Author: Pennsylvania Dept. of Fisheries

Title: Report of the Department of Fisheries of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Place of Publication: Harrisburg

Copyright Date: 1912/1913

Master Negative Storage Number: MNS# PSt SNPaAg239.7

1912/1913

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^M THE LA^HtVtATOVLl^ct

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Cabinet for Public Schools.

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COMMONWEALTH^OFPENNSYLVANU^

Report

of the

Department of Fisheries

From December 1, 1912, to
November 30, 1913

HAERISBURG' PA.:

WM. STANLEY RAY STATE PRINW-R

1914

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANU

r;il)iri<'t f-ii' Pulilio Sfhools.

Report

of the

Department of Fisheries

From DeciMnber 1, l^^l-^ ^''
November :^0, 191:^

HAmU^lUTim, PA.:
1914

INTENTIONAL 2ND EXPOSURE

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OFFICIAL DOCUMENT.

No. 21.

COMMONWKALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA,
DKPAKTMENT OF FISHEIUES.

COMMISSIONEK OF FISHERIES.
N. R. BULLER, Office, Hairisburg.

HOAIU) OF FISHERY COMMISSIONERS.

JOHN HAMBERGER, Erie.
HENRY 0. COX, Wellsboro.
W. A. LEISENRING, Mauch Chunk.
JOHN C. OGDEN, Johnstown.

SUPERINTENDENT OF HATCHERIES.
CORRY HATCHERY, No. 1, William Buller, Corry, Pa.
ERIE HATCHERY, No. 2, P. H. Haitman, Erie, Pa.
BELLEFONTE HATCHERY, No. 3, Wm. F. Haas, Bellefonte, Pa.
WAYNE CO. HATCHERY, No. 4, G. W.' Buller, Pleasant Mount, Pa.
TORRESDALE HATCHERY, No. 5, J. R. Beikhous, Torresdale,

Philadelphia. B'^<So"J

ERIE AUXILIARY, No. 6, A. G. Buller, Union City, Pa.

i9
v9

1—21—1914.

(1)

OFFICIAL DOCUMENT.

No. 21.

REPORT

OF THE

BOARD OF FISHERY COMMISSION

(2)

I

Hon. John K. Tener, Governor of Pennsylvania:

Sip.—Herewith we have the honor to transmit report of the opera-
tions of the Department of Fisheries of Pennsylvania for the year
ending November 30, 1913. , ., ^ • • a

Perliaps it is in place here to say that when the Commission made
its annual report for 1912 it embodied in it not only the work of the
Department, but the plans and purposes it had elaborated for the
coming year. It told of the proposed rehabilitation and permanent
work at the hatcheries, and stated the requirements in the way ot
funds that were needed to do this work efficiently and economically.
Each separate item was mentioned and the amount of money asked
for and the reason therefor, yet the Commission regrets to say that
up to this time the report of 1912 has not come from the pnnter,
and consequently none of the inforniation in the report was available
tor the nse of the lust legisijituie in making its Jn>l>i'01>;^';^tim»s tor the
two years beginning June 1, 1913, and ending May 31, 1915. This
certainlv is an unfortunate state of affairs as it left the Legislature
without' any guide as to the needs of the Department, except, ot
course that the Commissioner did present much data, but it was im-
possible to do so as clearly as it was set forth in the annual re-

^""as mentioned in the report for 1912 the Department resolved to
consolidate the work of the Department to those hatcheries w-hich
weie best fitted for the work they had to do, and then to proceed to
reconstruct the old ponds and build new ones of the most substan-
tial ,,,,,1 pem.nnent character, i.rincipnlly with re-enforced concrete
:uM\ add to this, hatching houses built of concrete and steel, and
even the troughs built of the snnie material, so that ^l^^-^y /"^^y^l
uo longer set in as in the case of temporary structnves. While the
work was of such chpiacter that while not only being peimanent
it was at the same time finished in such a manner as to make the
ponds and the Iniildin-s a credit to this great (^onimon wealth.

Of course, this work of rebuilding and rehabilitation interfered
seriously with the work of fish propagation yet the Commission
is glad to say that the number of fish distributed over the State

(3)

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

was such that all applicants received fish, though probably not in
such lar<]:e numbers as they would have jj^otten if the hatcheries had
been in full woiking condition. In another year it is hoped that the
work will be so far along that the hatcheries at which it was done
will be able to make their full output of fish.

Under the neAV method of distribution trout, bass, bluegills, cat-
fish and yellow percli Avere distributed as yearlings varying in length
from two to six inches, and this size fish seems to more thoroughly
satisfy the recipients, if it is possible to judge from the commenda-
tory replies received from the recipients of fish. Each notice of
the shi])ment of fish contains a blank stating how many fish are
sent and their size, and the recipient is asked to return this blank
stating how many fish bo actually received anrl in what condition.
By means of this blank the Department is able to determine to a
greater degree the reason for any fish being received in poor condi-
tion, because the name of the messenger is given and he can be held
responsible.

The recommendation of tlie Board that the hatchery at Spruce
Creek be abandoned on account of trouble from floods was ado])ted
by the Legislature and the proper tv Avas sold, realizing within -I?! 00.00
of the price paid by the Department. The hatchery at Conneaut
Lake was closed on account of its unfitness for tlie work, and permis-
sion was asked the Legislature to dispose of the same and return the
money to the original subscribers. Unfortunately, this act after
passing the House of Representatives failed of ])assage in the Senate.

The question of fish ways which fish will (ro up has received much
consideration, especially the one at the dam of the Pennsvlvania
Water & Power Company in the Susouehanna River at Holtwood.
The Call fishwav Traced in the dam has proved of no value, and
after personal visitation to the j)lace the Commission was of the
opinion that a natural water way from the dam down to the river
on the York county side would accomplish results better than any-
thing yet devised. The T*ower Comi^any, at much expense, has in-
stalled this fishway and it certainly looks as if it would do the work.
Time, however, can only prove this.

The number of dams in the State at present is large, and will con-
stantly increase, owing to the demand for the conservation of en-
ergy which is now being allowed to run to waste. There are really
only two migratory fishes in the waters of this State — the shad and
the eel, and in streams not visited by these fish it seems unnecessai'y
to compel the builders of dams to put in elaborate fishways at much
cost, and which necessarily must cause some lack of water.

Tt is a matter of fact that dams are desirable things in the streams
as they form larae bodies of water in which larger numbers of fish will
thrive than in the ordinary stream. The eel does not need much of
a fishway for his road up the stream, and the trout ascending a
stream to reach the spawning beds will climb a very primitive sort of

The lease of the ground upon which the Toriesdale hatchery is sit-
uated ex])ired on the 'iOth of November, and a new lease has been
made for 20 vears, with the privilege of renewal, from the City of
Philadelphia, at the nominal rental of one dollar a year. The Tor-
resdale hatcherv is the hatching place for shad, and the work it has

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES,

done is of such a character that it will undoubtedly keep the Dela-
ware River stocked with this edible fish, which, without artificml
propagation at Torresdale, would become extinct. The Torresdale
hatchery is also used for propagating catfish and yellow perch.

The Board regrets that the Legislature did not see its way clear
to make an appropriation for warden service that would allow the
employment of 30 wardens authorized by law. The Department,
under the money allowed, is only able to employ nine wardens
and this gives each one so large a territory that it is impossible for
him to give it the thorough patrolling that is necessary to round up
the violators of the law.

The Board, however, must commend the work done by the wardens
as showing them to be a highly efficient body of men, fully awake to
their resposibilities. Not only do the wardens have to make examples
of the men who violate the laws in taking fish, but they also have to
investigate the various sources of pollution along the streams of
the State. A commercial agency places the number of manufacturing
establishments in Pennsylvania at 48,000, which would give each
warden nearly five thousand manufacturers on which he must keep
his eye.

While the Board is glad to say that the majority of the manu-
facturers show an earnest etfort to stop pollution, there are many
others who are profuse in promises but very dilatory in practice.
The Department has, therefore, begun a systematic source of prosecu-
tion to convince the manufacturers that the Department is thoroughly
determined to enforce the law, while at the same time not to harass
the manufacturer unnecessarily. It is striving to clear up one water
shed at a time and has now pending over a dozen suits which embrace
all the manufactories upon one water shed. Where the manufacturer,
after suit is brought, promises to get busy in bringing about the
purification of the water, an o])]tortuiiity is given him by ]>ost]t()n-
ing the suit for sixty or ninety days, so that he can show that he
is in earnest in his efiorts to iio longer allow refuse to run into a
stream.

The Department has during the year cordially co-OT»erated with
other States and with the United States Bureau of Fisheries, the
result being that by exchange the Department has been enabled to
secure large numbers of white fish eggs from Canada and the United
States Bureau of Fisheries, pike perch from these same Departments,
and also from the New York Conservation Commission, while from
other sources it has obtained lake trout and muskalonge eggs.

Under the law establishing a Department of Fisheries four Com-
missioners are appointed to act with the salaried Commissioner of
Fisheries. There are certain duties prescribed in the law for these
Commissioners to do, among them, for instance, being the determina-
tion of the question whether streams are trout streams either in
part or whole. The law provides that the members of this Commis-
sion shall serve without salary, but they shall be allowed their ex-
penses, it being evidently thought that when the citizens of the Com-
monwealth gratuitously give their time for working for the State
they should not be compelled to bear their expenses. Unfortunately,
the a]q)ropi iation made for expenses is not large encmgh to allow the

6

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

Commissioners to meet as often as possible, and hence the perform-
ance of their duties is hampered, and consequently some things that
should be done are left undone.

Very respectfully,

JOHN HAMBERGER,
HENRY C. COX,
JNO. C. OGDEN,
W. A. LEISENRING.

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES

Hon. John K. Tener, Governor of Pennsylvania:

Sir: — Herewith I have the honor to transmit the annual report of
the Department of Fisheries.

The year has been a busy one, especially since the first of June
when the new appropriations became available. The work of rebuild-
ing the ponds interfered in a great measure with the propagation of
fish, but the Department is glad to say the output has been a good
one and exceeded expectations.

One gratifying thing about the distribution of fish is the returns
received from applicants stating the condition in which the fish ar-
rived, and in almost every case the returns show there was little or
no loss, while the large majority of the applicants expressed their
great satisfaction in the larger size of fish shipped. It is evident that
the eye plays a large part with the recipient of fish from the hatchery,
and a smaller number of larger size seems to the ordinary person
a great advance over shipments of many more fish, but so small as

to be barely visible.

Fish culture, like any other business, demands suitable plants
and tools to ac(onii»lish results, Jind the <lepaitnient during the year
has been actively at work completing the present hatcheries with
permanent structures which will result in the least cost for main-
tenance, and much less work in the case of ponds in keeping them
clean. When the plants upon which the Department is now working
are carried out to completion, it is hoped that Pennsylvania will
have the best equipped hatcheries of any State in the Union, and
(Mjual \o all ilic «leni;ni(ls nuide npon them lor tish.

The form of application adopted by the Department requires the
applicant to fill out the full description of the stream or water it
is proposed to stock and thus enable the Commissioner to judge the
suitability of the water for the fish applied for. Experience shows
that in too many instances the wrong fish are planted, or too many
varieties of fish are planted in the same water, and none survive.
Thi're au' nianv i>e<)]>le wlio think any fish is merely a tish and any
fish ought to live where there is water. For this reason there are
hundreds of applications pour into the Department in which the
applicants apply for trout, pike-perch and black bass for the same
water, which ajq^ications, of course, the l)e])artnient does not fill,
but explains to the applicant that black bass are a warm water fish
and the brook trout a cold water fish, and water that is suitable for
one is entirely unsuited for the other, and it will not live in it. The
pike-perch is a very carnivorous fish and should only be planted in
in large areas of water.

p:fficiency and economy are the greatest factors in success in the
Inisiness world, and they are the irreatest factors in the work of the
officials that have charge of the fishing industries of the Government

8

REPORT OF THE

Ofif. Doc.

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

9

and various States. Efficiency and economy are only attained by the
use of the best possible methods and the best contrived plans. It
was in view of this that the Department of Fisheries of Pennsylvania
decided that the way to get the best results at the least expenditure
of money was to concentrate the work at a few plants and make those
plants complete in every detail and up to the highest type of the re-
quirements of fish lore.

There were eight hatcheries in Pennsylvania when the present
Commissioner assumed control, but one of them at Spruce Creek
had been badly torn up by floods, the last flood having left nothing
but ;ni almost desolate waste, and another one at Coiinejnit T^nke.
which the water supply and the situation unfitted for the work it was
called upon to do, so they were both abandoned and the work concen-
trated upon the other six hatcheries, using each one for the propaga-
tion of the fish to which it is peculiarly fitted.

By an act of the last Legislature the Department was authorized to
sell the hatchery at Spruce Creek, which was done, the Department
realizing within one hundred dollars the amount paid for the prop-
erty. Considering everything, the price obtained was remarkably
good. A bill was also introduced in the Legislature allowing the
sale of the property at Conneaut Lake and returning the money to the
subscribers who furni.shed the land to the State. This bill was de-
feated.

At every one of the six hatcheries retained, engineers and architects
were engaged to draw plans showing the best way that every hatchery
could be rebuilt and rehabilitated, so as to obtain the highest possible
results. The ponds are all to be made of concrete and the hatching
houses of brick, concrete and steel, witli an absence of wood, that
will make them almost indestructible and not requiring almost con-
stant repairs. The dignity of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
demands that all the structures shall be of the most substantial and
ornamental type that will make them a credit to the Commonwealth
in the way of ornament as well as the necessary adjuncts to the ])r()pa-
gation of fish.

While the Department has perfected its plans to furnish all the
game fish that iwo lecjuiicd to stock the stieams of tlie State, yet
it knows that the number of anglers who want these fish is but a small
7)roportion to those who go fishing in the State. To the expert angler
with his slight tackle there is a thrill goes through him when the
gorgeous colored trout or the greedy black bass take his fly and starts
to battle for freedom.

But the number of trout streams is but a small portion of all the
streams in the Commonwealth, while the black bass is not suitable
for many streams or waters. To the bulk of the dwellers in Pennsyl-
vania fishing is not only an amusement but at the same time fisliing
is a means of obtaining food supply. There is nothing equal to a
day or a week in the woods beside a stream where the sun brings the
tan to the cheek, and the fresh air a joy to the lungs that is not felt
bv the dwellers in towns who work in stores and mills, and the
farmer's boy, and even his wife and daughters enjoy a fishing trip to
the streams where they can secure a mess of fresh fish, which means
a change of diet, and at the same time as they hook the fish with their
plain tackle, they feel as exciting a thrill and it is as gratifying to
them as to the angler who takes the trout or bass.

To this very large majority of fishermen the joy of fishing is
brought by the so-called minor fish, tlie yellow perch, the sunfish and
the catfish, together with such native fishes as the chub and the fall
fish. All these fish are easily propagated and have great fecundity,
and the Department will bend every ell or t to produce these in such
large numbers that every one cannot only have the delights of fishing,
but the pleasure of taking home a string of fish to eat.

There would be no difficulty in keeping the streams and lakes
stocked with fish, but for the wasiclul and destruclive methods em-
jdoyed by too many persons who have no regards for the rights of
others. The men who draw ofl: a dam for the sake of getting a bushel
of fish and thereby destroy thousands of small fish, are men who have
no regard for the Golden Kule. The same is true of the gigger and
the seiner, but the Department hopes with the education of the peo-
ple to the fact that the streams can be filled with fish if they are
properly protected, that the days of destructive fishing will soon be

numbered.

The Department is glad to say that it finds no part of its work so
popular as the plan to stock the streams with the fish for the general
public. Any one who goes along the stream and sees a family party
fishing will know that the returning fisherman to camp is hailed with
joy and shouts, as he waves in the air a string of fish that the trout
fisherman would look upon with scorn, yet the trout fisherman with
his creel full of speckled beauties experiences no more joy than the
less expert angler does over the ti'0])hies of his rod and line.

Upon the Department devolves the important work of the conserva-
tion of a most valuable food supply, and in addition the promotion
of the popular recreation of angling by providing fish. The fact that
the average person does not understand fully the matter of planting
fish gives inci<lentally tionble for the Commissioner. It is hard to
make some iteojile understand that because tlieie is water on his
place, therefore the Department of Fisheries should furnish him with
fish of every kind that the Department propagates. But the Depart-
ment is gradually teaching the public that certain waters are better
for some varieties of fish than others for exactly the same reason that
some plants thrive better in one locality than another, on account
of the difference in the soil and climate, while in the fish case much
depends upon the temperature of the water and the character of the

stream.

Angling has been described by a Satirist as a pole and line with
a worm at one end and a fool at the other, but that man was evidently
one of those people whose milk of human kindness had curdled.
Tlieie is no more health giving occupation tlian a day or two days
spent on the banks of a stream or lake where the pure air fills the
lungs, brings new life to the blood and clearing the cobwebs that
have gathered in the brain during the days of toil. In the reflection
of the clouds in the water the fisherman sees air-castles that seem
to be filled with light and gaiety and looking at these bright pictures
he forgets the sordid cares of his ordinaiy life. There are hundreds,
nay thousands, of lovely spots in Pennsylvania which lure the angler,
and while he is communing with Nature, well stocked streams will
enable him to fill his creel.

The streams and waters of the State belong to the people, and in
the early days of the Commonwealth there was rarely an objction

1

10

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

to the angler pursuing his sport, but of late years there has grown up
a dis])o.sJti<)ii on tlie jtart of some ])eo])le to make lesei vations from
which the public are excluded. All the laws passed by the Legisla-
ture have been against this policy of closing the streams, and the
Department of Fisheries is fullj^ in accord with the laws. In some
sections of the State the money spent by visiting fishermen is a
large source of income to the dwellers of those sections. In fact
in some sections it is almost tlie entire source of income. In Maine
the money received from visiting fishermen runs into millions of
dollars annually.

Part of this disposition to close streams to the fishermen is caused
by the heedless fisherman who pays no regard to the rights of the
land owners. He breaks down fences and tramples down crops with
utter disregard to the farmer. On account of these few inconsiderate
people the many have to sufi'er. Tact and a show of consideration
will, however, bring about a better state of feeling, and with the
angler and the farmer working in amity there is no question that the
result will be a good one for both.

One of tlu* ploasaiitest duties that (hnolvos ujton a Commissioner
of Fisheries is that of meeting face to face those citizens of the Com-
monwealth who are interested in fishing. The duties of the Fish
Commissioner are little understood by the majority of the people who
cann«t realize how multifarious and diversified thev are. Office work
is really the least part of them as that generally can be performed by
the office force, of which fortunately this Commissioner has an effi-
cient one. He must exercise supervision over the various hatcheries
of the State and see to it that each is worked in the most efficient
and economical manner.

He must see that enough fish are raised to restock the streams with
fish, and at the same time he must have supervision over the wardens
upon whom devolves the duty of enforcing the fish laws. Unfortu-
nately, the warden duty is badly hampered from the fact that the
Legislature only appropriated enough money to pay ten wardens
to cover the whole State, and this gives each one a very large territory
and renders it impossible for him to do full justice. The fact is that
the duty of enforcing the fish laws should be given over to the De-
partment of State Police, and this could readily be done by increasing
that force by another troo]) which would replace the wardens now
employed by the Department.

Many people claim that there is not as many fish now as there
were fifty years ago when there were no fish laws. Such complainants
forjict tiuit half a ccnluiy ago tluMc was not one lisherman wheie
there are now one liniulieil, and tlieie was not one destinctive device
where there are now one bundled, to which must be added the fact
that during that half century the pollution of the streams has
enormously increased.

The Department is working earnestly to bring about the abolition
of all wasteful and destructive methods of fishing, and it is glad to
say that during the last session of the Legislature an act was passed
abolishing fish baskets as a method of taking fish. The fish basket
is an extremely destructive method and in spite of all the fish basket
men say there were more other fish taken and killed than there were
eels.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

11

No. 21.

The personal meeting with the people of the Commonwealth brings
about a closer touch between the Department of Fisheries and the
DeoDle than any other method. It enables the Commissioner to ex-
plain the knottV points of fish culture and the necessities in the way
of pure stream^s and restocking by which a supply of fish will be
obtained The audiences are able to have answered questions on what
to them have been obscure matters and have the problems explained
in a way that they see clearly the object to be attained These meet-
ings have therefore resulted in the dissemination of information far
better than by printed words, and from the growing interest taken m
the planting of fish and the purification of waters, the Department
feels that Tmblic sentiment is growing constantly towards the aim
striven for by the Department; that is pure water and plenty of hsh

"'It the last session of the Legislature a law was enacted in regard
to fishing in Lake Erie, which is extremely imi)ortant. It increased
the size of the mesh of nets so that it allows to pass through the
twine large numbers of fish heretofore taken at entirely too young
a stage These smaller fish now have a chance to become mature and
spawn. The small fish heretofore taken were not wanted by the tish
houses and inanv of them were allowed to go to waste.

There are quite a number of fishermen who would like to see the
mesh of the nets increased still more. The act also prevents the
nets being attached to the shore, therby no longer interfering with the
black bass on their beds. The act requires a mesh for gill nets of not
less than three inches stretched mesh fishing measure, which means
that the meshes shall not measure less than that when fishing, and
fishermen are required to make an allowance for the shrinking of the

mesh when tarred. „ ^, /> i, • ^e

Few persons realize the immense importance of the fisheries of
Lake Erie and the amount of money invested in these fishing interests
in the port of Erie, which is the largest fresh water fish market in
the country. Conservation means much to these fishermen and they
realize that the destruction of fish before they have become mature
enough to spawn is simply a waste, and if continued, would do much
in the wav of the depletion of the fish supply of the lake.

It might be well to say in this connection that but for the work ot
the Deiuiitment all these milions of egi.^s from the fish taken in Lake
Erie would be lost, so that it can readily be seen what it means for
the food supply by the preservation of so many million eggs and
hatching them so that their yield can be planted to grow up in the
lake The fish that these eggs are taken from would not spawn natur-
ally,' and therefore but for the spawntakers of the Department the
eggs would be an entire loss.

As showin"- what has been done in the conservation of this waste
product the Superintendent of the hatchery at Erie reports that dur-
ing the year 1913, owing to circumstances, the take of white fish eggs
from Port Clinton, Ohio, and from Canada was comparatively small,
the number received from Port Clinton being 42,912,000, and from
Canada 3,888,000. He therefore turned his attention to taking her-
riu"- e^n-s the herring being relatively the most important source of
the'^fisr supply at Erie. The result was that by active work there
were gathered 173,821,000 herring eggs. Every egg of these would
have been lost but for this work.

12

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

The Department is convinced that considering the size of the lakes
and streams in Pennsylvania that it is absolutely necessary, if the
supply of fish be ke]>t nj), the destructive devices must be prohibited
by law, and the very best thing that could be done would be to restrict
the taking of all fish in the interior waters of the Commonwealth
to rod, hook and line. If this were done there is no doubt that
when anybody went fishing he would be certain to take a mess of
fish.

The Department had hoped to get such a bill through the last Legis-
lature, but a little experience with the temper of that Legislature soon
carried conviction that it was better to let well enough alone and
leave the fish laws as they stand upon the books. It is rather curious
that when a bill was introduced in the House of Re]>resentativcs to
allotv gigging in all the streams of the State, including trout streams
and at all seasons of the year, it went through with an overwhelming
majority but fell in the Senate from lack of consideration. Experi-
ence has shown in various parts of the State that so devastating and
thorough in their work are the giggers that not a fish remains in the
streams where they pursued tlieir work relentlessly.

Yet, strange it may appear, but when a bill was introduced to abol-
ish the fish basket, that bill went through without scarcely an ob-
jection.

Back in 1807 the Board of Fisheries Commission, which preceded
this Department, purchased a fish car which was equipped up to the
standard ideas of a fish car at that time. It was used for some years
and then it was shunted on to a railroad siding at St. Mary's where
it remained exposed to the inclemency of the weather, and evidently
was used as a tramp lodging house, the lodgers carrying off every-
thing that was not fastened so tightly that they coiild not cut it
loose.

At tho tinje of the St. Louis Exposition the car was sent to the
shop and completely overhauled at the price of .1^1,500.00. A car barn
was built at the Bellefonte hatchery and the car stored there. It
w;is u.sed on several occasions but the railroad companies com-
plained of the equipment, such as the air brakes, and every time the
car was moved there was a bill for repairs, each railroad seeming
to demand a different style of appliance from the one it was just de-
livered from.

The car has now become so dilapidated that no railroad would
haul it without its being thoroughly overhauled, and to overhaul it
would cost nearly as much as a new car, and then the Department
would have nothing but an old second hand car anyhow. It is pro-
posed to sell this car and save the annual payment of insurance. The
time may come when a car will be absolutely necessary for the De-
naifnient's nso. but when that time conies the car must be up-to-date
in every particular so that it will not be a menace to any train it is
attached to on the railroad.

The reports from the Superintendents of the various hatcheries
show that thev di<l remarkably good woik considering the disadvan-
ta«Tes they labored inuler. for pro])agntin!T fish in the midst of a lot
of repair gangs is a very difficult proposition.

The Erie hatchery having been thrown out of use so far as hatching
eggs was concerned, owing to the treatment of the water supjdied
to the city of Erie, the Superintendent was kept busy at field work,

No. 21. DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES. 18

and the result was that he gathered 220,621,000 eggs, and 15,359 fish
for distribution. A new hatching house on the lake shore will be com-
pleted and ready for use before the next hatching work sets in, and
the Department feels sure that in this complete structure it will
be able to do much and better work than was ever done before.

The Erie Auxiliary at Union City was in considerable trouble due
to a wash-out by a flood early in the spring which swept away the
pipe carrying the water supply to the hatchery, which hatchery was
full of eggs at the time, but fortunately they were nearly all i eadv to
hatch and were hurried to Lake Erie where they were planted. Most
of the eggs, it is gratifying to say, were hatched out before the plant-
ing took place. The output of fish as shown by the Superintendent's
report was very good, considering all the difficulties with which the
propagation was surrounded.

At Bellefonte a number of new ponds were built and others re-
walled. The water supply for a number of ponds has been unsatis-
factory owing to the fact that the water was taken from the Logan
Branch and was almost always roily. This has been entiiely obviated
by the laying of a pipe from the Shugart Spring to the ponds, so that
an ample supply of clear water is assured. Brown trout breeders
are being added' to this hatchery so as to enable the Department to
keep up with the demand for brown trout, which is becoming larger
every year. Nearly half a million brook trout yearlings were dis-
tributed, and there are enough fish on hand to fill all the applications

now on file.

At Co'iv a large amount of work was done, there being 23 ponds
all rebuilt with re-enforced concrete. A new hatching house was also
began and it will not only be a credit to the State but ample to fur-
nish all the demands that will be made unon it for some time to come.
Here, too, the work of rehabilitation interfered with the work of
]M-opagation of fish, so that the output was 305.000 brook trout and
101 .f-^OO brown trout, all of which were yearlings.

It is very gratifying to the Department that it has kept up the
most cordial intercourse with the other Fish Departments of the
country. It has worked hand in hand with the United States Bureau
of Fisheries and secured from them such fish as it desired to supple-
ment its own supply. From New York the Department has obtained
pike-perch and muscallonge eggs, and in turn has furnished that
Department with brook trout and shad. It has also been enabled
to secure lake trout eggs from Michigan and Wisconsin, and thus kee])
up a much needed supply of the lake trout. The Department has
made no eff'ort to bring on a feeling of rivalry, but feels that the best
thing for all is cordial co-operation.

The folowing table shows the output of fish during the year:

Adult Yellow Perch, 27,533

Yearling Brook Trout, 848,700

Adult Brook Trout 220

Adult Brown Trout, 1,260

Adult Bainbow Trout 20

Lake Trout ^^-^^^

Wall-eved Pike Fry, 25,625,000

Adult Pickerel l^^OO

Tadpoles 214,000

•—mrmVi' *•" ''^•*- ^^•'-J'wj'r— «T--^ia«^r-*;^WI

14 REPORT OF THE Off. Doc.

Yearling Brown Trout, 106,500

Brown Trout Eyed Eggs, 15,000

Bluegill Fingerlings, 76,400

Bluegill Yearlings, 2,800

Large Mouth Bass Yearlings, 6

Small Mouth Bass Yearlings, 17,960

Yellow Perch Fry, 19,000,000

Yellow Perch Yearlings, 10,845

Wall-eyed Pike Adults, 590

Muscallonge Fry, 500,000

White Fish Fry, 57,238,500

White Fish Eggs, 422,000

Lake Herring Fry, 3,000,000

Common Sunfish Yearlings, 2,000

Rock Bass Yearlings, 150

Catfish Yearlings, 500

Small Mouth Bass AduUs, 609

Bluegills Adults, 1^^

Yellow Perch Fingerlings, 300

Goldfish Fingerlings, 295

Shad Fry, 23,810,000

Shad Eyed Eggs, 1,000,000

Eels, 50

Goldfish Adults, 12

Catfish Fingerlings, 70,000

Catfish Adults, 300

Calico Bass, 200

Minnows, 8,000

Total, 132,090,900

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

15

FINANCIAL STATi:Mt:NT.

