566 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



regularly employed and fully 250,000,000 young trout turned into the lake. Many 

 thousand landlocked salmon eggs have also been hatched and the young fry liberated." 

 While trout were hatched and planted by the Oquossoc Angling Association and 

 other clubs for a number of years, and probably also by the State, no records of the dis- 

 tribution of the trout in the Rangeley Lakes appear until 1895. The following state- 

 ment shows the number of young fish planted each year in Rangeley Lakes and tribu- 

 taries, as indicated by available records: 



189s i°°i °°° 



1896-1901, inclusive.. (°) 



1902 I, 500 



1901-2 15,000 



1902-3 7>5oo 



*903-4 10, 3°° 



1904 * 169, 336 



1905-6 6, 000 



1906 157,000 



1906-7 29,600 



1907 369, 000 



1907-8 75, 000 



1908 82 , 400 



1908-9 98, 800 



1910 243,250 



19H 473,000 



1912 323,000 



1913 585,000 



1914 407,750 



The foregoing figures total 2,653,136 young fish, representing a period of 20 years. 

 When all the adverse conditions with which they have to contend before reaching matur- 

 ity and the low expectancy of life tenure for the majority of them are taken into considera- 

 tion, this number, if all were planted in Rangeley Lakes, would seem hardly sufficient to 

 supply a large number of anglers with satisfactory fishing or even to maintain the stock. 

 A concrete but impossible example of this inadequacy may be given by hypothetically 

 assuming that all of the fish attained maturity and that the 1883 estimate of 3,000 annual 

 visiting anglers was maintained. Then the 60,000 anglers in the 20 years would average 

 about 44 fish each by catching all the fish. 



The alleged depletion of trout. — Some factors which might have caused any 

 apparent or real diminution of the trout supply of the lakes that have been mentioned: 



1. The effects of dams, etc., it has been seen, may have been only temporary or they 

 may have produced permanent effects, either of which would be more or less manifested 

 in the quality of the fishing and give rise to dissatisfaction or apprehension. The high 

 or low stage of water, one of the effects of dams, in either stage, simply high or low, would 

 have little or no direct effect upon the perpetuity of the trout supply and only a temporary 

 effect upon the quality of the fishing. 



2. The effects of seasonal or weather conditions would have no direct significance 

 but might have considerable influence upon the character of the fishing. 



3. The number of anglers undoubtedly, according to circumstances, signifies poten- 

 tial depletion. 



4. Enemies unduly increased in number or effectiveness, without compensating 

 factors, are also of serious significance. 



5. Destruction b}' man, which involves some of the foregoing, as well as many addi- 

 tional elements, is significant of tremendous possibilities in the way of depletion. 



6. Fish culture or artificial propagation is effective in preventing depletion in propor- 

 tion to the adequacy of the effort. The resistance presented by some of the previously 

 mentioned factors, however, might render adequacy of effort impossible and thus serve 

 only to retard depletion. In other words, artificial propagation must be sufficient to 

 offset the losses through adverse conditions and operations. If fish culture continues 



o No records. 



<> Statement of number planted with no definite localities given, probably many of them not in Ranseley waters. 



