NEW AND IMPROVED DEVICES FOR FISH CULTURISTS. 995 



SO shaped and seamed as to form a blunt cone about 2 feet high when held in 

 place within the wire-cloth screen. The top of this cone is open, the bobbinet 

 here fitted and secured to an iron ring 4 inches in diameter. To hold the cone 

 in position, two cords attached on opposite sides of the opening are carried to 

 the upper rim of the retainer and there fastened by means of bent-wire hooks 

 at the ends of the cords. 



As the bass fry ascend from the nest their natural tendency is to follow 

 the inside of the cone upward to the 4-inch opening, through which they pass 

 to the upper section of the retaining screen. After they have all ascended, 

 this opening is closed with a tight-fitting cap made of a circular piece of bobbinet 

 held in at the edge by an elastic gathering string. The fish are then in cap- 

 tivity. To remove them from the pond, the apparatus is lifted to the surface 

 of the water, the cords holding the cone are released, and the cone telescopes, 

 forming a scafif net, which is then detached from the bottom hoop of the retainer, 

 placed over the collecting tub, and the fish liberated therein. 



The advantages of this combined retaining screen and trap are as follows: 



1. All the fry that are able to rise from the nest can be captured. 



2. They can be taken from the trap at any time desired without regard to 

 roiliness of the water or low temperature. 



3. The device is useful in the capture of bass fry in inland lakes which 

 have become overstocked and from which it is desirable to transfer the fish to 

 barren waters or waters more accessible to sportsmen 



COLLECTING TUB. 



[Exhibit 3. Fig. 3, pi. civ.] 



This tub is convenient for use in connection with the trap described in exhibit 

 2. It is constructed of ordinary galvanized iron, is 3 feet in diameter, 14 

 inches deep, and has a 2-inch flaring rim with outer circumference to fit the 

 hoop of the cone-shaped trap. At each of two opposite points in the side is 

 inserted a piece of perforated tin, 7 by 10 inches, extending to within 4 inches 

 of the bottom. Two handles are attached below the rim on the sides transverse 

 to the perforated inserts, and the tub is painted inside and out. 



When in use the tub is placed in a wood float 4 feet square, which permits it to 

 be easily towed from nest to nest as the collections are made. In emptying the 

 tub its contents are poured out over the solid side rather than the perforated. 



This tub has the advantage of allowing the fish a free circulation of fresh 

 water during the process of collecting, a condition very essential during warm 

 weather. Necessity for changing the water is thus obviated, and handling of 

 the fish, which should always be avoided as much as possible during warm 

 weather, is minimized. 



