FOREST, FISH AXD GAME COMMISSIONER. l8l 



One great drawback is a deficiency in the natural food supply for 

 trout. The fresh water shrimp (Gammarus sp.), shipped there from 

 Caledonia, has not multiplied abundantly, but another attempt will be 

 made to establish it in the hatchery waters, and if this can be done it will 

 greatly increase and cheapen the food supply. A little later on it may 

 be feasible to plant the buckeye shiner ( Notropis atherinoides) from Oneida 

 lake, a favorite bait fish for black bass, pike-perch and other game species, 

 and one of the most beautiful of the minnows. This little minnow is 

 semi-transparent, silvery, with small scales, and sufficiently hardy to 

 endure great fluctuations of temperature. It loves cold water, and may 

 prove to be perfectly adapted for use as a natural food for the various 

 kinds of trout. Foreman Scriba has shipped 1,000 of these minnows to 

 the Adirondack Hatchery and an equal number to the Delaware Hatchery 

 by way of experiment. If it be found that this species will live at these 

 stations, supplies will be sent to all the other trout stations which have 

 sufficient pond areas to furnish spawning grounds for the fish. 



. The repairs at Pleasant Valley station were accomplished at an ex- 

 pense of only about S300, and it is believed that the advantages will many 

 times repay the cost. 



Chautauqua Hatchery. 



This station now depends for its water supply chiefly upon an artesian 

 well which furnishes sufficient water of suitable quality for the hatching 

 of maskalonge, and it could be used for various species of trout and white- 

 fish within its rather limited capacity. It can now hatch about 8,000,000 

 to 10,000,000 of maskalonge eggs in a season. In 1906 the number of fry 

 furnished by the station was above 5,000,000 out of a total of 8,000,000 

 eggs. A little stream runs through the hatcher}' grounds, and it is well 

 known that ponds located in this small creek are well suited for rearing 

 maskalonge up to the stage at which the fish must be distributed in order 

 to prevent wholesale losses through cannibalism. The maskalonge thrives 

 better in the creek than it does in the cement ponds and in the wooden 

 troughs of the hatchery. 



Foreman Brown holds the fry until they are able to swim up, then 

 he plants them, and he does so because it is imperative to prevent them 

 from devouring one another. The Pennsylvania Commissioner had about 