The following is a statement of the receipts and expenditures of the
Department of Fisheries for the year from December 1, 1912, to
November 30, 1913:

HATCHERIES.
Received from State Treasurer,
Halaii<<> oil hand Uee. 1, 1912, .

raid for Lateherie.s

Bulaiii-o on hand Nov. 30, lltl3,

WARDENS.
Received from State Treasurer,
llalanoe on hand Dec. 1, 1912, .

Paid for wardens,

lialanie on hand Nov. 30, 1913,

$46,.'i25 T7
594 78

$13,620 53
49 23 I

CONTINGENT EXPENSES.

Received from State Treasurer,

Ralance on hand Dec. 1, 1912,

raid f<)r contingent expenses

Ralance on hand Nov. 30, 1913

$1,G00 00

EXPENSES OF FISHERY COMMISSION.

Received from State Treasurer,

I'aid for expenses,

COUNSEL FEES AND COURT EXPENSES.

Received from State Treasurer,

Paid for fees and expenses,

OPERATING LAUNCH.

Re.eived from State Treasurer

l»ald for operating

COMPLETING HATCHERIES.

IJeccived from State Treasurer

I'aid for work

FIELD WORK.
Receivefl from State Treasurer,
Paid for worls

FISHWAYS.
Received from State Treasurer,
Paid

REPAIRS TO LAUNCH.

Received from State Treasurer,

Paid for repairs,

NEW HATCHERY AT ERIE.

Received from State Treasurer

Paid on contract,

PRESQUE ISLE PENINSULA.

Received from State Treasurer

Paid for labor

ROAT FOR TORRESDALE HATCHERY.

Received from State Treasurer

Paid for boat

REPAIRS TO FISHWAYS.

Received from State Treasurer,

Paid for repairs

$1,120 41

$770 84

$4,403 23

$26,464 40

$2,002 98

$4,882 17

$188 26

$5,124 17

$S 25

$1,500 00

$103 54

$47,120 55

$13,669 76

138 59 I $1,138 59

$47,110 24

$13,620 53

$1,092 73

$10 31

$49 23

$45 86

$1,120 41
$770 84

$4,403 23

$26,464 40

$2,002 98

$4,882 17

$1SS 25

$5,124 17

$8 25

$1,500 00

$403 54

16

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

The following moneys were paid to the State Treasurer during the
year being derived from the following sources :

Commercial hatchery licenses, $ 130 00

Fines for violation of the fish laws, 3,672 65

Seine licenses, 45 80

Tidewater seine licenses, 4 00

Lake Erie licenses, 2,354 00

Eel basket licenses, 2 85

Confiscated property sold, 26 00

Spruce Creek hatchery, 3,050 00

Return insurance piemiums, 11 80

Total, 19,297 10

ITEMIZED EXPENSES OF HATCHERIES.

The following table shows the itemized expenses of each hatchery
for the year from December 1, 1912, to November 30, 1913:

n

EC

«

el
■*-»

a

S.

u

'7*

u

o

3

o

1^

e3

poo

IneW

i a«

t^

^

''*

fc

o

Rollefonte $3,210 00

Corry.

Crawford

Erie

Erie Auxuliary,
Spruce Creek, .

Torresdale

Wayne,

Miscellaneous,
Total, .

3,670 50
440 00
1,620 00
3,120 17
260 00
3.1t!3 44
2.934 OS

$18,418 19

$943 27

1,927 30

3 50

496 85

1,196 81

5 09

1,027 85

859 80

$1,7S9 99

1,034 43

5 20

437 96

071 24

4 24

415 17

658 64

$1,315 18

1
$1,066 35 !

4,828 36

733 73

40 99

42 40

133 26

166 78

9S0 46

22 72

14 19

1,686 54

145 73

1,722 22

164 24

$6,460 47 1 $5,016 87 $10,721 20 I $2,341 95

$829 00

$9,153 85

468 SG

12,663 18

122 56

654 65

125 95

2,980 80

344 58

6,335 98

6 00

289 52

904 73

7.343 46

806 99

7,145 97

$3,608 73

$46,567 41

542 83

$47,110 24

SHAD SEINE LICENSES.

During the season 22 licenses were issued and the licensees reported

a take of 24,008 shad, valued at |7,325.81. Other food fish taken were

valued at |141.70, making a total for all fish caught |7,467.51. No

shad ascended above McCall's Ferry dam. This return does not give

nearly the value of the fish taken, as very large quantities of shad

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES,

17

were taken beloAV the McCalFs Ferry dam in the Susquehanna. Next
season will test the efficiency of the new fish way in the Susquehanna
at McCall's Ferry dam.

County.

Shad.

Suckers.

C?ai

V

6

3

S

a

s

s

03

CS

o

y.

>

p^

^

l-l

3

Pucks, ...
I^ancaster,
Miiliin,* ..
Perry, . . .
York

1260 $653 60

8197 1,724 00
3715 1,300 25

1260

"iio

$81 30
'"'406

80

400

10,836 3,647 96

200

$6.40
40 00

10 00

M.OOS I $7,325 SI

1,370

$85 30

GSO

$56 40

♦The Mifflin County license was HsIumI in tlic Sus»juelianna Uiver below McCall's ITerry Dam.

LAKE ERIE FISH INDUSTRY.

While the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has only 40 miles of
shore line on Lake Erie, the port of Erie is the largest fresh water
fish market in the world. The amount of nets that are set every
day run into hundreds of miles and the production of fish last year
was 2, 910,741 pounds, valued at wholesale at .f509,502.09. These are
astonishing figures and convey forcibly the value of the fish business
in Lake Erie, where the city of Erie is only one of a number of fishinc:
ports. The value of the boats and tackle used in taking the fish
and the warehouses where tliey are handled runs into millions of
dollai's and gives employment to hundreds of men.

The most remarkable tiling, however, in tliis mattei' and one in
which the Pennsylvania Department of Fisheries takes pride is the
fact that all this immense business is due to the artificial propagation
of fish by this dej)artment and the United States Government and
other States, and the whole restocking is done by the saving of the
eggs which would be a waste product if it were not for the work of
the hatchery men. There is not the slightest question in the minds
of anv fisherman as to the value of the woik done by the Pennsylvania
Department of Fisheries in this malter, because it was not many
years ago, beh )re the artificial pro])agation was taken up, that the
catch of fish had so fallen off that the pursuit of fishing was no longer
profitable.

The figures given above do not convey entirely the immensity of the
business because they show the wholesale ])rices and the persons who
use this large supply pay from 50 to 100 per cent, advance on these
fiirures on account of freiirht and the handling by the fish dealers at
their respective homes. Taken altogether the fish industry at Erie

2—21—1914.

18

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

is a most valuable object lesson as to the value of artificial propaga-
tion of fish in furnishing a very important food supply to the people.
If Lake Erie with the tremendous drain made upon it by the fishermen
can be kept stocked with fish, it shows that the other lakes and
sticjinis in I'emisylvjmin can also he lestoietl to Hum:- foimer jmxlnc-
tiveness, if the hatcheries are worke<i to their full capacity and the
fishermen observe tlie laws against wasteful and destructive methods
of fisliing.

Cisco or Lake herring,

LaUc trout

Yi'llf)W JHTcll,

AVhite tish

Miscelliineoiis,

Catfish

rik<> perch

nine pike,

Carp

Sturgeon,

Total

Pounds.

1,012,518

158, 2S6

88,387

349, 19S

63,545

2,179

9,043

1,117,019

102.699

7,877

Value.

1351.449 71

8,469 60

4,467 43

34,.S1'1 !*1'

2,049 47

238 81

950 81

103,345 07

2,641 86

1,567 41

2,910,741 I 1509,502 09

COMMEKOIAL HATCHERIES.

One of the industries which have grown up in Pennsylvania in re-
cent years is that of commercial hatcheries where fish are bred for the
market. To encourage these the Legislature passed a law allowing
the operator of a commercial liatcliery to sell his fish at any time of
the year, and this has been taken advantage of i)rincii>allV by the
trout culturist, there being several very extensive and successful
trout hatcheries in the State.

The law in Pennsylvania allows the operator of a private liatcliery,
on the payment of ten dollars license fee, to sell his fish or their spawn
at any time of the year, the fish being accomi)anied by an invoice and
showing the number of the hatchery and the number and weight of the
fish, which invoice is good for six days.

The plan has been found to work well as the hatcheries are open at
all times to the l)ej)artment and if they should supplement their own
trout with wild trout taken surre])titiously, the fact would be de-
veloped by the known capacity of the hatchery. There have been one
or two cases where persons have tried to violate the law by supple-
menting their hatchery fish with wild trout, but the business Vas com-
paratively small and Ihe lisk was not worthy the gain.

In New York a different system has been adopted and that is that
every trout sold from a private hatchery must be tagged with a
machine furnished by the Department of New York. New York
charges three cents per tag, which are furnished by the Department
to the hatchery, and in addition the machine to attach the tags must
be purchased. As the bulk of the trout sold from the hatchery usually
take four trout to make a pound, it will be seen that it is a heavy tax

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

19

of twelve cents upon each pound of trout sold. This, in a way, re-
duces the market of the Pennsylvania hatchery man so far as the
New York market is concerned, but the New York people look on it
as a benefit, as it l:eeps outsiders from invading the New York market,
and possibly reducing the price below what the New York man can
get, if he has no outside rivals.

Pennsylvania has always pursued the policy of not taxing the
manulactuier, as it h.eliovcs it is the ])ioper spirit in regard to the
trout hatchery who is virtually manufacturing fish for the use of
the i)ublic, and ought to be encouraged the same as any other manu-

facturer

There were 13 licenses issued during the year 1913 for commercial
fish hatcheries. These hatcheries did a business of |03,819.53. This
is almost double the amount of business done in the year 1010, which
shows an exceedingly gratifying increase. The following table shows
the output of the hatcheries:

I't,

Dead trout for mark
Tniut, live, uiiiture

trout, tin!,'er lings, .

trout, advanced fry,

trout, eyed eggs, ..

trout, green eggs, .

liass, fry

bass, lingerlings, ..

Pounds.

r.3.309i

I?r<i(dv
Itrcok
r.rook
llrook
I?la<k
Ulii'U
Suiilisl

(:id<l(ish,

Miscellaneous,

Number.

15,313

188,927

2,535

105.000

20.r.70,092

4.628,000

2,500

15,700

5,525

9,835

650

Value.

$25,982 24

26,a?9 76

180 00

389 33

9.374 85

930 60

50 00

324 00

151 85

301 90

55 00

$63,819 53

WAUDENS.

While the Department believes that it could best do its woik if
it was confined to its proper sphere— the propagation of fish and
the restocking of the waters with those fish, yet the Legislature in its
wisdom has seen fit to inake.])art of the duties of the ollice, the en-
fopcement of the fish laws, and gave to it a force of wardens to do the

Under the act of May 1, 1009, the number of wardens authorized
by law is 30, but the Legislature has never api)ropriated more than
enough money to pav for ten wardens. As there are forty-six thousand
square miles in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, this gives to
each warden, if assigned to a district, a very large territory to cover,
and one which it is impossible for him to patrol thoroughly. The
result has been that the Department has not exactly confined the
wardens to a distiict bnt has sent tlcni to the sections where their
services appeared to be imperatively nee<led. This means a very large
expense account, much heavier in pro]M)rtion than it would be it the
Department had at its control the whole force authorized by law.

20

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

It is due to the wardens to say that in view of the large extent of
territory they had to cover that they have done their work in a most
efficient and satisfactoiy manner. A better solution to the warden
pioblcm would be to turn ovei- the enforcement of the fish laws to the
State l»(>li<-e Department, which is oiganizcd for the purpose of enforc-
in*? Jill the laws on the Statute Book, and this could be accomplished
by g'whig to the Police Department the increased number of men au-
thojized by the fish laws and a sufficient a])i)ropriation to pay them.

The position of fish warden is one that requires tact, good'huraor^
energy and sound i)hysical condition. He must conduct a suit before
a magistrate in such manne;- as to biing out all the jjoints of the
case, and he mnst then see ro it that the docket of the magistrate
will stand the scrutiny of a court of record, because, unfortunately
so many of the justices of the peace fail to make up their docket as
the law requires. To these requirements he must add a thorough
disregard for hours and weather, because the i)roressional fish i»irate
works usually at night, like the burglar, and weather does not deter
him when he goes on his lawless errand.

Tf the Department had its full quota of wardens it would be pos-
sible for the men to hunt in couples, and better and surer results
would be attained by this. As one warden remarked: "You wade out
fo three or four men gigging, have a battle with them in which pos-
sibly you get a ducking, and Ihen before the 'Squire the three or
four violators of the law enter their story against the story of the
warden, and as some 'Squires count the nund)er of witnesses rather
than their character, the warden is apt to fail in his case,"

Tn pollution cases it is especially true, and the warden should have
a witness when he takes specimens of the pollution from a manu-
factory, because when the ])olluted water is shown to the 'Squire,
the violator of the law sets up a defense that that did not come from'
his place because he is merely letting out refuse u[)on which fish
thrive rather than are killed.

AKRESTS.

There were 227 ariests made during the year and the fines imposed
amounted to |r>,570. A nuniber of cases were appealed, the appeals
still ])ending, and in a few cases the defendants were sent to jail in
default of ]»ayment of fines. The falling off in the number of arrests
is due to a better obseivance of the fish laws and the tact of the ward-
ens in discriminating between puiely technical offenses by innocent
violators and the acts of the regular law breakers. The following
shows the different violations of the law:

Dynamiting fish /^

Fishing with seine nets illegally 15

Illegal dip nets * * £9

Illegal fyke nets 2

Fishing with nets in trout streams, [[[ 15

No. 21. DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES. 21

Spearing fish out of season, 28

Taking short trout, 5

Taking short bass, 9

Taking short pickerel, 3

Taking game fish out of season, 28

Fishing with lay-out lines, 7

Taking fish with the hands, 3

Shooting fish, 3

Carrying fish illegally caught, 1

Drawing off waters for fishing purposes, 3

Fishing on Sunday, 24

Illegal fish baskets, 3

Pollution of streams, 35

Using illegal devices not specified, 2

Excessive hand lines, ^

Net with wingwalls, 5

Floats, 2

Stir nets, *

Trap nets, ^

Looping 3

Stunning fish through ice, ^

Total, 227

There were 13 acquittals and 20 violators got jail sentences.

POLLUTION.

With the completion and rehabilitation of the hatcheries the De-
partment is confident that it will be able to supply all the demands
upon it for the stocking of the streams and waters of the State with
fish. Artificial propagation so improves upon nature that the ques-
tion of a supply is only conditional with the amount of facilities
possessed to propagate the fish. This part of the problem of furnish-
ing the people of the Commonwealth with fish for food and fish for the
sport of the angler being settled, the next important question is the
water in which the fish are to be ])laced and in which they are to
grow up to an edible size. Pennsylvania is blessed with lakes and
streams that will sustain enormous quantities of fish life, if the
streams are kept in a suitable condition, but unfortunately the waters
of the Commonwealth now i)resent a knotty problem as to how about
bringing them back to their former ])ure state.

The first settlers located along Ihe streams at first, because they
were highways, and trans]>ortation by water was the easiest and
cheapest method. With moi*e im])roved methods of transportation
the streams were abandoned geneially as highways, for, unfortu-
nately, most Pennsylvania streams are too rayiid and shallow to
be adapted to transDortation. Then as the water ran down to the
sea it was the easiest plan to dispose of refuse to run it into the run-

22

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

ning stream. That got rid of it for the man up the stream and he
reckoned little or not at all upon the man who was to use the water
lower down. The result of this has been that a large majority of
the streams in the State have become nothing but open sewers, in
many of which the water is so foul that it cannot be used for potable
purposes or for the watering of stock, while the pollution is so great
that fish and fish life will no longer exist in it. To plant fish so that
they will grow and thrive requires that the waters of the Common-
wealth be in that condition which nature demands for fish life and
for the growth of acjuatic plants which furnish the garden for the
use of the fish.

In the eastern part of the State the people have the Schuylkill
river as an exami)le of a very much foul stream, and Chester and
Brandywine creeks are fair examples of what a lot of manufacturers
can do if they turn tlieir efiiuent into the stream. In the center
of the State the Susquehanna river, has shown on occasions, thou-
sands of dead fish poisoned by the waste of the careless manufacturer,
jiikI ill tlie western part of the State some of tlie streams are so defiled
that they corrode the bottoms of the boats that float upon them and
the water eats uj) the tubes of the boilers.

The law declares hat it is a criminal offense to run a number of
named substances, sncli as dye stuff, coal or gas tar, coal oil, sawdust,
tan bark, lime, vitriol, refuse from gas houses, into the stream, and
then adds "or allow to run or flow into a stream any deleterious,
destructive or poisonous substances of any kind or character."

This is extremely broad and covers the matter of pollution com-
])letely. It is not merely that the deleterious substances should kill
fish, but also that it forms a coating upcm the bottom of the stream
which chokes the vegetation and therefore there is no chance for any
fish food to grow.

For two years the Department has had a small force of wardens
at its command seiviiig notices on the various manufacturers of
tlie State, calling their attention to the law and the necessity of
jibaliiiLi" the nuisance. Tl'csc ii()ti<('s have been sui>j»leiiiented with
articles in the newspa])ers. and there is really no reason that any
one should be ignorant of the law. The fact is that many of them
know the value of the law fiom the fact that the water comes to
them from aliove so ]>ollnted that it is necessary for them to ]mt in
expensive purifying ]>lants so that they can use the water. It is not
n case of the old fable of the wolf and the lamb where the water ran
from the wolf to the lamb.

Moral suasion has induced many concerns to set about installing
]dants which will bring about the jmrity of the water, but the De-
partment has found that few seem to realize that these jdants must
l>e of a permanent chauictei-, so that under no circuinstances can the
poison reach the Avater. There is no permanent improvement in a
I>lan that purifies the water for a s]»ace of time and then an accident
occurs allowing enough poison to run into a stream to kill all the fish
in that stream for several miles, and to restore that stream to its
same fish sujiydied condition as before the accident, will probably
take three or four years. There is an old saying that accidents will
hajipen in the best of families, but there is no reason whatever for
an accident which will allow the ]>ollution to escape from a manu-
factory and sweef) away several years' work in stocking the stream
with fish.

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

23

The Department at various times has brought suit against flag-
rant cases of pollution, but apparently these sporadic cases have had
little influence in deterring other manufacturers from running the
risk of getting rid of their refuse in the quickest and cheapest way;
that is turning it into a stream.

Acting upon a suggestion of the Governor, the Department took
up one water shed, the Sinnemahoning, emptying into the Susquehan-
na river at Driftwood. Every manufacturer along the stream was
visited and the operators notified they must take care of their refuse.
A year elapsed after these notices, and the Department found that
virtually the same conditions remained, so when in September a sud-
den rush of pollution lined the Susciuehanna river from Driftwood to
Milton with dead fish, the Department decided that something more
drastic than notices must be attempted. It therefore directed suits to
be brought against every manufacturer along the Sinnemahoning, a
paper mill at Lock Haven and five concerns at Williamsport. In the
case of the Lock Haven concern where nothing was done after the
first prosecution, but rather the I)e])artiiient was defied and more re-
fuse allowed to run into the stream, a second suit was brought. The
Lock Haven manufacturer was convicted before the magistrate, but
has been ijranted an a])]>eal by the Court of Quarter Sessions, which
appeal does not come U]) for hearing until January. The other cases
are yet to be tried, and the Department intends to push them to the

limit.

The Department fully appreciates the fact that to put in clarification
plants requires money and has no desire whatever to harass the
manuracluiers unnecessjirily, but the rights of the ]teo])le in the lower
stream are paramount, and the De])artment will insist that they have
their rights to pure water. The collection of fines is no part of the
object of the Department, and where the manufacturer will show
that he has put in such a plant that no longer the ])ollution can
reach the stream, the Department wilt be satisfied and withdrnw the

charge.

That the manufacturers are fully aware of the fact that their
lefuse is detrimental is shown in many ways. .\t Empoiium. for in-
stance, the water used from the Sinnemahoning by the iron coni])any
was so polluted that it destroyed the tubes in the boilers, and the
iron com])anv brought a suit for damages, which was settled, and
the offending company jnit in a pipe which would give the iron
company ])ure water from the stream above the ]dant running the
refuse into the stream.

The Department brought suit against a Montgomery county concern
which was running lime into the Schuylkill river, and lime is one of
the constituents mentioned in the act as not to be run into the
stream. The magistrate found the ])erson guilty, but on an a]»peal
the court of Montgomery county decided from the testimony of a
chemist, that when the lime reached the Schuylkill river the volume
of water in the Schuvlkill so modified this refuse that it made it
innocent lime water such as is used to temjier the milk of babies.
Yet this lime deposits on the bottom of the river a white scum that
completely chokes the irrowth of any aquatic plants, and the longer
this is run into a stream the more of the bottom of the river does

it cover. .

But this one factory is not the only one by long odds running refuse
into the stream, and each one adds its mite to the pollution of the

24

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

25

river until the combination is fierce, but under the ruling of the
Montgomery County Court no prosecution against a single manufac-
turer would hold because the amount of stuff it adds to the river, if
the river was absolutely pure, would be soon rendered innocuous.
It is for this reason that the Department has made the sweeping
prosecutions along oae stream so that it can show the combined ef-
fects of a number of manufacturers defiling a stream. One manufac-
turer com >laine(l bitterly of the expense he was put to to purify the
water in the stream which had been polluted by concerns above him,
yet that same manufacturer turns that purified water back into the
stream fouled worse than before by the combination of poisons he
places in it.

Under the provision of the law as passed by the last Legislature,
extensive powers for the prevention of the pollution of water has
been extended to the Water Supply Commission and the Highway
Department, and the Department of Fisheries intends to co-operate
with those two departments as it has been co-operating with the
Department of Health. In the Highway Dei)artment in one case
where a bridge is built across the stream, the culm from a mine washed
down completely blocking the bridge an<l <liv(M tin*!; the flow of tlie
stream so that the bridge now extends over dry land with the stream
running to one side of it.

It has taken time to educate the public to appreciate the value of
pure water. Municii)alities are spending millions of dollars for fil-
tration plants, much of which could have been saved if the public had
insisted upon the clarification of the streams. More millions are
spent by the manufacturers in j)urifying the waters of the foul
streams so that they can use them, yet if every manufacturer had
taken the i)ains to purify the water when it left his property he
would have been at no more expense than he is now in purifying the
water for his own use, and he would be treating his neighbors as he
wants his neighbois to treat him.

The Department regrets to say that while the majority of the
manufacturers are willing to co-operate, j'et tliere are some who while
they do not o[)enly defy the law, resort to sinister ways to evade it.
It has found manufacturers who ostensibly are treating their water,
yet have a secret outlet through which on occasions they turn their
waste poisons into the stream Iio[)ing to escape detection. When the
Department first started this cru.sade for pure water it found much
diflficullv in obtaining assistance from the neighbors of the manu-
factuier. Those neighbors seemed to think that it woukl be unneigh-
boi'ly to call attention to pollution that tliey knew of, but always in-
sisted that the Department sliould go higher up the stream to prose-
cute someone who was to them a stranger. Daily pollution of the
streams was reported, but in examination disclosed the fact that
not a single witness had taken the trouble to secure samples of the
water and specimens of the dead fish that the Department might have
some aid in ferreting out the trouble. Witli the small force of 10
wardens to cover the State this made the work of finding out violators
very difficult, as when the reports came in it was j)ossible there
was not a warden within 100 miles of the place, and by the time he
reached the s])ot lliore was nothing to indicate what had caused the
trouble, and it required much liard work to trace the pollution to its
source. This difficulty was met by taking, as mentioned above, one
water shed, and by watching it closely, finding the offenders.

It is an old axiom that dirt is matter out of place and that is
an exact definition of pollution. There is not a single effluent run-
ning from a manufactory but what has an economic value if it could
be saved. Possibly in some cases the cost of reducing this pollution
to a useful condition would be almost prohibitory, but that is no
reason why the pollution should be run down upon a man lower down
the stream and render the water in that stream unfit for his uses.
He bought his property with the idea that the sfream inight furnish
him with water for the use of his family and for his stock, and he
is certainly an aggrieved party if he finds that this supjjositious pure
water is a delusion. Wlien the water in a stream burns the hair off
the cattle's legs and brings on blood poisoning in the man who wades
the stream, it matters little to that man what the chemical compo-
sitions of the water are, because he knows that it is deleterious from
the fact of the damage done, as above stated.

The Dei>artment does not intend in the conduct of its suits to
depend u})on tlie testimony of the cliemist who will certify that var-
ious constituents are to be found in the water, ami then have that
testimony combated by an expert chemist for the defense who will
show, as in the Montgomery county case, that if sufficiently diluted
the chemicals found by the first chemist will be rendeied innocuous.
It is small satisfaction to a man who should drink nitric acid and
burn out his stomach to know that if that nitric acid had mingled
with large quantities of ])uie water it would have been absolutely
innocuous and not hurt him. The same is true in regard to the man
whose cattle have their hair burned olT their legs by some effluent
from a manufactory, which if diluted sufficiently would have been
harmless.

The Department bases its contention upon the fact that an effluent
pouring from a manufactoiy will kill fish, or it will dei)osit such an
amount of sediment upon the bottom of the streams that all aquatic
life is killed or has no place to root and what should have been the
spawning beds of the fish is so covered that the fish will not s])awn
there. If the De])artment can show these facts it claims that it
has made a case, because it has shown either that the fish are de-
stroyed or their feeding and spaAvning jdaces are destroyed. If
there is no garden in the stream to raise food for the little fish, the
little fish will naturally starve to death, and if the spawning places
are covered up there will be no eggs laid from which to ])rodnce little
fish.

There are various substances which flow into a stream that chem-
ically tested would not be poison to the fish, yet these substances if
])laced in tbe water will finally diive all the fish away. Thus we may
mention snwdnst, tlie lint from pul]» mills, although lint will choke
u]> the gills of a fish and smother tliem to death. Pure water holds
three per cent, of oxygen mechanicnlly, and it is on this oxvgen tluit
the fish de])end for the oxidation of their lungs, and it is possible
to have in some waters a still larger ])ercentaue of oxy.fxen wMcli
is as bad for the fish as too little, the Fnited States Pireau of Fisher-
ies having a hatchery where the watei' is so highly oxidized thnt it has
to be deoxidized before it can be used for holdiiiir the fish, ns the
extra sup])ly of oxygen l)rings about a too exhilirating condition in
the fish.

\

26

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

Sand is a substance that is not chemically poisonous to fish, and the
small mouth bass revels in streams where the water flows over sandy
bottoms, yet sand can be washed into a stream in such quantities
that it will destroy the stream as a habitat of the bass by filling up
all the interstices in the bottom and leaving no place for spawning
beds. The chemical reactions are not always to be relied upon as
lo results in the uijitler of destructiveness. At powder mills nitric
acid is received in iron carboys, yet that same nitric acid, after its
use in the manufacture of powder, has some unused portions left and
this is run ofi' in the washings and this diluted nitric acid has an
extremely corroding efl'ect upon the flues of boilers.

The coal mines are a source of much pollution in their running
sulphur water in the streams. There is an old Supreme Court de-
cision which states that coal is a very important factor in the world's
work, and to mine coal it is necessary to pump the water from the
mines, and until some method is devised to cause water to run up hill,
the miners could jmmp sulphur water into the streams. Since that
decision, however, there has been a great change in public sentiment
in regard to pure water in streams, and this sentiment is felt by the
Court and the Courts are ruling that the welfaie of the public is
paramount to ])rivate use.

Some years ago the United States Geological Survey published
a bulletin in whicli it stated that the water in the Susquehanna river
was of the purest quality, because the sulphuric acid in the mine
Avater combined with iiiid destioviMl the virulent <'tTeet of the se\vau:e
and was then itself nentralize<l bv the lime stone in the bottom of the
river. It is difficult to convince a resident along the Susquehanna
river, for instance, that the sul])hui* water from the mines is advan-
tageous to him, and the Board of Health is not de]>ending on that
sulphuric acid to purify the pollution, bnt is ('om]>elling the residents
along the bank to dis])ose of their sewage in some other manner than
by emptying it into tlie river.

