ILLUSTRATIONS. 



The illustrations show our fleet, boats and mode of work, also the dif- 

 ferent varieties of fish distributed during- the past two seasons. 



The frontispiece shows our fleet at Quincy, in winter quarters. It con- 

 sists of office boat, steamers "Lotus" and "Hannibal Eagle,"' quarter boats 

 and small boats or skiffs. 



GATHERING NATIVE FISH. 



This series of illustrations exemplifies our work in gathering the flsh for 

 distribution, and a brief description of the work may enable the reader to 

 better understand them. 



Nearly all the flat ponds along the Illinois river which become filled 

 with fish during the high water, or over-flow of the river, are left full of 

 fish when the water recedes. These ponds dry up and the flsh die if left 

 there during the summer. It is from such places that we get our supply. 

 Our mode of work is, briefly, as follows: We first clean the pond of moss 

 and obstructions, by means of a heavily leaded sea-line, drawn over the 

 bottom of the pond, catching the moss and rubbish and dragging it to the 

 shore. The seine, which is of small mesh, could not be used without clean- 

 ing the pond in this way. After the pond is so cleaned, the seine, which 

 has previously been "laid in" evenly and regularly into the stern of a flat 

 bottomed boat, so that it will "iay out" without tangling, is fastened to 

 the shore by one of its brails; it is then allowed to go into the water for 

 its whole length in a semi-circle. A long line is fastened to the outer 

 brail, and it is drawn to the shore, describing as large an arc of a circle 

 as possible. When the outer brail has reached the shore, the lead or bot- 

 tom line and the top or cork line aw gradually pulled in, working towards 

 the starting point. When about one half of the distance has l)een accom- 

 plished the other end of the seine is taken up and treated in the same 

 way. The seine being eight feel deep, and the water ordinarily very slial- 

 lovv, quite a bag is thus formed. Wlien the seine has been l)i'ought near 

 enougli to the shore so that a section of it can be handled ]»y the men, 

 the rtsli are worked into a pocket, as it were, and carried out into deeper 

 water, where, by a vibrating motion tlirough the water, the mud is washed 

 from the seine, and tlie flsh are sorted out, such as are wanted for distri- 

 bution are put into the live-box,— whicli is a kind of cage made of slats, 

 through which the water runs,— and tlie residue taken to the river or near- 

 est deep water and turned into it. After the live-boxes have been filled 

 the flsh are carried in large cans to the river anil placed in storage live- 

 boxes, and in them are either floated or towed to the i)oint of shipment, 

 where they are loaded on cars and transported to place of deposit. 



This mode, however, only applies to the ponds of large area, where more 

 than one haul of the seine is n(>cessary. Freiiuently. a ])otid is cleaned out 

 by one haul, in which case wliat is called an "end-liaul" is made, the pond 

 having first been cleaned as before described. 



The illustrations of the fish comprise the following: 



