120 



CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME. 



CONDITIONS SHOULD DETERMINE 

 SPECIES OF TROUT PLANTED. 

 Many of the applicants for trout fry 

 specify a preference for rainbow. There 

 is no doubt but that the rainbow is the 

 gamiest of the trout, and usually superior 

 for food, also ; but it must be remembered 

 that some of the introduced species do 

 better than our native trout in some local- 

 ities. The eastern brook trout, although 

 a failure in coast streams, thrives in the 

 slow-moving, meandering stream of a 

 mountain meadow, whereas the rainbow 

 is at his best in the rushing, boulder- 

 strewn stream of the granite-walled can- 

 yons. Furthermore, it has been found 

 that the brown trout thrives in certain 

 streams where attempts to furnish good 

 fishing by planting rainbow failed. The 

 Loch Leven makes a splendid stream and 

 lake fish and grows to large size. The 

 steelhead, which furnishes a better supply 

 of eggs than the rainbow, makes a suit- 

 able substitute for the rainbow in most 

 situations. Were a suflicient and econom- 

 ical supply of rainbow eggs available, the 

 commission would be plea.sed to supply the 

 constant demand for this species, but the 

 securing of a larger supply than is now 

 obtained is difiicult and expensive as well. 

 The fishcultural department is in a posi- 

 tion to know W'hat species will thrive best 

 in the different localities, and it attempts 

 to allocate the fry accordingly. 



THE PLANTING OF FRY. 



The Fish and Game Commission is 

 constantly receiving requests from all 

 parts of the state for assistance and co- 

 operation in planting trout and other fry 

 in the waters of the state. It has been 

 and is becoming more and more impossi- 

 ble for the commission to bear the addi- 

 tional expense of planting fry, as increas- 

 ing demands necessitate the use of all 

 funds available for the propagation and 

 rearing of the fry to the planting stage. 

 The expense of distribution has for many 

 years been cheerfully borne by anglers' 

 associations and individuals most inter- 

 ested. That this method of planting con- 

 tinue seems the more reasonable, because 

 of the increased cost of transportation 

 and because of the personal interest de- 

 velpped. During the war all free trans- 

 portation of fish and employees engaged 

 in fish planting was cancelled by the rail- 

 roads, and the former privileges have 

 never been restored. The commission 

 now pays full transportation for the two 

 fish cars and employees, and the annual 

 bill amounts to thousands of dollars. 

 From the standpoint of conservation the 



present method is desirable, for the rea- 

 son that individuals or associations co- 

 operate with the commission in planting 

 fish and assume an interest in the plant 

 made, and good publicity results from the 

 cooperation. Apparently, neither anglers' 

 associations nor individuals have found 

 their share of the work a burden. 



ELECTRIC FISH SCREEN. 



Several articles have appeared in recent 

 periodicals relative to the perfection of 

 an effective screen utilizing an electric 

 current for use in irrigation ditches. 

 These articles are altogether too optimis- 

 tic, in the light of investigations made by 

 the California Fish and Game Commis- 

 sion. On several different occasions the 

 apparatus has been given a thorough test 

 and found unsatisfactory. Young fish, 

 placed in a ditch for experimental pur- 

 poses, readily ran between the electrodes 

 when the current was not too strong, and 

 were quickly killed by the current as soon 

 as a certain voltage was obtained. Con- 

 siderable time and money have been ex- 

 pended by the commission in an endeavor 

 to test and see whether electricity could 

 be used advantageously as a means of 

 screeniug fish from irrigation ditches. 

 But up to the present time no one has 

 satisfactorily demonstrated that this prin- 

 ciple is practical when trout and 

 salmon are to be prevented from passing 

 into large ditches or canals. Further ex- 

 periments will be made this coming sea- 

 son on an improved method of using the 

 electrodes. 



MANY SPECIES OF TROUT SUCCESS- 

 FULLY REARED. 



The species of trout which have been 

 successfully reared at state hatcheries ' 

 follow : 



NATIVE. 



McCloud River rainbow Salmo shasta 



Rainbow Salmo irideus 



Cut- throat Salmo clarkii 



Steelhead Salmo gairdneri 



Black-spotted Salmo henshawi 



Large lake — Salmo tahoensis 



Golden Salmo roosvelti 



INTRODUCED. 



Eastern brook Salvelinus fontinalis 



German brown Salmo fario 



Loch Leven Salmo trutta levenensis 



Mackinaw Cristovomer namaycush 



Landlocked salmon Salmo salar sebago 



Grayling Thymallus montan us 



Experimental hatching of several other 

 food fishes has been undertaken at vari- 



