Salary of the superintendent........ Two years......$2400_00 NOTE. Since writing this report a fine mirror carp, thirty-one inches long, and weighing eleven and a half pounds, was taken in the Missouri river, near Plattsmouth, December 23d, and exhibited to Commissioner Livingston. Very likely this fish escaped from the Santee fisheries during the incumbency of the former superintendent, since other carp have heretofore been taken in the Platte river, and goes to show that this valuable fish thrives well in the open waters of the state. R. R. LIVINGSTON, B. E. B. KENNEDY, To the State Board of Fish Commissioners: Commissioners, Included in the annual report of the commission for 1885 I gave a brief detailed report of the fish exhibit at the Nebraska state fair at Lincoln, and made, under instructions of the board, as one of the branches of the work undertaken to create and further the interest in the subject of fish culture, and to show to some extent the character of the practical work accomplished by the commission in introducing and propagating the species best adapted to Nebraska waters. The result of that exhibit and the evident interest awakened among those who embraced the opportunity of witnessing this practical result of the commission's work at the hatcheries-thus made more easily accessible-encouraged the idea of repeating the experiment the present year, and in pursuance of this, at the suggestion of the State Board of Argiculture, I brought before their session a plan for a more extensive exhibit, the foundation for which was prepared in the erection of a building specially adapted for the purpose, in a convenient location on the fair grounds, with thoroughly adequate facilities for carrying out the purposes designed. This enterprise, so cheerfully forwarded by the members of the State Board of Agriculture, is worthy of special mention as being the first of the kind undertaken under the auspices of the State Board, and made a feature of its annual exhibit at a state fair. That the enterprise has proved a success, I believe is the verdict of all who witnessed the exhibit, as shown by the interest manifested in the large numbers who examined the display and made inquiries of the various features of fish propagation. The building provided for the occasion and intended for permanent use for the purpose is of sightly proportions, thirty by fifty feet in dimensions, with proper facilities for light and water, and a row of glass aquariums extending through the center of the building, and a large fountain and basin, also serving as a receptacle for the various species of fish embraced in the exhibit. Among the specimens from the state hatcheries were brook trout, mountain trout, wall-eyed pike, German carp, of various ages and sizes of each species; also specimens of the fishes native of Nebraska waters, as pickerel, black bass, hickory shad, buffalo fish, catfish, bullheads, sunfish, quill backs, and other varieties, with a varied collection of specimens of water inhabitants not belonging to the class of food fishes. Included in the display were jars and other apparatus from the hatcheries, showing the different stages and methods of the propa a fine gating process, and illustrating to a limited extent the character of the work done under the supervision of the superintendent at the hatcheries. In this connection, I desire to testify to the faithful and zealous co-operation of Mr. M. E. O'Brien, the superintendent, and to the intelligent and practical methods of his work as illustrated in the success attained at the institution over which he has supervision. Besides the live fishes on exhibition, were an interesting and attractive series of the leading inland and ocean fishes in water color portraits by Kilbourne, entitled the "Game Fishes of America;" collection of plaster casts of fishes, kindly loaned by Mr. S. P. Bartlett, secretary of the Illinois Fish Commission; a varied assortment of alcoholic specimens in jars, consisting of white fish, grayling, and numerous varieties of trout, contributed by Mr. Frank N. Clark, superintendent of the branch United States Hatcheries, at Northville, Michigan; a fine collection of stuffed specimens of deep sea fishes, a second time generously loaned by Hon. E. G. Blackford, of the New York Fish Commission; a large variety of pictures contributed by Prof Spencer F. Baird, of the United States Fish Commission, and to whom we are indebted for many other appreciated favors in the securing of this display, as well as to Professors Goode, Bean, and Rathbun, his assistants; besides a collection of about fifty jars of marine invertebræ and deep sea fishes, forwarded from various sources of the government service; Mr. A. Booth, of Chicago, also contributed a number of interesting curios which added to the attraction of the exhibit. Besides these features of the display there was a large collection of photographs of scenes representing the fishery industries of the United States at various coast stations; and hanging