l^l..^€^^0^CS/fm%/, of Dixfield: fish-commissioner • of Maine. Charles G. AtMns, of Bucksport; in charge of United States §almon-breeding establish- ment. Charles R. Fernald, of Orono; i)rofessor of natural history in the Maine State College. New Hampshire Livingston /Stogie, of Charlestown ; in chargeof United States salmon-hatchiug establish- ment on the McCloud Eiver, California. Massachusetts K S. Shaler, of Cambridge; assistant in the Museum of Comparative Zoology. T. Sterry Runt, of Boston ; professor of ge- ology, Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology. Gurdon Saltonstall, of Boston', collector for the Boston Society of Natural History. James R. Emerton, of Boston ; assistant in the Boston Society of Natural History. Connecticut N.S. Rice, of Middletown ; professor of natu- ral history, Wesleyan College. G. Brown Goode, of Middletown ; curator of the Museum of Wesleyan College. A. B. Fern/?, of New Haven ; professor of zoology, Yale College. Daniel C. Baton; professor of botany, Yale College. W. D. Whitney ; professor of Oriental litera. ture, Yale College. EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. V S. I. Smith, ) assistant teachers of zool- J. K. Thatcher, ] ogy iu Yale College. 0. Harger ; assistant in Yale Museum. John B. Isham, * ) 4. i ±. ^ ^- i o • George IK Sau-es, i students of 1 ale Sci- T. Mitchell Prudden, ) ^"^^^^ ^^^^«^- Talcott H. Bussell, of 'Nev^ Haven. I^EW York IT. E. Webster, of Schenectady ; professor of natural history, Union College. Charles Pond ; student of uataral history, Union College. R.A. Ward, of Rochester; in^ofessor of nat- ural history, Rochester University. Ohio Rev. J. G. Fraser, of East Toledo. T> 7 ^ x> • } committee on marine Robert Brown, jr aquaria for the Cin- JohnI)avts,2LD., ^ einnati Industrial Ex- f.^'^-/- Taylor, ( .. s tember Richard Folsom, j Ld October, 1872. Iowa J.. E. Todd, of Tabor ; professor of natural science, Tabor College. District of Columbia ..Theodore Gill, Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Edicard Palmer, of Washington. A. G. Seaman, Agricultural Department, Washington. Among these visitors, Mr. Robert Brown, Dr. John Davis, Rev. A. E. Taylor, and Mr. Richard Folsom came for the purpose of obtaining living specimens of marine zoology with which to stock an aquarium at the Cincinnati Industrial Exposition. In the course of the summer, the fish-commissioners of Maine, E. M. Stilwell and O. C. Stanley, spent several days with me, in com- pany with Mr. Atkins, during which time the subject of restocking the waters of the State with salmon was discussed, and an understanding entered into with them in regard to hatching such eggs of this fish as I might be able to allot to the State from the. stock owned by the United States. Mr. Livingston Stone also, prior to his departure for California for the purpose of securing eggs of the Sacramento salmon, visited me in order to arrange the details of his operations. In continuation of the courtesies previously extended, the Treasury Department instructed Capt. D. B. Hodgden, in command of the revenue-cutter Mosswood, to render me such assistance as he could without interfering with his regular duties; and to him and his officers I am under many obligations for the cordiality and readiness with which they carried out these orders. Without the help of the cutter, I should have been able to make a few only of the researches VI REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. and investigations which have proved of great service in the inquiry intrusted to my charge. In the course of the summer I visited the British provinces, passing through Saint John, Digby, Annapolis, Halifax, Pictou, Prince Edward Island, Shediac, and Fredericton, with a view of ascertaining the present condition of the fisheries, the nature of the regulations. concerning them, as well as the various methods for carrying them on, and I am particu- larly indebted for valuable assistance and information to Mr. William Jack, of Saint John ; to Dr. J. B. Gilpin and Mr. J. Matthew Jones, of Halifax ; and to Mr. Dunn, the United States consul, and Mr. J. C. Hall, merchant of Charlottetown. My inquiries in reference to the herring and other fisheries of the coast would not have been complete without a visit to Grand Manan, and especially, the southern extremity", known as Southern Head, and well know^n to be the great spawning-ground of the majority of the herring entering the Bay of Fundy. With the aid of a letter from Mr. William F. Whitcher, the Commissioner of Fisheries at Ottawa, to Mr. Walter B. McLaughlin, in charge of the spawning-grounds, I was enabled to obtain a great amount of very valuable information in regard to this interesting locality. To Mr. Simeon F. Cheney, of Nantucket Island, Grand Manan, I am also much indebted for services rendered. The fact that particular portions of our sea-coast are frequented by the herring during their spawning-season, while others, apparently equally eligible, remain nnvisited by them, induced me to undertake a careful investigation of ocean temperatures ; and, with the assistance of Captain Hodgden, of the revenue-cutter, I was enabled to secure, through the use of the Casella-Miller deep-sea thermometer, many records of the temperature of the bottom waters at dilferent i^arts of the Bay of Fundy, as well as of the surface. These are considered of very great importance in solviug the various problems referred to. * *A movement in the same direction was subsequently undertaken by the Scottish Meteorological Society, having for its object the determination of the question as to how meteorological conditions of air and water influence the herring-fishery, an industry of the first importance to the inhabitants of Scotland; the inquiry having been suggested by the Marquis 'of Tweeddale, president of the society, in a letter transmitted on the 30th of January, 1873. A committee was appointed, and on the 2d of July reported the progress made, when, although no very positive results were anflounced, enough was adduced to show the eminent propriety of the investigation and the probability of attaining important generalizations. (Journal of the society, July, 1873, 60.) The inquiry was restricted at first to the east coast of Scotland, and to pond-fishing districts therein, viz, Wick, Buckie, Peterhead, and Eyemouth, the last including the fishing-ports of Dunbar and Eyemouth, Berwick, and North Sunderland. Copies of the weekly returns sent to the fishery-board from these districts during July to Sep- tember, the season of the herring-fishing for that part of Great Britain, for six years, beginning with 1867 and ending with 1872, giving the catch per week, the number of REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. VU * Having been so fortunate as to interest Professor Peirce, of the Coast - Survey, in the general inquiry intrusted to me by Congress, I received, under his instructions, from Captain Patterson the proffer of the aid of that branch of the service in pursuing such investigations as related in any way to its own objects ; and as the physical and natural history of the various banks oft" the New England coast constituted a common bond of interest, it was determined by the Superintendent to fit out the steamer Bache to make surveys on George's Banks, one of our best fishing-grounds. I was authorized to put on board two experts in the line of marine zoology, for the purpose of prosecuting the necessary inquiries; and haviug selected Mr. S. I. Smith and Mr. Harger, these gentlemen presented themselves at Provincetown, as the place of ren- dezvous, at the appointed time. While certain needed repairs of the vessel were being completed, these gentlemen in the interval visited Eastport and entered into the general inquiries prosecuted in the Bay of Fundy They, however, returned to Provincetown when the Bache was ready to take them on board ; and although beginning their work so late in the season, as to be interfered with by storms and unfavorable weather, they succeeded in securing many valuable results, a report of which will be presented hereafter. boats out in each district, were extracted from the reports, and an average of these sis years calculated at several of the stations. These were finally compared day by day with two series of sea-temperatures ; one taken oif Harris, and the other near Edinburgh. The temperature of the sea was found to rise very rapidly about the middle of July ; and to keep oscillating slightly about a uniform temperature of 56^ until the 13th of Au- gust, when it rapidly rose to the annual maximum, namely, 57°.2, and ranged relatively high until the first of September. This period of highest annual temperature, namely, fi^ the middle of July to the first of September,, was found to be coincident with the fishing-season in the northern districts of Scotland ; and the period when the tem- perature rises to the absolute maximum is further coincident with the date of the largest catches during the fishing-season. The committee, however, consider it pre- mature to lay great stress on the striking coexistence of these facts, since it is impos- sible, without farther statistics, to say whether these relations are of a permanent character. The fishing-season did not begin until the sea-temperature had risen to about 55^° in July, nor did it continue after it had fallen below 5bi° in September. An important omission in these tables is, that they do not show whether they indi- cate the surface or bottom temperature of the sea; the ditiference in this respect being very appreciable. Another omission is, as to the relation between the spawning-sea- son of the herring and their shoreward movement. Alongthe coast of the United States, the great spawning-ground of the sea-herring is off the southern end of Grand Manan, where the surface and bottom temperatures sometimes differ at the spawning-season by as many as five or six degrees. An important relation was also observed by the committee between the exceptional atmospheric temperatures and the migrations of the herring, the fishing-season begin- ning much later in the year, when the summer-temperatures are low, than when they are high. As regards the relation between barometric observations and the fisheries, it appears that during the periods when good or heavy catches were taken, in a great majority of cases the barometer was high and^ steady, the winds light or mod- erate, and electrical phenomena wanting; when the captures were light, the obscrva- VIU KEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 4. — COREESPONDINGr RESEARCHES OF OTHER NATIONS. A few years previous to the movement on the part of the United States in the establishment of a commission for the investigation of the fish and fisheries of its coast, the Flscherei-Verein, an associa- tion composed of several eminent naturalists, x)hysicists, and statisticians of Germany, warmly urged upon its government the importance of l^rosecuting similar researches, recognizing equally with the United States that the only way of securing definite and practical results in the way of protecting and improving the fisheries was to initiate a series of thorough inquiries into the general physical and natural history of the seas. A commission was accordingly appointed by the German government to report upon the best method of securing the desired object. A report of what was needed was presented by the commission, which invited careful inquiry into the following points : first, the depth, and character of the water, the peculiarities of the bottom, the percentage of salt and gas in the water, and the nature of its currents and temper- atures; secondly, a minutely-detailed determination of the animals and plants found in the sea; and, thirdly, the distribution, mode of nourish- ment, propagation, and migration of the useful fishes, shells, crustace- ans, &c. While this programme embraced the primary iihysical condi- tions often indicated a low barometer, strong winds, unsettled weather, and tliunder and liglituing. In conclusion, the committee recommend that, in further elucidation of the subject, steps should be taken to obtain information which may lead to a solution of the following queries : 1. Wliafc determines the time of the commencement of the fishing ? 2. What determines the fluctuations in the catches of herring in different districts, or in the same district on diiferent days ? 3. What causes the absence of herring during some seasons from certain districts of the coast f 4. What determines the ending of the fishing-season ? The information required demands — 1. An extension of the area examined, so as to include the Moray Firth, the Shet- land, Orkney, and Hebrides Islands, and the west coast of Scotland. 2. Daily returns of the number of boats fishing and the catch. 3. The erection of self-registering sea-thermometers at different points on the coast, similar to those now in operation at Peterhead Harbor. 4. Thermometric observations taken by the fishermen themselves over the grounds fished ; as it is only by the observations of numerous thermometers in continuous im- mersion that we can hope to obtain accurate information regarding those currents of cold and warm water round our coasts which are often found to interpenetrate each other, and which are supposed, with apparently good reason, to influence greatly the migration of the herring. It is said that the Dutch fishermen derive valuable practical advantages from a system of this kind, and there can be no doubt that favorable results might confidently be looked for if a similar system were generally adopted by our fishermen. It is an interesting flict in the natural history of the herring that, while the season or their capture is (juite definite and generally uniform at any one point, it varies on different parts of the coast ; thus, on the east of Great Britain, from Shetland in the north to Flamborough Head in the south, it occurs in July, August, and September, REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. IX tions of organic life in the sea, aud their variatious, the final object, of course, was a practical one, namely, the determination of the facts embraced under the third head. As, however, very little was known in reference to the natural laws of distribution, &C., of the useful animals, it became necessary to investigate them from a sci- entific point of view; so that the primary inquiries were strictly scientific, the deductions therefrom leading to the practical end. The initiation of the Franco-German war interfered very materially with this programme, and it was not until 1871, and nearly at the same time with the American investigations, that operations were actually commeuced. The commission consisted of Dr. H. A. Meyer, Dr. K. Mobius, Dr. G. Karsten, aud Dr. V. Hansen, each gentleman having charge of some special branch, aud all co-operating toward the common result. Fixed stations were established at various points for the pur- pose of observing the variations of atmospheric conditions, the daily changes of temperature of the water, and the occurrence of special phe nomena of animal aud vegetable life ; and for several months iu the year the commission, with its assistants, was engaged in researches at sea, prosecuted upon the government steamer Pommerania, placed at its disposal, under Captain Hoffmann. Upon this work the commission has been engaged foe three successive seasons, and has just published a report of its operations during the year 1871. and a little earlier in the north than iu the south. At Yarmouth the herring-season is iu October aud November ; off the Kentish coast, in November and December ; along the south coast of England, from October to December ; off Cornwall, in August aud Sep- tember ; iu the North Channel, in June and July ; and in the Hebrides, May and June. It is suggested by the Scottish committee iu their report that when the periods of mi- gration on all parts of the British sea -coast will have been calculated as closely as iu Scotland, these vrill be found to bear a critical relation to the annual epochs of the temperature (^f the sea. This gives a renewed importance to the inquiries undertaken by the United States Signal-Service aud the Fish Commission, on the American coast, iu the way of determining of the sea-temperature, &c., as connected with a very important branch of our domestic industries. In this connection we may state that the spawning-season of the herring, and the time of its catch, vary remarkably in different portions of our own coast. Thus, in parts of the Bay of Fundy and in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, it takes place in May and June, as in the Hebrides ; at the Southern ,Head of Grand Manan, the great spawning-ground, it occurs iu September, commencing possibly in August, and ex- tendiug into October; taking place later and later in the season as we proceed south- At the most southern point at which the herring is positively known to spawn, namely, off' Noman's Laud and possibly Block Island, this does not occur until Decem- ber aud January. From this we may draw the inference that a certain minimum of temperature, rather than a maximum, is needed for the operation in question ; and this occurring iu the autumn, that the proper temperature is reached later and later as we proceed southward. It is to be honied that the temperature-observations now being made by the United States Fish Commission and by the Signal-Service may enable us to solve these problems and to co-operate with our Scottish scieutitic brethren in getting at the true relation between physical conditions aud the movements of such important food- fishes as the herring, mackerel, cod. &c. X REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 5. — CONCURRENT ACTION OF THE UNITED STATES SIGNAL-SERVICE. So far the only nations that have undertaken investigations into the fish and fisheries of their coasts in a thoroughly scientific manner are Norway, Germany, and the United States; and it is with much satisfaction that we can claim at least an equal degree of complete- ness, in the inquiry, to the others. While no permanent stations have been established on the coast directly under the authority of the United States Fish Commission, the hearty co-operation of General Myer, the Chief Signal-Officer, has rendered this unnecessary. Meteor- ological observations are, of course, made regularly at all the signal-sta- tions along the coast and on the lakes, and in addition to these the Chief Signal-Officer has directed that a daily record be made of the tempera- ture of the water at the surface and at the bottom, and that copies be sent to the Fish Commission. The examination of these records has already developed many interesting facts, and promise iniportant gen- eralizations of direct practical application to the fisheries. It is well known that in Europe the fisheries are under the immediate control of the authorities, and that in Norway, especially, such is the attention given to the fullest development of this interest, that the government causes information to be furnished by telegraph of the approach of the herring and cod to the shores, and in regard to their subsequent movements, by this means enabling the entire fishing-fleet at a given j^oint at once to take advantage of the facts, instead of de- pending upon casual information, which is frequently incorrect, more- over the facts are frequently willfully suppressed by parties who desire to enjoy a monopoly. General Myer, the chief Signal-Officer of the Army, in charge of the Government system of weather telegraph^', desirous of rendering his department serviceable in the highest degree to the interests of the country, in a letter dated November 21, 1872, invited suggestions in regard to the utilization of the system of telegraphic signals for the benefit of the fisheries. It gave me pleasure to call his attention to the I)oiuts just referred to in connection with the Norwegian government, and to suggest that much might be done by instructing the signal- officers to keep watch of the facts in regard to the occurrence of herring,, mackerel, cod, and other coast-fishes off the shores, and to cause these facts to be promptly communicated to the newspapers. I also urgently advised the establishment of a signal-station at East- port, in Maine, as being the center of the United States herring fisheries, and a place where the information which could be furnished by such a station would be of the utmost value. This includes not only the an- nouncement as to impending changes of the weather generally, such as any seaman would desire to be made acquainted with for the purpose of determining his movements, but has especial reference to the trade in. frozen herring. During the winter- season, herring of the finest quality are captured in Passamaquoddy Bay and adjacent portions of the coast, EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XI in gill-nets, and if the weather is su^ciently cold to freeze them they can be shipi^ed to western ports, where they meet a ready sale. In warm ■weather, however, this does not take place, and large catches are fre- quently lost. It is, therefore, of the highest importance to be able to anticipate by a few days the nature of the weather. Thus, in a warm season, during which a haul could not be frozen for export, but a cold turn likely to supervene, if timely notice were given to the fishermen, they would be ready to take advantage of the condition of the weather, making their haul and having the fish ready for transportation at the proper time. If, on the contrary, during a cold spell, a warm period be likefy to succeed, the fishermen could be warned, and, by avoiding the making of a catch that could not be sold, 'save themselves from loss. Such applications of information, furnished by the signal station at East- port, have already been made, and will doubtless be multiplied during future seasons. The dealers at Chicago and at other points on the lake find a most valuable advantage in the signals of approaching storms, and increase the amounts of fresh fish ordered from the fisheries in accordance with the fact, knowing that the supplies will be cut ofi' by the impossibility of lifting the nets in bad weather. I am happy to say that Geheral Myer took a favorable view of the suggestions made to him, and promptly established a signal-station at Eastport, which has already more than met the anticipations of its use- fulness to the fisheries of the Bay of Fundy. The recent location of a series of signal-service stations along the coast of the United States, in connection with the life-saving establish- ments, promises the means of using the telegraph in aid of the fisheries to a very great degree. The movement of fishes on the coast, already referred to, can thus be readily ascertained and communicated from the Washington office to parties interested. 6. — CONCLUSIONS AS TO DECREASE OF COD-FISHERIES ON THE NEW ENGLAND COAST. Of all the various fisheries formerly prosecuted directly off the coast of New England, north of Cape Cod, the depreciation in that of the cod appears to be of the graatest economical importance. Formerly the waters abounded in this fish to such an extent that a large supply could be taken throughout almost the entire year along the banks, especially in the vicinity of the mouths of the larger rivers. At that time the tidal streams were almost choked up with the alewives, shad, and salmon that were struggling for entrance in the spring, and which filled the adjacent waters throughout a great part of the year. As is well known, the erection of impassable dams across the streams, by preventing the ascent of the species just mentioned to their spawn- ing-grounds, produced a very great diminution, and almost the exter- mination, of their numbers ; so that whereas in former years a large trade could be carried on during the proper season, now nothing would be gained by the effort. Xll REPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Of late the attention of tlie legislatures of the New EQgland States has been called to this fact, and to the importance of restoring their fislieries, and a great deal has been already accomplished toward that end. Unfortunately, however, the lumbering interest in Maine, and the manufacturing in New Hampshire aud Massachusetts, are so powerful as to render it extremely difficult to carry out any measures which in any way interfere with their convenience or profits ; and notwithstanding the passage of laws requiring the construction of fish-ways through the dams, these have either been neglected altogether, or are of such a character as not to answer their purpose. The reform, therefore, how- ever imperatively required, has been very slow in its progress,%nd many years will probably elapse before efficient measures will be taken to remedy the evils referred to. It would, therefore, appear that while the river-fisheries have been depreciated or destroyed by means of dams or by exhaustive fishing, the cod-fish have disappeared in equal ratio. This is not, however, for the same reason, as they are taken only with the line, at a rate more than compensated by the natural fecundity of the fish. I am well sat- isfied, however, that there is a relation of cause and effect between the present and past condition of the two series of fish ; and in this I am supported by the opinion of Oapt. U. S. Treat, of Bastport, by whom, indeed, the idea was first suggested to me. Captain Treat is a successful fisherman, and dealer in fish on a very large scale, and at the same time a gentleman of very great intelligence and knowledge of the many details connected with the natural history of our coast-fishes, in this respect worthily representing Captain Atwood, of Provincetown. It is to Captain Treat that we owe many experiments on the reproduction of alewives in ponds, and the possibility of keeping salmon in fresh waters for a period of years. The general conclusions which have been reached as the result of repeated conversations with Captain Treat and other fishermen on the coast incline me to believe that the reduction in the cod and other fisheries, so as to become practically a failure, is due, to the decrease oif our coast in the quantity, primarily, of alewives; and, secondarily, of shad and salmon, more than to any other cause. It is well known to the old residents of Bastport that ivom thirty to fifty years ago cod could be taken in abundance in Passamaquoddy Bay and off Bastport, where only stragglers are now to be caught. The same is the case at the mouth of the Penobscot Eiver and at other points along the coast, where once the fish came close in to the shore, and were readily captured with the hook throughout the greater part of the year. That period was before the multiplication of mill-dams, cutting off the ascent of the alewives, shad, and salmon, especially the former. The Saint Croix River was choked in the spring with the numbers of these fish, endeavoring to ascend ; and the same ma'y be said of the Little River, the outlet of Boyntou's Lake, about seven miles above Bast- port. The lake in question is one of considerable size, and was visited by KEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Xlll immense numbers of alewives, which could be dipped out, to any extent, on their passage upward, while the waters of the adjacent bay Were alive with the young fish on their return. The fish themselves enter the waters of the streams in May or June, and return almost immediately after spawning, to the sea. But they may be taken by the drift-nets along the shores as early as March and April ; and, indeed, it is quite probable that the whole p^riod of their abode in the salt-water is spent adjacent to the rivers in which they were born. The young come down from the ponds in which they are hatched, from August to October, keeping up a constant stream of the youHg fish. In this way a supply of alewives was to be met with throughout the greater part of the year, and nearer the coast they fur- nished every inducement for the cod and other ground fish to come in- shore in their pursuit. It is true that the sea-herring is also an attraction to these fish, and probably but for their presence our pollack, haddock, and hake-fisheries would be greatly diminished. Nevertheless, the alewife appears to be more attractive as a bait, and furthermore the sea-herring are less constantly on the coast, especially inshore, occurring as they do at stated inter- vals, wjien they come in from the deep sea to spawn. It is possible, too^ that they are less easily captured by the cod, since they swim nearer the surface than the alewives. Corroboration of this idea is furnished in the testimony of Mr. W. B. McLaughlin, of Southern Head, Grand Ma. nan. This gentleman informs me that the only stream in the island which ever furnished alewives to any extent was Seal Cove Creek, which dis. charges to the east of the southern extremity of Grand Manan, and into which these fish entered in immense numbers in the spring. At that time cod, haddock, and pollack, as well as halibut, were taken in great abundance in Seal Cove Sound, between Hardwood Cove, on Wood Island, and Indian or Parker's Point, on the main island. They were to be met with during the greater part of the year especially from May to January ; and the fishery in the channel-way within a quarter of a mile of the shore was really more productive than on the banks much farther out to sea. Although still a young man, Mr. McLaughlin recollects the capture of these fish ; and, indeed, as a mere boy enjoyed the sport within a very short distance of his father's house. Soon after that time a dam was built across this stream about 200 yards above its mouth, cutting off entirely the upward passage of the alewives, and by a remarkable coincidence, if it be nothing more, the cod-fishery in question diminished very soon after, and in a few years ceased almost entirely, so that up to the present time there are not enough cod in those waters to repay the experiment of attempting to catch them. A few alewives still find their way up to the foot of the dam, but in such small numbers as to make it often doubtful whether there are any there or not. The other fishing-grounds about Grand Manan are farther out to sea, XIV EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. at the northern end of the island, where there are no ale wives, and where herring appear to be the principal food, although the variation in the abundance of these in different seasons appears to have an impor- tant bearing upon the number of hake and cod. If these conclusions be correct — and I am quite satisfied of their general validity — we have, for the efforts made to establish fish-ways in the rivers of Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, a much more weighty reason than that of merely enabling a few salmon to enter the streams in order to permit their capture while on their way. Whatever may be the importance of increasing the supply of salmon, it is trifling compared with the restoration of our exhausted cod-fisheries; and should these be brought back to their original condition, we shall find, within a short time, an increase of wealth on our shores, the amount of which it would be difficult to calculate. Not only would the general prosperty of the adjacent States be enhanced, but in the increased num. bar of vessels built, in the larger number of men induced to devote them- selves to maritime pursuits, and in the general stimulus to everything connected with the business of the sea-faring profession, we should be recovering, in a great measure, from that loss which has been the source of so much lamentation to political economists and well-wishers of the country. As the observations in regard to the marine animals and plants of the Bay of Fuudy will not be complete without referring to and includ- ing those found on the remaining shores of Maine, I defer, for the pres- ent, any report upon them such as has been made for Wood's Hole. It is proposed to devote the summer of 1873 to researches in Casco Bay and the adjacent waters, and also, with the aid of the United States Coast- Survey steamer Bache, to examining the waters between the Maine coast and Cape Cod ; and it will be more satisfactory to present the results of the two years' work in one account. 