KEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 77 



the spring, and though the brood stock was small, it is believed that 

 considerable numbers of young fish will be available for distribution 

 in the fall. The crappie have done particularly well, and the new 

 pond constructed for them promises to yield a large crop. In order to 

 keep the water of this pond stirred up 26 large carp have been kept in 

 it, as it has been found by experience that crappie do not thrive in clear 

 water at this station. Although much difficulty has been experienced 

 in distributing this fish during the warm months, 125 crappie over 2 

 inches in length were shipped late in June and were carried for 36 

 hours without any loss, though the air temperature on the trip was 

 over 100°. Ice was, of course, used for keeping the water cool. 



Carp and mud shad are propagated for supplying live food for the 

 bass and crappie, and answer the purpose well. In one of the ponds 

 75 adult mud shad were introduced with the bass, and from this pond 

 27,000 young bass were taken. Occasionally a young mud shad was 

 captured with them, showing that the bass had eaten nearly all of them. 



Salamander and shrimp continued to come up from the artesian 

 well until the overflow in April, but since that time none have been 

 seen. A female salamander which showed well-developed eggs was 

 kept in a can, to see if it would produce young. It seemed to do well 

 for 41 days, but then died without spawning. As heretofore, schools 

 of science have been furnished with salamander and shrimp. 



Very few aquatic birds have been killed during the year, showing 

 that the warm weather carried them further south or that they are 

 becoming less numerous. Turtles and snakes, however, are on the 

 increase, but it is not believed that they are especially harmful to the 

 young fish, as an examination of their stomachs showed that they con- 

 sume large numbers of frogs and tadpoles, only a few fish being found. 



Neosho Station, Missouri (H. D. Dean, Superintendent). 



The output of fish in the fall was not so large as that of the pre- 

 ceding year, but it is believed that the improvements now going on 

 will enable us to increase very materially the effectiveness of this 

 station in future. Of the rainbow trout on hand at the beginning of 

 the year, 57,525 were distributed during the fall, and 2,500 kept for 

 "brood stock — 94 per cent of the number on hand July 1. The fish 

 were held in ponds and troughs as heretofore, and fed on a mush 

 made of liver and shorts. The new ponds, Nos. 17 and 18, were used 

 for spawning and proved a great convenience, the only difficulty being 

 to give them a full supply of water when the small ponds were filled 

 with young trout. For this reason they could not be used until the 

 distribution was nearly over, it being December 7 before the fish were 

 assorted and placed in them. The spawning season extended from 

 December 13 to March 2, and though the brood-fish seemed to be in 

 fine condition, of the 397,649 e^^gs collected from the older fish only 

 212,616, or 53 per cent, were eyed. The 2-year-old fish produced 

 99,048, of which 49 per cent were eyed. Assignments amounting to 



