78 Fish^ Fishing and Fisheries of Pennsylvania. 



Application was at once made to the state legislature for the neces- 

 sary appropriation, and in 1885, $5,000 was voted for the establishment 

 of this hatchery, in order that Pennsylvania might fall in line with Ohio 

 and Michigan, who, by that time, had hatched and deposited in Lake 

 Erie hundreds of millions of white fish. 



The first step in securing the appropriation was the selection of a site 

 which should at once be commodious and cheap. Such a situation was 

 obtained in a comer lot fronting eighty-two and one-half feet on both 

 Sassafras and Second streets, in the city of Erie. For this lot $900 was 

 paid the owner, Mr. John Welsh. 



Proposals for bids for the erection of the hatchery building were in- 

 vited by public advertisement. Several proposals were received, and 

 the contract for the erection of the hatchery was awarded to Mr. E. Mc- 

 Donald for the sum of $1,521.70, the designs for the building having 

 been furnished by Mr. D. K. Dean, a professional architect. The neces- 

 sary plumbing was done by Messrs. B. T. & E. Williams. 



The new hatchery is a story and a half frame building, fronting thirty 

 feet on Sassafras street and fifty feet on Second street. It is a neat^ 

 artistic building, with nothing about its exterior to give any idea of the 

 character of the work to be done inside. Indeed, its lines were such as 

 to give one the impression of its being the residence of a man of more 

 than moderate means. To still further bear out this appearance, a 

 pretty fence was built around the property and the grounds were taste- 

 fully laid out. 



Within the building everything was arranged specially with an eye 

 to the practical purposes for which it was erected. The room devoted 

 to the work of hatching is commodious and well-lighted, and the floor 

 was formed of cement. 



At first five tables were placed in this room, and upon each was ar- 

 ranged twenty McDonald improved automatic hatching jars, with a 

 capacity for 150,000 white fish eggs each without crowding. 



Adjoining the hatching room is a large and well-lighted office for the 

 use of the superintendent. On the second floor is a sleeping apartment 

 for the attaches of the place, and a tank room, which contains a tank 

 with a capacity of 1,200 gallons. This tank supplies the water to the 

 jars with an even pressure, although in case of necessity the jars could 

 be supplied with water from the city mains direct. For the first two 

 years the water commissioners of the city of Erie supplied the hatchery 

 with all the water that was needed free. 



The new hatchery, which is among the very finest in the country, not 

 only in point of beauty, but in perfection of appointments, was got into 

 operation in December 12, 1885. Between that date and January 9, 

 1886, there were received in various lots 16,000,000 white fish eggs. 

 Between March 17 and 31, 1886, there were hatched and set into the 

 lake outside of Erie 14,625,000 young white fish. 