It is small consolation to a man who has typhoid fever in his
family from drinking water from the Susquehanna to know that if
the strenni had some distance further to run the water would have
})een vuvitied. Tie is decidedly of the opinion Hint the ])ollntion should
have been ])revented at the source, nnd both the sulphuric acid and
the sewage and other pollution ke])t out of the stream.

A year or two ago a suit was brought in a western county against
some oil i)roducers who were allowing salt watei' from their wells to
run into the water shed fi-om which a water company obtain<'<l its
water to supply a pojmlation of about fifty thousand peo])le. While
it was admitted that the wells were in oil ]>roducing territory and the
oil jmmped produced a revenue to the operators, yet for each barrel
of oil there was pumped from twenty to fifty barrels of salt water.
Tn an exhaustive opinion the court held that the rights of this large
poj)ulation to pure water were paramount to the rights of the owners
of the wells and enjoined the well owners from pum])ing, if they
could not dispose of the salt water in such a way that it would not
defile the water supply of the water company. This decision was up-
held by the Superior Court. From tins analogy the Department hopes
that it may not be loufi;- before the mine operators will be compelled to
satisfactorily dispose of their mine water, and also the filthy water
from the washeries and the culm.

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

37

In Germany a stroke of the pen of the Emperor decreed that the
pollution of streams must cease, and forthwith every person defiling
the stream went to work to see that the pollution no longer got into
the water. Such paternal authority does not exist in this country,
but ])ublic sentiment can g.ow so strong that the same results for
purifying the water can be obtained by that public sentiment in-
sistence on the purification of the water and the Courts will follow in
the line of the sentiment.

This is a day of small economies and really what seem small
economies sometimes ]nove to be money makeis. The cotton seed
for a long time was merely a waste product, but now, thanks to
science, the cottcni seed livais in value the valui; of the lint.

In western rennsylvania the air is black widi the clouds of smoke
from the coke works, but some chemist put his brains to work and the
result is that at Bethlehem and at other jdaces this smoke no longer
escapes into the air but is converted into lamp black, a valuable by-
l)roduct. The same lesult was obtained by the gas company at San
Francisco, where instead of turning its waste products into the bay
to the defilement of the water, it now saves them all at a profit to
itself.

Much of this habit of defilement arose from the wastefulness of
the average American who heretofore considered it only necessary
to save the material that brought him a revenue and allow the rest to
go to waste. The pine forests of Pennsylvania were swept away and
the hemlock was cut down for its bark alone, until today hemlock
lumber sells at a price double what the pine lumberman got for his
lumber, and over the mountains of Pennsylvania lie piles of hemlock
logs stripped of their bark and left to rot.

Upon the maiket today there are numerous devices gotten up by
ingenuous persons intended for the saving of material that now runs
to waste. While some of them have merit, the Department cannot
recommend them because of the fact of their being patented, yet there
is no reason why the manufacturers should not avail themselves of
these appliances for many of the inventors offer to install their ap-
pliances for experimentation at no cost, if they do not prove efficient.
Only within a short time an inventor stated to the Department that
he was offei-ed a c(mtract for 75,000 tons of some of the etfluent fiom
the paper mills. It would seem from this that there is a commercial
value for the material that is now running to waste and polluting the
streams, and certainly an experiment would be worth the trial. If
the coke man can extract money from his smoke, certainly other
manufacturers ought to extract money from their waste material,
because nature knows no waste but economizes in everything.

A closer co-operation between the dwellers along the stream and the
Department would be of much aid to the Department in bringing
about the clearing up of the streams. If when the surface of a stream
becomes covere<l with dead fish some ]>ersons early cognizant of the
fact would trace ui> the stream to where the first dead tish were
seen and from that point take samples of water, cork them up and
seal them and furnish them to the I)ef)artment for experimentation,
in m(»sl ( ases it would enable the l)e])artnient to get in touch with the
violator of the law and lie could be brought to terms and compelled
to abate the trouble or suffer the penalty.

28

KEPOKT OF THE

Off. Doc.

During the year the Department has had some correspondence with
the Fish Commission of West Virginia to see if some arrangement
could not be made whereby the Commissions of West Virginia, Ohio
and the Department of Fisheries of Pennsylvania and the United
States Government could not co-operate so as to bring about a clari-
fication of the foul streams in that section of the country. There
aie many .sti earns out ilicie tiiat are absoiuiely de\oid oi lish iiie
or aquatic life of any kind, and the water cannot be used for any
purpose, the steam-boat men finding that it soon utterly ruins their
boilers.

{Such a state of alfairs should not exist in a country that calls
itself civilized, and tlie fact that millions of dollars have been ex-
pended to erect the manufacturing plants along these streams has
nothing to do with the question, because they should have considered
the matter before they erected their plants where they did. This con-
dition IS lUiiy susiaiued by a uecision oi lue liighest Appellate CoUi t
of ^^ew York, which is published in full in this report, and this is
supplemented by a similar decision of an Indiana court. If an invest-
meiiL 01 a uuiuou doiia.s niiows iiiC iiiM'stoi- lo so poiiuie Uie water
that it renders worthless the property of a poor man below, then it
would st'cui thai the law is lor ine i icii man and not lor llie poor,
a condition not to be thought of for a moment in this great Common-
wealth.

There is no question that electricity is bound, in the future, to be
a great factor in purilyiiig water. That it will do it is well known,
but the cost has been prohibiiive. Human ingenuity is, however,
working at this problem, and it seems is on a fair way of solving it,
so that the work may be done at a price tliat will be protitable. JSedi-
mentation beds are useful adjuncts, but sedimentation beds must be
so large that the water does not escape from them until it has dropped
from its hold all the refuse that causes the pollution of streams.
The trouble has been in the past that the sedimentation beds have not
been of sufficient capacity, and they have been made in such an un-
substantial way that rains and Hoods have washed out the banks
and sent the vile eliiuent down into the streams where it has done its
deadly w^ork to the lish, and there can be no apologies from such
work when it entails several years to replace the damage done.

The Department has felt that no better work can be done than by
getting in close touch with the people and telling them the aim and
purposes of tlie Department. It lias tlierefore availed itself of every
opportunity to have the officers meet face to face with all classes
of persons. Addresses have been delivered in all parts of the State
to arouse public interest, and the Department feels very much grati-
fied at the sentiment which has been created. The manufacturers
are tlie ones who have been polluting the streams, and the Dei)artment
has endeavored in every way to impress upon them that in these
days uf small economics an<l the pievention oi" waste, it is to their
interest to co-opeiate with the Departinonl in bringing about the
purification of the streams, without considering the welfare of the
users of the water below their establishments, which welfare they
should consider, under tlie moral law, and not require force to make
them obseive it.

The paper manufacturers are among the worst offenders in turning
refuse into the streams and the Department was glad to avail itself
of an opportunity to meet with the Association of Paper Makers of

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

29

the United States at a meeting recently held in New York. The Com-
missioner himself was present and had an opportunity to express
the views of the Department in the following address:

When a Commissioner of Fisheries stands before an audience like
this he feels in the company exemplified by the poet :

*'Two minds with but a single thought.
Two hearts that beat as one,"

because the entire success of both parties lies in the one thing and
that is pure water. Without pure water the Commissioner of Fish-
eries is a helpless in the raising of fish as the paper maker is in pro-
ducing white paper. Some has said, "Let me write the songs of my
country and 1 care not who makes the laws," but in these days the
advocates of law would laigely urge in favor of paper on which to
print the laws rather than the method pursued in the old days of
Assyria and other ancient kingdoms, when the laws were printed on
clay and baked into bricks. What grand weapons those bricks would
make these days over in England where the Suffragettes are defying
all the laws and would like nothing better than to cast the law covered
brick bats through the windows of unoffending trades people.

The first paper nnikeis in this country used rags, and even the
mummies of ancient Egypt were robbed to help keep up the supply,
but the supply of rags is no longer equal to the demand, in spite of the
cry of so many i)ersons that the poor are growing poorer and there
are more of them, which would seem ought to increase the supply of
rags.

Then the paper men turned to other sources and took lessons from
the first paper maker who used wood pulp. A gentleman who
used his paper to build a home, and while he did not pollute the
streams with any refuse, the hornet cariied a sting in his tail, which
many a small boy found out when he thoughtlessly tired stones at
the paper maker's abode. It is the tail race of the pulp and paper
manufacturer today that carries the sting that annoys the Commis-
sioner of Fisheries who desires pure water.

No one ji]>i)i(M-iates nioie than the Commissioner of Fislie: ies the
value of the paper industry and the importance of its not being
crippled, but nevertheless, as I said at first, pure water is as neces-
sary to him for his business, as it is for the pulp and paper maker.
Wlien the ])aper maker first located on the stream he was probably
the only nianuractnrer ni»on it, and the piue walei- was jis chea]) to
him as "the air which he breathed. When, however, some other manu-
facturer located above him and liegan to run refuse in the stream
which s]»oiled its jniveness and brought trouble and ex}>ense to the
manufacturer, there was another exem])lification of the case of whose
ox was gored. To jmrify the water defiled by the man above, the
paper maker was compelled to ])ut in purification plants, and this is
a factor with which the fishery interest hopes to impress you. If
the manufacturer above can be compelled to purify his water then
the money expended by the paper man for getting that formerly dirty
water purified can be ex])ended in seeing that his refuse no longer
pollutes the stream. A regard for the rights of one's neighbors should
be inherent in every human mind, because every one should do unto
his neighbor as his neighbor should do unto him.

30

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

But back of all this is tlie question of economy. In the workings of
Nature there is no waste. When a giant of the forest falls before the
storm, it lies on the ground and gradually wastes away. Not an atom
of it is lost in the economy of nature and the remnants of that tree
go to make up the food for a successor. Eons ago when the world
was younger by some millions of years the world bore a luxuriant
crop of vegetation — trees and plants. In one of those mysterious
cataclysms of natuie, Ihis vegetation was shrouded in what is known
as tlu' ('jiibonilVious njio, ;in<l tlicso tieos and tins voL'"etntion became
what we today called coal. This coal has become one of the most
important factors of life, but with its use men are learning that every
I)art of that coal has a value, and all that is not saved is so much
of a waste and a loss of capital.

Among the most important uses to which coal is put is in the
form of gas and coke and the manufacturers of these products use
coal by the millions of tons. The coal reinesents in another form the
tree that lived in the carboniferous age, which tree is almost identical
with the tree that is used by the })aper maker today. The gas and
coke maker were the first to recognize the fact that in the workings
of nature there is no loss, everything being utilized.

Tlie first ovens used to iiiMkc coke funn tliis conl sent all tlie gas
1() foul the nil', while the waste jModucts ran to defile the streams. In
this latter thev came in contact with the fishery interests, and loud
were the demands that the pollution should be stopi)ed. But self in-
t<»'est is j^rciic" <" cii t''.')n • ("••r <1 1'or the public wcMjue, and the
makers of coke began to take steps to save every particle of product.
At the Bethlehem Steel Works they have erected a series of coke ovens
from which not a particle of anything escapes, but every part of the
comI is ninde a source of levenue. The gas that was allowed to
escape from the primitive ovens is now used in helping heat the fur-
naces while the tar and other products are found to be of a value
that surprises the makers.

The same was true Avith the first makers of gas. They saved at
first merely the gas and allowed to run to waste the substances which
were the foulest kind of pollution for the Avaters. 80 foul was this
])ollution that the public revolted and the gas makers were com-
])elled to take measures to dis]>ose otherwise of their refuse than
by running it in to the streams. At San Francisco the gas compan-
ies have put in a plant which takes care of its refuse, and to the
astonishment of the makers, they have discovered a source of revenue
in lamp black and other products, that add to their revenue in a way
thr.t makes the makers wonder they had never gathered that money
before.

Such being the exeperience and work of the men who handle coal
it should be a lesson that one who runs may easily read, and it
seems that the pulp and paper maker ought to y)onder well over this
lesson as he looks upon the tree which is to go into his crucible. Why
should he not evolve some means to use every particle of that tree,
for every particle of it has value.

Even the fiber that escapes and pollutes the stream could be uti-
lized into making wood alcohol. Somebody has defined dirt as being
matter out of place, and pollution is merely only another name for
matter that ought to turned into something of value by being put
into its right jdace. Su<h being the case there is no reason that the

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

31

paper and pulp maker today should not so far consult his own in-
leiests and a beuetit to the Ooniinissionei- of Fisheries by following
the teachings of nature, and the lessons taught by the coke and gas
man, and instead of polluting the streams with waste from his mill,
turn that waste into pecuniary profit.

No State in the Union has lovelier streams and lakes than the Key-
stone State of I'ennsylvania. The streams meander through the val-
leys and should be kept so pure that they would not only be a 1 ara-
dise for fish, but a source of water supply for the inhabitants who
people the banks and the stock that graze upon the fields. The lakes
of Pennsylvania lie like jewels nestling among the hills and their
pollution would be a crime. Speaking of the water supply, this is
one of the i»rcatcsl (pR'stions thai the people of modem limes have to
meet New York City alone is spending hundreds of millions of
dollars to secure an adequate supply of pure water for the use of its
inhabitants nud lo cleai up the j)ollntioH of the harljor.

The child learns to read by beginning with the letter A ot the alpha-
bet, and the clarification of the water supply should have its first step
in stopping all pollution at its source. You, gentlemen, have been
among the most flagrant violators in the past, and yet it is to be
hoped that from your well known public spirit, backed by the econo-
mies to which I have alluded above, you will be among the hi'st to
take the most stringent steps to bring about the stoppage ot pollu-
tion and co-operate in every way with the fishery authorities^ in
securiu"- purer water in which the fish can thrive and multiply, lou
need, as"l said above, as pure water to secure perfection of your manu-
factured product as the Commissioner of Fisheries needs for the
growth of his special wards, and this being the case, it is hoped that
from this time forward the co-operation between us both will be, as
1 said in the beginning:

"Two minds with but a single thought,
Two hearts that beat as one."

Good examples are contagious, and if the pulp and paper makers
follow the example of the makers of coke and gas, it will make such a
profound impression upon other manufacturers that the day ot pollu-
tion will be banished to the caves of the past and the era of pure
water an<l good feeling will be fully established.

82

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

THE SUPREME COURT SAYS POLLUTION MUST STOP.

As mentioned before in the report, the Courts are all getting in
touch with that public sentiment which requires that streams shall
be no longer used as public sewers, but the waters must run as pure
as tliey did in the days heroic the wliite man settled in Pciiiisyi\ j.nia.

liecentlj the Health Department brought suit against the Devon
Sewage Company asking an injunction to restrain the company from
allowing the escape of sewage into Darby creek. The Court of Chester
c<muty decided that this condition does not constitute a pul):ic nui-
sance; tlujt in;tsmucli as Darby creek is a piivate stieam in a sc^nse
that the riparian owners along it own ad filum aquae, the public
can liaNc no liglits tlieiein, and coiise<|ueiitly the jjollution of sucli
streams constitutes nothing more than private injury, of which only
a riparian owner may complain. The Supreme Court says:

As the State by recent legislation in the exercise of its public
power in the interests of the jniblic, has resumed in one important
particular, and for a definite ])ur])ose, its control of all the flowing
waters of the Commonwealth, and in consequence the riparian own-
ers gives all this exercise of power by the State, can no longer be said
to be alone interested. While the legislation does not make all
streams jmblic streams, it does subject them to police patrol, be-
cause while not public streams, they are susceptibly turned into pub-
lic nuisances. Because the jmblic health is endangered by drainage
of sewage into any flowing stream, the Legislature has denounced
it as an offense on the part of any one permitting it.

The Supreme Court in view of the facts that so much damage could
be done by the sewage running into the stream, ordered the court
below to enter a decree enjoining the defendant from maintaining
and operating their sewage plant in a jdace where it is now main-
tained and operated, in such a manner as permits sewage to escape
from said plant and drain and flow into Darby creek or its tribu-
taries.

The Act of May 1, 1009, which governs the Department of Fisheries
in lesiKMt lo ]!()llntion, f'oi bids tlie i nnniiii* of ;njy iciuse into a sti(»;nn
which deleterious to fish or fish life. It carries the same police
powers as were conferred on the Department of Health in regard to
keeping water i)ure, and the Department of Fisheries therefore feels
that the ruling in regard to the Devon Sewage Comi)any will be made
by the Supreme Court, if it is necessary, to carry one of the pollution
cases to the upper court.

No. 21,

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

PRESQUE ISLE PENINSULA.

On Presque Isle Peninsula in Lake Erie there are a number of
ponds which were formerly the favorite spawning grounds of a num-
ber of fish. Pennsylvania turned over the control of the Presque Isle
Peninsula to the United States for light house and other purposes.
Nothing was done in any way on the greater part of the peninsula
and it grew up a tangled wilderness abounded with mosquitoes. The
ponds and the inlets thereto gradually filled up with sand to such an
extent that they were no longer occuided by the fish.

In 1909, by an Act of Congress, the greater part of Presque Isle
was turned over by the United States to the Department of Fisheries,
and April 22, 1909, the Legislature passed an act authorizing the
Department of Fisheries to take possession of the land on Presque
Isle in the county of Erie, lying between the east line of the Erie
AVater Works land and a line substantially parallel with and ad-
jacent to the west side of the present walk extending from Misery
Bay to Presque Isle light house, for the purpose of establishing there-
cm a fish hatchery for the projtogation of fish.

The Legislature in 1911 api)ropriated |20,000 for the purposes men-
tioned in the act, but after due consideration by the Department it
was decided that the proposition, as embodied in the act, was too
broad and nothinu' was done under that apj)ropriation.

The Legislature in 1918 ap])roi)riated |20,000 specifically for dredg-
ing out the ponds and the channels leading thereto. The Department
has had plans drawn up for the improvement contemjdated under
this appropriation. The i)onds will be dredged out to a depth of two
to four feet and tlie channels oi-'cncd to connect them with the Bay,
Tliese channels Avill alloid a good Mow of water and keep the water
in the ponds from stagnating.

The water in Lake Erie rises and falls sometimes several times
in a day and this creates currents through the channels to the ponds,
the chjinnels being of such a character that they will afford a good
flow of water. Tlie capabilities of these ponds are great, as they will
restore the natuial spawning places of many fish, and the Peninsula
is reallv the onlv idace left of the original natural si»awning grounds.

THE QUESTION OF DAMS.

That the water in the streams of Pennsylvania will be allowed to go
to waste instead of being used as a maker of power is no longer doubt-
ful. Thev will be dammed and harnessed to i)lants which will cre-
ate electric energy that will furnish light, heat and power now created
by the burning of fuel, the expense of which is growing heavier every
day. Conservation of new energies is now the great question before

;j_21— 1911.

54

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

the people and the elimiiialioii of siuli waters as the untrainmeled
flow of the rivers to the sea will no lon.2:er be permitted. The erection
of the dams will create laiiie bodies of water thronghout the State,
and each of these bodies of watei- can become great souices of supplies
of fish, because the increase in the water space means more space for
fish to live and thrive.

The only real migratory fish in Pennsylvania are tlie shad and
the eel, and Erie has become the greatest fish market in tlie world,
and has done so without any shad or eels being part of their catch.
There are really few streams in T*ennsylvania which shad would as-
cend, even if there Averc no dams in those streams, while it ]<'(iuii-<'s a
very small inducement for an eel to make his headway to the upper
waters of a stream. Besides tliis, theie is always an equal divide in
regard to the eels, one-lialf of tlie people being their cliampions, while
the oIImm- hair icgaid lliciii as llic most imdcsiiablc life in the sn cams.

During the ])ast j^ear the Department has stocked the huge dam
of the Pennsylvania Water & Power Company, at Holtwood, on the
Susquehanna, and it proposes to continue this stocking until the
dam or lake abounds with fish, ready to give every angler a full
string, if he does not have to enter into competition with the violator
of the law who uses a gill net and every other destructive means of
fishing.

In by far the larger number of the streams of the State the dams
are a benefit rather than a detriment to the fish, as the dams make
more extensive bodies of water and greater dei)ths, so that there is
room for far more fish than there would be in the streams if there
Nveie no dams. It is tine that it is ]iossibl(» that some of the bass.
pike-perch, or other fishes, may get over the dam and be unable to
get back, but they will be so few that they are not worth considering.
None of the fishes in IVnnsylvania, except the shad and eel, are migra-
tory, though it is true thev will ascend the stream some distance to
spawn so that the Dei>artment would rather recommend the damming
of the streams as a means for piocuiing more areas of water in whicli
to raise fish.

FISH FOR THE FARMER.

To supplement the fish work of the Department of Fisheries the
Department is extremely desirous of securing the cooperation of
the farmei's of tho Commonwealth, because if the farmers will take u]>
the culture of fish they will be able to add largely to the food supply
of the people.

The capabilities of an acre of land in raising fish is but little un-
derstood, yet from an acre of water mav be taken annually from
5,000 to f>',000 ]>ounds of fish. The fish after the first installation
require little care, but some supervision over their enemies and the
enemies that attack the banks, such as muskrats and crawfish. The
fish will be self supporting and therefore is the only live stock on

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

35

the farm that does not require a layout for feed. There is hardly a
farm of any size but has an acre or more of waste land. Several
farmers might unite and prepare a pond of larger size than an acre
and therefore capable of raising more fish.

The first cost of the pond would be the excavation and banks, but
that pond would clear out the waste ground ugly to look at and
baneful from the weeds that it constantly raises. Therefore, instead
of an eyesore there would be a joy and a delight, for a glimpse of
water adds to the beauty of the scenery and fishing in the pond would
be a continual source of recreation.

For such ponds the Department recommends bluegills and catfish.
The blue gill multiplies rapidly and attains a weight from half a
pound to over a pound. Few fish appear ui)on the table of the epicure
that excel in delicacy the bluegill, while his gamey qualities are such
that even the expert\angler does not disdain practising flyfishing for
the bluegill. The catfish is too well known to need any enconium from
the Department. Ue attends stiictly to business, raises his family
with the care shown by few other fish and upon the table when prop-
erly prei)ared he ai)pears to the best advantage.

The Department stands ready at any time to furnish the farmers
with any information they would desire as to the construction of the
pond and the care of the fish. Two hundred adult fish will be ample
to begin the stocking of the pond and it will not be long until the
pond is a source of profit, a change of diet and a delight to the
whole household by affording the sport of fishing.

A few tadpoles introduced into the pond will result in a supply of
bull-frogs, not large, of course but enough to furnish an occasional
meal for the farmer's family, and bull frog as an article of diet is
not to he dcsuiscd bv (".en \' v nr.'.st lastidmns (m icu c.

The fish pond will also afford the children of the farmer a chance
to study fish lore and the habits of the fish which will so interest
them that as they grow uj) they will be advocates of the fish laws
passed to protect'fish from wholesale and destructive slaughter. The
bluegill builds a nest with much care and after the eggs aie deposited
watches over that nest unceasingly, fiercely attacking any enemy that
jil'jjioaclies it. The slighU'st loicign substance lie jMocccds to remove
with a caic that would reflect credit upon a tidy iKinsewife. It is this
habit that makes him a victim to the angler who does not regard the
breaking up of a family as a crime. The fisherman throws his baited
hook to^the watchful guardian of the nest wheieupon the guardian
makes a rush to remove the ofTending substaiu-e, and in the rush
is impaled ui>on the hook and taken to the string of the angler, which
means that the whole family of little fishes are doomed to destruc-
tion. If the boy or girl knows this he will become a ])rotector of the
fish and try and see that no fisherman despoils the nest of the
])arent.

36

REPORT OF THE

THE STOIIY OF FISH LIFE.

Off. Doc.

There is nothing more important in the eye of the Department
than the enlisting of the rising generation as the friends of the fish.
If the boys and i»irls of the Commonwealtli can be sliowii 1 o.v il;e
fish lives, its habits, its instincts, and all the various phases of its
life, the child will become interested and incited by that interest
will be impelled to follow its study as he grows older and the more
thoroughly he acquires an interest in the mysteries, for they are
mysteries, of the lives of the dwellers in the water, the more he will
become convinced that the requirements of the laws which have been
enacted to throw around the fish to safeguard thorn are necessary
for its protection in these days of constant growth in population.

With this idea in mind the Department has built a number of metal
cabinets of ornate design in which it has placed a number of vials
which contain some phase of the growth of the fish fiom the time
that it is in the embryo in the egg until it has started in the race for
life. The specimens are taken, in one case, from the trout as the
i(MM(*scnJntivo of the «.»ain(> fisl'ps of Ihe CoininoTiwealth and in tlie
other instance from the white fish as a representative of the the com-
mercial fish.

Describing the cabinet a birlletin has been issued which tells of the
characteristics of the fish, wherein they differ, and tells of the gi owth
from the embrvo to maturity. These cabinets are intended to be
placed in those educational institutions of the Commonwealth which
devote at least some time to the study of natural histoiy.

To the person who knows nothing of the life and liabits of the fish,
the fish re]>resents only so much of a portion of man's food. But to
one who studies the life of the fish and its liabits there is opened a
volnme as interesting as any upon the book shelves of the library and
I'o finds t7 ensures for tliought like Il)e man wlio found "sermons in
stones and books in running brooks."

SPRUCE Cin:EK HATCHERY SOLI).

January 20, lOOG, the Department purchased from Sidney T. Tsett
a i)lot of ground containing 27 acres and 20 ])ei'clies in S])ruce Creek
township, Huntingdon county, for the sum of .f 1,000.00. Spruce
creek runs thiough the grounds the whole length. This property
contained no l)uildings of any kind. It was a broad meadow lying
very little higher than the water of the creek.

March 27, lf)07, the Department purchased from Daniel Heck
another ])arcel of land containing OSO 1000 of an acre on which were
two dwelling houses and a stable. The price paid was |2,1 50.00.
On the tract purchased first was a large limestone spring with a

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

37

capacity of from GOO to 1,200 gallons a minute. A large frame hatch-
ing house was erected and a number of ponds were dug. After the
work of propagating trout was begun an unexpected trouble was
experienced from the water from the spring. There was high water
and the spring rose and evidently entered a crevice and washed out
a greasy looking substance which the United States authorities pro-
nounced an algae that grows in the dark. This algae was very
destructive to the young fish. ^

In the Superintendent's report for 1007 he says that the rise of the
spring in June of that year brought with it the algae which kept
flowing from the spring for nearly two months. It got into the gills
of the advanced fry and killed all but 80,000.

Spruce Creek, for some distance above the hatchery, runs through
a narrow gorge, iMHinded by high liills, so that when the e aie heavy
rains the creek rises rapidly and the water flows over its banks at
the hatchery and floods the grounds. The first experience was in
March, 1007, when the melting snows and a heavy rainstorm caused
a rise in Spruce creek and the upper ])art of the giounds was flooded
and the water came within a foot of flowing into the ponds. The
tr(Hii?lis ill the liatchiim- liouse flooded and tltere wms about two feet
of water in the house. It was then decided to build a dyke along the

In the report of the Superintendent for lOOS he states that on
account of two floods in March and May he lost several thousand
trout. He also reports that in that year the experiments with bass
s])'>^v(m1 tluit tlie station was not suital^ie fov t' - v (vn^pti' i? ri" b-^ss.

The Superintendent in his report for 1010 says early in February
there came a sudden thaw and a heavy downfall, which created a flood
in Spruce creek. It was the heaviest flood in a number of years.
It overflowed the banks of the stream and rose within six inches to
the top of the dvke. A bieach of 10 feet wide was cut from the dyke
and the flood poured into the large ])ond carrying away the entire
stock of bass, sunfish and catfish. The flood also carried away the
bridge across Spruce creek near the dwellins: house.

In Se])tember, 1011. Spruce Creek was airain flooded and the water
about destroyed nearly all the imiirovements on the hatchery grounds.
Tlie large hatching house was undermined and had to be taken down,
while many ponds were destroyed. Of the iionds left a number of
others were washed out by a subsequent flood. The work of restoring
the hatchery would have been virtually more ex])ensive than building
a ncAV one and the Roard of Fishery Commission, in view of the sit-
uation, decided that the best thing to be done with the property was

to sell it. , , , r, 4 4.

Spruce creek, as mentioned above, would always be a constant
menace, and a dvke sufficient to pTotect the property would be enor-
mously exjiensive and there would always be a liability of a break

from some cause. ^ ^,.^0 ..i • •

A bill was introduced into the Legislature of lOI.*^ authorizing
the sale of the property and it was enacted and signed by the
Governor The property M'as advertised fo- snV and was knocked
down at .f3,0r)0.00. within $100.00 of the oviginal price. This was a
reinnrkablv good bargain for the Commonwealth.

