328 Roosevelt Wild Life Bulletin 



made by the Commission, however, to develop a method for estab- 

 lishing and regTilating a commercial fishery for this species and 

 if the\- are successful its propagation will be resumed." 



A few years before this, the whitefish question arose in Vermont. 

 A legislative act of 191 2 gave the Commissioner of \"ermont 

 (Titcomb, '14) "power to im-estigate the waters of Lake Cham- 

 plain with a ^-iew to ascertaining whether it is practicable to take 

 whitefish, commonly called shad, without seriously depleting the 

 waters of fish ordinarily taken by the angler. ^\'ith a view to 

 carr\nng out this investigation. Dr. H. F. Perkins of the Universit}- 

 of Vermont, was placed in direct charge of the investigations. A 

 professional fisherman from Lake Erie w^as employed to operate 

 nets. 



" Through the courtesy of Hon. Hugh ]\L Smith, United States 

 Commissioner of Fisheries, and Dr. H. F. Moore, Chief of the 

 Division of Scientific Inquir\- of the Federal Bureau of Fisheries, 

 it was agreed that the investigation should be a joint one, that the 

 survey might not only be one of investigation as provided by the 

 state law, but in connection therewith that a biological survey of the 

 lake should also be made." 



In another paragraph the report says : " The investigations have 

 not been completed. At the close of the present fiscal year Dr. 

 Perkins is conducting a biological survey and further investigations 

 connected with the whitefish inquiry, under the auspices and fijnanced 

 by the United States Bureau of Fisheries." 



The United States Commissioner's report for 191 4 refers to the 

 work in a few words as follows : "A biological and fisher\- examina- 

 tion of Lake Champlain. commenced during the year in coopera- 

 tion with the Vermont State Fish Commission, was suspended 

 at the close of the summer, but will be concluded during the next 

 fiscal year. It has as its primary purpose the determination of 

 the feasibility- of establishing a commercial fisher}- for certain species 

 of fishes without detriment to the sporting interests on the lake 

 which are a valuable asset to the people of \'ermont and Xew 

 York." 



In subsequent reports there is no further mention of the biological 

 and fishery examination of the lake. It apparently ended in 1914. 

 Thus about the only conclusion reached by the survey was the 

 conclusion of the surx-C}-. But the Commissioner of A'ermont 

 expressed the belief ('14, p. 69 J that there were not sufficient white- 

 fish in Lake Champlain to warrant a special commercial fisher}- for 

 them, but further investigation might demonstrate that it was 

 feasible. He went on to say : ** It should be proper to take from 

 Lake Champlain the largest number of fishes of all kinds that it 

 is possible to annually remove without depleting the stock which 

 makes the lake itself most attractive to the inhabitants of the border 

 states, and which is an especially valuable asset to \'ermont. in 

 attracting anglers from abroad." 



\\'hile it might be advisable to cease to plant whitefish in trout 

 waters to which whitefish were not indigenous, it would seem 