7. — INVESTIGATIONS IN 1871 AND 1872 ON THE GREAT LAKES. The act of Congress specially directed that investigations should be conducted on the great lakes, of the same kind as those ordered for the coasts of the United States ; and, under this provision, Mr. James W. Milner was appointed assistant commissioner, with instructions to col- lect as reliable data as possible on the following points : the evidences of decrease in the numbers of the food-fishes ; and, this fact established, to ascertain its causes, and what practicable methods may be applied for their restoration. It was determined to confine the inquiry for the first season to one lake, and to give it a thorough examination. Lake Michigan, having the longest line of shore tvithin the United States and the largest number of fisheries, was selected as the region for the inves. tigation. Instructions were also given him to make full collections of all forms of life found in the waters, and to take as full notes as possible on the EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XV liabits of the species ; makmg the wbite-fisli, the most valuable food-fish of the lakes, the principal object of attention and efficient action for their restoration. On the 13th of April, 1871, the first visit to the fishing-shores was made, and it became evident from the first, that to obtain any definite knowledge of the amount of decrease, it would be necessary to make the entire circuit of the lake. The migratory habits of the fish and the tendency to entirely change their locality after. a term of years, at least in the opinion of the fishermen, made it evident at once that the condi- tion as to numbers could not be understood from any circumscribed area of shore, but that a collection of accurate statistics through a term of years for all the fishing-regions must be gathered to give sat- isfactory evidence as to their condition. The southern end of the lake was visited from point to point by steamer and rail before the middle of summer, and, at the northern end, where no steamers plied, the tour was made in an open boat, the trip lasting about five weeks, the sum of the distances traveled from point to point being about six hundred miles. Seventy-one station s were visited, embracing nearly the entire number of fisheries. Though recorded statistics in the fishing localities were rare, still good evidences were obtained of the decrease and its causes, and many inter- esting notes of the habits of species and their mutual relations pro- cured. Information was constantly sought and obtained, from fishermen, dealers, and residents, on the subject of the fisheries, which was noted for use in preparing a report on the subject of the inquiry. As on several other occasions, very important assistance was rendered by the Secretary of the Treasury, the revenue-steamer Andrew John- son, Capt. David Evans, being instructed to afford facilities for examina- tion of the bottom fauna of the lake. In September Mr. Milner went on board with a dredging outfit, and remained during a cruise of two weeks dredging in depths of from 30 to 141 fathoms, obtaining a full collection of invertebrate forms from the bottom and some knowledge of the temperature at those depths. The species collected were examined by Dr. AVilliam Stimpson; but soon after they were received at the Chi- cago Academy of Sciences, they were lost in the great fire of October. The dredge was also used from a small boat in Torch Lake, of the Grand Traverse Eegion, Michigan, in 40 fathoms, and the same forms of Mollusca, Jlysidce, and Gammaridw were found as in Lake Michigan. The inquiry Avas renewed in the latter part of June, 1872 ; the region of Lake Superior was explored, collections and notes ware obtained? and similar inquiries were made with reference to numbers of fishes. Much less evidence of decrease in this lake was the result, though a marked diminution was ascertained to have taken place in certain local- ities. In the autumn of 1872 nearly a million of white-fish eggs were ob- ^ tained by Mr. Milner and placed in Mr. N. W. Clark's hatching-house at Clarkston, Mich., from which in the winter a large number were for- XVI REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. warded to California for the waters of Clear Lake. Arrangements were also made for the hatching of salmon for the waters of Michigan and Wisconsin. At the close of the field-work of the season, Mr. Milner visited all the prominent dealers on the chain of lakes, and obtained the amounts of their receipts of lake-fish for the year. After the close of the distribution of the shad in 1873, Mr. Milner vis- ited the shores of Lake Huron, and obtained a collection of its fishes. The inland locality in that region inhabited by the grayling was also examined, notes relating to its habits were obtained, and a knowledge of the facilities for obtaining the spawn acquired. Later he proceeded to Lake Erie, and made a large collection of fishes in the vicinity of Sandusky, Ohio;- and afterward at Cincinnati the species of the Ohio River were obtained. Full details of Mr. Milner's labors will be found on page 1 of the appendix to the present report. B— ACTION m EEGARD TO PROPAGATION OF FOOD FISHES. 8. — INTRODUCTORY MEASURES. It will be observed that the labors thus referred to, as authorized by the original resolution of Congress, relate only to the investi- gations of the facts as to an alleged decrease of the food-fishes of the sea-coast and the lakes of the United States, an inquiry into the causes of the same, and the best methods of remedying the evil. At a meeting of the American Fish-Culturists Association, held in Albany February 7, 1872, it was for the first time suggested that measures be taken to induce the United States to take part in the great under- taking of introducing or multiplying shad, salmon, and other val uable food- fishes throughout the country, especially in waters over which its Jurisdic- tion extended, or which were common to several States, none of which might feel willing to incur expenditures for the benefit of the others. A committee, of which Mr. George Shepard Page was chairman, was ticcordingly appointed to present the subject to Congress, and to do whatever was in its power to secure the desired object. This gentleman visited Washington, and appeared before the Committee on Appropria- tions to urge the measure and secure its favorable action. A clause appropriating $10,000 was accordingly put into the appropriation bill for the purpose in question ; but this was rejected by the House. Subse- quently, however, the subject was considered by the Senate committee, who took an equally favorable view of it with the House committee, and an amendment appropriating $15,000 was introduced and carried successfully through Congress; its disbursal being placed under my charge. To the action of the association in question, therefore, the credit of the original idea and the consequent favorable action of Con- gress is emphatically due. EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XVll On the loth of June a meeting was lield in Boston, three daj'S after the xjassage of the act, composed of the flsh-comiuissiouers of the jS"ew Enghind States and of members of the Fish-Culturists Associa- tion, at which the general problem as to the best method of carrying the act of Congress into effect was presented. After full deliberation, it was recommended that the services of Messrs. Green and Clift be se- cured for the planting of shad in the Mississippi River and its tributa- ries, and that means be furnished to Mr. Atkins, of Bucksport, Me., to enable him to enlarge his operations on the Penobscot River, and to Mr. Stone for similar labors on the Sacramento. In reference to sh.id, it was thought that they might even live com- fortably the whole year round in the great lakes, with the exception of a short run up the tributary rivers for the purpose of spawning. As to whether they would push their way up from the Gulf of Mexico to the headwaters of the main tributaries of the Mississippi River was, of course, a problem which could not be solved without experiment. The proceedings of this meeting will be found in the appendix to the present volume. 9. — PROPAGATION OF SHAD IN 1872. Little time was to be lost in carrying out the suggestions with refer- ence to shad, as the appropriation was not available until the 1st of July, and the season during which the eggs could be successfully hatched lasted but a few days beyond that period. Both Messrs. Green and Clift, however, undertook to do what they could, and worked with great energy. In addition to the large num- ber of eggs introduced by Mr. Green, in behalf of the State of New York, into the Hudson River, Oneida Lake, Lake Champlain, and Gene- see River, he furnished 50,000 fish for Lake Champlain to the commis- sioners of Vermont, and, in behalf of the United States Government, placed 30,000 in the Alleghany River at Salamanca, i^J". T., and 25,000 in the Mississippi River, a few miles above Saint Paul, Minn. The later period at which the shad spawn in the Connecticut enabled Mr. Clift to secure a larger margin of time for his arrangements ; and, by the kind assistance of the commissioners of the State of Connecticut, he succeeded in procuring, from the State hatching-house at Holyoke, Mass. , a sufficient number for his purpose. Mr. Clift started, on the 2d of J uly , with several hundred thousand young fish, filling nine eight-gallon cans. Of these, a portion, estimated at 200,000, were placed in the Alleghany at Salamanca, and a like number in the Cuyahoga, in the White River at Indianapolis, Ind.j the remainder were carried direct to Denver, in Colorado; and, on the 7th of July, introduced 2,000 in number into the Platte. Very valuable assistance was rendered in this experiment by the S. Mis. 74 II Xviii REl'ORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. express companies, especially the Adams and the American and Merchants' Union. Without the help, of special instructions to their agents to assist Messrs. Green and Clift, it would have been difficult to accomplish the object in view. Acknowledgments are also due to the commissioners, both of Xew York and Connecticut, for placing their hatching-establishments at the disposal of the United States in order to furnish the necessary number of eggs. Concurrently with the operations on the part of the United States, the commissioners of both New York and Connecticut were industriously engaged during 1872 in continuing experiments previously instituted in regard to stocking the waters of their respective States with shad, and incredible numbers of young fish have been introduced. Thus in New York, nnder the efficient direction of Mr. Seth Green, nearly 7,000,000 shad were released in the waters of the State, while the extraordinary number of 92,065,000 young fish is reported by Dr. Hudson to have been turned into the waters of the Connecticut. Dr. Edmunds, commissioner of Vermont, also obtained 50,000 young fish from Mr. Green, which were placed inBurlington Bay, Lake Champlain. Whether shad can live permanently in fresh water, and maintain those characteristics of flavor and size which give them such a prominence, and whether they can be established in the Mississippi Valley are problems not yet solved; but the results to be obtained, in the event of its possi- bility, are of such transcendant importance in relation to the food-supply of the country, and the cost of the experiment so very trifling, that it would be inexcusable not to attempt it. 11. — PROPAGATION OF MAINE SALMON IN 1872. More time was allowed for satisfa(;tory arrangements in regard to the propagation of salmon than of shad, because of the much later j)eriod in the year when they spawu ; this iu the common salmon (;S^. salar) not taking place until the end of October or the beginning of November, and varying with the locality. In compliance with the suggestion of the meeting at Boston, I had an interview with Mr. Charles G. Atkins at Bangor, and ascertained the probable degree of expansion that he could give to his operations at Bucksport, on the Penobscot River, with additional funds. The method devised by him consists in obtaining mature fish as they come up the river and are taken by the fishermen, placing them in a pen situated iu a large pond of about 150 acres, and keeping them there until the season of reproduction, and then securing the spawn, and, after impregnating it, hatching it in a suitable hatching-house. The only method of obtaining salmon in sufficient numbers was to offer the full market-price to the fishermen for all they may deliver alive to the hatching-esta'blishment. About six hundred fish were thus obtained during the summer. But little mortality occurred among these fish, and, on the 28th of October, Mr. Atkins and his assist- EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XIX ants commenced taking, the spawn, securing about 1,560,000 eggs. These were brought forward in the hatching-house at Bucksport until Febru- ary. During that month and March they were distributed to other hatching-houses in different parts of the country in order there to be fully developed. . The experiment in regard to the Buckspbrt salmon-hatching establish- ment was initiated in Kew York on the 17th of April, 1872, by an agreement of several parties to contribute funds to a given amount, the division of the spawn to be made in the same ratio. The subscrip- tions were as follows : E. M. Stilwell and H. O. Stanley, jr., for the State of Maine $500 E. A. Brackett, for the State of Massachusetts 1, 000 I. H. Barden, for the State of Rhode Island 400 W. M. Hudson, for the State of Connecticut 1, 000 W. Clift, for Poquonnoc Fish Company . , 300 These gentleman kindly consenting, I supplied, from the funds at my disposal, the means to greatly enlarge the scale of operations, and received a i^ro rata share of the eggs. The full history of the entire enterprise connected with the taking of the eggs in 1872, and their distribution in 1873, will be found in Mr. Atkins's report, beginning page 226 of the present volume.