38

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

AN AMATKlTirs EXI'EIIIENCE.

Some very interesting letters come to the Pennsylvania Department
of Fisheries, especially those relating to the experiences of persons
in raising fish. Recently one was received from Indiana county that
shows how successful persons can be in raising fish and frogs!^ The
correspondent says:

"I tried propagating brook trout years ago, built a small pond and
stocked It with wild trout I caught. They lived and grew nicely for
me, but after studying the matter I concluded T could not give them
the care and attention necessary, so about that time the German
carp was introduced and we got a few from the State and thev did
nicely.

"I made a larger pond, about an acre in extent, ranging from one
foot to seven feet in depth with a sjuing in one corner of the mue cold
water that will not freeze in winter. 1 soon had barrels of lisli, some
of them two aiKl a half feet in length. 1 sup])]ied evcrv one lii-.i
want^ed any to stock ponds, and people came fiom eight to ten miles
tor fish for sick people, which we also supplied. Everybody said
they were good and we used some and tliought them vei-y'good when
not too large.

"But finally chubs got into the pond and got so numerous that
Uey ate ail the s])awi. (,r the ciIum- fish. There we:e .Millions of them
from one to two inches long, and I sent for some wall-eved pike which
the State sui)plied me. T got two cans and the fish looked like
grounds in the bottoms of the cans before we put them in the pond
J think It was in March when we jdanted tliem and in the late Fall
J caught some of them and tliey measured from eight to ten inches
in length, while the little chubs were all gone. The last pike I cau'-ht
measured 22 inches in length. ' <^«iu^ni

"Then I caught some rock bass and put them in the ]>ond along
with a few cathsh. T think they are hard on other fish and the Tmnd
seemed to be full of little ones from two to four inches hu,- 1 "nl
catching the])i out and putting them in the streams around lieVe
1 can hardly catch anything but the little ones for they take the liook
as last as it is thiown into the water. 1 now wan't them all out
and want to stock my |>ond with the best varieties of catfish

"I have raised the big river frog by the thousands. They are no
trouble at all to be raised. All that is needed is a good pond with
I'lei'tv o. wate"dee'> eiion-.-h Co- ;:• {;^'>-| ion and ll-e Lode's we'l iry
ered with water plants such as bull-rushes, flags, swamp grass, oic
so they can nde and sj.awn in it. As soon as the spawning season
IS over the big fellows take to the fields and off to the streams
traveling quite some distance, as faimers tell me they find them in
their spring.s and watering tioughs two or three miles from here
\\hen si>awning time comes, however, we find most of them back and
almost making the earth shake with their music. I thou"-ht at first
I could not stand it, but now I like to hear them after our fon^ dreary
winters are over. "^

"They have innumerable enemies, crows, hawks and snakes th-it
destroy many of the little ones, while minks, muskrats and raccoons

j^„ 21. DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES. »

live on them to some extent. The frogs live largely on insects, but
thoT will cSch small birds and a small chicken two or three weeks
iKu be swallowed with the rapidity that will surprise the on-

looker."

■

NEW BOAT AT TORRESDALE.

'/,

y.

The last Legislature made an appropriation of |1,500.00 for the pur-
chase o?abo"at to be used at the Torresdale Fish Hatchery. Such
float was g^atlv needed, ..s,,ecially during the shad season, when
U vNits on the river the various lishermen and gets the shad eggs tron

,e u Out of theapi.ropiiation (he Departineut has purchased a boat
^4 eet ong and 8 too G inches bean, and fully equipped in every
;* V IVrTw wo.k. th.M«. I».ing p!cnty of .no,,.. The l„«,l ,s a .•,■„,«.,•
^ tha w 11 s and any weathe,- that it is likely to meet in the
Delaware rWer. The value of the shad fishery has been increasing
eveiTyem-and the new boat will be a great help in assisting the work
of giiti.ering the eggs.

THE COMMODORE TERRY.

The Departmenfs (ug ron.modore Teriy on I^ake Erie Ims con-
tinned to prove her value to the service. All the fish hatchcl at the
F He stntion and the T'nim, Cilv stati..,, weie duly and carefully
Salted bv the l'e,rv. an.l all the eggs obtained f.o.n the Canadian
shoip were brought hv the IVny to (he hatchery.

I is a te-H^-lc s(o,-,„ wl,ich will dote,' (he I'erry from going to her
wo,-k or pe,fo,n,ing an act of duty. When storms rage high on the
V,kea"^mporlled boats call for help, it is the I'eny that is always
c'lllc ipm to go to the vescue and she has never failed in an emer-
^encv T me and wo,k l,ad left their finger marks upon he sturdy
vessel' a,,d (he last T.cgisla(u,e made an a,,proprla(ion for the .ebnild-
,^' o'h l..a! .M,d .,7, '."■ ii, s„<h si:,.„,rh condll.o.. thai sic would
:'ot ,e a menace to t.,e lives of her gallant orew when they saUed from
the harbor, eithc for wo,k or to the rescue of impeded Ines

T e las session of the T.egislatu.o passed an a,.p,opr,at,on for
.-aiVn.. (he Niagara, (l,c (lag ship of Oommodo.e Pcny, in tl'o '«> '«
o Take E,ie fro,n her walery g.ave in Miseiy Ray. whc'C sl,e had
"ai,l sub,„e,-g;,l for seventy o.- i„o,e years, and the (^on.mo.lo.e Pe.Ty
was a vei'V valuable aid i.. doing the wo,k.

FISHWAYS,

The la.k or clli.i,.,„-y of part of (he Cai fishvyay at Ilol(wo,..l Da,,.
c.„sed nuch poimlar discussion among the fishern.en at that point.
Medi . ve re held i.. York county and lesolutions a.lo,.(ed demand-

1.

y

INTENTIONAL 2ND EXPOSURE

No. 21

DEPAUTMKXT ( »F FISfTKUIl'S,

livP on them to some extent. Tl.e fio-s liv<' lar-ely on insects, bnt
Hv "il ea e . small hinls and a snmll cl.ieken two or I hm^ weeks
o MW be swallc.wcHl with th. .ai.hliiy that will snrpv.se the on-

ol
looker."

NIOW BOAT AT TOlUJKSDALi:.

:;■ ,, >li(rw<» k i;t.-.'i.Mn-|>N'n1v<M' in.,... T' <• 1. ai ,sm rrn,.'-

:;; tl ; wl iana nnv weather that it is likely t<. meet m the

1?(^1 are rivcM-. Th. valnc ot the shad lishery has been increasing

. :;v ve r ml the new boat will be a i^reat help in assisting; the work

or i;:illici-iiii; llioojISis.

Tin; COMMOnolM'. l'i;!!1!Y.

Til.. Ocpailnicnl-s (ni: ConiiiHMlo.c IVny <■» r.;ik.- Knc 1';'^ /•' "■

' o .<Mli oil mill 111.' l-iiioii <-i,v si.ilioii WO!., iluly nii.l .-aiol 11>
;,,,,Uo.n,v .110 iViiv. iiiHl .111 ilio ou'.s ol„i,i,io.l ri...» .1.0 Cnn.-.l.a.i

shoio wol'.. l>i-oimlil I'V llio I'oi-iy lo llioliiil.li..iv.

N 1, t..,viUl.. S...11.1 wl.i.li will .IH.'i- ilio Poiiy lioni ;^..„ij: lo i .•■

woik ...■ iM.iloi, 1,1,1..: ii.i ii.-l '..■ 'lol.v. WlH.„ s.o.iiis ,;,};<. l„j.Hi -.n I i;;

I I 'iniil i,,,|...iil...l l"".ts.-,!ll foi- li..l|i. il i- il"' I'oiiy llui. ,snhM,>s

:. ,,n, „,„ lo I!- ■•-•■I- ^^"'1 -'"• i'^"' »'■""• '^"''"^ '",•■'■' r"'T

;; Ti, ,„.i «,„k i.„i loft ,ii..i,- n.i.^-v .i.^Ks "I-" ;!'<-<•;.;>

volsol. ,111.1 .1,.. I,is. I......isl:iliu.. .11,1.1,. ,111 ,„,|,„.|in,i,io,i lor Hio i" '" 1^

n.'.t i',.. ,. .m.nii.-.' I"ll>" "••<- "f I"-- ^^^^ <■.•..«• wliontli<.ys„ilo.l from
,1,,. ImrlK.i-. ..itlii.i- l"r "'"I- '"■ I" ""' ''''*••'"' '^1 ""l'''>il<"l li^!'>.

Til.. l,isl sossion or ll'.o 1.,.l.isl„liiio ,„nss...l „n ,il.l.,-.> ni, Ik " '
,.,is , .. ,1,0 Xi„...,u„. .1,0 ll„.r sM|, or .^„i,.,io.l..ro IVny. M, ilio l„i il.
T-ko Kiio fi-oni li.T «„loiy -„v,. in Misory l!„y. wliovo sl,o I,„.l
;,Il,l s,,l,,ii;.i"..,l lor s..v,.i„v ,„• „,.oo v,.,„s. „,„l .1,,. .■on,nio,l..ro I'orry
\v,is „ vorv v,ilii,il,lo„i,l i„ 'loiiu' llio ""il<.

nsiiw.ws.

T|„. 1-,,-U ,,, ,.tli.i,.:MVor |-„,-t .ril„.<'„il lislnv:,v :,| II,.1,v.h,.I |i.„„
...,„v,.,l Miii.li ,,o,.ill,ir'.lis..nssi.m iliiioiij; Ilio lisli..ini.n .-.. . lu. l.o,i,l.
V.oii ,.." w..,.'l,.M ill Vork .•oiiiity ,in.l ivsoliMions „,lo| 1 .1..m,„ii<I-

40

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

iiig that a better plan of fish way be put in the dam. Even the Legis-
latiro look the matter up and jmssed a resolution oideiinji' a lis!iw;'.Y
put in the dam which would meet the requirements of the fishermen.

A careful study of the bottom of the river and the flow of the cur-
rent was made, and a plan adopted of placing on the York county
side a fishway which would resemble as nearly as possible the flow of
a natural stream. The Dam Company co-operated most heartily in
every way with the Department to carry out the plans, and the
result is a waterway like a natural riffle. It is nearly a thousand feet
long and over sixty feet wide. It is built in the most solid manner
of concrete and rock, and it certainly looks as if any fishway will
be used by fish, this ought to be the one. It will be impossible to tell,
however, 'what the result will be until after the migration of the shad
next spring. There is no doubt, however, that it will afi'ord a passage-
way for eels, for eels are much like the old fashioned Mississippi
sielniibojit Hiat would run on the liround aftev a hciny d.-'^'.

Successful fishways have been the study of the fish culturists foi*
years, and all have been pronounced failures, excei)t in the case of
the fishways for salmon, which fish is a bold jumper and will ascend
places which the shad will not attempt. A covei ed fishway will not
be taken by the shad who fears its shadows, and the fishway at Holt-
wond is an ojien way.

Since this fishway is built it has attracted wide attention and the
De]>artment has received letters from many of the Departments of
Fisheries of the various States and the United States asking for
the details of the construction. As showing the general interest in
the matter, the Department has received a letter from a representa-
tive of the Imperial Fisheries Institute of Japan asking for the plans
and descriptions of the newly built fishway so that it may be studied
as an available fishway for the waters of Japan.

FAIKMOUNT TAlUv AQUARIUM.

The Department of Fisheries has continued its co operation with
the Philadelphia Park Aquarium in the way of keeping n\) its supply
of fish, and feels that in doing so it has holjfed to funiish much inl'o -
mation and pleasure to the visitors at the Aquarium in Fairmount
Park. The following is the lepoit of the Sui'erintendent of the tish
caught by the employees of the Aquarium duiing the year 1913:

Fairmount Park Aquarium,
Philadelphia, December 1, 1018.

Yellow perch 1 ^9

Large mouth bass, 66

Sunfish, 468

White perch 1

Rock bass, 1

No. 21. DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIIiiS. «

Also last spring the Water Bureau dr^^w ofl -the v^ater froha the oM
reservoir at Fairmount, preparatory to its deiriolitio'n toi make'rooiti
for the new Art Gallery. I took therefrom the-foliowing fis^li- (approx-
imately) : '.':..':

Yellow perch, ^t'^^^

Sunfish, ^'^^^

Small mouth bass, ^

The sunfish and yellow perch being far in excess of the number re-
quired for aquarium purposes, were trans])lanted to the Wissahickon
creek, about:

Yellow perch, ^o'aaa

Sunfish, ^'""^^

and the remainder were placed in lakes in Fairmount Park.

Confirming my report of last year, for 1012, I would say, that no
small mouth bass were taken this year from the Schuylkill river at
Fairmount Dam. But a large number of large mouth bass were
caught. The small mouth seems to have disappeared entirely. That
only nine small mouth bass were found in the reservoir, it seems to
me, clearly indicates that this species has entirely disappeared from
the lower' river, due undoubtedly to the bottom being covered with

mud instead of rocks.

W. E. MEEHAN,

Superintendent.

PERMITS.

Under the ])rovisions of the Act of May 1, 1000, the Department
is authorized to issue permits in various cases such as to transplant
fish, take fish for scientific purposes, &c. The following permits were
issued during the year :

To transplant fish to suitable waters, 10

To take fish or sj)ecimens of aquatic life for scientific jjurposes, 5
To screen an artificial i>ond in which the water was being low-
ered for repairs, 1

To use explosives, ^

To close the fishway on account of low water, T)

To remove carp,

To take fish for spawning purposes, 1

To take eggs in Lake Erie, 1

The permits for the use of explosives were issued generally for
the ])urpose of allowing persons to remove rocks that interfered with
navigation, but four ])ermits for the use of explosives were for the
purp'ose of raising corpses of persons accidentally drowned.

42

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

TIDE. WATER SEINE LICENSES.

One license was issued during tlie j^ear in Philadelphia for the
use of a haul seine for taking carp, suckers, mullets and cattish
under the provisions of the Act of June 3, 1911, in the tide water
streams wholly within the Commonwealth and within the limits of
tide water of said streams. Since liie closing ot ilie ye;i ■ iiie tieasu.er
of Delaware county sends in three duplicates of licenses that he issued
duiing the year. So these license fees do not appear in the receipts
for the year. Under the law remittance of the license fees should
be made'at once to the Department of Fisheries so that the license can
he legisleied on the Dei^ai tment hooks as notice to tiie wjndciis tliat
the operators of the nets are duly licensed.

GERMAN CARP.

Some years ago Dr. Spencer Baird tliought it was desirable to intro-
duce the German carp into American waters, not considering the fact
that there are so many fish native to this country that are far superior
in every way to the German cai p. The German carp was introduced
into Europe by the Crusaders and instantly made itself at home,
in which process it about eliminated all the other fish, leaving the
carp as the main lish to be depended u]M)n for a fish diet.

it multiplies enormously and grows to a large size, but the average
person regards it as coarse and growls over their abun<lance in I'enn-
sylvania waters. It has <-onie to stay and theiefoie the best will
have to be made of it. The youthful German carp all'ords a fine diet
for the black bass and other lish, aixl therefore shotild have some value
in the e^^es of bass fishermen. Theie are few persons aware of its
value as a food fish, but statistics show that carp to the value of
nearly J!f;:?(IO,(K)() is sold in Pennsylvania annually. It sometimes
sells in the Philadeli)liia market at as much as twenty cents a pound,
the fish being taken to market alive, and this high })rice is paid by the
Orthodox Jew whose religion requires his food to be koshered.

It is due to the carp to say that he first got his bad name as food
from the fact that he was planted in warm ponds with muddy bottoms
and as the carp revels in mud his fiesh was not only coarse but muddy
to the taste. When taken from clearer water the taste of the carp is
very much improved and he has appeared as a fish upon such bills of
fare as the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

The carj) is a vegetable feeder and i)refers the roots of aipiatic
plants to the plants themselves. This love of roots drives him to
stiiiin'i" ii]» tic l()tl«n>s oT lie slicaiiis and waters and kccj; ii,( iw
constantly muddy. This muddy water fioating over the spawning
beds of the bass, for instance, drives the bass from his nest, and the
result is the death of the bass eggs. In addition the carp is a spawn
eater like the sucker and he develops almost human ingenuity in his
pursuit of his favorite food.

No. 21,

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

43

Fishermen tell what seems like extravagant stories of the ingenious
way in which a carp will lure a bass from his nest in order that the
vaHous friends of the carp may get at the spawn. The bass will
guard his nest and fiercely attack any enemy that approaches the nest,
but the fishermen say that one carp will attract the attention of the
bass and engage him in a running conflict while the eggs are being
eaten bv the other carp. That there is a demand for the carp for
market *is shown by the various requests from the fishermen living
around Philadelphia to take out licenses to net tor carp, and in
Presque Isle Bay whei-e the carp had become a nuisance the Depart-
ment issues licenses at |5.00 a i)iece for the taking of the carp and the
take runs into thousands of pounds.

So long as the carp has a commercial value there will be fishermen
who will take it, and complaint comes from the Delaware river
that the carp are fished for so persistently that the fish are becoming
scarce and laws are asked for to make a close season.

RAINBOW TIJOUT.

As mentioned in a former report, the Department learned that
the rainbow trout thrives and multiplies when in the coldest waters,
close to the snow line. Millions have been planted in Pennsylvania
;ni<l rarelv <;ne has been caught. The Depaitment theretore. no
longer propagates the rainbow trout, because of lack of waters in
which it willlive, and where the apidicant asks for rpinbow trout
if the waters show a temperature above GO degrees, the brown trout

is sent him. . , , j a ^

The Department is not in favor of introducing haphazard any fish
not inhabitants of the State, believing that the fish native to the
Commonwealth are fish to restock the streams, because it is following
the course of nature and nature knows best. ^

It was an ex])eriment to introduce the German carp into streams,
and while the German carp is a food fish and commands sometimes
very hiol> prices in the market, he is not nearly as desirable a fish
as any of the s])ecies of fish native to the Commonwealth. Fish are
naturally cannibals, but nature in its work, provided a balance so
that there were not more enemies than there were fish that those
enemies preyed upon. The sucker, for instance, is a spawn eater,
•nid s ) is the eel. and when the (a; p was added to the fish in tlie watei s
of the State it destroyed the balance by bringing in the spawn-
eater.

44

REPORT OF THE

BROOK TROUT.

Off. Doc.

With the work of rebuilding- the ponds and hatcheries there was
much interference with the propagation of fish, yet the Department
made a better showing than it had really hoped for. The plan adopted
by the Department to plant only trout in the yearling stage necessi-
tated more pond room than was required when the fish were shipped
in the finger-ling stage, but every Superintendent bent his energy to
the work and really did surprisingly well, considering the drawbacks
they had to contend with.

This question of pond room the De])artment hopes to have settled
by next year, and then the output of trout will be brought up to the
demand. That the shipments have been successful is shown by the
fact each recipient is requested to return a statement as to the num-
ber of fish he actually received and the condition they were received
in, and not one person in fifty made a complaint, but spoke in the
hi'licst tonus of the sntisfactory manner in which the fish were re-
ceived and showing by the tone that they had appreciated the larger
size of the fish sent whicli Avere so evident to the naked eye. Under
this system of getting returns sent it is possible to fix tlie trouble
and to bring about a remedy, or if it is caused by the carelessness
of the messengoi- to dismiss him from the service so that the same
cause could not bo operated again through him.

There are many streams in Pennsylvania which would be better
trout stieams if little care and judgment were used by the farmer
and tlie angler. The streams need shade to keep the water cool and
this shade can be secured by planting shrubs and bushes along the
bank. These shrubs aflord a nesting place for various kinds of winged
insects whose larvae will droj) into the stream affording food for the
fish, thus serving a two-fold object of shading the stream and furnish-
ing food for the denizens. The stream should be su])plemented with
branches of trees to bring it to its former natural condition, the
branches being hiding places for the fish, especially for the young
fish, and thus a piotection from their many enemies. In many sec-
tions of the Commonwealth the timber is again growing up and this
converts former trout streams into present ones, they having boon de-
serted by the trout when tlio water ran warm due to the rays of the
sun that are now shaded by the growing timber.

The Department has received several requests that streams be closed
for a period, in order, as the petition asked, that the fish may have a
chance to grow and multiply. Tlie Department is not in svmi^athy
with tliis closing of any streams, but believes that they should be kept
open and kept full of fish by constant restocking. While closing a
lake or pond has advantages, tliese advantages do not pertain to a
stream. Tn addition to tliis the worst fishing of a stream is done by
the fish pirate wlio uses all sorts of illegal methods to get the fish.
To advertise the closintr of a stream is to notifv the ]»irato that tlio
fish have been placed in it and lie sneaks to the banks by night to do
his nefarious work and captures Ihe fish that some at least should
belong to the law abiding citizen.

I

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES,

MUSCALLONGE.

45

The Department has supplemented its first planting of muscallonge
in Ponnsvlvania in 1!M2 bv a second planting during this year, the
eggs being obtained by exchange with the New York Conservation
Commission. The fish'were planted in the various lakes in the west-
ern part of the State where muscallonge were natural inhabitants,
and very encouraging reports come from those sections as to the
thrivin*'' of these planted fish. The taking of a lunge is considered
the highest possible sport by anglers, and the Department hopes by
repeated plantings, to keep up the supply in those lakes where it

was a natural inhabitant. , • ui x

It is an extremely voracious fish and therefore most undesirable to
plant in anv but its native waters, as it would really clean up a body
of water even more effectively than the bass, because it is a larger
fish than the bass, and has an appetite in proportion to its size.
Under no circumstances will the Department introduce the muscal-
longe into waters east of the Allegheny mountains.

BROWN TROUT.

With the passing of the forests and brush many former good trout
streams have become too warm for the speckled brook trout. He
is a decided connoisseur of waters and quickly flees from any water
that rises above sixty degrees of temperature, while he prefers water
of much lower temperature than this.

Some years ago a German intioduced into this country the trout
of I':nirland, whoso juaisos wore so ])rofusely sung by Tzaak Walton,
the Patron Saint of all anglers. Unfortunately the fish got linked
to them the name of the German brown trout, which as they are
the English trout, is a misnomer, like the term salmon appliefl com-
monly to the pike perch. The brown trout thrives and flourishes in
the foMMorly too warm tnmt sti earns, and ho grows to a size that fills
the fisherman's soul with joy. While not so gamey as the brook
trout, yet taken altogether he is rather a sportsman's fish, as some-
times he will give a battle royal to the angler using light tackle.

Tn the view of the Department the brown trout is a desirable fish
and it is proposed to propagate them in such quantities that the
streams to which they are suitable will be stocked in a manner that
will afford the fishermen good creels.

The brown trout is confounded by many with the rainbow trout,
but as has boon shown in a previous report, the rainbow trout is
not suitable for the waters of Pennsylvania as he thrives only in Iho
coldest waters that flow from the summits of the Rocky Mountains,
while the brown trout are increasing and multiplying in many of the
streams of this great Commonwealth.

46

REPORT OF THE

Oflf. Doc.

The question has been asked the Department whether the brown
trout will not drive out the native chair or brook trout. Experience
shows that the speckled brook trout is fully able to take care of him-
self in the waters which are suitable for him, and therefore there
is no fear that the biowu trout will ultimately drive out the native
speckled trout.

The reports received b}^ the Department from the streams stocked
with brown trout are extremely favorable and show good catches
f;( 111 si caiiis tliat some vc^n s aiio wei e inhabited bv soecklcd tiout,
but which the speckled trout had abandoned by the water becoming
too warm, and the streams were Ashless until the brown trout were
introduced. In Brodhead's creek in Monroe county the brown trout
have done extremely well and do not seem to have affected the number
of brook trout in the colder waters of the stream. It has been noted
that at the opening of the season when the water is still wintry cold
the catch is nearly all speckled trout, but as the season advances
and the water is warmer the broAvn trout are caught.

THE BLAOK BASS.

The black bass is one of the game fish that is in great demand by
anglers, and more ai>i>lications for this lisli are jirobably received
than foi' any other excei)t tiout, yet as a matter of fact the Depart-
ment does not recommend the jilanting of black bass in any but the
larger streams of the State, such as the Suscpiehanna, Juniata and
Allegheny rivers.

It is a most destructive fish and kills for the pleasure of killing.
After a bass has surfeited itself it will proceed to attack a school
of fish after the ninnner of a teirier killing rats in a jiit, and will
destroy numbers of tish meiely to satisfy its savage desire for fun.
In many of the lakes in the northeastern ])art of the State where bass
have been planted, the fishing has really been badly sjioiled. Theie
were numerous lakes wheie there was goo^l fishing foi- ])ickeiel, yel-
low perch and bull-heads, but since the introduction of bass have be-
come ])oor lesorts for the fishermen.

The bass is an erratic creature. Some days it will be possible to
go to a lake and make a good catch, and then one may go for a week
ami not get a strike. On this point the Dejiartment is tiying to make
an object lesson to the anglers as to the capabilities of a lake to
afford fish for the angler. It has secured the Beaver Meadow Beser-
voir in Wayne county as a necessary adjunct for the supply of watei*
for the Wayne hatchery. The reservoir contains about 150 acres of
water, which has been planted during the past two years with fish
until it absolutely teems with fish, all fishing for the ]>resent being
]>rohibited. In the course of anothei' year or so it is ex])ected to
o]ien this lake to fishermen who use one rod and line, and the De|.art-
nuMit feels sure that with only rod and line fishing the suj)ply of fish
in the lake will be equal to the demand.

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

47

It is noticeable that the bass thrive better in the streams in the
Ohio Basin and are more prolific than in the waters in the north-
eastern part of the State. This is probably due to the higher temper-
ature of the waters in the Ohio Basin. Dr. James A. Henshall thus
speaks of the black bass:

''The black bass is eminently an American fish. He has the faculty
of asserting himself and making himself at home wherever placed.
He is plucky, gamey, brave and unyielding to the last when hooked.
He has the arrow rush of the trout, the untiring strength and bold
leap of the salmon, while he has a system of fighting tactics peculiarly
his own. He will rise to the artificial fly as readily as the salmon or
the brook trout, under the same conditions, and will take the live
minnow or other live bait, under any and all circumstances, favorable
to the taking of any other fish. I consider him inch for inch and
point for point the gamiest fish that swims."

It is this gamey character that commends the bass to the angler
and the bass always lives up to his reputation, but as shown above,
there are limitations to the desirability of placing bass in all the
waters of the Commonwealth. Give him plenty of room and when he
is in a mood for biting the angler can take him, but when he is
planted in a small lake, and it is not his day for biting, the angler
gets nothing, because the bass has virtually exterminated the other
varieties, and if he had not been i)lanted in that small lake the fish-
ermen would go home with a string of pickeral, yellow perch and
bull-heads, which is a far more satisfactory condition than going
home with nothing to show for his day's sport.

The black bass is the hardest to propagate of any of the fish dis-
tributed bv the Department. The reason is that the eggs cannot be
taken from the fish artificially, and therefore the supply of bass must
be entirely depended upon by cribbing the nest after the fish has
naturally spawned. To allow the young bass to grow to a size suit-
able for'^shipping, there must be very large areas of water, to which
end the Department has striven energetically.

In view of the fact that they cannot have the eggs taken from
them artificially and the large areas of water required, the bass
are the most expensive of all the fish to raise. Owing to lack of
large areas of water the Department has not been able to accomplish
much in the propagation of black bass, but it hopes soon to have
secured such large ponds that it will be able to supply all the black
bass that are needed for the State.

PIC5KEKAL.

From the reports the past season has been a very good one for
pickeral, many unusually good catches being reported. The pros-
pects of a good season next year is very good owing to the fact that
the mild weather has prevented tip-up fishing through the ice. The
tip-up fishing is more destructive than the average person thinks,
because examination shows that most of the fish taken through the

48

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

ice are females heavy with spawn, and each female pickeral caught
destroys a very large family addition to the fish. The female pickeral
during the ice season is getting ready to spawn and has an insatiable
appetite which impels her to take everything edible in sight, as in
the case with females of all kinds during the time of parturition.

There has been much confusion and considerable correspondence
in regard to the open season from the fact that in the digest of 1011
the compiler made a table in which it fixed the open season for
pickeral from June 15 to December 21, instead of December 31, as the
law reads. This same mistake was repeated in the digest for 1913.

In view of this killing off of the female pickeral during the ice
season, it would seem that the persons interested in pickeral would
desire that the season for pickeral closed at the same time as it does
for black bass and other game fish, that is November 30, which would
cut out the ice fishing.

