FEDERAL FISH FARMING 



428 



are certainly very suggestive; and as a 

 further statement of the magnitude of 

 the fish-cuhural work it may be of inter- 

 est to record that the aggregate output of 

 the hatcheries from 1872 to 1909 was 

 about 28 bihion, of which over 13 billion 

 represents the work of the past six years. 



HOW THE FISH are; DISTRIBUTED 



The first consideration in the distribu- 

 tion of fishes is to make ample return to 

 the waters from which eggs or fish have 

 been collected. The remainder of the 

 product is consigned to suitable public or 

 private waters. 



All applications for fish for private 

 waters and many of those for public 

 streams and lakes are transmitted 

 through and receive the indorsement of 

 a United States Senator or Representa- 

 tive. The demand, especially for the 

 basses, crappies, and catfishes, is greater 

 than can be met with present resources. 



The supply of particular fishes availa- 

 ble for distribution, and consequently the 

 number allotted to individual applicants 

 or deposited in public waters, depends on 

 differences in the methods of taking and 

 hatching the eggs, on peculiarities of the 

 young, and on the facilities for holding 

 the latter at the stations. The area and 

 character of the water to be stocked must 

 likewise be considered. 



The 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 were 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, can be produced 

 only in comparatively small numbers. 

 The bureau does not attempt to assign 

 any applicant more than a liberal brood 

 stock of the basses or sunfishes. With 

 brook trout, which are distributed both 

 as fry and fingerlings, allotments of fry 

 are many times larger than allotments of 

 fingerlings 3 to 4 inches long. 



Fishes are distributed at various stages 

 of development, according to the species, 



the numbers in the hatcheries, and the 

 facilities for rearing. The commercial 

 fishes, hatched in lots of many millions, 

 are necessarily planted as fry. It is cus- 

 tomary to distribute them just before the 

 umbilical sac is completely absorbed. 



Atlantic salmon, land-locked salmon, 

 and various species of trout, in such num- 

 bers as the hatchery facilities permit, are 

 reared to fingerlings from i to 6 inches in 

 length ; the remainder are distributed as 

 fry. 



The basses and sunfishes are dis- 

 tributed from the fish-cultural stations 

 and ponds from some three weeks after 

 they are hatched until they are rtv^eral 

 months of age. When the last lots are 

 shipped the basses usually range from 4 

 to 6 inches and the sunfishes from 2 to 4 

 inches in length. The numerous fishes 

 collected in overflowed lands — basses, 

 crappies, sunfishes, catfishes. yellow 

 perch, and others— are 2 to 6 inches in 

 length when taken and distributed. 



Eggs are distributed only to State 

 hatcheries or to applicants who have 

 facilities. 



SPECIAL CARS EGR THE FISH 



Fish are delivered to applicants free of 

 charge at the railroad station nearest the 

 point of deposit, and for this purpose is 

 maintained a special car and messenger 

 service, which is one of the most impor- 

 tant adjuncts of the fish-cultural work. 

 In the early days baggage cars were em- 

 ployed, but these have now been sup- 

 planted by an equipment which not only 

 affords more comfort to fish and attend- 

 ants, but makes it possible to transport 

 the fish much greater distances and with 

 smaller percentage of loss. 



The cars, of which there are now six, 

 are of standard size and are attached to 

 regular express and local passenger trains. 

 Each car has 20 or more large water tanks 

 along the sides in which to carry fish, 

 compartments holding more than 1,000 

 gallons of reserve water, a boiler-room, 

 and a plant for pumping both water and 

 air into the fish tanks. There are also an 

 ofiice, kitchen, pantries, refrigerator, and 

 six sleeping berths, with other facilities 



