72 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF 



The water supply that the State owns at present, and which has just been con- 

 nected with the hatching house, is considered the best for hatching purposes in the State. 

 The amount of sediment in this water is so trifling that it can be called remarkable. 

 The grounds are situated so that an ample flow can be had between all ponds which 

 we may build, and the proper aeration of the water between them can be obtained. 



The Bath and Hammondsport Railroad runs within a few rods of the door, and 

 the franchise has been granted to an electric road from Bath to Hammondsport, which 

 would pass within a few rods on the opposite side of the hatchery. This would give 

 us the finest of shipping facilities, and connection at Bath with the Rochester branch 

 of the Erie Railroad and the main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western. 

 My predictions are that within the next two years this hatchery will be classed, with 

 its breeding ponds, one of the finest in the whole country. 



The Cold Spring Harbor Hatchery, which is situated on Long Island, has, 

 under the efficient management of Foreman C. H. Walters, become one of the most 

 important hatcheries in the State. Here both salt and fresh water fish are hatched, 

 and it is the only hatchery in the State that hatches any of the salt water varieties of 

 fish. During the past season a much larger number than ever before were hatched ; 

 in fact, the output of fry of all kinds has been greater the past year than for the 

 previous five years combined. 



Great attention has been given to the beautifying of the grounds and the keeping 

 of the ponds clean, and the result has been that, during the past summer, no disease 

 traceable to foul water, or any other cause, has appeared, and to-day, after sending 

 to the Caledonia Hatchery and into the Adirondack region about 13,000 yearling brook 

 trout, the ponds contain more and a better lot of fish than ever before. With a small 

 outlay of money, more ponds can be built and the output of fry from this hatchery 

 be made to number among the millions. 



A new ice-house has been ordered by the Commissioners to be built, as, with the 

 increased number of fish, a larger supply of fish food is necessary, and, to keep this 

 food fresh and in a desirable condition, a supply of ice is very necessary. 



During the past summer something like thirty-five or forty new McDonald hatch- 

 ing jars were added to the equipment of the hatchery. 



The engine that for the past three seasons was in the fish car Adirondack, was 

 removed and set up in the place of the hot-water engine which was used for pumping 

 salt and fresh water for the hatching of tomcods and smelt. The old hot- water engine 

 was frequently giving out and causing a loss and considerable trouble. The new engine 

 is working admirably. 



In this report I have already referred to the hatching of tomcod, smelt and lobsters. 