* 11. — PROPAGATION OF THE RHINE SALMON IN 1872. The possible contingency of failure in Mr. Atkins's experiment induced me to look to other sources for an additional supply of eggs ; but I was unable to make any arrangement in America for that purpose. In consequence of the scarcity of fish, it was impossible to organize upon other salmon-rivers of Maine the experiment that Mr. Atkins bad begun on the Penobscot ; and the regulations of the Dominion authori- ties in regard to gravid salmon and their eggs are such as to preclude the idea of looking across the borders for assistance. The Canadian government has, it is true, a hatching-establishment at Newcastle, on the north side of Lake Ontario, near Toronto, and has occasionall3' allowed a surplus, left after it has supi^lied its own wants, to be sold to parties in the United States. The charge, however, being $40 a thousand, (in gold,) was considered excessive, and the only alternative left was to look to Europe, where the streams emptying into the North Atlantic abound in precisely the same species. Under these cir- cumstances, and after much consideration, I decided to obtain what I wanted from the Rhine, the fish of that river being famous for their excellence and size. I accordingly applied to the secretary of the Deutsche Fischer ei-Verein at Berlin, inquiring whether any eggs could be procured from the government fish-breeding establishment at Hiiningen. Ik) my gratification, I was informed that, on the represen- *0u the Salmon of Eastern North America and its Artificial Culture, p. 226. XX REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. tation of the Vereln to the German government, it had been decided that 250,000 eggs should be presented to the Uuited States at the pi^oper time, all packed and ready for transmission, provided I wonld agree to have them transported to a point of shipment under the care of .an ex- perieuced operator. To this, of course, I gladly agreed, and named Mr. Rudolph Hessel, of Offenburg, an eminent fish-culturist and highly esteemed correspondent, from whom I had already derived much valuable information, to take charge of that duty. Articles by this gentleman npou the salmon of the Danube River, {Salmo hucho,) the breeding of the cyprinoid lishes, &c., will be found in the appendix to his report.* The following letters on this subject were received from the authori- ties in Germany : [Translation.] Bureau of the Deutsche Fischerei-Verein, Berlin, June 11, 1872. In consequence of your letter of the 15th of May, addressed to Professor Peters, of this city, in reference to the acquisition of salmon-eggs for your Government, we have applied to the superintendent of the fish-culture establishment at Hiiningen, and have received his reply, of which we inclose a copy. Placing you thus in possession of the facts in the case, we beg that you will favor us as speedily as possible with a reply as to wii ether your Government is ready to assume the cost of the transportation of 250,000 salmon-eggs. MANARD. Dr. Spencer F. Baird, Washington. [Translation.] HtJNLNGEN, June 7, 1872. On receipt of your letter I placed myself immediately in communication with the circle president in reference to the conditions under which the establishment could supply salmon-eggs to the American Government. On my proposition, it was agreed that, in any event, the eggs should be furnished free of exiiense, although it is not possible to supply " several millions." As the salmon-eggs are intended, in the first place, for Germany, alone, the establishment could not pledge itself to supply more than 250,000 at most, aud this only on the condition that the necessary care be exer- cised in their transporta-tion. It is an indispensable condition that the eggs shall bo taken from here by a special messeuger to Havre or Cherbourg, so that they may be secured against heating duriug the journey. Arrangements must also be made for their preservation on the steamer in a uniformly cool place, and for their reception in New York by an expert in such matters. The doublepacking of a quarter of a million of salmon-eggs will require at least thirty boxes, each weighing- about fifteen pounds; so that the whole will weigh nearly five hundred pounds and occupy a considerable space. HAACK, Director. Herr Manard. [Translation.] Imperial Fish-Breeding Institution, Huningen, near St. Louis, Alsace, August 13, 1872. Honor-UJLE Sir : I have been asked by the Bureau of the German Fishery Association to write directly to you in reference to the Rhine salmon-eggs to be sent to America. *The Salmon of the Danube, or the Hucho, (Salmo huclio,) and itg Introduction to American Waters, p. 161 ; also Method of Treating Adhesive Eggs of Certain Fishes in Artificial Propagation. EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XXI The first eggs are usually obtained by the middle of November, but in such small num- bers that it would be impossible to make up a quarter million for one trausmissiou. This is one of the most difficult points for large transports. The institution receives from 20,000 to 30,000 eggs per day, and, taking into account the considerable loss in the incipient hatching, \_A71hruten,'] it requires from twelve to fifteen days to col- lect a quarter of a million. With so great a difference in time of collecting, the eggs are, of course, not ready for transportation at the same time. It is true, at the very height of the season we obtain occasionally 80,000 to 100,000 eggs a day, and we have to arrange that such days be reserved for the intended large collection. These days mostly occur about the middle of December, and the eggs to be sent to America could not leave our place before the middle of January, since about five weeks are necessary for the incipient hatching. Besides, the day of sailing of the steamers has to be taken into consideration, and I believe there are only two trips per month during the winter- season. These are difficulties, to meet and to overcome which we have only the power in part ; still I hope for good success. I consider it an affair of honor, and mention the manj' difficulties only to explain a possible mishap. The sending of one-quarter million of eggs will require twenty-five single parcels, each consisting of two double boxes. Each parcel weighs about 10 pounds, and thus the whole 250 pounds, or 2| hundred-weight. Believing it to be absolutely necessary that an expert should accouipaniy the transport to Hamburg or Bremen, and direct the suitable packing there, the expenses will be quite considerable, scarcely less than 100 thaler's per hundred-weight. Since our institution furnishes the eggs gratis, and no funds are available to me for defraying expenses, I respectfully ask to have by the end of the year a sum of money of the above amt)uut placed at my disposal, so that no delay may be caused by its want. Accurate accounts will be rendered in time. HAACK, Director. Prof S. P. Baird. As a still larger number of eggs was considered desirable, at the sug- gestion of iMr. Hessel, I applied to Oberbiirgermeister Schuster, of Frei- burg, and ordered from him half a million eggs, which he agreed to furnish at the very reasonable price of two thalers per thousand, (their actual cost amounted to $1.67 currency per 1,000,) guaranteeing them to be taken from large healthy fish. These were also placed in charge of Mr. Hessel for shipment, who finally agreed to accompany the two sets of eggs to Xew York for the greater certainty of their reception in good condition. As is well known, the best period for transporting salmon-eggs is when they are about half hatched, or when the eyes are visible through the envelope. They are then put up in damp moss in shallow boxes, and inclosed in other dampened receptacles. In this condition they may be kept out of water for a long time. Indeed, the eggs are not infrequently hatched out in the moss itself, if kept long enough, without being placed in water at all. Mr. Norris gives an instance of this kind in regard to some eggs which had been shipped from the Wilmot establishment at Ontario, a portion of them, that had been thrown aside with the damp moss having subsequently hatched, and this has since been confirmed by the experience of the commission. • Owing to the fact that the water at the Hliningen establishment was warmer than that at Freiburg, the eggs presented by the German gov- XXU EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. eniraent were developed first, those at Freiburg requiriug some further time, so that it involved considerable effort to cojnbiue the two sets so as to prepare them for shipment to the United States at the same time. Mr. Hessel, in accordance with the agreement, took charge of the eggs at Hllningen, as also those at Freiburg, and brought them to Bre- men, where they were to be shipped on board one of the steamers of the North German Lloyd's. Unfortunately several circumstances concurred to render it doubtful to Mr. Hessel whether these eggs would come safely through. In the first place, the weather was exceptionally warm through- out Germany, uo cold weather being experienced up to the middle of January, so that the eggs were developed in their shells much too fast for their welfare. It was impossible to retard these by the application of ice, as the stock in Bremen was very low, and supplies were only to be had at an enormous expense. Again, the steamer upon which the eggs were first placed broke down, and was obliged to return to port. Mr. Hessel's packages were thus delayed and exposed to the continuous heat for another week. The consequence was that on his arrival in New York, to his great distress he found that the eggs had in large part been prematurely hatched, and the gases resulting from their putrefaction had destroyed many more of the eggs. Application had been previously made to the Secretary of the Treas- ury for permission to land the packages containing the salmon-eggs with- out delay, and every facility was offered by the inspector of customs and other authorities. The boxes, sixty in number, occupying nearly 300 cubic feet of space, were transferred to the hatching-houses of Dr. Slack, near Bloomsbury, N. J., and the contents immediately as- sorted, but of the 750,000 eggs only four or five thousand were sound. These were successfnlly hatched out, and ultimately introduced into the Musconetcong, a tributary of the Delaware, and on w^hich Bloomsbury is situated. Much help was rendered in this experiment by the authorities of the North German Lloyd's, who gave up a special house on deck for the ac- commodation of the eggs, and assisted in various other ways, especially by advancing all the funds needed for the expenses in Germany and allow- ingthe settlement of the account in New York. I had the assistance, also, in the reception and transfer of the eggs, of Dr. William M. Hudson, fish- commissioner of Connecticut, and of Mr. Seth Green, of New York, the whole party, with the exception of Dr. Hudson, proceedingto Bloomsbury with Dr. Slack, for the purpose of giving the eggs the best attention. I have no doubt that with a winter of average severity, which would not carry the eggs forward so rapidly as happened in this very exceptional in- stance, the transfer of salmon-eggs can be made from Europe without the slightest uncertainty as to their safe arrival. Perhaps a somewhat dif- erent method of packing would be required, and the inclosure of the eggs in smaller boxes would tend to promote their safety. In the ex- REPOKT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XXUI treme probability, that hereafter there may be obtained from American waters all the eggs that can be properly handled, 1 think it will be un- necessary to repeat the experiment. The entire cost of the enterprise, including the purchase of the Frei- burg eggs, the freights, the traveling-expenses and salary of Mr. Hessel, and every other outlay, amounted to $1,969.83, or to about $2.62^ per 1,000. The value of this donation of eggs from the German government is not to be estimated by its worth in money, but is to be appreciated as an evidence of kind feeling on its part toward the United" States, espe- cially as there is a very great demand for salmon-eggs throughout Europe, and as the supply received from Hiiningen is entirely insufficient to meet the calls from Germany alone. 12. — PROPAGATION OF THE CALIFORNIA SALMON IN 1872. The propriety was strongly urged, at the Boston meeting, of sending some experienced fish-culturist to the west coast for the purpose of secur- ing a large amount of spawn of the California salmon. This was the more proper, as the resolution originally introduced into the House by Mr. Eoosevelt looked especially to the securing of a supply of eggs by means of hatching-houses on the Columbia River or elsewhere in the West; and I felt it incumbent to carry out the intention, although the law making the appropriation, as actually passed, contained no restric- tion. Although considerable diversity of opinion exists with reference to the California salmon, most of those familiar with both species consider it nearly, if not quite, equal to the eastern salmon, and in some respects superior to it. At any rate, it possesses the advantages ©f existing in great abundance in our country, and of thriving in water, the tempera- ture of which might not admit of the existence of the eastern species. Accordingly, at the suggestion of the meeting, Mr. Livingston Stone was engaged to undertake this work, and proceeded to California as soon as he could arrange his affairs for the purpose. The experiment was of course uncertain, in the entire absence of any reliable informa- tion bearing upon the natural history of the specifes. It was not even known at what period they spawned, although Mr. Stone was assured by professed experts, on his arrival in California, that this occurs late in the month of September. This was thought the more probable, since the other salmon usually deposits its eggs in the end of October or the beginning of November. Mr. Stone left on the 1st of August, and arrived in due time in California, where, at my request, he reported to Mr. Throckmorton and the other fish-commissioners of the State, as well as to the president of the California Fish-Culturists' Association. By all of these gentlemen he was received with the utmost courtesy and kindness, and every assistance was rendered him. His instru(;tious au- thorized him to select any point on the Sacramento or the Columbia Kiver XXIV REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. that promised to answer best the purposes of his mission. Quarter- master-General Meigs had supplied him with letters of recommendation to the officers of his department in the West; but, to his regret, Mr. Stone found no military post sutticiently near to render him any par- ticular assistance during the present season. After much fruitless inquiry, Mr. Stoue at last learned, chiefly through Mr. B. B. Redding, fish-commissioner of California, and through the chief engineer of the Central Pacific Railroad, that the Indians speared salmon on the McCloud h'iver, a stream of the Sierra Nevada, emptying into Pitt River three hundred and twenty miles nearly due north of San Francisco. Proceeding to this station, in company with Mr. John G. Woodbury, of the Acclimatization Society, Mr. Stone immediately set to work in erecting the necessary hatching-establishment, although, on account of the distance from any settlement and the absence of special facilities, he found the undertaking both difficult and expensive. The efforts of Mr. Stone and his party were prosecuted uuintermlttingly, day and night, for a sufficient length of time to prove that the season had almost entirely passed, and that but few spawning fish remained. Many thousands of spawn were secured, however, and placed in hatch- ing-troughs; but the extraordinary heat of the season, rising day after day to 110° and 112° in the shade, finally accomplished the destruction of the greater portion. The surviving eggs collected by Mr. Stone (30,000 in number) were packed by him in moss and forwarded October 26 by express, addressed to his establishment at Charlestown, ¥. H., this designation being selected in the failure to reach him, of a letter directing their transmission to Dr. Slack, at Bloomsbury, IsT. J. On receiving a telegraphic dispatch announcing the shipment, I immediately telegraphed to Charlestown, directing the packages to be forwarded at once to Dr. Slack, and sent also a telegram to the office of Wells, Fargo & Co., at Albany, request- ing that, if the eggs had