YELLOW PERCH.

The yellow perch is one of the most valuable of food fishes in the
State and it is doubly valuable on account of its immense fecundity.
There are lakes in northeastern Pennsylvania where the yellow
perch are so abundant that the expert angler regards them as a
nuisance, but the fishermen who wants a fish dinner finds that the
yellow perch are just what he wants. It is gamey, it takes the hook
with avidity, and where they abound it does not take long to obtain
a string, and to its edible qualities it is regarded by many as the best
pan fish of all the fresh water fishes in the State.

During the past two years the Department has been planting very
many yellow perch and the result has been that in cases like Presque
Isle Bay at Erie, it is becoming well stocked with the fish, and every
fisherman is enabled to get a good string. The eggs of the perch are
largely gathered by field work, the perch depositing its eggs in a
string upon branches and roots in the water. The Department hopes
to continue this work with the yellow perch until it has fully re-
stocked all the streams and waters for which it is suitable.

DELAYED REPORT.

It is a source of much regret that the annual report for 1912 was
not received from the printer until long after the adjournment of
the session of the last Legislature. The Department had carefully
worked out its plans and showed what it intended to do during this
year. If this report for 1912 had been received by the members of

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

40

the Legislature it would have made the work of the Department more
thoroughly understood and brought about a better feeling towards
the needs of the Department.

In closing my report I wish to extend to you my most grateful
thanks for the many courtesies received at your hands and your
very valuable advice in the administration of the office.

Respectfully,

N. R. BULLER,
Commissioner of Fisheries.

REPORT OF HATCHERIES.

CORRY HATCHERY.

Corry, December 1, 1913.
Hon. N. R. Buller,

Commissioner of Fisheries.

Sir: Herewith I have the honor to transmit the annual report of
the Corry hatchery for the year ending November 30, 1913.

The year just passed has been a very busy one, especially since
the first of June when the new appropriations became available.
Very complete plans for the completion and rehabilitation of the
hatchery had been carefully drawn and contracts awarded for the
work to be done, so that it could be done as soon as the money was in
hand.

The first contract was to build the ponds under Unit No. 1, which
comprises 23 ponds. They were built of re-enforced concrete with
concrete bottoms, the walls being from 10 to 14 inches thick, and
from 21 inches to three feet deep, amply sufficient to stand any frost
thrust, the concrete bottoms making the cleaning of the ponds much
easier, and cleanliness is one of the first demands made of the suc-
cessful trout culturist, as unsuccessful hatchery people have dis-
covered by sad experience.

The ponds run from 20 to 40 feet long and IG feet wide. There
are eight more ponds which are all completed, except the coping,
frosts setting in before they were completed. The 23 ponds are all
in use and prove very superior to the old make-shift ponds. Two
reservoirs 10 by 10 feet and four feet deep were also completed. There
was also a number of flumes built in the same substantial way with
re-enforced concrete.

All the ponds are arranged so that they can be fed or drained
separately, and the water is fed to the ponds with a good aeration so
that it can be used over and over again to its final capacity. A num-
ber of retaining walls were also built in the same manner as the
other work. The finished ponds are all topped with a neat coping
which adds materially to the appearance of the work. Indeed, all
the ponds are really as much an ornamental adjunct as useful.
4_2l_1914.

50

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

During the coming year it is expected to finish up the remaining
ponds in the same substantial and ornate manner as those con-
structed this year. This will make tlie Corry hatchery one of the
most complete*^ and substantial hatcheries in the country in regard
to ponds and facilities, and afTord ami)le room to raise all the trout
that will be demanded by the section of the country that it is called

upon to supply.

A new and substantial hatching house was also built of brick and
steel with floors of concrete, there being no wood used in the con-
struction except the window frames. It is 110 feet long by 38 feet
wide, two stories high, the upper story furnishing storage room for
the cans and other requisites. It will contain 17 double troughs
18 feet long and 18 inches wide on tlie inside. Tlie hatchery will also
be fitted with a heating apparatus, which will add materially to the
comfort of the employes, as tlie greater part of the work of the
raising of trout has to* be done when the eggs are in the troughs and
the thermometer ranges outside much below the freezing point, and
anybody who has tried it knows that working in water only a few
degrees above the freezing point with the temperature of the air much
below the freezing point, is not as pleasant a pastime as eating ice
cream on a hot day in the summer.

The water supi)ly at this hatchery is entirely under the control of
the Department of' Fisheries and is ample for any demand that may
be made upon it. These are the two most essential points on the
working of a hatchery : The absolute control of the water and plenty
of it, a shortage of water being death to the fish and always occuriiug
at the wrong time, if it occurs at all.

The grounds have all been graded as far down as the No. 1 hatch-
ery, a very large amount of the earth being required to fill in, some
places being five feet. All the marshy spots which were eye-sores
were filled uj). The trees were thinned out so that the grounds will
not be so much shaded and the whole sown with grass which set finely
and promises a nice lawn by the coming year.

A number of deciduous trees were set out and much shrubbery of
an ornamental character. Most of the trees taken out were of the
evergreen variety whose shade was too dense for grass to thrive
under and whose needles smothered the grass they covered. The
walks were all regraveled and the grounds terraced, steps being
placed in the walks where required.

A new roof was placed on No. 3 hatching house. A gravel road
was put in from the load to this house. Shades were made and
placed over all the new ponds, the shades being made of inch sur-
faced with stringeis of four by six inch surfaced jiine and all painted.
The spring house was all gone over and jiainted. The grounds east of
the new hatching house were all cleared of brush and will be treated
as an ornamental park, though a few ])onds will be added there.

Next year other desirable things will be added, among these will
be a half dozen large ponds for the carrying of the larger fish,
especially the breeders of the brown trout, as the demand is such
for these fish that it will be necessary to propagate them in larger
numbers than ever before. The Department is not able to obtain
the eggs of the brown trout so it will have to arrange to have a
supply for its own breeders. A meat house is needed at some distant
point of the grounds, as in spite of every effort in the way of cleanli-

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

51

ness there is a smell from the meat house that is undesirable in the
air that visitors and employes are obliged to breathe. A larger ice
house is also needed as the way that the fish are now shipped re-
quires more ice than formerly.

During the year the piopogation of fish was much interfered with
by the work going on in the ponds. This required the changing
a'lound of the fish from pond to pond and there was too much hand-
ling while the water was kept roily. It was really surprising that
the hatchery was able to show the results that it did. The end of
the year showed that nearly every application had been filled and
there are enough fish left to' fill nil the applications on hand.

There has haidly been a comp'laint filed by the persons who applied
for fish, but on ihc contrary the lecipients have sent in compli-
mentary remarks. On two occasions where the fish did not arrive
in satisfactory manner the trouble was found to have been the negli-
gence of the messenger in one case and the other of failure to obey
orders, which resulted in the discharge of the messenger so that he
could not repeat the fault.

The notification to an applicant for fish that his fish will be sent
on a certain date and a certain train seems to be worded so that it
ought to be understood by every one who could read English, yet
in s]nte of the fact that ^he letter says "unless the man answers
no fish will be sent," theie are some jiersons who do not take the
trouble evidently to lead the circular for they do not send in an an-
swer as to whethci- they will meet the tish, and consequently they get
no fish, because the sirii>ment is not made, which causes them after
some time to write to the Department in a sarcastic manner as to
why their fish did not arrive.

The DeiKirlment used to have more faith in the genuineness of the
imr])oses of (he people who api)lied for fish, but after experiencing
the loss of manv cans of fish on the ])latforms of railroad stations, be-
cause the applicants did not take the trouble to come after them, it
has come to insist that if the people a)e in earnest about getting
fish they will at least take the trouble to write on receipt of a notice
of shipment that they will be on hand to take care of the fish.

In spite of all the drawbacks under which the hatchery labored
in raising its fish, the shipments were all gotten out in good condi-
tion and'the strength and health of the fish was shown by the al-
most total absence of dead ones in the cans. This is a remarkably
good showing when it is considered that the fish were shipped in all
kinds of temperatures.

The first of the biook trout eggs were received November 3d, and
all arrived in good shape with the exception of one case. At the
time of this report the eggs are all doing nicely and promise a good

yield.

The brown trout did not do so well as expected, there being only
20 tiays of eggs taken as against 34 last year, though there were
more breeding fish this year than last. The trouble was probably
due to the C(nistant (hanging and moving the fish had to undergo
durin*^ the vear. It is hoped that a far better showing can be made
next year wlien the fish will not be so much disturbed. The following
is the distribution of fish duiing the year:

52 REPORT OF THE Off. Doc.

YEARLING BROOK TROUT.

Allegheny County, 1,200

Bucks County, 5,400

Bradford County, 300

Centre County, 6,300

Cambria County, -5,400

Clarion County, 900

Clearfield County, 2,700

Clinton County, 15,600

Crawford County, 6,000

Columbia County, 600

Cameron County, 30,000

Dauphin County, 300

Elk County, 23,400

Erie County, 16,800

Fayette County, 24,000

Forest County, 10,800

Indiana County, 1 ,200

Jefferson County, 15,900

Lycoming County, 28,500

Lancaster County, 1 ,200

Luzerne County, 1 ,500

McKean County, 79,500

Monroe County, 3,900

Mercer County, 500

Northampton County, 3,600

Northumberland County, 5,400

Potter County, 28,200

Pike County, 10,200

Snyder County, 2,100

Somerset County, 6,600

Sullivan County, 18,300

Susquehanna County, 300

Tioga County, 3,900

Venango County, 13,600

Warren County, 16,500

Washington County 1 ,500

Wayne County, 300

Westmoreland County, 300

York County, 2,700

Total, 395,600

YEARLING BROWN TROUT.

Allegheny County , 900

Bradford County, 300

Clinton County, 300

Centre County, ' 6,600

Crawford County, 3,000

Delaware County, 1 ,800

Elk County, 300

No. 21. DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES. 53

Erie County, 300

Fayette County, 300

Forest County, 2,100

Huntingdon County, 3,900

Luzerne County, 32,400

Lawrence County, 2,000

Lackawanna County, 14,900

Lycoming County, 3,300

McKean County, 600

Monroe Country, 11,100

Montgomery County, 1,200

Northampton County, 6,900

Potter County, . . . ." 300

Somerset County, 600

Tioga County, 300

Venango County, 600

Washington County, 1,500

Westmoreland County, 600

Wayne County, 1,500

Wyoming County, 1,200

Warren County, 1,800

York County, 900

Total, 101,500

For an exchange with the Dominion of Canada at Toronto, . . 5,000

ADULT BROOK TROUT.

Erie County, 100

ADULT BROWN TROUT.

Lancaster County, 1,250

BROWN TROUT EYED EGGS.

For an exchange with New Jersey Fish Commission, 15,000

Total, 518,450

Respectfully submitted,

WILLIAM BULLER,

Superintendent.

.'54

REPORT OF THE

ERIE HATCHERY.

Off. Doc.

Hon. N. R. Buller,

Commissioner of Fisheries.

Erie, December 1, 1913.

Sir: I lierewith submit the annual report of the Erie hatchery
from December 1, 1912, to November 30, 1913:

Owing to the fact that the Erie water sup])ly is being treated
under the direction of the Depaitment of Health, the water is no
longer fitted for the use in the liatclie^y here, so there has been no
hatching of eggs at this hatchery <luiing the i)ast year, yet it has
been a very successful season just the same, the fish eggs being
obtained as usual and sent to Tnion City and other hatcheries for
hatching.

While there has been a decrease in one variety of eggs there has
been an increase in another, so tliat the total amount of eggs taken
is very gratifying. All the fry from the eggs sent from Erie to other
hatcheries to be hatched wei'e retuiiicd and ])lanted in Lake Erie.
The fry for commercial lishing such as white fish and herring were
the first to be received and started to come in carload shipments
from March 20 to 29.

This was during the heavy rains and fioods of last spring, when
every train on the railroads was houi s late which caused much extra
work, and for five days and nights, with little or no rest, we were
continuously hauling fry from the station to the harbor and thence
taken by the Commodore Perry and ])lante(l out in the lake.

There were no blue i)ike planted the j)ast year as it was impos-
sible to get any eggs owing to the very poor fishing during the blue
pike season.

Wall-eyed pike, yellow ])erch and muscallouge fry were shipped here
from the Union City hatchery during May and all planted in Presque
Isle Bay. The result of these plantings becomes more noticeable
every year. Of the three fish mentioned, the increase in yellow i)erch
in Presque Isle Bay is by far in the lead. Next comes the muscal-
louge, and while they have only been i)lanted foi' the past two years
the results already show that many of the fry live and thrive, a large
number of muscallouge having been caught this i)ast fall measuring
from 25 to 28 inches in length and weighing from two and a half
to four i)ounds, which are without doubt fish from the planting in the
spring of 1912.

The result of continued jdanting of wall e^^ed pike in Presque Isle
Bay is not entirely satisfactory. While there are some caught they
are not nearly enough to show satisfactory results from the large
number of fry annually planted. For years the wall-eyed pike planted
were hatched from eggs that were received from the United States
Bureau of Fisheries and were taken at Toledo, Ohio. For the past
few years for various reasons no wall-eyed pike eggs were received
from the United States field in Ohio, but the Commissioner of Fish-
eries has been able to secure an annual snjjply from the New York
Commission, the eggs being taken from fish caught in the Oneida
Lake, which fish are commonly called landlocked.

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

85

Since the introduction of the wall-eyed pike from the New York
field, the increase of these fish in Presque Isle Bay is much more
apparent than ever before. As high as a half dozen four and five inch
fish have been taken in one haul with a minnow seine, while the
hatchery force were seining for minnows and other small specimens
along the shores. This has only occurred in the past two years, and
if we continue to plant these so-called landlocked pike with the con-
tinuous good results we will be able to determine whether there is a
difference in the habits of the native fish of Lake Erie and those of
Oneida Lake in New Y^'ork.

There was an increase in the amount of revenue collected from the
commercial fishing tugs, nets and other devices used during the
past year, the amount collected being f2,275.00. This is conclusive
proof that appliances and devices are annually on the increase, due
to the increase in the production of fish for commercial use, and this
is the best evidence that the course of the present Commissioner of
Fisheries in insisting that nothing be left undone in the gathering
of all eggs possible from commercial fish is keeping pace with the
annual drain made by the constant fishing.

Acting under instructions from the Commissioner of Fisheries
special licenses for fishing for carp in Presque Isle Bay were again
issued this year for the months of May, June and July. There were
20 licenses taken out at a fee of five dollars. The retuins of the
holders of these licenses show that there were 101,750 pounds of carp
taken the wholesale value being J'fl, 520.31, or an average of a cent
and a half a pound. Under the rules and regulations as laid down
by the Commissioner, there was no harm done to any other class of
fish.

It is to be regretted that as yet there has been no dredging done in
the west canal bjisin so as to allow the tug of the Department of
Fisheries free access in and out. At times when the lake level was
below normal and no other moorings or dockage were available, it.
was necessnry to chance it and get to the Department's dock with
the Commodore Perry. Forlunately, the boat escaped breaking its
propellor, but it is not good for the boat to be coming constantly
in contact with the rocky bottom of the basin while going to or from
her dock. It is earnestly hoped that the work of dredging will be
started early next spring.

In accordance with instructions the Commodore Perrv was turned
over to contractors McDonald and Baker, who received the contract
for rebuilding and remodeling the same. This was a nnich needed
piece of work as the tug has seen hard service since it was first
turned over to the Department of Fisheries. The rebuilding will
render the boat more seaw()rth^^ while at the same time it will give
more of the nuich needed deck room to handle the vearlv increasing
number of cans of fish being planted in the lake.

Satisfactory headway is being made in the building of the new
hatchery on the lake. When it is completed the building will be a
credit to the Department, and one that the citizens of Erie can point
to as being worthy of the Commonwealth. When completed it will
mean the saving of much money that is now spent for dray hire in
carting the eggs to the hatchery, and the fish and fry to the lake
fiom the hatchery, as the boat can come right up to the doors of the
new hatchery and load.

56

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

In accordance with instructions T took charge of the fish exhibi-
tion at the Exposition Park for the Conneaut Lake Fair Association
It was the best display of fish that was ever made at the Exposition
and was a constant source of pleasure to the visitors, who crowded
around it. The Board of Directors of the Exhibition sent a letter
of thanks and compliment for the fine exhibit.

It may be safe to say that fully 80 per cent, of all work done at
the Erie hatchery is directly due to field work. All eggs for com-
mercial fishing are gathered from various fields on Lake Erie as are
many varieties of adult and fingerling fish for breeding ])urposes

March 22, began seining for adult blue gills, but owing to the high
stage of the water, continued cold and rainy weather, the work was
far from a success. After persistent efforts it was given up the
catch being only 150 fish all told. May 1st trap nets were set for
adult small mouth bass to be used as brood fish. Up to June 16
278 fine fish were caught and all shipped to the Union City hatchery
from September 3d to October 4th, 331 adult bass were turned over
from the Kolbe Fish Company from their pound nets, which were
also sent to Union City. Adult blue pike were also gathered from the
pound nets and shipped to Union City hatchery for distribution
August 1st to October 4th a seine was drawn for fingerling perch
14,300 being caught and shipped to Union City for distribution

There were 220,621,000 white fish and herring eggs gathered
from the various fields this season. The nnmbei of eggs of each

Ittach^er ^ ^^'^^^^ "^'^ ^^ ^"""""^ '" ^^^ ^''^'^^ ""^ ^""P"* ^^^^'^t^
Unfortunately, the white fish fields from Port Dover Ontario
to Port Maitland, Ontario, were not as in'oductive of eggs this Veir
as in past years, due to the fact that the Canadian Goxernment'put
spawners into its field, the Canadian (iovernment having decided to
take all the eggs from the field until such time as they would get
their hatcheries filled. The spawn came on the first day of Novem
ber but owing to the very light run of white fish, it was the 22d
of November before the Canadians had taken enough eggs and turned
he field over to Pennsylvania. It was in the afternoon oMheo'd
that word was received from the Commissioner that the field had
been turned over to Pennsylvania. By the evening of the 23d the
Commodore Perry had arrived at Port Dover and our spawning out
fit was distributed at the various fisheries for 20 miles along the
shore. The fish were at their best spawning period, bnt unfortun'ately

only 3,888,000 eggs were secured, but they were very good egffs

The eggs received from the Ohio field from the United States Bu-
reau of Fisheries were of very poor quality. It seems to me that the
best policy would be while co-operating with the United St-ito^

While the herring fishing out of Erie was very light this fall the
catches running from 150 to 2,500 pounds, with 'the lighter hauls in
T.lZ^iT'i}^ -^ eases, yet it was a most successful s^eason for the
taking of herring eggs from November 22 to December 8, by coveiing
40 tugs with spawntakers, the large number of 117,821,000 herring
eggs was secured. There was very favorable wea her' durin^^^
spawning season of the herring, and the captains and crews of the

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

fl7

fishing boats rendered every possible assistance to the spawntakers
and it was mainly due to their hearty co-operation that the Depart-
ment was able to get so many eggs from such light hauls of fish. Few
if any spawn fish were overlooked. The able assistance the fishermen
rendered was certainly much appreciated.

There were no blue pike eggs taken in May. The blue pike fish-
ing was so light that when the spawning season was on, all the boats
had pulled out their twine and laid up. Had the fishing been good,
however, it would not have been possible to take any eggs owing to
the fact that the funds for field work were exhausted at that time.

I wish to heartily thank the Commissioner of Fisheries, the Board
of Fishery Commission and the various Superintendents of the
Hatcheries for their hearty support and co-operation accorded dur-
ing the past year. The following is the report of the output of the
hatchery during the year.

ECxGS BECEIVED AND WHEBE SHIPPED.

HEinUNG EGGS TAKEN AT ERIE.

L^nion City Hatchery 74,942 000

Torresdale Hatchery, 59,691^000

Bemis Point, N. Y. Hatcheiy, 39,188,000

Total, 173,821,000

WHITE FISH EGGS.

Union City Hatchery, 34,272,000

Torresdale Hatchery, 12,528^000

Total, 46,800,000

TOTAL OF ALL EGGS AND WHERE TAKEN.

Erie Herring 173,821,000

Port Clinton, Ohio, White Fish 42,912,000

Canada, White Fish, 3,888,000

Total, 220,621,000

FISH DISTRIBUTED.

Small Mouth Bass, Adults, Union City Hatchery, 609

Bluegills, Adults, Union City Hatchery 150

Yellow Perch, Fingerlings, Union City Hatchery, 14,300

Yellow Perch, Yearlings, Union City Hatchery, 300

Total, 15,359

No return is made of blue pike shii)ped to Union City. The figures
will be found in A. G. BuUer's output from that hatchery.

Very respectfully submitted,

PHIL H. HARTMAN,

Superintendent.

REPORT OF THE

TORRESDALE HATCHERY.

Off. Doc.

Holmesburg, Philadelpbia,

December 1, 1913.

Hon. N. R. Buller,

Commissioner of Fisheries.

Sir: I again have the pleasure to submit to j'ou my annual report
of the Torresdale hatchery from December 1, 1912, to November 30,
1913.

After receiving the white fish and herring eggs from the Erie
hatchery in the early part of December, 1912, it was found necessary
to make repairs to the two pumps at the hatching house so they were
both overhauled and placed in first class running order. Later in
the month two tubes blew out in the boiler and the water in the
hatching house had to be stopped for a number of hours, but by feath-
ering the eggs constantly there was but very little loss caused by this
accident.

The white fish eggs which came from tlie Canadian waters were
eyed up with very little loss, but the while fish eggs leceived from
the Ohio waters and taken by the United States Bureau of Fisheries
were in very bad condition when received and not over 50 per cent,
of them eyed up. The herring eggs wliicli were taken at Erie were
very poor and the loss in eying them up was very heavy. After the
eggs were eyed at this hatchery they weie shipjted to A. G. Buller,
Superintendent of the ITnion City hatcliery in the latter part of
January, 1913.

The first yellow perch eggs were gathered fioiii the hatcheiy brood
ponds March 23. After this date the weather lield \evY cold with
the result that the perch spawned very slowly, but after tlie water
got warmer the perch started to spawn fast when theie came a very
heavy rain which lasted for several days. This muddied tlie water
to such an extent that we were unable to find the eggs in the water.
After the water cleaied in the Bristol j>ond enough so that the eggs
could be found most of the eggs were smothered by tlie dirty water.

The perch fry were all planted in the Delaware river and its tribu-
taries, and from all accounts they have done very well as there have
been a great many fingerling yellow jierch caught at different ])laces
along the Delaware river by people seining for minnows. Some of
the fishermen have reported that they saw more fingerling yellow
perch last fall than they have seen in years.

The wall-eyed pike eggs from the Wayne hatchery were received
April IG. They were the same as year liefore — very good eggs and
hatched with very little loss, some of the eggs not being taken out of
the hatching jar and screened from the time that the green eggs were
idaced in the jar until they were hatched.

The applications were all filled and a large plant was made in the
upper Delaware river, while a plant of fry was placed in the lower
Delaware river. There were a number of adult wall-eyed pike caught
by the fishermen in the lower Delaware river last spring in the shad
nets.

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES,

00

On account of the low temperature of the water there were no
shad eggs gathered until April 28, and the water was very cold all
through the shad season, but the eggs that were taken were very nice
and about 70 per cent, of the eggs turned into the hatchery were
hatched. Every eflort was made to secure all the eggs possible on
the Delaware river so far as we were able to cover the river from the
hatchery. The fishermen all took great pains to save all the eggs that
it was possible for them to do. Most of the fry was planted in the
lower Delaware as on account of the cold water the fry had to be
planted as soon as they were hatched or they would settle to the bot-
tom of the fry tank and smother. It might be added that this plant-
ing of tlie fry in the lower Delaware river appeared to greatly please
the fishermen.

The catch of shad in the Delaware river was reported to be very
nearly double that of the year before, while the shad are running
larger in size from year to year, a 10 pound shad being very common
this jQixv, and there were a few taken that weighed over 13 pounds.
The shad fishermen all claim that this was due to the artificial
propagation of shad that is being done by the Pennsylvania Depart-
ment of Fisheries. All say that before there were any sha<l artificially
propagated in the Delaware river that an eight pound shad was a
very scarce lish and would be a prize to the man who caught it.

There was a shad taken from the Delaware river in which was
found a fully developed roe and milt, the roe and milt being attached
together but showing the division line very plainly. It was certainly
a case of curious double sex and is preserved here at the hatchery.

The young shad could be seen early in the fall going down the
river by the thousands in schools. Sometimes the schools were so
large that it would take over an hour for a school to pass by. The
shad were about two and a half inches in length and were making
their first trip to the salt water.

In the latter pait of May there were a number of shad fry placed
in one of the fry ponds to be kept there until fall before planting in
the river. When the pond was drawn off in the fall the fish were
about three inches in length. It was found, however, that these little
sliad could not be taken out of the pond with a net, for as soon as
the little fish would touch the net they would knock off some scales
and when they were placed in a tub of water would float on their
sides and die in a very short time.

As soon as the shad work was over the catfish field work was
started. There were a good niaii^' eggs gathered from the meadows
along the Delaware river, but we were about two weeks late in start-
ing to gather the eggs. A great many of the eggs had been left dry
by the tide lea\ ing them and they were dried uj) in the sun, but there
were also some of the eggs that were hatched. As this was only an ex-
periment we were not so anxious to get the eggs as we were to catch
the si)awning lish. The eggs that were gathered were placed in the
hatching jars with very little loss. As the catfish eggs are in a
jelly mass it was found that only a few could be placed in a hatch-
ing jar as otheiwise the\' would smother.

After the eggs were hatched the j'oung catfish were held in the
hatching jars until such time as they absorbed their food sacs. After
that they were placed in a fry pond by themselves where they could
be watched very closely. They began to feed when very young and

60

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

grew very fast and were as large this fall as the catfish that were
hatched naturally in the brood ponds. I am of the opinion that the
eggs can be gathered by field work and hatched with a much larger
percentage than they can be hatched naturally in the brood pond.
The adult catfish in the ponds did very well starting to spawn about
the first of June. Part of the fry were removed to fry ponds and
part of them were left in the brood ponds with the adult fish. The
applications were all filled and large plants were made by the Depart-
ment in the Delaware, Susquehanna and Schuylkill rivers.

The bluegill sunfish at this hatchery spawned through the month
of June. The young fish were left in the brood ponds with the adult
fish. On account of there being so much animal life in the water
these fish grew very fast. They were all taken out of the ponds and
shipped this fall, all applications being filled and a number of plants
made by the Department in the different rivers. The adult sunfish
at this hatcherj^ are of the Lake Erie bluegill variety and two or
three hundred more brood fish are needed very much. There have
been a number of the Lake Erie bluegill sunfish taken from the Dela-
ware river last summer by the hook and line fishermen showing the
success of the plantings of these fish made by the Department.

The adult frogs are allowed to go free and spawn in any brood
pond they choose. They travel from one pond to another in the
night, the spawn is left in the ponds to hatch and after the tadpoles
are a good size they are transferred to a small pond and left until
fall when they are shipped out. They are all of the large bull-fiog
variety and the tadpoles will average about four inches in lengtli
when they are shipped.

Not many gold fish were raised this year on account of the siiinll
number of brood fish. There has been a big call for them from (lie
schools of Philadelphia. There are at the hatchery at the jnestMit
time about 80 very fine adult fish, which should produce a gocxl lot
of gold fish fry next spring.

There were a few calico bass gathered by field work on the Pcla-.
ware river. They were placed in one of the brood ponds but most
of them had spawned before they were caught.

There were also some brood catfish taken from the river and placed
in the brood ponds before the spawning season. A good many brood
fish are still needed at this hatchery to stock the i)onds i)roperly. Tlie
adult fish are all in a very thrifty condition and look very favoiable
for a large lot of eggs the coming spring.

The side walls of the dwelling house were resurfaced and painted
with two coats of the best paint, making a decided change for the
better in the appearance of the house. There was a water line in-
stalled from the Torresdale pumping station to the hatching house
which has proven a great success. There is one three inch line with
a pressure at all times, and one two inch line with a hundred pound
pressure, which only runs eight hours a day. This supplies the hatch-
ing house with water enough to run the two batteries, except on Sun-
days and Holidays. At such times the pump has to be started once
in 24 hours, long enough to fill the storage tanks.

Two concrete walks were made from the dwelling house to the
driveway. There was a slip or boardwalk made which runs from in
front of the hatching house to low water mark in the Delaware river,
a distance of 360 feet, so that a boat can run there at any stage of the

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

61

tide. The slip is set on concrete blocks and is four feet wide with a
handrail on one side and lighted with electric lights. The slip has to
be taken in before the ice comes in the fall, but the concrete blocks
are left from year to year. On account of the hatchery work that is
done on the river this boat landing was a much needed improvement,
while there are hundreds of people who travel the river in the boats
and desire to visit the hatchery and without this slip they would not
have a chance to land.

