756 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



None of the salmon stations on the Pacific coast is of sufficient capacity to 

 hold more than lo per cent of the fry until sac absorption, and in California a 

 large portion of the product is distributed to hatcheries operated by the Cali- 

 fornia Fish Commission. The portion distributed by the Biu-eau from the 

 Baird station, however, is held until sac absorption. The method of distributing 

 from Baird is as follows: 



The inflow to a trough is shut off, the drain pipe removed, and the water 

 and fry allowed to pass into a double receptacle consisting of a perforated bucket 

 inside a regular 5-gallon spawn bucket, the inner container being about i inch 

 less in diameter and raised an inch from the bottom by wooden blocks. This 

 receptacle has been filled with water, to prevent injury to the fry as they are 

 poured in, and the surplus water escapes through the perforations and over the 

 rim of the outside bucket, leaving the fry in the center. If the trough is some 

 distance from the floor a box is used to elevate the buckets to proper level, and 

 any fry remaining in the trough after the passage of the water are brushed 

 through the opening with a broad, flat paint brush. By this method the fry 

 can be removed from a trough in two minutes with absolutely no loss. From 

 the bucket the fry can be easily poured into a lo-gallon can, but frequently they 

 are carried to the river (about 100 feet from the hatchery) and planted direct 

 from the buckets. So far as possible the plants are made during flood water 

 and always where there is a strong current. By this means few, if any, free 

 swimmers are caught by the ever-present trout, as their natural tendency 

 quickly to scatter is facilitated by swift water. 



DISTRIBUTION OF GAME FISHES. 



The Bureau does not as a rule attempt to plant the game fishes produced 

 at its hatcheries, but consigns them to individuals, anglers' clubs, protective 

 associations, etc., by whom they are used to stock both public and private 

 waters. It is customary to deliver the fish free of charge to the applicants at 

 the railroad stations nearest the point of deposit. 



The number of fish allotted to individual applicants is, of course, largely 

 determined by the supply available, which depends to great extent upon the 

 difference in methods of hatching applicable to the different species. The area 

 and character of the water to be stocked must also be considered, of course. 

 Moreover, the same water area that would receive a million pike perch fry would 

 perhaps be assigned no more than 200 or 300 black bass 3 or 4 inches long, or four 

 to eight times that many if the bass are planted as fry. The explanation is in 

 the fact that pike perch can be propagated by the hundred million, while black 

 bass, hatched by other methods, or collected from overflowed lands, are pro- 