not already passed that point, they might be intercepted there and returned at once to iSTew Jersey. This dispatch came too late, as the eggs had passed when it was received ; but the superintendent of Mr. Stone's establishment forthwith sent the eggs to ISTew Jersey, with a skilled assistant to take charge of them and deliver them at their destination. Unfortunately, in consequence of the warmth, and through a miscalculation of the rapidity with which tiiey accom- plished their changes, the eggs were in large part hatched out on the journey, so that of the 30,000 originally shipi)ed all but about 7,000 were hatched. The remainder were immediately picked out and placed in the hatching-house by Dr. Slack. The brood proved to be unusually hardy, very few dying, and all manifesting an extraordinary voracity for the food supplied to them. By the advice of the various State commissioners and fish-culturists at a meeting in Kew York in October, it was concluded to place this stock of young fish in the Susquehanna ; Mr. James Worrall, late commissioner REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XXV of fisheries for Pennsylvania, undertaking to do everything possible for their proper care. It had been the intention to transfer them from the hatching-house to the river as soon as the yolk-bag had become absorbed and the young fish were able to shift for themselves ; but in consequence of the very cold weather which occurred during the winter, Dr. Slack was requested by Mr. Worrall to keep them until later in the season* They were therefore retained in the hatching-house and amply fed, from time to time, until the 3d of March, when they were taken to Harris- burgh and placed in the Susquehanna, being between five and six thousand in number. Only about one hundred perished on the journey, the rest being vigorous and in good condition. It is much to be hoped that some important result may follow this enterprise, especially if it be at all possible to add largely to the number in the course of the next few years. At the time of their introduction they were from 2 to 2J inches long, showing the banded side very distinctly. They were much larger than the young of the Sahno salar at the same age, in this respect agreeing with the egg^ which, in the Sacramento species, is fully twice the capacity of that of its congener. The surprise of Mr. Stone at finding the extraordinarily high tem- perature in the Sacramento Valle}", just referred to, was all the greater from the fact that he had been warned against being blockaded with snow during the same period. It is, therefore, probable that, as the season of 1872 was exceptionally warm, this obstacle to success will not continue on a subsequent occasion. From Mr. Stone's experiences in 1872 he concluded that it will be nec- essary to commence operations as early as the 20th of July, and to have th:^ breeding salmon caught and confined as early as the 20th of August. The hatching- water he proposes to take from the McCloud Elver, which is of so even a temperature that, notwithstanding the great heat, it does not rise above 54^. He would have used this water for hatching-purposes in 1871 but for fear of its rising by sudden freshets so as to destroy the establishment. He found, however, that the wateraltered only about two inches during his stay, and should operationsbe continued another season he proposes to employ it for the purpose, continuing operations at the same station. 1:^0 better place is, indeed, to be had in California than the McCloud, as it is a very clear, cold, swift-running stream, full of sal- mon, and probably embraces the principal spawning-ground of that fish. The spawning-beds lower down the river have been almost entirely destroyed by the washings of gravel and sand from the gold-diggings, which have exercised an unfavorable influence upon the supply. According to Mr. Stone there are no white settlements on the river; but the Indians are numerous. The nearest highway is the Oregon stage-road, four miles from the river. Mr. Stone's party endeavored to enlist the Indians in their service, but were unable to communicate iutel- ligi bly with them, and were obliged to rely upon tlieir own resources. As it was, their operations were somewhat delayed by the non-arrival of a XXVI EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. salmon-net which had been sent for. Mr. Stone had been assured that there would be no difficulty in securing aid from the Indians, which, however, he found to be entirely impossible. We do not know enough of the natural history of the iSalmonidce of the West to decide as to the relationship of the Sacramento salmon to those of the waters farther north, especially of the Columbia and Frazer Elvers. Dr. Suckley and others are, however, of the opinion that the same species extends from California to Alaska ; but that, while there are additional species in the northern waters, only one inhabits the Sac- ramento. Its flesh is much more highly colored than that of the Ctist- eru salmon, being almost of a dark-red, and its flavor is said to be fully equal, if not superior; although about this there is a great diver- sity of opinion. In its proportions it differs, being shorter and thicker, so that one of them weighs considerably more than a fish of the same length taken from the East. Further considerations as to its value and adaptability to eastern waters will be found farther on. • 13. — PROPAGATION OF WHITE-FISH IN 1873. The white-fish breeding was begun in the fall of 1872. Over half a million of eggs were placed in the troughs of Mr. N. W. Clark, an experienced breeder of Clarkston, Mich. These were obtained at Ecorse, on the Detroit Eiver, through the liberality of Mr. George Clark of that place, with but little expense. On the 20th of January, 1873, about 200,000 eggs, partially developed, were shipped to the fish-commis- sioners of California, but did not arrive in good condition, having either smothered from the thick bed of sawdust in which the case containing them was placed or been killed by the excessive cold. A second lot of one-half the number was shipped to the same destination with excel- lent success. These were placed by the commissioners in a hatching- house provided for their reception, and the young fish soon after were put into the waters of Clear Lake. The white-fish is of great value, because of the excellent flavor of the flesh, both fresh and salted, its fecundity, and the fact that it feeds on Crustacea and other invertebrate forms. It is adapted to the larger and cooler lakes of the interior, and like the rest of the salmonoids is easily propagated artificially. • 14. — PROPAGATION OF SHAD IN 1873. As shown in the first part of the present report, the shad-hatching season was so far advanced at the time of the [)assage of the act making an appropriation for the service in 1872 that little could be done. The appropriation itself was not available until the 1st of July ; and as the appropriation bill containing the item was passed just before the adjournment of Congress, on the 10th of June, it was necessary to make sure that the item was included therein before taking any measures that might involve any expense. " An acceunt of the work actually ac- complished in 1872 is given on p. xvi. EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XXVll Owing to the earlier date at which the necessary appropriations were made by Congress for the propagation of food-fishes, especiallj^ of the shad, in 1873, I was enabled to take timely steps looking toward this great interest, the plan adopted being to hatch out the fish in the rivers of the Atlantic coast, and to transfer a suitable portion of them to western waters, beginning in the south, and conducting operations farther and farther toward the north as the season advanced. Entirely ignorant of the best points where this work could be carried on, I dispatched Dr. Yarrow on a tour of reconnaissance, and was very much surprised to learn from his report (page 39(3) that, in conse- quence of the scarcity of fish, it would be extremely difiicult to get enough to experiment upon, farther south than the Neuse. This con- clusion was found to be correct, by the subsequent experience of the par- ties entering upon the work. Desirous of utilizing the practical experience in shad-culture of Mr. Seth Green, I made arrangements with him to devote his whole atten- tion to the business of hatching shad in behalf of the United States, or at least until it became necessary for him to commence operations on the Hudson River for the State of Xew York. He accordingly reported himself in Washington on the 17th of April, with his trained assistants, Mr. H. M. Welsher, Mr. Jonathan Mason, Mr. M. G. Holton, and Mr. Chester K. Green. As agreed upon, he proceeded first to the Savannah Eiver at Augusta, Ga., but, to his disappointment and my own, was unable, as already explained, to find enough spawning shad to make the experiment worth the cost. i^ew Berne on the Neuse, and Weldon on the Roanoke were next fixed upon as stations. Unfortunately the unprecedented rise in the rivers prevented anything like the success we had hoped for; the streams being many feet above high- water mark, rendering it impossible either to catch the shad, or to hatch out the spawn properly had it been possible to procure it. The most important result of the experiment at Weldon was the discovery by Mr. Holton that the striped bass or rock-fish could be propagated in the same manner as the shad. Several spawn- ing fish w'ere stripped of their eggs, which were fertilized and placed in the shad-boxes. Thej' were found to develop in rather less time than the shad, and to be capable of quite a similar treatment generally. As this fisli has diminished equally with the shad, and is much more valuable on account of its greatly superior size, we have here the war- rant as to further operations, which it is proposed to carry into eifect hereafter. The operations at Weldon were under the charge of Mr. M. G. Holton and Mr. C. K. Green ; and on the 17th of May a camp was established on the Potomac River by Messrs. Mason and Welsher, and the first work of any magnitude commenced. About one hundred hatching-boxes were prepared according to Mr. Green's pattern, and anchored above the western end of the Long Bridge opposite Washington, and advantage XXVIU REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES, was taken of an adjacent fishery belonging to Messrs. Kuight & Gibson to secure the spawning fish. Here about 1,400,000 young shad were placed in the river, increasing the supply' to that amount. It was now for the first time possible to make a transfer of fish to the West ; and having placed Mr. Milner, an assistant of the commission, in charge of this branch of the work, he succeeded, with the assistance of Mr. Welsher, in introducing about 70,000 fry into the headwaters of the Kanawha Eiver on the 0th and 9th days of June. A supply was also furnished to Mr. jS". W. Clark for the Michigan commissioners. The season having closed at this point in consequence of the heat of the water, and the fact that the spawn taken from the fish invariably failed to develop, two new stations were established; one under Mr. Welsher, at Marietta, in Pennsylvania, and the other under Mr. Holtou and C.K. Green, at Bull's Island Ferry, on the Delaware. The business arrangements of this branch of the work were placed in charge of Dr. J. H. Slack, who, as fish commissioner of New Jersey, had certain privi- leges in regard to the capture of the shad, which were important to the success of the enterprise. The fish hatched at this point were priu- cipall^^ placed in the Delaware River, although 15,000 were transferred by Dr. Slack to Jack's Run, at Greensburgh, for the purpose of stocking the Monongahela. About the time of the starting the camp at Marietta, the Pennsylvania commissioners began another at Newport on the Juniata, where a con- siderable number of fish were hatched and placed in the river. The operations on the Delaware were closed in July, mainly in con- sequence of certain obstructions introduced by the canal company above the hatching-camp, and the regular i)arties proceeded to the camp on the Hudson, at Oastletou, where the New York commissioners have a station, and where a considerable supply of spawn was to be expected. Here the hatching was prosecuted entirely at the expense of the State of New York; her fish commissioners, however, very kindly giving the United States such spawn as was required for its purposes. Mr. Milner assisted by Mr. Mason was actively engaged for several weeks in trans- ferring young shad from Oastleton to various points in the West, becom- ing so well skilled as to involve a very slight mortality. At the same time Mr. Livingston Stone, in behalf of the United States Fish Commission, received 80,000 fish from the establishment of the New York commissioners, none of which reached their destination ; the attendant who carried them through to Chicago, where they were to meettheaquarium-car, failing to success in keep them alive' during their journey. The attempt to transfer valuable food-fishes from the Atlantic slope to the Pacific slope in the so called aquarium-car, as well as the unfortunate accident by which the car was precipitated from a trestle-work into tlie Elkliorn River of Nebraska not far from Omaha, have become widely known through the newspapers. The enterprise was a joint aftair REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XXIX between tlie United States and the State of California, through her com- missioners, Messrs. Throckmorton, Keddiiig, and Farwell. The car, in charge of Livingston Stone, assistant United States com- missioner, was ingeniously and very completely fitted up in every detail of necessity and convenience required for the successful transfer of fishes, 'obsters, and oysters. It contained in all nearly 300,000 fishes, repre- senting the following species: The tautog, {Tautoga onitis ;) the black bass, {Micropterus salmoides ;) the rock-fish or striped bass, {Roccus linea- tus;) the perch, (Perca flavescens ;) the wall-eyed pike, {Stizostedion ameri- caiia ;) the brook-trout, {tSalmo fontinalis ;) the bnll-head, {Amiunts atra- rius ;) t\iQ, cat-fish, [Icielurus coerulescens ;) the eel, {Anguilla bostoni- ensis ;) besides minnows, {Cyprinidce,) to serve as food for the larger individuals en route. One hundred and seventy lobsters and a barrel of seed-oysters were also in the car. To accommodate these, one very large tank, and ten smaller oifes, be- sides hogsheads, barrels, and tin cans, were required. A large amount of ice, and reserves of sea and fresh water, were pro- vided, as well as supplies of food and apparatus for aerating water and regulating temperature. Sleeping and feeding accommodations for attendants were arranged within the car. By the accident, the car was thrown into the Elkhorn Eiver, and the fishes had an opportunity of escape from the tanks. It is not likely that the lobsters, oysters, or the tautogs were able to sustain life in the fresh waters of the river for any great length of time. The rock-fish and the shad are anadromons fishes, spending a portion of each year in fresh waters, and both have proved their ability to sustain life in fresh waters througli several years. The other species are fresh-water fishes, and some of them will be valuable acquisitions to the system of waters where fate has consigned them. A full account of this expedition and of the accident which inter- rupted it so suddenly, and from which Mr. Stone and his companions barely escaped with their lives, will be found in the body of the report. Mr. Stone, having lost the first installment of shad, was directed to return to Albany for the purpose of taking an