The new motor boat purchased was hauled out for the winter at
the boat yard at Delanco, New Jersey. This boat has been very
much needed for the hatchery work on the Delaware river. It will
be put in condition early in the spring for the work of gathering the
shad eggs. It will also be extremely useful in other field work. It
is a 3() foot boat with a 12 horse power engine, and will enable us
to cover a larger portion of the river than in previous years, be-
sides which it is a boat that the State can take pride in.

There was an Ordinance passed by the Philadelphia Councils ex-
tending the lease of the hatchery grounds for 20 years.

The ice house was filled with five inch ice for the spring shipping
and the summer months. The shipping cans were all painted and
stenciled. There were a great many trees which had died, grubbed
out by the roots. Some unsightly brush on the grounds was re-
moved, all of which added greatly to the appearance of the grounds.

After the yellow perch started to spawn in the spring the time was
all taken up until after the shad season in the gathering of eggs,
hatching the same and shii)ping the fish. Besides the care of *the
fish through the summer months, the grass was kept cut on the hatch-
ery grounds and numerous improvements made to the ponds and
sluiceways, while some grading and other work was done on the
grounds. In the fall months the ponds were drained off and the fish
sorted. The bottoms of all the i)onds were cleaned out, the banks
repaired and the fingerling fish all shipped out.

The following is the output of fish from December 1, 1912 to
November 30, 1913 :

CATFISH, FINGEKLINGS.

Allegheny County,

Beaver County,

Bedford County,

Berks County,

Blear County,

Bradford County,

Bucks County,

Butler County,

Centre County,

Chester County,

Clarion County,

Clinton County,

Columbia County,

Cumberland County,

Dauphin County,

Delaware County,

Erie County,

800
200
200

5,000
200
400

5,800
200
200
200
200

1,200
800
400
600
200
200

02 REPORT OF THE Off. Doc.

Fayette County, 200

Franklin County, ^>00

Huntingdon County, 3,200

Indiana County, 400

Lackawanna County, 1 ,200

Lancaster County, 11,400

Lawrence County, 200

Lebanon County, 1,000

Lehigh County, 1,000

Luzerne County, 2,400

Lycoming County, 1 />00

McKean County, 000

Mercer County, 1 ,200

Monroe County, 1 ,400

Montgomery County, 5.200

Montour County, 400

Northampton County, 000

Perrv County, 000

Philadelphia 'County, 13,200

Pike Countv, 200

Schuylkill Countv, 000

Sullivan County, 3.000

Susquehanna County, 20()

Venango County, 200

Wayne Countv, 1 ,>^00

York Countv,*^ 200

Total, 70.000

PIKE PERCH FRY.

Berks County, 450,000

Blair County, 150.000

Bucks County, 450,000

Chester County 150,000

Cumberland County, 150,000

Delaware County, 150,000

Juniata County, 300,000

Lancaster County, 450.000

Lehigh County, 150,000

Mifflin County, 150,000

Monroe County, 800,000

Montgomery County, 150,000

Philadelphia County, 790,000

Total, 4,290,000

SUNFISH FINGERLINGS.

Berks County, 10,000

Blair County, 200

Bucks County 7,000

Cambria County, 200

Carbon County, 200

No. 21. DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES. 83

Chester County, goo

Dauphin County, *. i^oOO

Delaware County, 4 OOO

Franklin County, 400

Huntingdon County, 3,200

Lackawanna County, 600

Lancaster County, 11,600

Lehigh County, W.W. 600

Monroe County, 2OO

Montgomery County, \\\\ 8,000

Montour County, 2OO

Northampton County, 2,000

Philadelphia County, 23 300

Schuylkill County, 'goO

Sullivan County, 2OO

Washington County, 400

Wyoming County, .' * * 400

York County, 400

Total, 76,100

TADPOLES.

Berks County, o 000

Columbia County, 1 000

Franklin County, 0.000

Lancaster County, 9 000

Lehigh County, ...WW lo',000

Luzerne County, \ 000

Montgomery County, !!!!!!! 4,000

Montour County, 2 000

Total, 36,000

YELLOW PERCH FRY.

Bucks County 0,000,000

Philadelphia County, 5,000,000

Total, 11,000,000

EELS, ADULT.

Crawford County, 50

WHITE FISH, EYED EGGS.

Si'i? ^7"!'^' ••••; 11,375,000

Philadelphia County, 80.000

Total, 11,455,000

LAKE HERRING, EYED EGGS.

Erie County, 2,000,000

5

64 REPORT OF THE Off. Doc.

CATFISH, ADULT.

Lancaster County, 100

Lehigh County, 200

Total, 300

CALICO BASS, FINGERLINGS.

Lancaster County, 200

SHAD FRY.

Monroe County, 500,000

Philadelphia County, 2.3,310,000

Total, 23,810,000

GOLD FISH, FINGERLINGS.

Lackawanna County, Ig

Philadelphia County, [[[ ;l J2

Wayne County, [ gg

Total, ^

GOLD FISH, ADULTS.

Philadelphia County, j2

SHAD EGGS.

Philadelphia County, 1,000,000

lUVEII MINNOWS.

Wayne County, ^ 000

WELLOW PERCH, ADULT.

Wayne County, ^33

SUMMARY.

Lake Herrinj? eyed egj^s, 2 000 000

White fish eyed eggs, ll,45.-),'oOO

Pike perch fry, 4,290,000

^l>ii(l fry. 23,810 000

Shad eyed eggs, 1,000,000

\ e ow perch fry, 11,000.000

lellow perch adults, '|oq

Eels adults, [ ' ka

Catfish, fingerlings, ^q qqq

Sunfish, fingerlings, •...............'. To'lOO

Catfish, adults, 'oqq

No. 21. DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES. 65

Calico bass, fingerlings, 200

Tadpoles, large, 36,000

River minnows 8.000

Gold fish, fingerlings, 213

Gold fish, adults, 12

Total, .53,740,008

Thanking you for the assistance and courteous treatment you have

given me.

Resi)ectfully,

J. R. BERKHOT^S,

Suj»erintendent.

AVAYXE HATCHERY.

Pleasant Mount, December 1, 1013.
Hon. N. R. Puller,

Commissionei- of Fisheries.

Sir: During the past year the propagation of fish at tliis hatchery
was almost entirely cut out due to the entire reconstruction of the
hatcliery. except in the case of ]»ike])erch or Susquelmnna salmon,
the eggs of wliich were leceived by excliange from the New York
Conservation Commission. The eggs in this case Avere tlie best ever
received of those fisli at the hatcliery. The trout eggs usually hatched
here were ship]>ed to Corry and P»ellefAnte for hatching.

The usual amount of field work was also not done owing to the
scai'city of men and teams, it being im]>ossible to secui-e a suffiiient
number for the work on the hatchery and for field work. Tlie prop-
osition of reconstruction has been one requiring much labor and of
the most arduous character.

The De]>artment having secuied control of the Reaver Meadow
leservoir, one of the reservoirs l)uilt by the Delaware an<l Hudson
Canal Company, has an assured water su])ply foi* the hatchery, the
Cimtrolling dam being of the most ])ei-mai]ent character. The leser-
voir coveis ovei- l.")0 acres and thus gives a large body of water which
can be used for field work as it is stocked with large mouth bass,
]>ickeral, yellow ])erch and catfish. It will also be used as an object
lesson as to what can be done in the way of affording an always
abundant su]i])ly of fish wheie the restocking is attended to and the
fishing limited to lod and line. The Department feels sure that this
ex[)eriment will carry conviction to the peojde of the State that it is
possible to so restock the dams and streams of the State with fish that-
evervbodv can always secure a mess of fish, if the wasteful and de-

#■■1 •■

structive methods of fishing are prevented and only angling allowed.
If the Department can accomplish this it will feel it has fully dem-
onstrated its usefulness and the reason for its being.

5_21— 1914.

^ REPORT OF THE off. Doc.

During the year three large bass dams have been about completed
covering an area of nine acres, which with the one completed before
gives a water area of 12 acres. These ponds have been constructed
because experience has shown that the black bass can only be propa-
gated profitably in large areas of water, and with these Jarge areas
It IS possible to hold the bass until they grow to a size of several
inches before planting.

tho^'^Tf^'f ^T'Y^'} r^'"" y^^^^ ^f ff^'ound has been excavated from
the part of the hatchery where the new hatching house and tmut
ponds are to be built, and this earth has been used to fill up and grade
the low parts of the hatchery grounds about the dwelling house
mjilung a handsome lawn possible at the approach to the hatchery '
Two ^hipping ponds have been built with concrete and are com-
plete. They are no by 12 feet with a depth of four feet. Tn the II
hatching house the troughs were on the floor nnd were unhandv and
uncomfortable for the workers. The spring had to be built up o

of 'tb. Vnf '^^fV^ *''''^ *'^"^^"'- ^^'' consequence was that much
of he water of the spring was lost owing to its seepao-o due to the
building up The water from the spring will be carried bv a pipe line
to the new hatchery and the ponds, and by lowering the walls of the
spring a much larger quantity of water will be obtained, while the
troughs will be much more convenient to work at. In addition to this
the Department will be enabled to utilize the water of another small
spring which runs below the old hatching house. When all the con-
templated improvements are completed there is no question that this
hatchery will be able to accomplish wonderful results inThewavo
furnishing fish for supplying the needs of the Commonwealth With
It, ample room and water supply it will also be possible to indul-e
n experiments that ought to bring about many desired resu s as
cuUiirlst"^ " '"'''' "^'"'^ "^ investigation open to the fish

The dam breast which bacJcs the water of the Reaver Flow dam is
built, as said above in the most permanent character and sm res
control absolutely of the water supply for the Lackawaxen river at
al seasons of the yea i-, as it can be stoied for times of drought \
fishway has been built in this dam of the most substantia ci;ra;>te^^
re-en orced concrete being used. The fishwav is euTire v w t i^t^^^
lam breast, its lower entrance being right at the toe of the dan o

he dam or the obstruction, and do not vlo'.oLZA^^^^^^ ""^

back and find an opening to a fishwav a number oTe below the l>oT
tom of the dam, as is the case in the Cail fishwnv wi iT^
mended by the Ignited States Oovei4 me S worHiT^^
way will be watched with much interest and iU i" ; ^essfu t will
be recommended as the proper fishwav to put in dan^ '"

Ihe following IS the distribution of fish during th^i^ar:

ADULT YELLOW PERCIT.
Bucks County, . . .

Bradford County, ....'.'.'! 2.000

Berks County, ... 700

^' 2,400

No. 21. DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES. 67

Cumberland County, GOO

Dauphin County, 2,400

Luzerne County, ?.,500

Lancaster County, .'^jOOO

Lackawanna County, 3,500

Lebanon County, 1,800

Lehigh County 2,300

Monroe County, 000

Pike County, 750

Sullivan County, 300

Wyoming County 2.150

Total 2fi,300

YEABLING BKOOK TROUT.

Bucks County, (JOO

Lackawanna County, gqO

Lehigh County, c>00

Luzerne County, 3,550

Monroe County, 3 700

N()rtham])ton County, 3000

Philadelphia County, '50

Susquehanna County 2,100

Wayne County, . . /. .,...'. 7,000

Total, 21,200

Adult Brook Trout, Fairview Hospital ]00

Adult Brook Trout, Fairmount Park, Phila 20

Adult Brown Trout, Fairmount Park, I'hila 10

Adult Bainbow Trout, Fairmount Park, Phila 20

Harveys Lake, Lake Trout, 20 000

Long Pond Lake Trout .'[oOO

Bock Lake, Lake Trout, 5^000

WALL EYED PIKE.

Bradford County, 200,000

Lackawanna County 2OO 000

Luzerne County, .". .*.'.'.*.'.'.'.'.*.'.'.'.* SOO.'oOO

Monroe County, 500,000

Pike County, 500,000

Sullivan County 400 000

Susquehanna County, 5oo;ooo

Wayne County, 300 000

Wyoming County, 800,000

4,200,000

Sly Lake Wall-eyed pike, 2 000 000

Long Pond Wall-eyed pike, [ 1,40<^ 000

Bigelow Lake Wall-eyed pike, 2 GOoloOO

"^^^^^^ 10,200,000

68 REPORT OF THE Off. Doc.

ADTTLT PICKERAL.
WyomiDg County, 1^000

TADPOLES.

Berks County, t,000

Columbia County, 2 000

Cunibeiland County, 1 'oOO

Franklin County 1 000

Huntingdon County, 1,000

Lebanon County 1 OOO

Lehijjli County 8^000

Lackawanna County, 2 000

Montji'oinei y ( \)unty, 7.000

Northumberland (^)unly, 4 000

Nortbamjjton County 2,000

MeCalTs Feiry Dam, 125 000

Total, ir)n,000

Ajiril 15, Sliippod to A. G. Bullcr, Union City 1 case yellow perch eggs

" 18, " " '• 2 cases " '* ""'

" 21. " " " lease '

;; 21, '• II II 1 case

^•'' " " " -cases wall-eyed pike eggs.

" 1«. " J. H. ncrklioiis, Torresdale 2 cases " " ••

Heceived from Omstaiitia, New York, April ].",, 4 cases " " ••

Bellefonte.Penna., April 1 30,000 lake trout fry.

Kespectriilly submitted,

0. W. BT LLEK,

Actinjj^ Superintendent.

EKIE AlXILIAliV.

Fnion Citv, Deeembei- 1, 191:}.
lion. N. I{. Buller,

Commissioner of Fisheries.

Sir: Hei'ewith 1 hand you my annual report for the year be^in-
ninjjf December 1, 1!)12, and endinjjj November :»0, ll)l:»:

Early in the sprinji' of this year this hatcliery was visited with a
storm which caused an unusual flood that washed out the breast of
the sui>ply imnd which supplies the hatchery house jnid the rush of
\vater from this jiond cariied out four other jjonds, but fortunately
the jmnds had been depleted of fish and theiefore theie was no loss
of fish. The hatching; house with its batteiy was left without water
and the jars contained millions of ejjjpis just at the hatchiiifj sta^e.

By the most eneijjetic etl'orts a tem])orary bank was put in the sup-
]dy pond so that the water could be sent to the battery once moie.
It was thought best, however, not to try to hold the eggs until hatch-

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

69

ed, so they were promptly sent to Lake Erie for planting. However,
by great good fortune, after the eggs were loaded in the baggage
car, they were so nearly hatched that most if not all the fish had
hatched out by the time the lake was reached.

The flood also washed out the retaining wall along the creek in
several places and an abutment under one of the concrete bridges.
This involved a lot of construction work that had not been counted
upon and it took most of the summer to put the hatchery back into
its former condition. A neighbor who has lived here for 30 years said
that he never knew of so much water ever coming down the creek. It
had rained for more than a week and this, with the melting snow,
did tlie damage. It showed, however, that it is not well to depend on
anything that is not of the most permanent character in preparing
a plant for a fish hatchery, and a rock foundation is the only thing
to be depended upon, because sand always proves a poor reliance,
a fact which was known way l)ack in early Biblical days.

A heavy conciete wall has been built across the entire breast of
the supply pond and there is no possible chance for the water to
force a passage as it did through the old dirt bank where the frozen
part of the bank made the part that was kept from freezing by its
being under water, which was always a place afiordiug a chance for
undermining.

All the banks of the three fry ponds have been widened and
strengthened, but there is little danger of their giving way from
Hoods because the water is now all so thoroughly controlled from the
supply pond, wliich is built in a manner that it will not give way any
more. The Department expects the manufacturers of the State so
to control the fiow of pollution from their plants that it will not
get into the streams even barring accidents, and the Department
certainly expects as much from its Superintendents in the way of
preventing floods from doing damage to the ponds, thereby losing
fish which cost money to raise, and if the fish get away there are none
on hand to be shipped to the public.

The three i>on<ls have been deepened to a depth in the shallowest part
of three feet, and two smaller ponds have been turned into one with
a depth of not less than three feet. When these i»onds had a dej>th of
five feet shallowing down to nothing, my observation was that there
were never any fry in the shallow water, and my inference was that
the black bass prefer to live in the deeper water. One pond has been
deepened to nine feet.

All the gates to the ponds have been re])laced with concrete and thus
made permanent. The dwelling house has been repainted and a con-
tract has been made to paint the hatching house and barn.

The treating of the water at Erie by the orders of the Department
of Health resulted in compelling the disuse of the hatchery at Erie
for hatching purposes until it gets to its new site on the shores of the
lake. This hatchery had been built as an auxiliary to the Erie hatch-
ery and for the past two years has well proved its usefulness. All
the take of eggs in Lake Erie was sent to this hatchery, with the
exception of some sent to Torresdale, the surplus after this hatchery
was filled.

The white fish eggs last spring were exceptionally fine, the most
of them coming from Canada Avhere the fish are generally taken in
pond nets, while this fall's eggs, which are in the jars now, are not

70

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

^^ii^Tl' ^«*°| largely from the American side and mostly taken from

Sries and an ex"t?«'^V'/'"^ ^f ''^' *'''^ fallVid'n'ot mfX
e^esat Fr^f iZl u l^" * ""•^'^ *° 8^* » full supply of herring

live Iftrthi^hatehei;.'""* "'"' ''■"'''''' "' ''''' ^«"-S ^s'

The lake herring are really a more important factor to the Prip

fishermen than the white fish as they are taken in more abundance

^?i-*''*.i?'^™*'" ♦'"•" ♦'■^ '^'"'te f'-'^h are. It is myZ^nion Tn Wew

egssTheslT/; •*''"'* '""""'^ ""' ""'^^ ■" *"« future to take "err ng
eggs. These herring eggs were all taken from gill netted fish but
the spawntakers are being drilled into the best manner^ handiw
the eggs and the eggs now in the batteries look asTf theTwill producf

refult when alWh- ^''^ ^T ,'*"*' ^"'^^ *« '"' extraoTdi^a irgood
result when all things are taken into consideration.

Ihe pike perch eggs heretofore have been gotten from the Tlnitwl
States Goveininent Station at I'ulln-Hav the lVn.>«vK^,.i . 7. .
ment paying its prorata of the cost of tak^; 'VoMhTpas t^^rars
thpvf' ^^? ^^'^ '"'^'"•^'^ ^'■'"" *e United States authorUies Is

Z7nmZaZT''^\l^ ^'^''"'^ » '^"Pl^'y- TMs year this hitched
fnnntt' k'?? ^^^ "J *''® Pikeperch from the hatchery at Wavne

were^itTemelyTne''.„*or "iT *^ l'^' ^'''^'^ authorufes anTth^;
were extreniely hne, looking like hand picked eggs while the viVlH

was far in adv aiue over any other eggs ever leceivf.f ' ^ ^""'^

perch in PresniiP U]^ T^nl '^. . ^^^/^^^ planting of so many yellow
hatched. The^wTre a Inl-fnt^H Vn T FV^'"^*^ """^ ^''^^ ^^--e «"

?»,r^' £" Sr '^^^^^^^ ™s? K: -s:

+hrivi«« oc / ^^ "^^* *"6 muscallonffe are evidpntlv

desirable fish forTstribntTon ^ ^ ^^'"'^ ^'"'^^ '"PP'? "^ ^^ese

triIut:iZVejrertaSt:;ere'\adre';r°''^^ ""«^ '"^-
at a time when they could haTep rh^l! + P^^' ^'"'y ^«''« ^li'PPed
their new suroundfn4 and find hln^n" . *" '"^^"'"^ acquainted with
the man huntTg f^f bait "o"'b "1"^^"' Itt'7 **'^ '''""' ^"''^^
that some people will take a goo/heX tadp^ ZH: ^S'^

No. 21,

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

71

short time of becoming a frog and ready for the table at a price of
forty cents a pound, to catch a fish that sells at twelve cents a pound.
There is now a pond in which eight tub-fulls of tadpoles were planted
this fall to grow up and be ready for planting next season. These are
all of the big Canada variety and make some frog when grown up.

It is a rather curious fact about these fio^s that a few weeks after
they have spawned they seem to go back to hibernate as they are
rarely seen again until the next spawning season. As songsters they
far excell the small varieties and one man who heard them for the
first time in their musical efforts, innocently asked, "Where do you
keep your cows? They seem to be down in the pounds."

While there was a good supply of black bass in the ponds there were
only ten nests. Quite a number of the females seemed to discharge
their eggs wild and they would not fertilize. From the ten nests I
raised 18,000 fish. While this was not nearly so many as I had hoped
for, I was extremely gratified at the way I succeeded in growing
those fish to a length of from two to six inches bcioie they were
shipped, thus disproving the claim that they cannot be kept in a
nursery until they grow to any size.

It was an interesting study learning how to induce these little fish
to feed on some other diet besides each other. The first trial was
made witli maggots, and as the little fellows gatheied under the mag-
got manufactory there was some held back for lack of loom at the
lunch counter, and to these finely ground fish was thrown, and
whether they mistook this for some new form of maggot, they took a
risk and swallowed the ground fish. It evidently appealed to a weak
place in their organs of taste for they soon came to dodge the maggots
and eat only the ground fish. Once they got it into their heads that
one of the purposes of their existence was to eat something else
rather than each other, they set out to fill the purposes in a most
active way. They were fed eight to ten times a day, not much at a
time, so there would none of the food be wasted, and they throve and
grew, as I have said, to the length of from two to six inches, which
was exactly the purpose for which I was feeding them, and I as-
sure you T was much delighted to have them such willing accom-
plices in the good work.

The same result was obtained with the wild full grown breeders.
Their pond was well stocked with minnows as being their natural
food, but they seemed to have discarded their taste for minnows.
As in the case of the little ones they were enticed to try a diet of
ground fish with the result that they decided it was good for bass
and preferable to minnows, which was a diet any fish of active habits
could get if he wanted it really bad, while ground fish was only ob-
tainable in a fish pond where somebody obligingly came around with
it at regular and convenient intervals.

The following is the distribution of fish :

Bluegills, Fingerlings, 300

Bluegills, Yearlings, 2,800

Large Mouth Bass, Yearlings, 6

Small Mouth Bass, Yearlings, 17,960

Yellow Perch, Fry 19,000^000

Yellow Perch, Yearlings, 10 545

Yellow Perch, Adults, 1,100

Pike-perch, Fry, 11,135^000

72 REPORT OF THE Off. Doc.

Pike-perch, Adults, 59q

Miiscallonffe, Fry, '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.','.'/. 500,000

Wliite Fish, Fry, 5G 038 500

White Fish, for Public School Exhibit 800 000

White Fish, E^-s 422,000

Lake Herriun:, Fiy 8,000,000

radpoles, Yearliujrs 22 000

ronimon Sunfish, Yearliiio-s " ' ^^2 000

Pock Bass, Yearlinji:s ' * ' " 150

Tatfish, Yearlinj]:s, 500

T^^'*^! 101,858,451

Respectfully,
A. O. RT'LLEP, f^uperUitcndcnt.

RELLEFOXTE TTATrilEPY.

Bellefonte, December 1, 1018
Hon. N. II. Puller,

rommissiouer of Fishei-ies.

Sir:— Herewith is my annual report of the opeiations of this
hatchery for the year from December 1, 1012, to November 80 1018

Durinir the year there was a busy time as there was much'work'in
rebuildmn: ponds and puttin- them into shape to do efficiently what
Ihev were intended for. Walls vvcre Iniilt around eioht new ponds
and 11 other ponds were rewalled. All this was done with re en-
forced concrete so that the work would be peimanent and not re-
quire the constant watchfulness and care of a makeshift arran-oment
Of course, while this construction was -oincr on it interfered o-roatlv
with the Tnopap:ation of fish, l»ut iKMseverance and o()od work wil'l
accomplish results under the most tivina- eircumstances

In consequence the emjdoyees of this hatcheiv were si^arini? neither
in labor or persevei ancc and the lesnM shovs wlat well" ain.licd
elbow jnjrease and jrum])tion will do.

These newly fitted ponds are now in the best possible .shape to
raise fish successfully, and this is well shown in the wav thev i^er-
formed their duty of providin- trout for the api^licants, which' trout
broun^ht letters of commendation from the recii.ients of the fish as
to their condition and size. ' ' "

The work of shipping: was done as rapidly as possible and there
was hardly a case that the messenj-eis did not ."'et tl'e fish to their
destination in the best possible shape or losinir scarcely any The
only real complainevs are those who do not want their fish 'to ar-
rive m the even in ir, but if any one will take the trouble to look 'at
the time table of the railroads on which this hatchery is situated
they will see that the Suiierintendent here has done and is doing the

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES,

73

best he can. It is no more of a hardship for the receiyer of the fish
to stay up a little later than usual so as to plant the fish than it
is for a messenger to stay on the platform of a railroad station all
night and aerate cans of water until he thinks that he has a task as
continual as that of the fabled ])ei son who was doomed by the gods to
fill bottomless jars as a punishment.

The trouble had been here that the water su]>ply for a number of
ponds had been taken from the Logan Branch and this water is almost
always so roily that it is impossible to see the fish most of the time.
Besides this, the settling of the water compelled the constant clean-
ing of the ]»onds at the exi>ense of time and labor. To obviate this
trouble 1,500 feet of 10-inch pipe was laid from the Shugart spring
to the ]M)nds ami an amjtle siiju'ly of clear water is now assuie«l,
with the result that the fish are now kept under close observation
and the work of cleaning out the jmnds very greatly reduced.

The Shugart si)ring was walled \\\^ with a concrete wall 50 feet
l<mg so that the surface Avater could be e\'clud(Ml. while the groumls
around it were graded. A large amount of grading was done around
the new ponds so that beauty was added to utilitarian. Several
hundred trees were planted on the grounds that foliage and shade
may add their charms, and tlie useful supplemented the ornamental
in that the trends in question are choice varieties of fruit. The
hatchery grounds have great capabilities in the way of beautifying
and the plans for the improvement of the hatchery included the land-
scajie feature as well as the extension of the necessary adjuncts for
raising fish.

Last Fall the hatchery received a million trout eggs and they
yielded well. As the fish'are now kei»t until they are in the yearling
stage, shipidng was not begun until October 15 when the young
trout were from three inches to six inches in length and in i)erfect
condition of health. Ship])ing was kept u]) as continucmsly as i)OS-
sible with the force of men here. This year the hatchery received over
two million and a half brook trout eggs, and as this report is written
the eggs show up finely and will furnish ami>le supplies for the ajqdi-
cants during the coming year.

Owing to the demand for brown trout to restock those old trout
streams which have betome too warm for the native speckled trout,
this hatchery will install brown trout breeders so as to help meet the

demand.

The following is the dislribution of fish made during the year:

BROOK TIIOITT.

Berks County, 8,100

Blair County, 22,100

Bradford County, 12,000

Bucks County <^SM)

Cambria County 22,400

Carbon County 000

Centre County 81.750

Chester County 4,800

Clearfield County, 28,700

Clinton County ^^,000

Columbia County, 13,500

^* REPORT OF THE off. Doc.

Cumberland County, ^ „^^

Dauphin County, .' f >^^^

Fayette County, "^'^Xn

Franklin County, ?^^

Huntingdon County, .'.'.*.'.'.'.'.*.*.' ^tiiZ

Lackawanna County, ^'f""

Lancaster County, ^'JJ;^

Lebanon County, f'^^?

Lehigh County, .' .' .' .' ; ^^^^.^^

Luzerne County, ^'^"J;

Lycoming County, '.'.'.'.'.'. .'..'. . I'onn

Mifflin County, ^p^^^

Monroe County, I'??^

Montgomery County, ...*.*.*.'* 1' q']^^

Northampton County, .' .' .°iZ

Northumberland County, n'^""

Perry County, ,^'^^2

Potter County, /'VJ^

Schuylkill County, ....'..', |f'j^^

Snyder County, ;;:;;;; ^^'^^^

Somerset County, wTr.^

Sullivan County, ^^'^^^

Susquehanna County, ^'^"X

Tioga ^unty, . . . ^' ::::::;;:;;;;:;:;;:;::;;••• 2Z

Union County, ^'*""

Washington County, ^'^^^

Wayne County, ^JJ^

Wyoming County, .*;;;;; ^^^

431,000

LAKE TKOUT.

Wayne County,

•^' 60,000

GOLD FISH.

Luzerne County,

Lackawanna County, ^

Clinton County, , ^^

Northumberland County, ^^

Centre County, "^ ^

*^' 10

Total —

82

Respectfully Submitted,

WM. F. HAAS, Superintendent

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

75

COURT DECISIONS.

