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output of the country for the season. This result is particularly 
gratifying in view of the fact that we had a poor bass hatching season 
this year. During the latter part of April and early part of May the 
weather was unusually warm. The bass began to spawn during this 
warm period: Later there was a season of cold weather which caused 
the early laid bass eggs to fungus. As the Spring Grove bass pond is 
fed only by springs, there was not such a rise of roily water as there 
was in other lakes. Most of the early laid eggs, therefore, in this 
pond hatched, whereas in most waters a great majority of the early 
laid eggs were lost. 
Reckoned from July 1 of last year to July 1 of this year (which 
is the department’s fiscal year) the bureau records show that the out- 
put of black bass fry, fingerlings and yearlings is as follows: 361,000 
fingerlings ; 645,000 advanced fry; 6,500 yearlings. On hand in hold- 
ing trough July 1, 10,000 yearlings. 
The 361,000 fingerlings were actually caught and distributed 
during the current fiscal year. But last year there were no fry taken 
from the pond, the hatch being allowed to remain in the pond until 
the fingerling stage. Thus a part of last season’s hatch comes in the 
current fiscal year. 
During the summer. of 1914, plans were prepared for a hatchery 
building and an artificial pond of two and one-half acres, to be used 
as a reservoir for supplying the hatchery and a pike perch holding 
pond. The water for this pond was secured from a spring on the 
high ground near the pond, giving a fall of about 9 feet from the 
water level of the pond to the floor of the hatchery. The fall actually 
needed is about 6 feet for a two-tier hatching battery, thus giving 
a good head with an allowance for low water in the reservoir. 
The work on the pond and hatchery was begun in the fall. The 
hatchery was completed in time for the spring hatching of about 
18,000,000 pike perch, and the pond, while not completed, was far 
enought advanced to be made use of in supplying water for the hatchery. 
The water used for hatching is pure spring water. This, if well 
managed, is much better than ordinary lake water, as the temperature 
may be kept under better control, and the water is free from silt. 
Last spring we had a flow into the hatchery of about 75 gallons 
a minute. This was ample for the number of jars used. But 
as the size of the battery will be increased we shall need more water. 
We now have two splendid springs that discharge into the pike perch 
pond and reservoir 60 gallons a minute each. This gives us 120 gallons 
of water a minute for the pond and hatchery. 
Our plan is to have both springs empty into the pike perch pond, 
within a few feet of each other. At this point will be built a reservoir 
about 10 feet square. From this small pond the water will be piped 
to the bulkhead and from there to the hatchery. 
It has been thought best to do this instead of taking the water 
directly from the pike perch pond, for the reason that the water will 
always be clear and of a more uniform temperature than the water 
in the larger pond. 
One of the difficulties in the way of hatching pike perch success- 
fully is the variation in temperature of the water. Water taken from 
