9 



limited space for profit, and they should not, in any case, ever be 

 placed in a pond by themselves. They are predaceous in their habits, 

 and if other live food is not to be had they will devour their own 

 young and the smaller of their species. We have tried hard to im- 

 press upon those who have ponds the necessity of supplying, as 

 nearly as possible, all the conditions necessary to the life habits of 

 the fish if success is to be expected, that is, to have all of the coarser 

 varieties present with the finer fishes, so that the amount of food 

 necessary for the latter may be provided by the former varieties, but 

 as a rule people who make fish ponds will insist upon some one 

 variety to the exclusion of everything else, and, also as a rule, want 

 the "pirates" of the lot. 



REARING PONDS AT URBANA. 



The output of the rearing ponds at Urbana has been very satis- 

 factory. We give in the appendix a list of fish taken from these 

 ponds and planted in that section of the State. It has saved a great 

 deal of transportation and demonstrated the expediency of such 

 ponds. 



The cost of maintenance has been very slight. We have in mind 

 a project to improve these ponds, if retained, and if satisfactory ar- 

 rangements can be made, to permanently locate them at this point. 

 Crystal lake is in close proximity to the ponds, from which breeders 

 may be taken, and the surplus of the pond used for distribution. 



TRANSPORTATION. 



Without the assistance of the railroads of the State our work would 

 fall very short of a successful showing. They have as a rule favored 

 us in every way they could consistently, carrying our fish in the bag- 

 gage cars on passenger trains when such service was often a detri- 

 ment to them; have stopped their trains at streams to give us time to 

 make our plants, and frequently hauled a car over their lines to and 

 from points we desired to make. We have had only courteous treat- 

 ment from the employes, and except in rare instances have never 

 been refused a reasonable request. We desire to express through 

 you our thanks to the following railroad companies, from whom we 

 have from time to time received valuable assistance: Chicago, Bur- 

 lington & Quincy R. R. Co , Wabash R. R. Co., Illinois Central R. 

 R. Co., Chicago & Eastern Illinois Ry. Co., Chicago, Rock Island & 

 Pacific Ry. Co., Mobile & Ohio R. R. Co., Chicago & Northwestern 

 Ry. Co., Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis R. R. Co., Iowa Central R. R. 

 Co., Toledo, Peoria & Western Ry. Co.. Peoria, Decatur & Evansville 

 Ry. Co., Wisconsin Central Ry. Co., Wabash, Chester & Western Ry. 

 Co., Jacksonville c^' St. Louis R. R. Co,, Indiana, Illinois & Iowa R. 

 R. Co., Lake Erie & Western Ry. Co., Fulton County Narrow Gauge 

 Ry. Co.. Elgin & Eastern R. R. Co., Quincy, Carrollton & St. Louis 

 R. R. Co. 



ilSH WARDENS. 



We give in appendix a list of the fish wardens of the State. Very 

 many of them sought appointment because they thought there was 