During the past year there were very few cases for violation of the
fish law that passed up to the upper courts. There were, however,
two opinions which we annex to this which were important, as espec-
ially the one bearing upon the clarifying of waters. While the law
in regard to running refuse in the streams has been in the statute
books for some years, public sentiment had not reached the point
that it affected the courts as to the rights of the citizens against
those of the manufacturer and the miner.

Everybody from the time of the settlement of the Commonwealth
had used the streams and waters of the State as the cheapest and
easiest method of getting rid of all refuse and sewage. This did
not amount to much when people were few and far between, but
as the Commonwealth settled up and population became denser it
became apparent that if the people are to have pure water there must
be a stop to using the streams as sewers. At first when pressure was
brought to bear upon manufacturers to stop their pollution running
into the streams there was a cry went up that the Commonwealth was
bent upon tying the hands of the manufacturers and putting them to
so much expense as would drive the manufacturers from the State,
and there is still some of that feeling in various sections.

From the earliest date of any laws on the subject the inhabitant
on a stream was entitled to the water as pure and unpolluted as when
it started from its source. He had the right to use it for his pur-
poses, but must return it back to the stream in the same clear state
as which he obtained it. New York is something in advance of Penn
sylvania in this matter of stopping pollution, and during the past
two years a very important law suit was carried on in Saratoga
county where a land owner sued a paper mill for rendering the
stream below the mill unfit for private use.

In the lower court the injured party gained an award of damages
and an injunction. In an upper court the damages were still awarded
but tlie injunction was refused. The case then went to the highest
court in New York, and that court sustained the plaintiff and made
the injunction permanent in a decision which is so important that it
is reprinted here, because under the Constitution of the United
States, the decision of a court in one State has due weight in the
courts in another one.

Since the New York court made this opinion the Board of Health
of Pennsylvania obtained an injunction in the same line against a sew-
age company in Chester county. These opinions are far reaching and
mean that in the future the streams can no longer be made sewers
to the detriment of the people living below and the public in gen-
eral.

76

REPORT OF THE

SUMMARY CONVICTIONS.

Off. Doc.

June, 1912, four men were arrested in Erie for using a device for
taking fish in Lake Erie without a license. The magistrate con-
victed them and imposed upon them a fine of $25.00 each, together
with the confiscation of tlie boats and the device. The defendants'
counsel took an appeal under the Act of 1905, but later discovered
that that act had been declared unconstitutional. The defendants'
counsel then asked the Court of Quarter Sessions for an appeal nunc
pro tunc as if taken within five days from the date of conviction, as
the law ])rovi(l('s. On Sei>teniber 19, 1912, Avlien tlie cjise came up
for hearing before the court, the counsel for the Commonwealth
asked that the appeal be quashed. It was shown that when the
counsel had asked for the appeal, no notice had been given to the
Commonwealth's attorney. At the September term the court quashed
the appeal in the opinion which is given in full below:

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,

vs.

Charles Wagner, William Smith,
('harles Smith and Edward Bolt.

In the Court of Quarter Ses-
sions of Erie County, Penna.

No. 51 Sept. Term, 1912.

Appeal fiom Summary Convic-
tion ; and Kule to quash same.

The defendants were arrested, convicted and fined by the alderman
for violation of the Thirteenth Section of the Act of April 4th, 1907,
P. L. 53, by using nets for the purpose of catching fish in the waters
of Lake Erie without obtaining a license so to do. By the record,
it appears that such conviction and sentence was on May 28, 1912.

From which sentence, the defendants on June 3, 1912, took an
appeal to this court, and gave bail to answer, but without then show-
ing cause or securing an allowance therefor from this court or a
judge thereof. Later, on June 21, 1912, on defendants' petition, we
ma<le an older allowing an appeal nunc /no time as if taken within
five days from the date of said conviction. The only reference to
the merits of the case in said ]»etiti<>n is as follows:

"Your petitioners further allege that they are not guilty of the
charge preferred against them and u]ion which they were convicted
as aforesaid. That there was no evidence produced at the hearing
bef'oie snid Jildeimnn upon which said conviction fjilily could be
based. That said conviction of your ]>etitioneis was wholly wrong
and o])pressive, and if allowed to stand would work great injustice
to them."

On September 19, 1912, on motion of the Connnonwealth, by the
district attorney, we gianted a rule to show cause why such appeal
should not be quashed. And, without passing upon said rule, pro-
<eede<l on siiine day to hear the evidence in the case. Such evidence,
and also that taken before the alderman, as appears by the transcript^
show that the only question in the case is one of fact as to defendants'
guilt or innocence. And as to that, we are inclined to the opinion
that the aldeimnn reached a correct conclusion. Rut aside from that,
we are clearly satisfied that the a[)i)eal was improvidently allowed
and should be quashed. The defendants had a full opportunity to

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

77

present their defense before the magistrate and did so ; and there was
no allegation of corruption, oppression or disregard of the law.
Under such circumstances, it is well settled that an appeal should not
be allowed.

See Thompson vs. Preston, 5 Superior Court 154; Commonwealth
vs. Styers, 15 District Reports 81 G, and other cases.

Where the appeal is not taken in i)roper time, it may be allowed
nunc pro tunc. Commonwealth vs. Swift Brothers, 17 C. C. 95. But
this can only be done on such ground as would have justified grant-
ing the appeal if applied for in the j>roper time.

Board of Health vs. Decher & Co., 14 C. C. 117.

The ai)peal must be taken within five days.

In re Gi*anahan's Appeal, 4 Kulj) 75, that is a constitutional re-
quirement which cannot be disjiensed with.

In the case at bar, the petition for an allowance recites that it was
so taken; but as we read the transcript, the sentence was imposed
May 2Sth, and the apjteal taken June 3d, which would be one dnj too
late. For a valuable collection of authorities on the question of
summary convictions, a])peals therefrom, etc., see Purdon's Digest
<13th Ed.) Vol. 4, beginning on page 447.*>. The authorities recog-
nize the right of the court to strike oft' or quash an ap])eal improi>erly
allow(Ml : es]>ecially when allowed as in this case without notice to
the a])])ellee.

And now, February 10, 1913, after argument by counsel, and u]>on
due consideration, the lule gianted to show cause why the appeal in
above stated case .should not be quashed, is made absolute, at the
costs of the defendants.

Per Curiam,

W.

Tin: QUESTION OF POLLUTION.

The question of having the waters of the Commonwealth run pure
and uni)olluted so that public health may be preserved and fish life
conserve<l grows in inipoitance eveiy day. When the first settlers
landed in Pennsylvania, its streams were clear and beautiful, but
gradually the i)ractice giew uj) of using the streams as sewers, that
being the easiest and cheapest method of getting rid of refuse. As
lime ]mssed this mnning of refuse into the streams had so increased
that the waters were rendeied unfit for domestic use, and fish were
driven from the streams. When at last aroused ])ublic o]>inion in-
duced the Legislature to ]>ass legislation forbidding this pollution
of the stieams, there was a ciy went up Ihat the State was interfering
with the manufacturing interests and forcing them to expense which
meant driving them from business. That the i)eo]>le atfected by the
pollution had smallei' interests was one of the reasons advanced
that their claims should not be considered.

The question has been considered in its various aspects, and there
is no doubt that it will not be long until the running of refuse into
the streams will be absolutely prohibited. The matter has never

78

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

reached a full judicial interpretation in Pennsylvania, although
what decisions have been rendered have shown that the tendency of
the courts is to sustain the laws.

About two years ago a suit was brought in Saratoga county, New
York, against a paper mill which was running refuse into the stream.

The mill is a large one, costing more than a million dollars, and
gives employment to about 500 operators. The refuse it disch.irged
into the stream was a vile compound and the plaintiff, a lower ripar-
ian owner, won his suit, the Court granting an injunction giving
the paper mill a year to put the restriction into effect. In the mean-
time the plaintiff w\is awarded some damages.

All jipjioal was tnken from this lower court and the defendants set
up tl'o ])]oa that they had invested large sums of money and em-
ployed a large number of employes and therefore the injunction works
an injustice.

The Court of last resort in New York has recently sustained the
plaintiff's case and ordered the injunction made permanent. The
Court remarks "although the damage of the plaintiff may be slight
as compared with the defendant's expense of abating the^ condition,
that is not leasfin for i educing the injunction, to- if that was fol-
lowed out it would deprive the poor litigant of his little property by
giving it to those already rich."

The Court also quotes from an Indiana decision which says: "In
locating a plant the owners are bound to know that every riparian
owner is entitled to have the waters of the stream that washes his
land come to it without obstruction, diversion or corruption, and are
bound to take notice of the size of the creek and capacity of the stream
and determine whether they should be able to conduct their business
upon such a stream without injury to their neighbors and the magni-
tude of tlioir invostniont and their freedom fioiii inalico furnishes
no leason why they should escane the <'onse(]nenf("s of their own folly."
The following is the opinion of the New York Court:

8TATE OF NEW Y()1{K,
COURT OF APPEALS.

!

Robert E. Whalen, Appellant, v. The Union Bag and Paper Com-
pany, Respondent.

(Decided March 25, 1013).

Appeal from a judgment of the Appellate Division, third 4lepart-
ment, modifying and, as modified, affirming a judgment entered ujion
a decision of the Special Term.

Robert E. Whalen, appellant, in person.

J. S. L'Amoreaux for respondent.

Werner, J. The plaintiff is a lower riparian owner upon Kayad-
erosseras creek in Saratoga county, and the defendant owns and
operates on this stream a pulp mill a few miles above plaintiff's land.
This mill represents an investment of more than a million dollars
and gives employment to 400 or 500 operatives. It discharges into
the waters of the creek large quantities of a liquid effluent containing
sulphurous acid, lime, sulphur, and waste material consisting of pulp
wood, sawdust, slivers, knots, gums, resins and fibre. The pollution
thus created, together with the discharge from other industries lo-
cated along the stream and its principal tributary, has greatly dimin-
ished the purity of the water.

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

79

The plaintiff brought this action to restrain the defendant from
continuing to pollute the stream. The trial court granted an in-
junction to take effect one year after the final affirmance of its decision
upon appeal, and awarded damages at the rate of |!312 a year. The
Appellate Division reversed the judgment of the Special Term upon
the law and facts, unless the plaintiff should consent to a reduction
of damages to the sum of ^100 a year, in which event the judgment
as modified should be affirmed, and eliminated that part of the trial
court^'s deciee gianfing an injunction. The jdaintiff thereupon
stipulated for a reduction of damages, and then appealed to this court
from the modified judgment. The facts found by the trial court—
which do not appear to have been disturbed by the Appellate Division
—establish a clear case of wrongful pollution of the stream and
need not be set forth in detail.

The plaintiff is the owner of a farm of two hundred and fifty-five
acres, and the trial court has found that its use and value have
been injuriously affected by (l:e I'ollution of the stream caused bv
the defendant. The defendant conducts a business in which it has
invested a large sum of money and employs great numbers of the
inhabitants of the locality. We have recently gone over the law
applicable to cases of this character (Strobel v. Kerr Salt Co 164
N. Y. 303;Sammons v. City of Gloversville, 175 id. 346), and 'it is
unnecessary now to restate it. The majority of the learned court be-
low reduced the damages suffered by the plaintiff to filOO a year and
reversed that portion of the decree of the trial court which awarded
an injiinrtion. The setting aside of the injunction was appa.entlv
induced by a consideration of the great loss likely to be inflicted on
the defendant by the granting of the injunction as compared with the
small injury done to the plaintiff's land by that portion of the pollu-
tion which was regarded as attributable to the defendant. Such a
balancing of injuries cannot be justified by the circumstances of this
case It IS not safe to attempt to lay down any hard and fast rule
for the guidance of courts of equity in determining when an in-
junction shall issue. As Judge Story said: "It is impossible to forsee
all the exigencies of society which may require their aid and as-
(mTed TsS? "^^*^' '''' ''^'^''^''' wrongs." (2 Story's Eq. Juris.
One of the troublesome phases of this kind of litigation is the diffi-'
ciiKy of deciding wlion an injunction shall issue in a case wheie
the evidence clearly establishes an unlawful invasion of a plaintiff's
rights, but his actual injury from the continuance of the alleged
wrong will be small as compared with the great loss which will be
caused by the issuance of the injunction. This appeal has been nre-
sented as thou.-h that question we:e involved in the case at bar
but we take a different view. Even as reduced at the Appellate Di-
vision, the damages to the plaintiff's farm amount to $W0 a year
It can hardly be said that this injury is unsubstantial, even if we
should leave out of consideration the peculiarly noxious character
of the pollution of which the i.laintiff comidains. The waste from the
defendant s mill is very destiuctive both to voo-etable and animal life
and tends to deprive the waters with which it is mixed of their puri^
fyinn: qualities. It should be borne in mind also that there is no
claim on the part of the defendant that the nuisance may be come less
•niiinous in the future. Althou£rh the damage to the' plaintiff may
be .slight as compared with the defendant's expense of abatin<r the

80

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

condition, that is not a good reason for refusing an injunction.
Neither courts of equity nor law can be guided by such a rule, for
if followed to its logical conclusion it would deprive the poor litigant
of his little property by giving it to those already rich. It is always
to be remembered in such cases that "denying the injunction puts
the hardship on the party in whose favor the legal right exists in-
stead of the wrongdoer." (Pomeroy's Eq. Juris, vol. 5, §530). In
speaking of the injustice which sometimes results from the balancing
of injuries between parties, the learned author from whom we have
just quoted, sums up the discussion by saying: "The weight of author-
ity is against allowing a balancing of injury as a means of determin-
ing the propriety of issuing an injunction." To the same effect is
the decision in Weston Paper Co. v. Pope (115 Ind. 394). "The fact
that the ap])ellant lias expended a large sum of money in the con-
struction of its ])lant and that it conducts its business in a careful
manner and without malice can make no difference in its rights to the
stream. Before locating the plant the owners were bound to know
that every riparian proprietor is entitled to have the waters of the
stream that washes his land come to it without obstruction, diversion
or corruption, subject only to the reasonable use of the water, by
those similarly entitled, for such domestic purposes as are inseparable
from and necessary for the free use of their land; thev were bound
also to know the character of their proposed business, and to take
notice of the size, course and capacity of the stream; and to de-
termine for themselves at their own ])eiil whether they should be able
to conduct their business upon a stream of the size and character
of Brandywine creek without injury to their neighbors; and the
magnitude of their investment and their freedom from malice furnish
no reason Avhy thev should escape the consequences of their own
folly."

This language very aptly ex])resses the rule which we think should
be applied to the case at bar.

The judgment of the Appellate Division, in so far as it denied the
injunction, should be reversed and the judgment of the Special Term
in that respect reinstated, with costs to the ap])ellant.

Cullen, Ch. J., Gray, Willard, Bartlett, Chase, Collin and Hogan,
J.T., concur.

Judgment accordingly.

REPORTS OF WARDENS.

Beport of WUlmm J. Acker.

Allentown, Pa., November 30, 1913.
Hon. N. R. Buller,

Commissioner of Fisheries,

Harrisburg, Penna.
Sir: — T have the honor to submit the following report of my work
and observations as State Fish Warden for the year from December
1, 1912, to November 30, 1913.

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

81

The past year has been a very busy one for me as T was not as-
signed to any particular section of th6 State owing to limited number
of wardens and consequently my work has been done in nearly every
part of the State, necessitating much travel and expense.

On Decemhei- 1st was called to the office at Harrisburg and directed
to go to Carlisle to investigate a complaint that a fish basket had been
built and was being operated without a license. Served warrants on
the violators and subpoenaed witnesses. At the hearino- the defen-
dants were found not guilty. On retuining to the office I arrested a
man with five short pike. At the hearing he was convicted on the
charge of having two short pike and paid the fine of $20 00
On the 5th of December I went to Douglassville and Pine
Forge on a complaint that illegal nets were being used in
Manatawiiey Creek. Arrested two for throw netting I then
went to Allentown and arrested three for dip nettin"' with
illecral mesh. Took one of the violators to jail, one getting awav
and the other j)roving an alibi. Investigated' a complaint that dead
fish were being fouml in the Little Lehigh and found that thev came
from a hatchovy in thnt vicinity, but. the Superintendent of the hatch-
ery informed me that it would not occur again. On the 11th of
December T anested the man who ran away from me for illegal dip
netting in the Manatawney at Pine Forge. Also arrested another
U^^-i\^^> ndhn'r. At tl-e heavin- W was found ouiltv and committed
to jail in default of payment of fine. T confiscated three dip nets
m the vicinity of Allentown. 1 find that the use of ille<^^l nets is
yeiT prevalent throuphont this district and ran up against some
bad -nnc^s operating them. T was successful in bringing a number
of the violators to time and think that the practice will be abated
to « f^;it Pxtont when they find out that they will not be tolerated
and tl'."t tl'e fish laws have lo be abided bv

During he month of January T was detailed on pollution work
and investigated several cases reported to the Department in Berks
Lackawanna, Nortl.Mnn.ton and Lehigh counties, making a full re-
port of all cases in Lehigh county where manufacturers were runninir
refuse into the streams. Dniinir the month of Febnia.v I int Xil
he Bnshkill Lehigh, Schuylkill, Hayes and Beaver Run Etn
A^^xt BvanH. ol \V'^m^y^y^r^^, Thestev County, f,om source to 1)'"
ware line; Buck and Doe Runs; Middle Branch of Red CHv Creok
West. East and White Branch of Red Clav Creek from London G.ove
\o Kennett Square; Bi- Elk Creek and West Branch of Bi- Elk
Creek; Beaver Run, Vallev Creek, Chester Creek, Pickering Creek and
Valley Creek in Chester County, making report of mv findings to the
office in Harrisburg. During the month T made five arrests and de
stroyed ten d,]>nets. Reported on all streams in Northami)ton conntv
for pollu ion. During the month of March I made six arrests and
secured t^he same number of convictions. Destioved five illegal nets
In patrolling the various streams T find that the manufacturers in
in ost cases, are willing to co-operate with the Department in' its
effort to abate the pollution and listen to any suggestions offered to
remedv the nnisnnce and T feel, that under the present method em
Ployed It will not be long before the streams will be in much better
shaoe than thev have been for many years and the fishino- restored
to Its former state. During the month of April I was detailed on
pollution work, reporting to the Department all cases of pollution

82

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

that came under my observation. Made several arrests for illegal
fishinji:, &c., secniino: severaT convictions. l)u:in«? the month of
May I patrolled Jordan Creek, Little Lehigh, Cedar Creek, Monocacy
and Saucon Creeks, Susquehanna River, Yellow Breeches, Allegheny
River, French Creek, Sugar Creek, North Deer Creek, and Conneaut
Lake Cieek. Seivcd notices on concojns in the vicinitv of Allentown,
giving them thirty days to remedy or abate the pollution. Spent
nearly a month in Venango County, on French Creek and several
other streams in the vicinity of Franklin. Patrolled French Creek
from Franklin to Meadville, with the assistance of a member of the
State Police. We found violations of the fish laws very numerous
and broke up several bad gangs operating in this part of the State,
securing several convictions. It was very hard work to get these
violators for the reason that they had look-outs posted all along the
creek and had signals in case any stranger should approach, thus
making it almost impossible to bring them to justice, but we were
successful in getting several of them for fyke nets, gill nets and
illegal use of outlines. We succeeded in breaking up the worst gangs
and thev left fnv parts unknown, with the exception of those we
put in iail. Tho State Police who ps^istpfi j^o londered muHi valuable
assistance on this trio and much credit is due him. The latter part
of .Tune 1 was ordeied to Renova, Clinton County. Patrolled Paddy's
Run, Younn- Woman's Creek. Drurv's Run and several other streams
in the vicinity. Reported to the Department a case of pollution on
Young Woman's Creek by a tannery on said creek. During the
month of July T made six arrests and secured six convictions, also,
confiscated two minnow trap nets. Patrolled streams in the vicinity
of Allentown, rTolleTtown, Chambersburg, York, Lockport, Williams-
port, Reading and Jonestown.

Durinc: the month of August T secured thirteen convictions out
of fourteen arrests for various violations of the fish laws, the amount
of fines paid was |220.00. Two of the violators were sent to jail in
default of payinc: fine imposed. The violations consisted of seining,
usinc: outline in trout stream, illegal fish basket and catching fish
with hands. Patrolled several streams and reported pollution "cases
to the Department.

During the month of September T secured four convictions out
of five arrests, one being postponed. One of the convictions was
for pollution at Lock Haven by a paper mill. The case was appealed.
The case postponed was pollution by a tannery in the vicinity of Lock
Haven. The other cases being illegal devices in trout stream and
havinir short bass in possession. Most of the time was given to pol-
Intion by tanneries, notices being served on the Superintendents
or Managers of all manufactories found running refuse into the
streams, giving them thirty days in which to abate the pollution
or take steps to remedy it. The latter part of September T patrolled
the Delaware River in the vicinity of New Hope, Holland and Lam-
bevtsville. also, from Trenton, N. J., to Tavlorsville and Easton to
Martin's Cvpok. Found twenty winn^-walls but no nets. Staved
avound here for a few days watching for fyke netting in the Delaware
and for the gang who had the wing-walls. Watched from 4 A. M.
until late afternoon but did not make any arrests. Made two arrests

No. 21. DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES. 83

for pollution in the vicinity of Coudersport, the cases being post-
poned. Patrolled several streams in the vicinity of Ralston and
Roaring Branch on Lycoming Creek, most of the pollution being done
by tanneries and dye works. Inspected settling vats which had been
installed by one of the manufacturers who was arrested for pollution
to see if they would be satisfactory to the Department. Much of my
time in October being given to the matter of pollution in the vicinity
of Coudersport, Emporium, Austin, Williamsport, Lock Haven and
Costello. Swore out information against several manufacturers for
the pollution of streams, the hearings being set for the early part of
December, with the exception of two which were extended to January,
1914. I made one arrst for having fyke net in trout stream, the vio-
lator being found guilty and in default of payment of fine was sent to
jail. Patrolled Monocacy, Baldeagle, Young Woman's, Sinnemahon-
ing Creeks and Freeman and Trout Runs and the Allegheny River.

The manufacturers, as a general rule, were willing to co-operate
with the Department in its effort to clarify the streams and were
always willing to listen to advice and suggestions that might be of-
fered for the betterment of conditions. A number of the manufactur-
ers on whom I called have gone to a great deal of exi)ense in install-
ing settling plants or filter plants to take care of the refuse from the
plants, and others, who are in the minority, have made promises to
the Department but are slow in action and these are the ones who
give the Department the trouble and the only way to enforce the
law is to bring suit against them. Under the present method of
clearing up the streams of the Commonwealth it will not be many
more years before the streams are restoied to their former state
of purity and there will be fishing for eveiybody, under the present
method of planting fish from 4 to 7 inches in the streams, these
fish being one year old. The fisheimen throughout the State and the
public in creneral all a*!Tee that the T)lanting of yearliiii; fish will
brine: better results than the method which was used in former years.

The followin^T shows the nnmbeT* of arrests made by me during
the past year, the number convicted and the amount of fines:

Arrests * 62

Con> icted 4S

Fines |690 00

The above report is respectfully submitted.

Very respectfully,

(Signed) WILLIAM J. ACKER,

SItate Fish Warden.

Report of J. D. Sizer.

Huntingdon, Penna., November 30, 1913.
Hon. N. R. BuUer,

Commissioner of Fisheries,
Harrisburg, Penna.

Sir: — T have the honor to submit my annual report for the year
from December 1, 1912, to November 30, 1913.

8* REPORT OF THE Off. Doc.

Conditions in the territory assigned to me have improved greatly
(lining the past year, due to a great extent to tlie activity of the var-
ious associations in my district which are formed for the protection
of fish and fish life throughout the Commonwealth and their co-
operation with the Department has greatly helped to instill a desire
in the minds of the people to observe the fish laws of the State.

During the past year I made ten arrests for violations of the Fish
Laws as follows:

Fishing on Sunday, ^

Illegal nets — various kinds q

Short i^ass 1

. Gigging out of season 3

(Janic iisii out of season * ' * o

Total, ^

Of this number 9 were convicted and one dismissed.
During the year just passed 1 destroyed or confiscated two dip nets
three fyke nets, seven set nets, three gigs and three old fish baskets!
Have done much work during tlie year patrolling the streams in ac-
cordance with the Department's method and desire to clarify the
streams throughout the State. Wiiere T found a case of pollution
I served notice on the manufacturer to abate the nuisance givin^
tlieni thirty to sixty days in which to install a filter plant or take
care of then- ])ollution in some otlier way which would be satisfactory
to the Dei)artnient, and in most cases thev liave been ready to listen
to suggestions and willing to co-operate with the Department in its
enort to clean up the streams and lesjoe llie fishing conditions to
their former state. Several manufacturing establishments have in-
stalled costly filter plants to take care of the pollution and under
the present method which the Department is following it will not be
long befoie the fishing throughout the Commonwealth will be as o-ood
as ever and the fisherman will be able to go out and get a good
day's sport and bring home a basket full of fish which will repav them
for their day's sport.

During the past year I have patrolled the Juniata River, Ravstown
Branch, Longs Creek, Rufl'alo Run, Raid Eagle Creek, Spring' Creek
Trout Run, Clover Creek, Dunnings and Standing Stone ''c reeks'
Spruce Creek, Pine Creek and Aughwick Creek for illegal fishing
making several arrests and destroying many illegal nets and devices!

The following are the numl)er of arrests 'made and the convictions
secured :

A rrests ^ ^

Convictions, !!!!!! o

1 >isunsse(l ^

^^"^«' ^.^^!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!;!!!:::::!; 190 00

The above is respectfully submitted.

Respectfully,

^^tate Fish Warden.

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

85

Report of C. R. Holland.

Beach Haven, Pa., November 30, 1913.
Hon. N. R. Buller,

Commissioner of Fisheries,

Harrisburg, Pa.

Sir: — I have the honor to submit my annual report as State Fish
Warden for the year from December 1, 1912, to November 30, 1913,
as follows:

During the first few months of the year just passed I was danger-
ously ill with pneumonia, but, on March 31st I was ordered to
McCall's Ferry Dam to look after the shad fishing between the
dam of the I»ennsylvania Water & Power Company and the Mason
and Dixon Line. I reached McCall's Ferry on the second day of
April and found that no shad were being caught on account of the
weather being too cold, although six shad were caught on the 22d
day of March, two in the tail race and four on the York County side
where most of the shad run. The shad started to come up to the dam
on the 10th of April and were being caught from Peach Bottom up
to the dam and were larger than the previous year, bringing thirty
dollars per hundred for bucks and sixty dollars for the roe shad,
the prices being 20% higher than the year previous. On the 22d day
of April there were planted in the Suscpiehanna River at Pequea
four thousand yellow perch, two years old, from the Wayne County
hatchery. The fish were in fine shape, not any of them being dead or
showing any signs of the long journey, they being on the road from
2 P. M., on the 21st until 9 A. M., on the 22d. Warden Eisenhart
who had been working with me was taken with rheumatism and had
to leave for his home. The lisliei men fi-oni Maryland started to in-
vade the locality bringing with them gill seines. I employed a boat-
man to assist me and we cai>tured and destroyed 14 gill seines, some
float and stake seines, among them being three new ones 165 feet
long with corks eight inches in diameter and two inches thick. The
river pirates make their home on the islands and ledges in the mid-
dle of the river all having guards out to give signals whenever an
approach was made by any one outside of their own gang. On the
fourth night they sank our boat in the deep water and after that I
had to boi-row boats, sometimes using force, but always ])aying the
owner for the use of same. The people consider it a crime to loan
a warden a boat or in any way help us. This handicaps us in our
work as these people all have double oared boats with long poles
and as they know the channel of the river it is very hard to get them
with a small single oared boat and T trust the Department will
secure a larger boat for next season. The shad season proved to be
the best in years, they bringing the fishermen more returns for their
work as the fish were much larger than in former years, but, in the
end they did not have much more money than in the year prior and
some of the fishermen had less owing to the fact that they spent con-
siderable money for drink.

