Conservation Commission. 253 



thrive better and mature their eggs with greater certainty in 

 ponds rendered muddy by other fish like the sturgeon. The in- 

 crease in distribution from the Linlithgo station was nearly 24,- 

 000,000 fish. The species propagated are common catfish, short- 

 nosed sturgeon, shad, river herring, brook trout, yellow perch, 

 black bass and long eared sunfish. The number of shad planted, 

 reached a total of 6,603,695. The river herring were found to 

 be excellent food for the young black bass. 



Oneida Station. 



At the time when I took charge of this station, May 1, 1912, 

 there were 912 quarts of pikeperch eggs in the hatchery. Every 

 jar was filled with these eggs. From May 21 to May 30 the fry 

 were hatched to the number of 136,600,000. This represents the 

 full capacity for pikeperch at present. The season was very 

 favorable for pikeperch operations as it was wet and cold. 



The number of yellow perch fry distributed was less than in 

 1911; but there was a great increase in the output of black bass 

 and yellow perch fingerlings. Of pikeperch fry there were planted 

 in Oneida lake 116,625,000. These fry were deposited in many 

 localities near the islands and in the bays along the shore. 



Nets were set in the lake on May 6 for the collection of small 

 mouthed black bass and up to May 30, 716 bass had been taken 

 for the hatchery ponds. The number of bass fry planted in 

 Oneida lake was 279,000, and later in the season 41,200 finger- 

 lings were liberated in the lake. 



A long continued drought of nearly seven weeks caused the 

 supply pond (or hatchery pond) to become very low and necessi- 

 tated the drawing off of the hatching ponds and the planting of 

 the fingerling bass in the lake. 



Fifty-one fish representing 23 species collected in Oneida lake, 

 were sent to the State Fair at Syracuse, and after the close of the 

 fair were planted in Onondaga lake and Janesville reservoir. 



The eye disease of yellow perch and sunfish fingerlings in the 

 creeks was inconsiderable in comparison with reports of former 

 years. Lamprey eels are as numerous and as destructive as ever. 

 During the summer and fall many thousands of black bass finger- 

 lings were seen around the shores of the lake. 



