Fish Culture in Inland Wafers 315 



mission in 1920. Mr. W. C. Adams ('20) writes: "A method of 

 distribution new in Massachusetts was adopted this year, — the 

 planting of eyed eggs in wire baskets for hatching in streams which 

 it is desired to stock. 



" The trout ridd, or artificial nest, has had its chief development 

 in Europe, where for years it has been the means of stocking the 

 inaccessible mountain streams. The method therefore has been 

 thoroughly tested. 



" The first requisite for success is to make the plants under the 

 proper conditions. A long stretch of stream is required, spring-fed 

 to keep it free from ice and to give a suitable temperature. It should 

 be shallow with a fairly good current and numerous shallow eddies, 

 but not many deep pools which would harbor large fish. 



" The eggs are placed in wire baskets or trays, containing about 

 two square feet of surface, built of heavy mesh wire of such size 

 that the eggs will not fall through. The proper age at which the 

 eggs should be planted is from one to two weeks before they are 

 ready to hatch. They are spread evenly in the baskets, in numbers 

 varying from 500 to 1000 to the square foot. The tray is placed 

 in the stream, set on small wooden uprights forced into the bottom 

 of the stream and held about two inches above the bottom, so that 

 the water entirely covers the container and its contents. The flow 

 should be such as to give complete circulation in every part of 

 the tray. After the basket is placed in position it is protected and 

 concealed by covering it with brush or evergreen boughs in the form 

 of a lean-to over the stream. 



" As the eggs hatch the fry drop through the mesh of the 

 basket into the silt, and lie quietly on the bottom until they begin 

 to feed. When that time comes they rise and scatter far up and 

 down the stream in search of suitable feeding grounds. This simu- 

 lates closely the natural method of propagation." 



REGULATIONS FOR PROTECTING FISHERIES 



In restocking waters, having ascertained to which kinds of desir- 

 able fishes the waters are suited and having stocked them with the 

 number which the conditions warrant, the main problem then is that 

 of regulation, conservation and the maintenance of a supply commen- 

 surate with the demand made upon it. To these ends, for many 

 years it was a common custom to close stocked waters for various 

 lengths of time for the purpose of giving the fish time in which 

 to grow and establish themselves. 



Closing Stocked Streams. In many instances streams tributary 

 to lakes or to larger streams, have been permanently closed, upon the 

 assumption that those tributary streams were nurseries for the 

 larger bodies of water. The majority of cases of both lake and 

 stream tributaries pertained to the brook trout, although occasionally 

 other species were so treated. 



In some instances of temporary closure the benefits of it have 

 accrued to a few individuals instead of the many for whom the 