After returning home the latter part of June from McCall's Ferry
I was taken with sciatic rheumatism and was indisposed most of the
month, however, T spent some days patrolling Fishing Creek where
there were a great many dead trout owing to the drought, especially

86

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

on the West Branch where for a mile there was no water. The ma-
jority of the residents of this section of the State are much pleased
with the repeal of the fish basket section. pieasea

On August 12th I was ordered to go to Middleburg, Snyder County,
l^A'Tl^'^^^^ ^ pollution case on the Middle Creek in the vicinity of
Middleburg. The pollution was done by a tannery and I had visUed
this plant many times during the past three years and always received
a promise that the situation would be remedied by installing a filter
plant but this failed to materialize, they, however, continued to en-
large the plant and on my last visit there I found four outlets leading
into the creek and all the refuse from the tannery going into the
T"?'., ^^^^^^^^ suit against one of the officials of the concern
and at the hearing he pleaded guilty and was fined one hundred dol-
lars and promised to install a filter plant to take care of the refuse.
I might say that, as a general rule, the tanneries are co-operatino' with
the Department in its work of cleaning up the streams of all "pollu-
tion. I also visited the tannery at Millville on the 5th of September
and found that a filter plant was in operation and the stream in good
shape. I investigated reports that seining was being done in Fishin^^
Creek and spent a week on that stream but found that the reports
were groundless. After a week of night work on the Susquehanna
River in the vicinity of Pittston and Catawissa, the weather being
very cold, I landed two of the worst pirates on this branch of the
river for fishing with a net in an eel wall and convicted both of them
each paying a fine of twenty dollars. In the matter of pollution I
find that all, or in nearly all cases, the manufacturers are anxious
to co-operate with the Department in its endeavor to clean up the
streams and restock them witli fish life and the fish laws are being
lived up to, generally speaking, in a more sportsmanlike manner
than in past years, the sportsmen favoring protection and their co- '
operation with the Department in the enforcement of the laws will
help materially in restoring fishing conditions throughout the Com-
monwealth.

During the year I destroyed illegal devices as follows: 14 gill seines
1 fyke net, 4 outlines and 18 other illegal devices consisting of float
seines, stake seines, nets in wing walls of eel rack and various nets
which were illegally used. I made three arrests: one for pollution
the violator being convicted and fined f^loO.OO, which was paid; two
for having nets in eel wall, both being convicted and paying 'fines
amounting to $40.00. f j b

The fishing conditions throughout my territory, according to re-
ports and personal observations, are in better condition than for
many years past and the planting of fish a year old seems to be bring-
ing better results than the planting of fry and all the fishermen are
in hearty accord with the method of the Department.

The above is respectfully submitted.

Respectfully,

C. R. HOLLAND,
State Fish Warden.

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

OT

liepoit of Alex. MacDonald.

Erie, Pa., November 30, 1913.
Hon. N. K. Buller,

Commissioner of Fisheries,

Harrisburg, Pa.

Sir: — I respectfully submit the following report of my work for the
past year:

1 was appointed as regular warden on March 10th, 1913. Prior
to my appointment as regular warden I was employed as fireman
on the Commodore Perry on Lake Erie, also helped in placing and
gathering spawn, making trips to Port Dover, Canada, to secuie
spawn and at ditferent times seined Presque Isle Bay for fish for
breeding purposes. Was also employed as special Fish Warden.
Being familiar with the conditions as they existed along the water
front I made several arrests for violation of the fish laws, report of
which is given in another part of this report.

Dn.ing the time I have been a regular Fisli Warden, which coveis
the past seven months, I have patrolled Lake Erie from Ohio to
New York State line, guarding all creeks, lakes and streams which
came under my observation. Visited many manufacturing establish-
ments and made inspection tours with a view of abating the pollution
of the various streams and waters in my district. Was on night
duty for six weeks continuous watching the State nets at Six Mile
Creek which were set to catch bass for bleeding purposes.

I have informed you in detail on your several visits here of my
findings, suggesting remedies and improvements for the conditions
existing at this port.

During my visits to the various manufacturing establishments and
while patrolling the streams in my district I have explained the laws
to the best of my ability.

During the year I made ten arrests for violations of the fish laws,
as follows :

Pollution, 1

Spearing fish out of season, 4

Trap nets, 2

Illegal fishing, 3

Total, 10

Confiscated nets valued at |150. The amount of fines imi)osed on
the violators amounted to 1315.00.

The above is respectfully submitted.

Very respectfully,

ALEX. MACDONALD,

State Fish Warden.

88

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

Report of W. E. Shoemaker.
Hon. K. R. Buller, Laceyville, Pa., November 30, 1913.

Commissioner of Fisheries,
Harrisburg, Pa.

Sir:— I have the lienor to submit the following report of mv work
and observations for tlie ])ast yeai-. ^

Among the better class of people who are lawabidinn^ nn,i ti.^

t^2:ZV"''V' '"''''''''''■ '^'°^'>"*'' '" th." se t :, a betfer ?eel n'
tonards the enloroenient of the (ish laws, due to the fact tint thp

violators of the law are beginning to realize timt arreJ^s nre n t

being made tor the sake of the revenue that comes film the arrests

- but for the purpose of having the people observe the aTs and become

law-abiding citizens and that they must either obey heselaws orTe

come subject to arrest. Then there is another class of peon e in mv

d .strict who delight, it seems, in breaking the fish laws by t kin^

the ti,sh in any manner ,>ossible so long as they secure thei nnd

this class has no feai- of a term in jail and do not respect thrifts

of others. These violators, in most instances are nersi stent n^l'^f

dynamite in the vicinity of Towanda. l4 Tlfer.^ use ,1^

the Spiing ol the year. It ,s very hard for me or any stranirer tn
get clo.se enough to identify them when they are at wn, k fT ti!^
reason that they work in ga'ngs of from fon, 'lo ten " n.U ne . o ^
!nl fll^^varning at the least sign of approach of anv o, e except
some ot their own iieople. e.vcepi

There seems to be great rejoicing among the fishermen in this
locality since the repeal of the HsI, basket Section. The e h- s been
no attempt made to buil.I a fish l,asket since the repeal of the sec on

but a l<.w ai.. using n,.|.s i„ ,1,. , ,|, „,■ ,|„, ,ving.walls \ f t f^p"?'

have been made for using nets in the wing-walls an more w Ifollo v
unless the practice is sto,i,,ed. Sunday lishiiig i„ ," , d s'lk" s
practically unknown, not an arrest ha ing becm made ZovX .
year. The sentiment is "Xo fishing on Sunday " "

There is quite a tendency among those who use outlines to violate
the law, insomuch that they keep the game fish caught onThl Hnes
and especially is this true of the foreign element who resent -in in
terference from any one. On .\ugust 24tli I had a little tioib?elit^,'
five of then, and ha.l to use force before T could go on wit i myVo k
. There h.ave been very few complaints this season relative To spear
ing there being only two arrests made and two comp a i.ts of wal V
eyed ,,.ke being speared. Generally speaking, the pel "of n v d iV

Jh:irar.n^;h::';:o:s'i'bi'e"""^ "- -'-'■ •-" -"-™" *- ^'^^'^

he law and abate the pollution and have started work at once to p ,t
in tanks to take care of the pollution and prevent it froni -^^tC
into the streams. The Klk Tanning Company who operate a tannery
at Tunkhannock. Pa., have installed a filte'r j.lant which seemslo
be doing the work r(Hp,lr,Ml by the Department. Before the filter
plant was installed, below the point wheie the sewer emptL nto the

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES

89

river, no fish life of any kind could be seen for considerable dis-
tance. Since the plant has been installed great numbers of minnows
and small mouth bass can be seen along the shore below the sewer,
which is very encouraging. I made five arrests for pollution but only
one of the five was prosecuted, the other four being employes of the
Gaff'ney Wood Product Company.

A detaclinient of State Police from Troop B, of Wyoming, Pa., have
given very efficient service on numerous occasions in bringing the
violators of the law to justice.

It is very difficult to properly patrol my district with the limited
amount of funds available for expenses and the large territory to
which I am assigend.

I have made twenty-nine arrests during the past year, securing
25 convictions; four of the arrests being employes of a company were
not prosecuted. The amount of fines collected amounted to |350.00.

The above is respectfully submitted.

Very respectfully,

W. E. SHOEMAKER,

State Fish Warden.

Repoit of .]. P. Albert.
Hon. N. R. Buller,

Commissioner of Fisheries,

Harrisburg, Pa.

Sir: — I have the honor to submit my annual report as State Fish
Warden of the Northwestern District, comprising Warren, Erie,
Crawford, Forest, Wnango, Meicer, and Clarion Counties for the
year ending November 30th, 1913.

I made twenty arrests in my District during the year just past,
among them being violations as follows:

Explosives, 1

Gigging out of season, 5

Game fish out of season, 7

Fishing with illegal device, 3

Brook trout out of season 1

Pollution, 3

Total, 20

I have patrolled along the various streams, rivers and lakes in my
district and have found that iishinuc in the Allei'lieiiy IJive;- jind its
tributaries, also the lakes and streams, is better this year than it has
been for several years. Trout fishing has never been known to be as
good as this year, both as to the large number of fish caught and the
large size of the fish. The fruits of planting trout ranging in size
from 4 to 5| inches instead of the fry or fingerlings has shown itself
this year and all the sportsmen of my district are very well pleased
with the new method adopted.

90

REPORT OF THE

Off. Doc.

istteVolluUofofthl*r'''''''"%*'''' Department has to contend with
ih lae pollution of the streams. In my d strict I have to cnntpnH wi+i,
tanneries, o 1 refineries, thousands of oil we Is chemica" mflirnf
various kinds, paper and saw mills. The ^.ollutionTom The s-.w
SDonn'thiTi ".^''T^ ''^*"•' P^'-'^t ^'t'' exception 0/ some remoti

on i t" out stream tI^, "" '""' "^j" «**^ '" *"« mountardTsW t
on a tiout stieam. The large manufacturers, as a general rule tv^

th?'.r^fi''"r *** rT'''^^ ^'^^ *''« I>ePartment in bringing about
the purification of the streams. The Broken Straw Cr^k Lw .
good example of what can be done. This stream wasone ^ the Z-st

c:l";io'rrouthTd/T"*' 'fl*^ ■" ^•^■••^ badTnditi'rnrom
=^nL„. • "^"'O"*"' a distance of twenty-four (24) miles Thi«
stream in past years was almost destitute of fish life be"g noison^l

eff"; '^f ■eSt^teOfflfM^'ir'^ T" *"" t-'-Hes,'but "h'ro'uTtfe
enoiTs ot tlie .State Ofhcials, the stieam has been miiified ind mn^a n

fr Dt'^stdT frfr *? ^"'•'•^■"'' x;"t!, statrp:i^

eiies i^epaifment had contributed a large number of vouno- fisli mwl
Some of the largest catches nia.le this vear were male in this stream'

lt"jz::\zztr'''''''''" "''!,'•^•'^''" «'« various ind'rstnrro:
^^j:::7:zz. ^of rfish^: atrin'ro^r-::^

dertn„^?^e'tolis^f li?:!' "^^ """ ''V'' ""*'■<"""" *''«' ^^''^ams, verv
aestructne to fish life. Have seen hundreds of fish both tnmp n. wi

wh^h 1"* ""? ^''" '*'■•"■'' ^^"'*" " «P«-""' floati-'R down theTreim^

his mTstakT '"'*"■ •■'"' '"'' *" ''"" ^•''^" *"« fi^'><'™«" fin'Js oit
oc?!"'"? •? ^''*'. "'"''"" """""'* "f *'"•"''< available and the large district

The above is respectfully submitted.

Very respectfully,

J. P. ALBERT,
State Fish Warden.

■Report of F. B. Whiteman.
Hon. N. R. Buller, ^^^''^'^ ^'""'^•' ^^^'^"^ber 30, 1913.

Commissioner of Fisheries,
• Harrisburg, Pa.

30, 1913, as follows: i^ecemoer i, i.)i2, to November

No. 21 DEPARTMENT Oi^ FISHERIES. 91

Conditions throujjhout my district which comprises Beaver, Butler,
Armstrong, Allegheny, Indiana and Lawrence Counties gave me
much trouble the past year. The violators seemed to be working
over time and they kept me very busy. I broke up several bad gangs,
at times being compelled to use force to do so, in the district as-
signed me and several times my life was threatened. The various
organized Protective Associations help considerably to enforce the
fish laws and heartily co-operate with the Department in its effort
•o ])"infT the violators of the law to justice and those associations
should be encouraged in their work.

During the year I destroyed many illegal nets and devices used by
the violators and in many cases arrested the guilty ones. I made
twenty-seven arrests as follows:

Gigging, 16

Seining on Sunday, 6

Explosives 3

Outline on Sunday, 1

Shooting fish, 1

Total, 27

During the past year I patrolled various rivers and streams in my
district investigating rej)oits of violations. Some of the waters
patrolled were the Ohio and Allegheny Rivers; Beaver River, from
Rochester to Ellwood City; Raccoon Cieek, from Vanport four miles
up stream; Mahoning Creek; Shennniro River, from Pulas^'i to New-
castle; West Branch of the Susquehanna River; Clarion River, from
Foxburg to Callensburg; Monongahela River, Pittsburg to Glassport;
Raystown Branch of the Juniata River and several smaller streams.
I found the pollution on the Ohio and Allegheny Rivers very bad and
investigated same very thoroughly rei)orting to the office my findings.

About the middle of August my home was burned down and I
lost practically all my belongings, including my records of my work
for the year, therefore, my report is necessarily shortened. On the
first of October I was granted leave of absence for sixty days in order
that I might build myself and family a new home, this to be without
pay, as I did not think I could give my work the proper attention
and at the same time build a home for myself and family.

Following is the number of arrests, convictions and fines collected
during the year:

Arrests 27

Convictions, , jg

Discharged, 3

Appealed g

Pines 1370 00

The above is respectfully submitted.

Respectfully,

«Si;r„ed^ F. B. WHITEMAN,

State Fish Warden.

09

REPORT OF THE off. Doc.

Report of J. K. Conklin.
Hon. N. R. Rnllor. B,artfo,<l, Pa., Xov,.,nbe.- ;iO, 1013.

Commissionei- of Fislieiies,
Harrisbiirs, Pa.

Sir:--I have the honor to submit the followins report for the vear

Ket7p,rtle?'pr'?"'' ';^"- ''''' '''''*"'* ••'-iS^nol "'«" inolndeVMo.
fieM ronntt' >-*r- '^?'"''""' '^"^- '^'■"S-1. -Tofferson anrl Clear-
field Counties jvhuh is almost entirely a tiont territoiv While I
have been unable to cover the entire distiiot. T Imve tr o(i to mtrol
the streams where the fish la«s are mostlv violated '

foiu- 'as"JoTlows:'" '""'""'" """'" ^'' '"" '' ''"'"' F'^" ^"""^'^'^ ^-'e

Dynamiting?

Snarinp: trout ^

Takin": fish wifli lianfls, ..........[....],[[[ ?

The violators beinff, in most cases, old offenders

Mnch of my time was -iven to the pollution of th'e streams serving

TntTh '". ''' '^'^'T.\ ^"I^^'^^tendents of plants r^^u<^7^
into the streams, as follows: ■" mnse

Tanneries

Chemical factories '^^

Powder mills ^'^

Saw mills ^

Oil refinei'ies [ ^

Creosotinc: plants ^

Glass woiks ^

''"''' —7

see

id

the

cv^min;, from their factories. The Kik TannynjV'c^;;;;,,,^' |j;f jl^^;;^

^u '?.i^^T ^' '^''^^^"'^ ^^•'^"^•^ '^ '^" ^''^i^ tanner es,' which s f e
msnlt o the Department keeping after them. Tn Jnlv, wi 1 W,, 0,'

Acker 00k samples of pollution from all the different ndnie

aionir i>n,o Pveck and Sinnamahonin- watevs. Tested J'^Z Z n2

and found that the lime consumed for killino- thrkl was Vto

twenty seconds to eijrht minutes. Sam^des of the pollut on wa

to comTdy with the law, yet where they have made provisions for keen-
inff the refuse out of the sti cams, thev have not " ^

No. 21.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES.

93

by keeping after them. The public, in many cases, do not realize the
vast amount of work that has been done by the Department of Fisher-
ies in trying to clean up the streams and restore the fishing conditions
and is, therefore, very impatient.

The method of stocking the streams of the Commonwealth with
yearling trout, from 4 to 5^ inches long, instead of fry or fiugerlings
meets wilh the h.caity ai)i>ioval of all the s]M):tsmcn in this <list-ict
and great results are expected in the course of a year or two.

The above is respectfully submitted.

Very respectfully^ yours,

J. E. CONKLIN,

State Fish Warden.

Report of Charles F. Gehman.

Collegeville, Pa., November 30, 1913.
Hon. N. R. Buller,

Commissioner of Fisheries,

Harrisburg, Pa.

Sir: — I have the honor to submit the following report of my work
and obsei'vations for the year just closed:

Conditions in my District, Delaware, Philadelphia, Chester, Mont-
gomery, Bucks, Lehigh and Northampton Counties have improved ma-
terially the past year. Rejioits of illegal fishing have been fewer and
of a less serious chai acter than the })revious year. This is largely due
to the organized ellorts of the various Protective Associations scat-
tered througout my district and to the increased activity of the special
wardens and constables.

During the year I made twenty-five ariests for violations of the fish
laws, as follows:

Gigging out of season, 1

Shooting fish, 1

Short bass, 2

Illegal number of hand lines, 2

Illegal nets — various kinds 12

Fishing on Sunday, 2

Fishing with floats, 2

Pollution, 3

Total 25

Of this number twenty-two weie convicteil and three ac(iuitted.

The following illegal devices were destroyed: Three stir nets, three
fyke nets and two dip nets. In addition to the above I still have a
numhei' of illeiral nets in my ])ossession which are being held until
cases are finally determined.

Dui'ing the year I have investigated many complaints of pollution,
both in my district and in other ])arts of the State, with the result
that thiee successful ]>rosecutions were brought, most notable among

94 REPORT OF THE Off. Doc.

them being the one at North Wales, Montgomery County, where a
considerable portion of the head waters of the Wissahickon Creek
were depleted of fish life. This offense w^as traced to the Union
Chemical Company of North Wales, who were successfully prose-
cuted and this Company have since abated the pollution. Two prose-
cutions were brought in Bucks County for polluting the head-waters
of Neshaminy Creek, both being successful and the pollution abated.

Of the nioie ini])ortant investigations carried on by me under the
direction of the Department, the investigations conducted on the Al-
legheny River was of the greatest importance. Between the 8th and
13th of September thousands of fish were killed in this river. Bass
in large numbers, together with thousands of the commoner species
of fish, were destroyed and it is doubtful if any escaped destruction
in that section of the river. The investigation showed that the de-
struction was due to the abnormally high acidity of the mine water
brought on by a protracted drouglit; this w\ater, high in acid, was
brought down the Kiskiminetas River by a slight rise and when it
reached the Allegheny River tlie destruction of the fish followed.

My observations during the past year have been as follows:

My work on the Delaware River above Trenton Falls has not been
satisfactory to myself. T cannot do justice to this beautiful i iver with
the equipment at hand. I would respectfully suggest that the Depart-
ment place at my disposal a small power boat suitable for shallow
water work. T am positive that such a boat would more than pay
for itself during the first j^ear and it would facilitate the work.

The bass season has been successful from the angler's point of
view in my district, good catches have been made and reported from
all sections. This is especially true of the Perkiomen and its tribu-
taries in sj>ite of the fact it is the hardest fished water-shed in the
State. Bass fishing has been better in the Schuylkill River this
season than for a number of years, good catches having been made
between Pottstown and Norristown.

The large ice dams in Hosensack Creek located at Palm and Hosen-
sack have furnished royal sport to the anglers of upper Montgomery
and lower Lehigh Counties. Larije mouth bass have been taken in
large numbers in these waters, fish weighing from four to six pounds
are common. This is remarkable when we take into consideration
that the first large mouth bass were planted in these waters about
five years ago. Yellow perch are on the increase in the above men-
tioned dams and a few are being taken in the Perkiomen. Bass
fisln^o- in He ui)])er Delaware has been very good the past season.
Good catches of trout were reported from all trout waters in my dis-
trict and the s])rotsmen seemed to be of the one opinion that the
size of the trout now planted, from 4 to 5^ inches lone:, vearlings,
instead of fingerling or fry, will bring better lesults and all look
forward to good fishing in a few years. An increased interest is being
taken in carp fishing thoughout my district, many anglers fish for
them when water conditions make bass fishing uncertain.

A summary of arrests and disposition of cases follows:

Arrests 25

Convictions 22

Acquittals 3

No. 21. DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES. 95

Fines imposed, |700 00

Fines paid, |520 00

Appeals, 7

The above is respectfully submitted.

Respectfully,

CHAS. F. GERMAN,

State Fish Warden.

OFFICIAL DOCUMENT.

No. 21,

(96)

INDEX

Page.

Applications for Fish ^

Abolition of Fish Baskets, 10-88

Arrests, ^^

An Amateur's Experience, 38

Aquarium in Fairmount Park, ^

Acker, W. J., Report of, 80

Albert, J. P., Report of, 89

Board of Fishery Commission Report, 3

Bellefonte Hatchery, ^3

Boat at Torresdale, 39-61

Brook Trout, ^^

Brown Trout, ^5-50

Black Bass, ^^

Black Bass as a Destroyer , 46

Black Bass, Difficulty of Prop()gatit)u, 47

Black Bass, Learning to Feed, '1

Bellefonte Hatchery, Report of, "2

Bellefonte Hatchery , Output of, 73

Corry Hatchery, Output of Fish , 52

Crawford Hatchery, Conneaut Lak;-, Cl"sid, 4

Co-operation , 5-13-27

Commissioner of Fisheries Report, •

Conservation of Fish, ^11

Closed Streams, ^44

Corry Hatchery, 13

Commercial Hatcheries, 18

Causes of Arrests , 20

Capabilities of an Acre of Water, 34

Commodore Perry , 39

Carp, Value of, 42

Carp as Undesirable, 42

Carp as Spawneaters, 43

Close Season asked for Carp, 43

Care of Trout Streams 44

Corry Hatchery , Report of , 49

Cold Water as a Detriment to Shad Work, 59

Catfish, 59

Complaints of Applicants 72

Court Decisions , 75

Conklin, J. E., Report of, 92

Delayed Report of 1912, ^-48

Distribution of Yearlings, 4- 7

(97)

7—21—1014.

m

INDEX,

Off. Doc.

Duties of Commissioner of Fisheries, ^^^'

Destructive Devices, ^^

Dredging Presque Isle Peninsula, ."...' ^ '

Dams, ^

Erie Hatchery, Output of, ^?f

Expenses of Commissioners, ^'

Efficiency and Economy, ^

Education as a Factor, '

Erie Hatchery, ^

Erie Auxiliary at Union City, ' ^^

Expenses of Hatcheries, ^ ^ ^^

P>ouomy in Saving Waste, ^^

Experience of an Amateur, ^^

Enemies of the Fish Pond, ^

Erie Hatchery, Report of ' • • . . ^ .. ' . . . ^ ^^'^

Erie Auxiliary, Report of, ^

Erie Auxiliary Output, T

Fish Life, the Story of, " ' ''*

Fish as a Farm l»roduct, ^

Fish for the Farmer, " ' ' ^

Unes Imposed , ^^

Financial Statement, ^^

Fishery Commission, Report of, ^^

Fishway at Holtwood, ^

Fishways in Dams, '^~^

Fishing for the People, *

Fishing for a Food Supply, ^

Food Fish for the People, ^

Fishing as a H<'alth Restorer, ^

Fish r.askets Abolished, ^

Fisheries in Lake Erie, ^^"^

Fish Car, * " 11-^5

Field AVork on Lake Erie, ^^

Fish Distributed, .'.'.'.'."." ^" .'." .' 11-12-56

Frog Raising by an Amateur, ^^

Fishways, ^

Fairmount Park Acjuarium, ^

Fishing Sp(.iled by Black Rass, '^^^

Fish Exhibit at Conneaut Lake, . ^^

Field Work, ''^

Fishway at Wayne Hatchery, ^^

Cerman Carp, ^

<>igging Destructive, *^

(Jehman, C. F. , Report of, ^^

Health in Fi.shing, ^^

Hatchery at Erie ^

Hatchery at Union City, ^^

Hatchery at Bellefonte, ^^

Hatchery at Corry, • ^^

Hatchery Expenses itemized, ^^

Hatchery Reports, ^^

Holland, C. R., Report of, ^^

Interference with Propagation, ^

No. 21. INDEX. 99

Page.

Improvements at Corry Hatchery, 50

Increase of Fish in Presque Isle Bay, 54

Improvements at Erie Auxiliary , 69

Lease of Torresdale Hatchery , 4

Lake Erie Act, 11

Lake Erie Fisheries, 11

Licenses for Shad Seines , 16

Lake Erie Fish Industry , 17

Lesson in Purification , 29

Life Story of Fish, 36

Licenses to take Carp in Lake Erie, 43

Lake Herring, 56-70

Moneys Received , 16

Moral Suasion as a Force, 22

Muscallonge, 45-54

MacDonald , Alex . , Report of, 87

Notices of Shipment, 4-51

Native Fishes for the Streams, 9

No Waste in Nature, 29

New Hatching House at Corry, 50

New Hatchery at Erie, 55

Officials of Department, 1

Open Streams, 10

Output of Fish, 13

Object Lesson to Anglers, 46-65

Ui)en Season for Pickerel , 47

Output of Fish at Corry, 52

Output of Erie Hatchery, 57

Output of Torresdale Hatchery, 61

Output of Wayne Hatchery, 66

Output of Erie Auxiliary, 71

Permanent Work Done, 3-8

Pt»llutiou , 5-21 ,77

Plants for Fish Culture, 7

Personal Touch with People, 11

Permanent Plants to Prevent Pollution, 22

Pure Water Absolutely Essential , 29

Paper ^Makers as Polluters, 29

Pollution in Supreme Court, 32

Presque Isle Peninsula, 33

Perm its , 41

Pickerel , 47

Pickerel , Open Season for, 47

Pure Water a Natural Right, 75-80

Question of Dams, 33

Report of Board of Fishery Commission , 3

Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries, 7

Rights of Land Owners, 10

Requirements of Wardens, 20

Restoring Original Natural Spawning Grounds, 33

Rebuilding Commodore Perry , 3^55

Reports of Hatcheries, 49

Report of Corry Hatchery , 49

100

INDEX,

Off. Doc.

Report of Erie Hatchery, ^^^®"

Report of Torresdale Hatchery ..."'' ^

Report of Wayne Hatchery, ^

Report of Erie Auxiliary, ^

Report of Bellefonte Hatchery, ^

Reports of Wardens, .' ' . ^^

Report of Wm. J. Acker, ^^

Report of J. D. Sizer, [[[[ ^^

Report of C. R. Holland, ^

Report of Alex MacDonald, ^

Report of W. E. Shoemaker, ^^

Report of J. P. Albert, ^

Report of F. B. Whitemau, ^

Report of J. E. Conklin, ^

Report of C. F. Gehman, ......"....... ^

Spruce Creek Hatchery Sold, ^^

Shad for the Delaware, *^~^^

Suitability of Fish for Waters, ^

State Police as Wardens,

Sale of Fish Car, ^^

Shad Seine Licenses ,

Suits Against Polluters, ... ^^

' oq

Supreme Court Orders Pollution Stopped, Z,

Story of Fish Life, ' ^

Seine Licenses for Tide Water, . . ^

Shad Work, '.............. ^^

Slip at Torresdale ^^

Summary Conviction.s , ^

Sizer, J. D. , Report of ' '^

Shoemaker. W. E. , Report of, ^

Spearing Destructive, ^

Torresdale Hatchery Lease, ^

Tagging Commercial Fish, ^

Torresdale, New Boat at, ^^

Tide Water Seine Licenses, ^^"^^

Torresdale Hatchery, Report of, ^^

Torresdale Water Supply, ^

Torresdale Hatchery Output, .... ^

Tad-poles, .'..., ^^

Teaching Black Bass to Feed, l^

Verification of Shipments, [[ '^

Value of Lake Erie Fisheries, *

Value of Artificial Propagation , ^^

Value of Commercial Hatchery Fish,

Warden Service, ^^

Wash-out at Erie Auxiliary, ,[][[[ ^^^

Water Supply at Bellefonte, ^^T

Wardens, -^^""^

Warmer Streams for Brown Trout. ^^

White Fish, ' *^

Wall-eyed Pike, •■•'• ^ ''''' ^ ^ !!!!!!! ^ !!!!! ! ^^"^^

Water Supply at Torresdale, ' " ^

Wayne Hatchery, Report of, . ^

m

No. 21

INDEX.

101

Page.

Water Supply at Wayne Hatchery, 65

Wayne Hatchery Output , 66

Warden's Reports, 80

Whiteman, F. B. Report of, 90

Yearlings Distributed 4

Yellow Perch, 18-58-70

i

(102)

END OF YEAR