The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-01-27

' opportunity Tor hatchery purposes III
the state. After he had decided to
purchase the property. following a
thorough investigation in which he
was assisted by another expert fish
culturist Edward S. Casselman of
Dorset, the commissioner expressed
surprise that the site was not given
serious consideration years ago. The
commissioner who was for number
of years attached to the bureau of
fisheries at Washington, says that he
had "combed Vermont from end to
end both for national. government
and the state department" and that
he did not believe such an excellent
water supply for hatchery purposes
existed in his jurisdiction. Persons
who have lived In the vicinity all of
their lives persistently insisted that
no considerable volume of water
could be secured from the springs and
they are more than surprised at the
results that have been attained
The hatchery plant and the water
system that supplies IL, were con-
structed by Warden Higgins and two
men during ssn fall OF 1916. The
springs. one large source and several
lesser supplies. were combined at a
small basin created by the construc
tion of concrete dam. From this
dam a line OF pipe nearly thirteen
hundred feet in length was laid to the
hatchery site. Wooden pipe with an
asphalt covering was used and as the
conduit is laid in marshy ground IL
will last for years. The pipe is expos
ed to the atmosphere at only one
point, where II bridges the South
stream. The pipe is eight inches in
diameter and there Is a constant iow
of water from the springs sufficient
to fill 1t. This is said to be a larger
amount of spring water than can be
obtained at the state hatchery at
Roxbury. The springs. when weired
in August. showed a flow of 600 gal
Ions a minute, enough to supply
hundred troughs. double the number
with which the station is now
equipped
A concrete dam was built on the
small brook which flows toward the
station from the east and another
pipe line was built to connect with
the fiume which carries the water IN
to the building. The springs prov ide
all the water that Is needed for hatch
cry purposes but the brook water las
been used to lower the temperature
so that the eggs could be held back
from Matching too rapidly Up to the
present time the water from she
springs has not reached tempera-
ture lower than AZ degrees, and this
mark was recorded following a cold
rain when some surface water natur-
ally found its way into the springs
Ordinarily the temperature ranges
between 45 and 46 degrees. The wa
ter from the brook will be available
in raising the trout once they have
reached an age when it becomes nec-
essary to feed them artificially. There
is certain amount of natural food in
the stream at all times which Will
cut down one of the largest items of
expense in maintaining the station.
The main building is 50x26 feet
tightly boarded and clapboarded and
so constructed that it could be used
for a number of years to hatch and
rear fingerlings IL 1t were so desired
There are no partitions and the floor
space is completely occupied with the
battery of 26 double troughs, 81
troughs in all The troughs are of
cypress. painted inside and out, and
they will undoubtedly be transferred
to the permanent hatchery. South
east of the main building is a smaller
single room structure in which the
warden has large box stove and
where the surplus apparatus and tools
are kept. There are no means of
heating the main building but the
steady stream of warm spring water
through the flume and troughs keeps
the temperature Of the room above
the freezing point.
At the southeast corner of the
building is fume into which the wa
ter from the springs is received. The
water enters the bottom of the fiume
through short section Of perpendi-
cular pipe The water from the brook
is also taken into the building
through the flume but the latter may
be cut off at any time At the pres
ent time little or no brook water is al
lowed to flow into the flume and the