REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 61 



November was verj^ warm, closing at 44°, the lowest i)oint reached 

 during the month. The season was consequently very late and short, 

 lasting onlj^ about fifteen days, the first eggs being taken from the 

 nets on November 17 and the last on the 30th. It was also remarkable 

 from the fact that not a single gale or storm occurred during the 

 month to interfere with operations. 



The methods followed were the same as heretofore; that is, in addi- 

 tion to the eggs collected directly from fish caught in pounds and gill 

 nets, a large number were penned at Put-in Bay and Monroe Piers, 

 Michigan. From the pound and gill nets 94,843,000 eggs were secured, 

 54,639,000 from fish penned at Put-in Bay, and 86,088,000 from those 

 at Monroe Piers. The difference in the expense of collecting at the 

 various points and by the various methods was as follows: Eggs fur- 

 nished b}^ fishermen, 60 cents per quart; those collected at Put-in Bay, 

 58 cents; from Monroe Piers, 69 cents. 



The loss of fish bj^ disease in the live-boxes was very slight. Of 

 the 14,706 placed in the subnets and transferred to crates, 13,257 

 were returned to the fishermen, 233 died, and 1,216 escaped through 

 accidents which could not be foreseen. The total number of females 

 stripped from the pens was 4,432. The average yield of eggs at 

 Put-in Bay was 36,547 per fish, and at Monroe Pier 23,387. The total 

 cost of collection at both points was $3,995. 



Of eggs collected at Monroe Piers 35,000,000 were shipped to Cape 

 Vincent and 21,000,000 to Duluth. The balance were transferred to 

 the Put-in Bay hatchery and later in the season 5,832,000 were assigned 

 to the Pennsylvania Commission and shipped to their Erie station; 

 10,000,000 were also assigned to the New York Fish Commission. 

 The remainder were hatched, and produced 109,890,000 fry, which 

 were planted in April on the spawning-grounds in Lake Erie. 



During the winter a series of experiments was carried on with the 

 view to determining whether fertilization takes place when the eggs 

 and milt are brought together without the admixture of water. On 

 three successive days, December 17, 18, and 19,^ several lots of eggs 

 and milt were so held, great care being exercised to prevent the admix- 

 ture of any water. They were kept twenty-four hours in corked glass 

 jars submerged in running water, and at the end of this period lots of 

 100 each were examined separately under the microscope. The first 

 series showed an average of 16 per cent where the second cleavage was 

 complete. About one-third of the rest were in all stages of develop- 

 ment, from those where the disk was forming to those where the second 

 cleavage was well under way. After these eggs had been twenty-four 

 hours longer in running water, about half of them showed the second 

 cleavage complete, and the rest were more or less advanced in devel- 

 opment. The temperature of the water while the experiments were 

 being made was from 36° to 37°. 



A series of experiments was also conducted to discover, if possible, 

 '/he causes of monster embryos in fish eggs, especially those partaking 



