REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



75 



until ready to be distributed. In one tank 2,500 bass, from 2 to 5 

 inches long, were held for ten days without loss except by cannibalism, 

 and in the latter part of the season, when the weather was cool, 1,200 

 crappie, 3 inches long, were held in one tank for two weeks without 

 loss. The tanks were kept clean, the fish assorted according to size, 

 and no food given, and to this was attributed, to a great extent, the 

 success met with in holding them. Of the 95,260 placed in the tanks 

 during the season not over 100 were lost by fungus, and the loss from 

 cannibalism was very small. 



A gasoline launch 26 feet long, 4 feet beam, with 3-horsepower 

 engine and twin screws, was purchased for 1300 and used for towing 

 live-boxes and flatboats from the lakes to the retaining-tanks at 

 Bellevue. The live-boxes were 5 feet by 2^ feet by 2 feet. There 

 was also a flatboat, with a capacity for carrying 15 round-shouldered 

 cans, which was used for transporting fish in rough weather when it 

 would have been impossible to tow the live-boxes. 



The fish were captured by means of seines, which were operated 

 under the direction of Mr. Charles Hruby, assisted by five laborers. 

 Operations commenced on July 25 and continued to November 10, 

 during which time 95,260 black bass and 41,364 crappie were taken 

 from lakes and bayous in the vicinitj^ of Bellevue, where they would 

 certainly have died, and were transferred by the cars to various parts 

 of the country. 



While making the collections of bass and crappie for distribution 

 large numbers of fish, which it was impossible to hold, were liberated 

 in the Mississippi River. As it was impracticable to count these they 

 were handled in galvanized-iron bushel baskets, and on the counts of 

 individual baskets it was estimated that there Vere thus transferred 

 5,000 black bass, 100,000 crappie, 5,000 pike, 8,000 yellow perch, 

 50,000 bream, 4,000 cat-tish, 15,000 carp, and 20,000 buffalo— a total of 

 207,000. This represents a very small percentage of the fish in the 

 lakes and bayous in the vicinity of Bellevue that died when the 

 waters dried up. There is little doubt but that the number would 

 run up into the hundreds of thousands, if not millions. 



The total cost of operating this station for the season was $1,387.98 

 Of this amount 1536.51 was used for the purchase of apparatus and 

 equipment, leaving the actual cost of collection a little over $851.47. 



The following table gives the mean temperatures of the air daring 

 the year, arranged by months. The water temperature was stationary 



at 50 degre 



es. 















Month. 



Mean 



minimum. 



Mean 

 maximum. 



Mean 

 average. 



Month. 



Mean 

 minimum. 



Mean 

 maximum. 



Mean 

 average. 



1899. 

 July .' 



71 



70 

 37 

 42 

 31 



-2 



°F. 

 88 

 90 

 93 

 77 

 59 

 44 



off 



81 

 82 

 68 

 61 

 45 

 25 



1900. 



January 



February 



March 



April 



May 



-3 



-2 



3 



29 



52 



65 



°F 

 42 

 37 

 52 



74 

 83 

 86 



op 



27' 



Aug:ust 



September 



October 



November 



19 

 33 

 57 



68 



December 



June 



76 