additional supply 5 and he again started on the 25th of June, with about 40,000 fish, accom- panied as far as Omaha by Mr. Welsher. I am happy to state that they experienced scarcely any mortality on the way, and after placing 5,000 fish in the Jordan River, a tributary of the Great Salt Lake, on the 30th of June, he deposited 35,000 in the Sacramento on July 2, in the presence of the California commissioners, and to their very great satisfaction. This number of young fish in the Sacramento Eiver, to be increased, I hope, hereafter, will very probably result in supplying that stream with this useful food-fisb, and will furnish a point of departure from which to stock the Columbia and other more northern rivers, as contemplated by act of Congress. Experience has shown that it will be impossible to take young shad from the east over a greater distance than the Pacific XXX REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES, Eailroad will carry them ', and until the northern line, or the coast-line from California to Oregon, is completed, it will hardly be worth while to spend our efforts in that direction. In order to have a still greater supply of young shad for the purposes of the commission, an arrangement was made with the Connecticut com- missioners to enlarge their operations at Hadley Falls, the increased expense being borne out of the appropriation made by the United States. This was accordingly done, and Mr. Milner and Mr. Mason were enabled, after the season had closed farther south, to obtain all the young shad they could attend to during the remainder of the season. A deposit in the Mattawamkeag, a tributary of the Penobscot, was made at the urgent request of the commissioners of Maine. Mr. Milner and Mr. Mason next proceeded to Topsham, Me., on the Androscoggin, with a view of ascertaining whether ripe eggs could be obtainl3d in sufficient number for shad-hatching purposes. They found, however, that, owing to the lateness of the season and the scarcity of the fish themselves, nothing could be done; and it is thought not im- probable that the restoration of shad to the rivers of Maine will be done most easily by transferring the spawn from the Connecticut, or from the Merrimack, should the commissioners of Massachusetts exhibit the same liberality that has been shown by those of Connecticut. Returning from Maine, they proceeded again to the Connecticut and the Hudson, con- tinning their labors in the way of transferring of young fish. Their work finally closed on the 24th day of July. An accompanying table gives the statistics of the work actually accomplished in transferring shad to western waters. The aggregate of nearly a million is certainly likely to produce a marked effect; and if similar efforts are made in successive years, which I trnst will be the case-, there is every reason to expect the accomplishment of the object in view. The information in this and other tables, as to the entire num- ber of shad and salmon hatched in the United States to date will not be without interest. The accompanying very valuable report by Mr. Milner, (page 419,) gives the details of his operations, and embraces numerous very valua- ble suggestions in regard to the transportation and treatment of shad, which will serve an important purpose in future operations. I append reports from Mr. Green, of his labors south of Washington, (p. 406;) from Dr. Slack, upon work on the Delaware, (p. 409;) and from Mr. Stone, (p. 413,) upon his transfers to the Jordan and Sacramento, During the present season, as in the past, I have great pleasure in acknowledging the help rendered by raanj^ persons, not only by the State commissioners, (especially those of ]S"ew York and Connecticut,) in sup- plying young fish from States where the United States had no hatching- house, but also by the part of officers of railroad and express companies. Most of these are mentioned hereafter. It had been contemplated to carry on hatching-operations on the Rappahannock River, where the shad were believed to be very abun- REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XXXI dant, and -where, it was thought, a large number of eggs might be obtained and transferred to the West. The most suitable point on tliis river was some distance below Fredericksburgh ; and at Mr. Green's sug- gestion I applied to the governor of Virginia, asking the loan of one of the State fishing-steamers for my aid, which was promptly acceded to, and I was informed that the steamer Tredegar, in command of Capt. Orris A. Browne, would be at my service at any time after the 1st of May. It, however, was found impossible to occupy more than two stations at a time, owing to the small force at my command, and when the experiment at Weldon was given up, and Messrs. Welsher and Green proceeded to the Rappahannock, they found the season had passed, and that no success was possible. Another year it may be expedient to commence operations on this river, especially in view of the fact that it aftbrds a convenient point from which to transfer the young fish to West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. 0— MULTIPLICATION OF FISH IN GENERAL. 15. — GENERAL HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. Having presented in the introductory portion of the present report a general account of the measures taken to carry out the intention of Con- gress in establishing the Commission of Fish and Fisheries, I now Ijroceed to give in more detail a statement of what has been done gen- erally in regard to the multiplication of the species of fish considered of most importance, and the various interests connected with the fisheries, to which a brief sketch of the theory and practice of so-called fish-culture may not be an unacceptable preliminary.* The subject of securing from the fresh waters and the sea a larger supply of fish than they would spontaneously aflbrd has attracted the attention of various nations from a very remote period; one of the sim- plest methods consisting in the collection offish into natural or artificial ponds or reservoirs, and by allowing them to prey upon each other, or else by supplying food to them artificially. This was in vogue among the Romans especially, and it is asserted that not unfrequently the food thus sui^plied consisted of the flesh of slaves, which it was claimed imparted to the fish a delicate flavor, especially to the lampreys and other fav- orite species. This method of treating fish is, however, scarcely to be regarded as a branch of fish-culture in its restricted sense. According to Soubeiran, in a recent and very comj^lete summary of the history of fish-culturet, the first essays made in this direction in *A fuller account of this will be found iu the History of Fish-Culture, page 465. tLa pisciculture et la peclie en Chine par P. Dabry deThiersaut, consul de France, meinbre honoraire de la Societe d'acclimatation ; ouvrage accompague de 51 planches, repr<5seutaut les principaux instruments de pisciculture et eugius de peche employes par les Chiuois et quelques uouvelles especes de poissous recueillies en Chine par P. D. . Thiersant, prec6d6 d'uu introduction sur la pisciculture chez les divers peuples par le Dr. J. L. Soubeiran, profesaeur agr6g6 k Tficole de pharmacie de Paris, secretaire de la Soci6t6 d'acclimatation. XXXli REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Europe were by Dom Pinclion, in the fifteenth century, at the abbey of Eeome, near Montbard, in France, and in a manuscript dated A. D. 1420, belonging to the Baron de Montgaudry, describing his process, it is said that it is necessary to have long wooden boxes, with solid bottoms, but with wicker-work at the ends, open above, and covered with a willow grating. At the bottom of the box is to be placed a bed of fine sand, and a slight groove is to be made in the sand, in which to deposit the eggs, which have previously been fertilized. The trout is to be kept in a gentle current of water; and as soon as the discharge of ova has taken place, (the period of which is carefully watched for,) and these are fertilized by the milt of the male, the. eggs are to be removed to the boxes referred to, and allowed to remain until hatched out. About the middle of the eighteenth century the subject of fish-culture was again brought into notice by the experiments of Lieutenant Jacobi, of Hoenhausen. An account of his labors forwarded to Count de Goldstein was translated into Latin by that gentleman, and later into French by Duhamel du Monceau. The method adopted by Jacobi was that of modern times, namely, the squeezing of the ripe eggs from the body of the female into a dish partly filled with water, discharging upon this the milt of the male, stirring them well together, and after- ward placing them in the boxes for hatching. According to Adanson, as early as 1772 some form of artificial fe- cundation, of trout esijecially, was made use of on the borders of the "Weser, in Switzerland, in the Palatinate of the Rhine, and in many of the more elevated regions of Germany. The methods of Jacobi, and his results, seemed for many years to have passed into oblivion, although various experiments were made for some time after, in one country or another, looking more particularly toward the increase of the salmon and the trout. jSTo material progress seems to have been made, however, until the time of Joseph R6my, a simple fisherman of Bresse, a village in the Vosges, who by his own ingenuity discovered the general theory of artificial fecundation, and again carried into effect, but much more efficiently, the methods of Jacobi. To him is due the fuller appreciation of the importance of artificial fecundation, and of protecting the eggs and young fish dur- ing the period of greatest danger. It is well known that thei-e is no more attractive food for aquatic animals than the roe of fish, even the very parents of the eggs in many cases devouring them greedily. It is not too much to claim that, as a general rule, 60 per cent, of all eggs are devoured before the young are hatched ; and it is also certain that of the latter, three-fourths are probably eaten while in their helpless condition, with the yolk-bag attached, and before they are able to feed themselves and to take the natural precautions for their safety. Again, a serious loss is experienced in the uncertainty of natural fecundation, many of the eggs failing to receive the spermatic fiuid, and of course remaining inert. The estimate has repeatedly been made that REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XXXlll if 5 per cent, of the number of eggs laid under natural conditions by the parent become young fish, able to feed for themselves, it is rather more than a usual occurrence. Of course, subsequent to this stage they are exposed to numerous dangers before the perils of immaturity are passed. On the other hand, if more than 10 per cent, or even 5 per cent, of those artificially hatched fail to reach the same period of existence, especially in the case of the eggs of the salmon and trout, which are large, and are usually more carefully manipulated, it may be considered as unsuccessful management. This fact, which is one of the most import- ant features in the success of artificial hatching of fishes, was appreci- ated by R^my, and provided for in his various methods. These he practiced with only one associate, named Gehin, for several years ; but it was not until 1849 that they became known to the scientific world through Haxo and Professor de Quatrefages. The subject was taken up by the French government, and the final result was the erection, at Hiiningen on the Ehine, of a great French national establishment for the artificial cultivation of fish, and their distribution to the adjacent waters, under the direction of Professor Coste, of the College of France. This took place in 1851, and the work was carried on by the French with varying success until the capture of Alsace and Lorraine by the Germans. The Hiiningen station, being now within the German limits, is still maintained as a piscicultural establishment, and is under the immediate charge of Dr. Haack, one of the most eminent piscicul- turists in Eiirope. The Salmonidw receive chief attention at this establishment, although some species of other families are cultivated. It was from this place that the salmon-eggs already referred to as pre- sented by the German government to the United States were supplied. At the present day there are few countries of Europe where fish- culture in some form is not prosecuted. There are numerous establish- ments in France, Germany, Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, Russia Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Italy, Spain, «&c., while even in India, Java, and Australia more or less attention is given to the subject. The claim has been raised in behalf of China as having earliest prac- ticed pisciculture. But if by this we mean the artificial fecundation of fishes, and raising them in limited spaces, the assertion cannot be sustained. It is very true that great ingenuity is expended in China in securing the fertilized eggs of fishes after they have been already deposited by them, and in rearing the young, as well as in stocking waters with the most approved varieties. In this respect, indeed, they may be said to have prosecuted the art of aquiculture as well as of agricul- ture from a period far antedating the practice of the same by any other nation. They, however, as far as the eggs of the fishes were concerned, confined their efforts to finding the localities where these had alread>' been laid, or else to straining them out of the water by means of fine nets, mats, or gratings, and then they either hatched them out on the spot or carried them to great distances throughout the emjiire. It is, S. Mis. 74 m XXXIV KEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. however, for the United States that we may claim the fullest develop- ment of the art of pisciculture, both as to the perfection of its methods and the extent of its operations. • On the authority of the Southern Cultivator, the Rev. Dr. John Bach- man, of Charleston, S. C, as early as 1804, at the age of fourteen, impreg. nated and hatched the eggs of trout and other fishes. This has been questioned by some; but Dr. Slack, in his work on trout-culture, well remarks that Dr. Bachman's reputation as a Christian and a naturalist is too well established to permit us to doubt his word. It is not pre- tended, indeed, that the idea was original with him, but he probably found in the work of Duhamel du Monceau the account of the methods of Jacobi and imitated them. In 1853 Dr. Theodatus Garlick and Professor Ackley established a fish-farm near Cleveland, Ohio; the result of their experiences being published in Dr. Garlick's work, entitled "A Treatise on the Artificial Propagation of Certain Kinds of Fish ; Cleveland, Ohio, 1857." In 1859, Mr. Stephen H. Ainsworth, of West Bloomfield, JS". Y., began his experiments, and has continued them up to the present time. Since then, numerous establishments have been started, more particularly devoted to the culture of the brook-trout, meriting and meeting a greater or less degree of practical and pecuniary success.