on the wall was a fine crayon portrait of Hon. S. F. Baird, United States commissioner of fish and fisheries; also photographs of the officers of the American Fisheries Society, who have exhibited a commendable interest in the success of the enterprise inaugurated under such auspices in Nebraska. For the measure of success which this project was able to attain, much credit is due to the members of the State Board of Agriculture, and especially to Messrs. S. M. Barker, president, and Robert W. Furnas, secretary, whose association with Nebraska's productive in terests has given him a nation-wide reputation; Edward McIntyre, chairman, and Messrs. Nicodemus, Dunham, Dinsmore, and Grennell, of the Board of Managers; Austin Humphrey, superintendent; O. M. Druse, master of transportation; Captain Hamilton, chief of police; and also Mr. J. D. Macfarland, president Lancaster County Agricultural Society, to whom so much is due in the inception and carrying out of the plans for the building. Besides the valuable assistance rendered by these gentlemen in contributing so materially to the success of the project, I desire to express obligations to Messrs. E. P. Ripley, general freight agent, and Paul Morton, assistant, of the C., B. & Q. R. R.; Mr. George W. Holdrege, general manager, and Mr. D. E. Thompson, assistant superintendent, of the B. & M. in Nebraska, over whose lines all exhibits to this department were carried free of charge; as well as to Mr. W. F. Bechel for like favors through the Pacific Express company. To the gentlemen of the press who so faithfully chronicled the features of the exhibit the public are also indebted, as well as those more immediately interested, for the interest they have helped to awaken in this important subject. With the acquisition of the present large variety of specimens in the various features of fish propagation, and the appliances and means of showing them to best advantage now in possession of the commission, I would suggest that a permanent museum might beneficially and without much outlay be established at the state hatcheries, and I hope that such a feature may be provided for in the near future, believing it would do much in forwarding the interest in this subject, to which sufficient importance has not heretofore been attached. In concluding I have reason to believe that the efforts of the commission, which have thus been so warmly seconded as evidenced in the result of what is now no longer an experiment in the exhibit of the fish industry of the state, have been the means of awakening a new interest in the propagation and protection of food fishes whose beneficial effects will continue to be experienced as long as intelligent and patriotic efforts are encouraged; and that with the progress now attained in the practical work of introducing and distributing in the waters of the state the fishes which experience has now shown to be best adapted, there will soon be ample returns for the efforts put forth in this direction. FREMONT, Dec. 4th, 1886. W. L. MAY. STATE FISH HATCHERIES, Dec. 31, 1886. To the Honorable Board of Fish Commissioners: GENTLEMEN-In response to your request, I herewith submit my report as superintendent of the state fish hatcheries, accompanied with. a detailed statement of the work done at the fisheries, and the hatching and distributing of fish during the year ending December 31, 1886. There have been distributed from the fisheries this year 5,050,000 wall-eyed pike; 108,000 brook trout; 55,000 salmon trout; 9,000 California mountain trout, and 8,720 German carp; and have on hand about 3,000 carp which will be distributed before the last of January. These are all of this season's product of the state hatcheries. All the fish kept in the ponds at the fisheries for breeders, both the young fish and those old enough to breed, have done remarkably well, and are all in excellent condition at this time. The demand for all varieties of fish cultivated at the hatcheries is constantly on the increase, showing that the people from all parts of the state are getting thoroughly interested in the work of the fish commission; which is evidenced by the fact that over 250 ponds have been constructed and stocked with good fish during the past season. This does not include about 3,000,000 of young fish that have been planted in the open waters, such as lakes and rivers; and from all information obtainable the results of these plants are most successful, During the past season our facilities for hatching and distributing fish have been greatly increased, and we now have the capacity for handling 35,000,000 of young fish annually, besides increasing our facilities for hatching fish. We have, during the past season, constructed two new fish ponds, so that we will be enabled to keep on hand a larger supply of fish for breeders. We have now altogether twelve ponds, with a surface area of about three acres, and containing a stock of about 55,000 fish of the different varieties, from one to three years old. The brook trout |