102 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water. 



ture of the water. Such results might be obtained in 

 places as far, or farther, south, but never in the colder 

 waters of the mainland of New York. 



You cannot overfeed a young trout, nor offer it suit- 

 able food too often, and upon its growth during its first 

 few weeks of feeding depends its future development. 

 Once a dwarf always a dwarf ; and the fry need to be 

 kept growing from the start, like pigs, or they will 

 never catch up to their better fed fellows. 



Many fishculturists say, as Mr. Hansen does : "The 

 wild fish give the best eggs." Then there is a fault in 

 over or under feeding at the breeding season. Fish 

 properly fed in ponds should, like other domestic ani- 

 mals, improve in fecundity and early maturity. 



INTRODUCING NEW BLOOD. 



This is a good thing in the breeding of cattle or 

 fowls, but is not necessary with trout. With fowls 

 and the cattle on the farm there is danger of in-breed- 

 ing because the parents are so fev/, especially the sires. 

 There was no such danger among the herds of buffalo 

 and there is none among the trout in confinement. Take 

 the eggs from 2,000 fish and fertilize them with the 

 milt of 1,000 males; turn the progeny loose and breed 

 from them two years later, and what are the chances of 

 mating brother and sister? Even if this should hap- 

 pen, as it may, the same thing is purposely done by 

 breeders of horses and cattle who are trying to pro- 

 duce the best stock. 



It was my policy to keep the thriftiest fish for breed- 

 ers, and in the twelve years that I ran the Long Island 

 hatchery the yearling trout increased from a maximum 