* I am indebted to Mr. Stone for a list, brought up to 1872, of persons at that time known by him to have been engaged in the practical work of fish-culture, or more or less interested in itssuccess. Although necessa- rily incomplete, I have given it in the appendix as the basis of a fuller enumeration hereafter. Among the more prominent names in this con- nection we may mention the world-renowned Seth Green; Dr. J. H. Slack ; Livingston Stone ; William Clift ; S. H. Ainsworth ; A. S. Collins ; N. W. Clark, &c. 16. — ACTION OF STATE AND NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. The recent establishment of the American Fish-Culturists' Association, a society designed to bring together those interested in the subject, promises to be of great benefit in advancing a correct knowledge of the best theory and practice of the science of fish-culture. It is to this body, under the presidency of Mr. George Shepard Page, that we owe the first movements which resulted in the recognition, by Congress, of the national importance of fish-culture, and in the appropriations for the multii)licatiou of useful food-fishes in the national waters. As already stated, (page xvi,) it was in 1872 that the subject was presented to Congress and favorably acted upon ; the result being an appropriation of $15,000 "for the introduction of shad into the waters of the Pacific States, the Gulf States, and of the Mississippi Valley, and * Fuller details in regard to American fish-culture are given farther on in the article hy Mr. Milner, page 523. REPOKT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XXXV of salmon, white-fish, aud other useful food-fishes, into the waters of the United States, to which they are best adapted," for the fiscal year of 1872-'73, with a supplementary appropriation of 810,000 for the same year, having special reference to the i^ropagatiou of shad. A further appropriation of $17,500 was subsequently made for the same object during the fiscal year of 1873-74. This action on the part of the United States was the natural culmination of what had already been done by many of the States, accelerated by the action of the American Fish Guitarists' Association. (See page xvi.) At an early lieriod the subject of protecting the fishes, if not, indeed, of their actual multiplication, was brought before the legisla- tures of certain States, and various laws were enacted, and commis- sioners appointed to attend to their enforcement. In many instances their efforts were restricted to preventing injurious, unseasonable, aud excessive fishing ; but in others they were also instructed to take such measures as lay in their power to increase the supply. This has already been done to a greater or less extent in the States of Maine, Xew Hamp- shire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Kew Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Alp^baraa, Ohio, Michigan, Utah, and California, as well as in the Dominion of Canada ; and as year by year the number of States taking action in this matter and extending oper- ations therein is increasing, there is little doubt that before long nearly all the members of the Union will have fish commissioners duly appointed and qualified to act in reference to this important branch of our internal resources. A list of the States which to the present time have appointed com- missioners, with the names of the ofiicers themselves, will be found in the accompanying appendix, and also a bibliography of the reports pub- lished by them. While, however, the action of the commissioners of the several States has reference to restricted localities, aud to intro- ducing new varieties, or increasing the supply in ponds, small lakes, and streams, they have not been disinterested enough to take charge of waters which constitute State boundaries, or where the benefits are likely to be shared, if not entirely reaped, by citizens of other States. For this reason some of the more important rivers, and the entire system of the great lakes, the best subjects for the experiment, have been entirely neglected; and as these constitute the common waters of the United States, it was thought desirable for Congress to take charge of them, and to do whatever was possible within a moderate cost to increase the supply of food to be derived from them. Thus, it was impossible to S3care State action, in stocking the Mississippi with the anadromous fishes, or those that run up from the ocean to .the headwaters of the streams to spawn, the shad for instance, which it is believed can be made as abundant in that river and its tributaries as it now is in any other waters. Wherever the young fish may be introduced, after reaching a certain size they will descend to the Gulf of Mexico, returning in the course of three or four years, if permitted, to the spot XXXVl EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. from wbicli they originally started. Slipposing a locality in Ohio to have been their first abode, there will be nothing to prevent the citizens of all the States intervening between that place and the Gulf of Mexico from arresting the upward returning run, and capturing a portion, if not the entire body of the fish, so that little or no benefit would inure to the parties through whose instrumentality this result was rendered possible. As far as the United States is concerned, however, it is a matter of no consequence who take the fish, since the great object is to increase the supply of food to the nation at large, and every capture, whether in Ohio or Louisiana, will tend to accomi^lish the same general result. After any species of fish has become permanently established in a given body of water, their continuance therein will depend in great meas- ure upon the enactment of suitable laws, securing their access to suitable spawning-grounds, and protecting them during the critical period of their existence, from capture or unnecessary destruction. Otherwise the methods of artificial propagation must be resorted to indefinitely. The various measures required for the protection of fish will be referred to hereafter. 17. — COMPARATIVE VALUE OP ANADEOMOUS AND OTHER FISHES. In reference to the freshwater fishes most worthy to attract the attention of the General Government or of the States, the distinction between resident species and those that are anadromous, or which spend a part only of their life in the fresh waters and the remainder in the ocean, must be clearly borne in mind. The species which belong exclu- sively to fresh water, such as the brook-trout, the lake-trout, the land- locked salmon, the white-fish, the black bass,* &c., are well worthy of attention, and by judicious treatment can be introduced into new waters, or their numbers greatly increased in any particular locality. But, after all, there is a direct relationship between the number of any kind of fish of a given weight and the amount of water needed to fur- nish a supply sufficient to add definitely to that weight of food ; and when the limit has been reached, we cannot, without feeding artificially, advsmce upon the proportion. Where the waters are pure and con- stantly renewed, and a suitable supply of healthful food is furnished regularly, large numbers of fish may be kept and cultivated, where not one in ten thousand would find an ample supply of natural food ; but, as a general rule, the expense of feeding is such as to render the sale at comparatively high prices necessary for a satisfactory result. It must be remembered, too, that however rapidly certain fish, espe- cially the black bass, multiply in new waters, there is a limitation to their increase, as shown by the experience of the Potomac Eiver. * All these species are able to live for a time in salt-water, and, indeed, if no obstacle intervene, may run down to the sea for a time ; but by far the greater number belong to tha interior waters of the country, and have no opportunity for such experiences. REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XXXVU This fish was iatroduced into this stream in 1854 by Mr. William ' Shriver, of Wheeling ; * several mature fish having been transported * As an important contribution to the history of the black bass and of the measures taken to introduce it into new waters I reproduce a letter by John Eoff from the report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1854 : "On my return from a small hunting expedition to the headwaters of Sand Creek, Jackson County, Virginia, I found your kind letter of November 26, 1854 ; and, in order to comply best with your wishes and views therein expressed, I will give you such a description of one particular species of fish, (which I consider the most valuable, on account of their quality as a j)an-fish and their quantity,) in our western streams, viz, the bass, (called by the early settlers in the western country yellow or black perch.) They are a remarkably active and voracious fish, with a large and hard mouth, and vary in size, according to their age, from three-quarters of a pound to three pounds, and occasionally have been caught to weigh as high as six pounds or seven pounds. Their food, wheu small, appears to be all kinds of insects, (flies, worms, &c. ;) when larger, though not entirely leaving off their earlier habits, their principal food is the smaller fish of other kinds. In the winter-season they retire to deep and still water, and apparently hide under rocks, logs, &c., and remain there until the first of April, when they come out and begin to ascend the streams, apparently to find a convenient place for spawning, which commences about the 15th of 'May, varying some little accord- ing to the warmth of the season, &c. When that event is about taking place, they appear to separate into pairs, male and female, and hunt out some retired place, or nook, where the water is about eighteen inches deep, and still, but adjoiuiug deeper water, to which they can escape if alarmed ; they there commence making their nests, that is, washing all the mud, &c., off the bottom, so as to leave it perfectly clean, in a circular form, the diameter of the circle (or nest) being about twice the length of the fish ; after which the female begins depositing her eggs, which appear to become glued to the bottom, or small stones, in rows, after the deposit has taken place. She remains night and day, either on her nest, or swimming round about it, apparently guarding the eggs, and driving every other smaller fish away. This watching or guarding con- tinues until the eggs are what is called hatched, which occurs in from eight to ten days, according to the temperature of the water. The young fish at first remain near the bottom, and appear like a gauze vail floating. In two or three days they gradually rise and spread, the old one leaves them, they separate, and each one shifts for itself, i. e., hides under leaves, small sticks, and stones. "I, as yet, have had no positive means of determining the precise time for a young bass to arrive at maturity, but suppose it to be three years, from the following facts : In the spring of the year (April) you may find large numbers of young bass about two or two and a half inches in length, rather in company with other minnows ; in the fol- lowing autumn and fall of the year you will find very few of that size, but congregat- ing together, and alone, you will find a number from three to four inches in length ; while during the same fall you may catch young bass of about eight inches long, with the formation of the young egg within them, preparatory for spawning the following spring. In the spawning-season you will find a large number of nests of small bass, the bass being ten or eleven inches long, which I have always concluded were three years old. Hence, from the above facts, you will perceive that the bass of our western country are valuable, and, at the same time, can be easier transferred, and in greater quantities, from one stream to another, than almost any other fish. All that is neces- sary to supply a pond with any quantity would be to examine their nests at the time they are spawning, and to pick up the small gravel out of their nests, with the eggs attached thereto, and put them in a bucket of water, and place them in your pond, in such a position that smaller fish could not devour the eggs ; and in a short time th(>y would hatch, and the young ones would help themselves. Or, to secure a larger quan- tity in a short time, wait until the young are hatched, and are in innumerable quanti- XXX\111 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. in the water-tank of a locomotive from the Ohio River, at Wheeling, to Cumberland on the Potomac. Not many years after, the young fish began to distribute themselves in numbers, and in time the entire river became thoroughly stocked with the new game. Starting at the head- waters of the river, the bass found immense numbers of Cyprinidce, such as chubs, minnows, suckers, &c., as also of crawfish, insect-larvfe, and the like, which had been i^reviously, for the greater part, undisturbed, except, perhaps, by the pickerel, and, having an ample supply of food, in accordance with the theory of natural selection, they multiplied to a prodigious extent. Tear by year they extended their limits toward the mouth of the Potomac, until at the present time they are found in great abundance near Washington, and form a very attractive object of sport. I am, however, informed by residents on the Upper Potomac and its tributaries that tlie bass are becoming scarce, and tliat their numbers are much less than a few years ago, while, as a concomitant, the immense schools of smaller fry, formerly so abundant, have disappeared, a min- now in some localities being a rare sight. This is a very natural con- sequence, and must produce its result. In the increasing scarcity of herbivorous fish, the bass will be driven to feed more and more upon each other, and after a time a certain average will be established, per- haps the same as that existing in the waters of the Mississippi Valley and elsewhere, where, although indigenous, they are in proportion fewer than in the Potomac River. An entirely different condition of things prevails with the anadromous fish, among which we may enumerate as best known the shad, the ale- wife, or the fresh- water herring, the salmon, the smelt, and probably the striped bass. These fish spend the greater part of their existence ties suspended over the nest ; then, with a piece of gauze net, dip them up and empty them into a vessel containing as much pure water as will sustain them until yoil can convey them to your pond ; and then, as I before ol>served, they can support them- selves, while young, on insects, «&c. Or, early in April or May, if you are fond of angling, you cau go to a stream iu which they are plenty, and, in catching fifteen or twenty, will almost always get nearly oue-half the number smaller ones. Pat these into your pond unhurt ; and, as they have not spawned that season, they will soon stock the water. Then all that remains to be done is to supply your pond with other small fish, minnows, &c., for food for the large bass, and they will increase in quan- tity just in proportion to their supply of food. Hence I am satisfied that if a farmer would convert one acre of his land into a pond, well supplied with fresh water, that acre would raise and support more fish yearly (the value of which would be more) than any other two acres cultivated in any other manner — the expense of cultivating deducted from each. "Mr. William Shriver, a gentleman of this place, and son of the late David Shriver, esq., of Cumberland, Md., thinking the Potomac River admirably suited to the cul- tivation of the bass, has commenced the laudable undertaking of stocking that river with them ; he has already taken, this last season, some twenty or more in a live box, in the water-tank on the locomotive, and placed them in the canal-basin at Cumber- land, where we are in hopes they will expand and do well, and be a nucleus from which ■ the stock will soon spread." REPORT OF COMMISSIOXER OF FISH AND FISHERIES XXXIX in, and derive their chief growth from, the sea. At certain seasons of the year, when fat and phimp, they enter the rivers and proceed usually as far as the obstructions will permit, or until they find their proper spawning-ground; here the eggs are