important 

 part of their income late in the season, when fish sell for very little. 



Attention is again called to the fact that large numbers of eggs of 

 excellent quality were taken in the day — that is, from 4 a. m. to 4 p. m. 



In addition to the eggs hatched at Perryville on car No. 3 and those 

 transferred to Central Station, several shipments were made to Bristol, 

 Pa., and, though sent in June, when the weather was quite warm, they 

 hatched without material loss. Heavy losses were reported, however, 

 on the shipments transferred to Central Station early in the season. 



Striped bass were quite abundant during the spring, and some ripe 

 ones were found. Two small lots of eggs were brought to the station, 

 but they proved defective. A number of measurements were made of 

 them, and in every instance they were found to be 0.125 inch in diameter. 



In addition to the fish-cultural work, various repairs were made to 

 the buildings, boats, and dock ; 45 cases of herring roe were canned as 

 fish food to be used at Wytheville and Craig Brook, and 3 half-barrels 

 were salted for the same purpose. 



The mean temperatures for the months of April, May, and June were: 

 April, air 52°, water 50.5°; May, air 63°, water 62°; June, air 72°, 

 water 72.8°. 



Bryan Point Station, Maryland (L. G. Harron in charge). 



During the summer and fall a hatchery with a capacity for 40,000,000 

 shad eggs was erected, under the direction of Mr. G. A. Schneider, at 

 an expense of $1,000. The building is a one-story frame structure, Gl 

 feet by 31 feet, and is equipped with six hatching-tables 16 feet long 

 by 3 feet wide, and two tables 14 feet long by 3 feet wide, the larger 

 tables carrying 32 jars each and the smaller ones 24. 



Arranged around the sides of the building are rows of shelves for 

 carrying eggs in open jars during the early stages of development, and 

 fry tanks for holding the fry until they are ready for shipment. A com- 

 modious office and storeroom have been fitted up at the east end. The 

 erection of this hatchery necessitating an increase in the pumping 

 plant, a Worthington pump, of a capacity of 620 gallons per minute, 



