l899-'00 TRANSACTIONS 177 



The young" fish carry beneath the body a small bag of food 

 yolk, and require no other food until it is used up — a few days 

 sufficing in some species, a few weeks in others. If possible, the 

 fry should all be planted before the store of natural food is 

 exhausted. In stocking lakes or rivers it is best to select 

 inshore shallows not frequented by large fish, or rock}' ridges 

 and banks far from shore. The fish travel by rail or team for 

 long distances without serious harm, if ice is used with care. 

 Short distances are, however, best ; indeed, Mr. Samuel Wilmot 

 urged the establishment of small supplementary hatcheries, 

 where the advanced eggs could be sent just before hatching, and 

 the fry more safely distributed from them. "This system of 

 carrying, or rather trying to carrj", young fry to distant points 

 (particularl)' where no speedy means of travel by railway is to 

 be found) should be discontinued (said Mr. Wilmot in 1877), 

 because the time almost invariably spent in fruitless journej^s of 

 this kind, could be so much better and more profitabl}^ applied at 

 nearer points, where the safety of the ^-oung salmon in the 

 transit could be relied upon." At times a few thousands of fry 

 have been kept until they are four or five months old ; but con- 

 stant care is necessary, and a large proportion as a rule, die 

 when .the fry are kept out of their- natural habitat in lakes or 

 rivers. The feeding of fry is not easy, as the quantity and kind 

 of food require regulation, or the results may be fatal. In 1887 

 eight or ten thousand young salmon were retained in a pond at 

 the Restigouche hatchery, and were fed during the sunnner, 

 " yet they did not seem to thrive well, as but few were seen in 

 October when the pond froze over (as Mr. Alex. Mowat re- 

 ported) ... .1 have very little faith in the attempt to grow salmon 

 fry with artificial foods, with a view of realizing any benefit from 

 the proceeding. ' ' I^ast year Mr. Mowat again kept some salmon 

 fry (about 10,000) in outside tanks with an ample stream of 

 water passing through. Mr. Mowat is one of the best practical 

 fish-culturists living, and this experiment was a success owing to 

 special attention, the fry growing satisfactorily until the}' were 

 nearly six months old. The food consisted of finely ground raw 

 fi'^h and liver; but quite as important a matter was the intelligent 

 manipulation and care of a zealous officer in charge. The fish were 

 well fed, yet not overfed, and kept perfectly clean, by the re- 

 moval of dead and decayed matter, especially waste food 



