80 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



The take of eggs was largely in excess of the previous year, but the 

 quality was exceedingly poor, the best being obtained at Uneva Lake, 

 where the loss was only 10 per cent. At Smith Lake, where 131,400 

 were taken, it reached 44 per cent, as against a loss of 28 per cent the 

 previous year. At Ridgeway the loss was 77^ per cent; at Welling- 

 ton, 56 per cent; at Young's, 42 per cent; at Decker's, 80 per cent; at 

 Musgrove's, 56 per cent, and at Derry's, 54^ per cent. This mortality 

 on brook-trout eggs was greater than has ever been experienced before 

 at the Leadville station, and is very discouraging, as the work was 

 carried on under the same conditions as heretofore, and all of the 

 eggs were taken by the superintendent and foreman, the greatest care 

 being exercised in transferring them from the field stations to the 

 hatchery. It can only be attributed to the fact that about three- 

 fourths of the eggs were taken from young fish — as at Uneva Lake, 

 where the fish were 3 years old and over, the loss was light. At 

 all of the other points where collections were made the owners rear 

 fish for market and do not care to keep them longer than two years, 

 as they do not find a ready sale after that age. 



During the winter 395,000 eyed eggs were shipped to other stations 

 and private applicants, all of them reaching destination in excellent 

 condition except one consignment to Bozeman. On May 1 there were 

 on hand 1,796,650 fry, of which 760,700 belonged to the Government 

 and the balance to the owners of the various lakes. The distribution 

 of fry began on May 27 and by the end of June 233,000 had been 

 planted in Colorado waters. 



The Loch Leven trout on hand July 1 consisted of 180 two-year-olds 

 and 300 fingerlings. The fingerlings all died during the year, and the 

 others were reduced to 120 by July 1, 1900. In November 6,100 Loch 

 Leven eggs were collected at Uneva Lake and produced 5,400 fry. 



The rainbow-trout work was very unsatisfactory. Of the 18,000 

 fry hatched in July, 8,000 were turned over to the Lake Loveland 

 Company, and the fry resulting from the balance, together with those 

 derived from Twin Lakes and Sisson, California, were placed in 

 one of the ponds at the station, and on September 1 there were 32,000 

 fingerlings, but by the last of June 28,000 of them had been lost. 

 Arrangements were made in the winter for the collection of eggs from 

 fish belonging to Mr. R. M. Ridgway, at Salida, Colo. , and from this 

 source 54,500 were secured. The eye-spots appeared within 63 days, 

 and the fry commenced hatching in 97 days. These eggs were taken 

 from fish 3 years of age, which had spawned for the first time this year, 

 and though they appeared excellent when stripped the loss was very 

 heavy, only 11,100 fry resulting from them. 



In March 64,700 eggs were collected from Lake Loveland, but they 

 were also poor. It is impossible to account for their condition unless 

 it was caused by the unusually warm and stagnant water in the lakes 

 the previous summer, and this theory seems untenable in view of the 

 fact that Mr. T. H. Johnson, State fish commissioner, captured a large 