discharged, fertilized, and hatched. The adults either return immediately to the ocean or after a certain interval. The young fish spend a certain period in the fresh waters, feeding, it is true, but on minute organisms, which are always procurable in abundance. Shad and herring enter the rivers and spawn in the spring, and the young retarn in the autumn. The eastern salmon enter the rivers in spring, and spawn in the autumn, the eggs not hatching until late in the winter. The young remain for one and some of them even for two years, and then go down to the sea. After a certain interval these fish return to their birth-place, the shad, at the age of three or four years, weighing from three to five pounds ; the salmon after the same interval, weighing from nine to twelve pounds ; this immensely rapid growth having taken place in the ocean, and without requiring anything in the way of human intervention. For this reason it is that ■ the efforts necessary to the multiplication of anadromous fish may be limited to secur- ing a proper passage of the adults to and from their proper spawning- grounds, or, in addition, to the securing of their eggs in numbers, and lilacing the young when hatched, and after a suitable interval, in the water where they are to pass the period of their infancy. Isothiug, therefore, is asked of the waters but the right of way, the adults rarely taking food of any kind while in the rivers. Their sustenance during this period is derived from the surplus of fat in their own bodies, and the exhaustion produced by this period of abstinence, especially with its accompaniment of the development of the eggs and their fertiliza- tion, being made up by the voracity of their feeding on returning to the ocean. The species just mentioned all live in the ocean and run up into fresh water to spawn ; the list being capable of considerable addition. Other fishes, again, live in large bodies of fresh water, as lakes, and run into tributary streams or outlets for a similar purpose, and are thus anadro- mous likewise. The Coregonus or white-fish, are almost universally ana- dromous; also the land-locked salmon, the oquassa-trout, or blue-bact, the fresh-water smelt, &c. In this connection it may be interesting to refer for a moment to the difference in habits between the common eel and the species just referred to. This, like the others, is an anadromous fish, or better, perhaps, catadromoiis^ the order of its movements being reversed. The eggs of eels, for the most part, are laid in the sea, and the young, after a short interval, enter the mouths of rivers and streams in early summer and pass up as far as an open passage will permit. The adventurous visi- tor to the Cave of the Winds, under the water-sheet of Xiagara Falls, is struck as mach by the immense number of young eels swarming against xl EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. the rocks and attempting to climb over their surface as by any other feature, the numbers to be seen being simply incalculable. After reaching a suitable place of abode, in fresh water, the eels remain, as is supi)osed, for at least three years, growing to a considerable size. After becoming sufficiently mature, their instinct, probably that of reproduction, carries them seaward again during the autumn ; and it is at this time that various forms of fish-dams and fish- weirs are called into requisition. The simplest kind consists of two lines of stone wall, forming the sides of a rude dam, made so as to converge and bring the angle down stream, through which the passing water falls into a sort of basket. This consists of a frame with lattice- work at the bot- tom, so arranged that, while the water passes through, the fish are forced up over the slats, arranged so as to form a series of slides, and fall into a receptacle beyond, where they are taken sometimes by wagon-loads. The most productive result of this mode of fishing consists of eels inter- cepted iu their seaward movement, although other fish are often taken. It is very destructive to young shad and is very properly interdicted by the laws o£ Pennsylvania and New Jersey, in their shad-rivers. The laying of the eggs, it is supposed, takes place in the autumn, or winter, and the yonng begin to move up in the spring, or early summer. In further reference to the history of the eel, we may state that its precise mode of copulation and of reproduction was entirely unknown until recently, but that at the present time the view is maintained by very high authority, principally that of Italian physiologists, that the eel is strictly a hermaphrodite ; that is to say, that both the male and female organs are found in the same animal. These are said to be developed to the proper degree in winter, and the eggs discharged from the ovary are fertilized by the seminal fluid from the testicles, and leave the body in a condition for further development. 18. — DIFFERENT METHODS OF MULTIPLYING FISH. We have already indicated in the previous remarks some of the principal methods devised for increasing the number of fish in a given locality, but it may be well to refer again to this in a more systematic manner. Capturing fish in one locality, and transferring them to another, simply for the sake of greater convenience in securing them when wanted, does not come under this head. The fish-ponds of the ancient Eomans, and the floating boxes or cars in which living fish are kept by fish-dealers, belong essentially to the same category. As far as the actual multiplication of fish is concerned, we have to deal especially with four principal methods. The first, and simplest, consists in transferring fish of both sexes, whether still young and requiring further growth, or fully mature, and especially at about the period of their spawning, from one locality to another, where they can make themselves at home, and in due course of time increase and multiply. EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHEEIES. xli This method has been more especially practiced in the United States in the case of black bass, pickerel, * pike-perch, yellow perch, alewife or fresh- water herring, the brook-trout, &c., and to some extent, indeed, the white fish, or Coregonus alhm t and, indeed, is almost the only method by which it is possible satisfactorily to accomplish the desired object ; the efforts of pisciculturists not having been very successful in impregnat- ing the eggs (excepting with the white-fish) and hatching them out, although there would be no particular difliculty in regard to the alewife, A second method, quite similar to the first, consists in simply colleet- ing and penning up the mature fish in a suitable inclosure at about the time of spawning, and keeping them until the operation of reproduction is accomplished, but without taking any special charge of the eggs themselves. The third is that especially practiced by the Chinese, of collecting the fertilized spawn, after it is laid, either by gathering it from localities under the water where it has adhered, or by straining it out while float- ing. The first method is in some instances assisted by introducing bunches of ozier or brush into the water frequented by the gravid fish . so as to furnish convenient objects of adhesion, and such as can be readily handled for the purpose of removing the eggs from them. The * From a very early time in the settlements of the different States, the transfer o f live fishes has been attempted. One of the first species that attracted -what was really a most mistaken interest "was what is known as the pickerel, and represented by at least two species, the Esox reticulatus in the streams of the Atlantic slope, and the E»ox lucius west of the Alleghanies. This must not be confounded with the so-called pick- erel (the Lucioperc^i americana) of the Lake Erie shores. This geim^(Esox) is among the most ravenous of predacious fishes. They have a wide mouth, with a formidable armature of long, sharp teeth, and are long, slender, clipper-like creatures, swift in the water, where they are able to run down ordinary fishes, or. lying concealed, as is their habit, in the sedge and rushes at the edge of the clear channel, dart suddenly upon the passing fish. They are very bony, of indif- ferent flavor, and it is only where people are undiscriminating in their choice, from the lack of opportunity to compare them with better food-fishes, that they consider thetn desirable. They attain considerable size and take the hook eagerly, but their destructiveness of much superior fishes should condemn every effort to propagate them or to extend their distribution. It is a singular coincideuc* that in earlier times in portions of Europe the same spe- cies as our western one (Esox ludus) was introduced into new waters rather exten- sively, and it is now acknowledged to be a most mistaken enterprise. The commissioners of Maine have expressed their regret at the misguided enterprise of citizens of that State in introducing the pickerel into certain rivers and water- systems. t One of the earliest experiments in the transfer of fish, other than pickerel and black bass, to new waters, was made by Governor L. J. Farwell, of Wisconsin. In 1S54 he had one hundred fine, large white-fish carried alive to Madison and deposited in good condition in Lake Mendota in Dane County. A careful examination a few years later showed that they had increased rapidly, and occupied the deepest part of the water. In 1S5S they appeared on the northeastern side of the lake, where they were caught in considerable numbers. A concurrent transfer of brook-trout into a tributary of the lake was not so successful. xlii EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. eggs thus secured may then be transferred to any given locality and al- lowed to hatch naturally ; or else beds are artificially prepared and attended until the birth of the yoang, when these are either allowed to escape into the water at once, or else they are fed for a short time, and then con- signed to the ponds or streams which it is desired to stock. All these methods are inferior in convenience as well as in economical results to the fourth, which is adopted by most fish-culturists throughout the world. This consists in taking up the fish when ripe, and, by suitable manipulation, in pressing out eggs from the body of the female into a dish, and then by repeating the operation with the male, so as to force the sem- inal fluid into the same vessel. In somecases the eggs and milt are stirred together in a certain amount of water ; in others, what is called the dry method is adopted, a discovery usually credited to a Russian, M. Vrasski, in which no water is used with the eggs, but the milt is slightly diluted with water and poured upon them. By this method a much larger proportion of eggs is impregnated.* The movements preliminary to this treatment of the eggs taken from the living fish are also very varied. In many in- stances a careful watch is kept over localities where the fish are likely to spawn ; and when the experienced observer notices that the operation of spawning is about to take place, he captures the usually inattentive pair by means of nets or other suitably-constructed apparatus, and proceeds with the work of exclusion and fertilization. This is said to be the prin- cipal method by which the eggs of the salmon are obtained in Germany and elsewhere for the national and private establishments, and is liable to the disadvantage of great uncertainty, and to a dependence upon conditions of the atmosphere and of the water that may materially interfere with the general result. Most of the doings in Connection with the hatching of shad are of this nature ; the seine being swept at a suitable locality, and the fertile fish stripped of their eggs and milt. This operation is always fatal to the shad, their delicacy of constitution not enduring such rough handling with impunity. It has also been adopted in some cases for salmon, having been employed by Mr. Liv- ingston Stone in obtaining their eggs during the season of 1872. The eggs of tlie white-fish and lake-trout are usually obtained at the fisheries, and the eggs after impregnation sometimes taken to great distances to be hatched. (See Mr. Milner's Report.) A much more satisfactory and efficient method consists in inclosing the fish in pens or pounds until their eggs and milt are sufficiently matured to allow thejirocess of artificial fecundation to be initiated. With trout * Although M. Vrasski' may have been the first to actually publish this method, Seth Green is said to have discovered it, keeping it a profound secret from his fellow-lish- culturists, who could not understand why so much larger a percentage of Green's eggs should be productive than of their own, although they followed strictly the method advanced in his treatise on fish-culture. This, however, made no mention of the dry process. The claim of priority in regard to the dry process has also been made in behalf of Carl Vogt. (See George P. Marsh on Artificial Propagation of Fish, Burling- ton, [Vt.,] 1857, p. 35.) REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. xliii such an inclosure is usually permanent, but for salmon it is generally temporary. This treatment is also adopted with the white-fish which are taken in the Detroit River in the fall of the year, while running up to spawn from the deep water of the lake, placed in inclosures for mar- keting purposes, and kept there for sale, from time to time, during the winter. Indirectly, under these circumstances, they furnish the oppor- tunity for artificial impregnation and hatching on a very large scale. The simplest mode of obtaining salmon for the purpose in question is that adopted by Mr. Samuel Wilmot, at New Castle, Ontario. This gentleman, observing a few years ago that a few salmon were in the habit of coming up a small stream to a favorite spawning-ground, con- ceived the idea of penning them up so as to control them during the period of reproduction. He accordingly built a house over a basin in which they collected, or adjacent to the spawning-ground, and erected a dam below it, so that after they had passed above a gate could be dropped and the fish imprisoned. In this way he has been able to secure a large number of salmon, and with them has carried out, for the most part, his labors in connection with salmon-hatching. A more feasible method, and one which can be conducted out on a much larger and more efficient scale, is that now practiced by Mr. Charles G. Atkins at Bucksport. This consists in securing the living salmon by any means at his command, the most ready being their purchase at the salmon-weirs at the mouth of the Penobscot River, where they are taken in considerable numbers and kept alive for any length of time- These are brought in suitable floating cars to Bucksport, transported on trucks to the hatching-establishment, and placed in a pond of about one hundred and fifty acres, where they find ample room for their move- ments. The various methods of effecting the impregnation of the eggs has been already referred to, and the subject is treated of in detail by Mr. Milner in the appendix. As already explained, it is not necessary to provide the breeding sal- mon with food, since they do not take it during the spawning-season ; and they exist for the several months necessary to retain them with comparatively little mortality. Mr. Atkins's experiment was initiated in 1871. In 1872 he had nearly six hundred fish by the 1st of July, of which very few were lost. In the months of October and November he took from these fish 1,500,000 eggs, very few of the fish being injured in the process. They were then placed in the water and permitted to return to the sea, the precaution being taken to affix a metallic tag corre- sponding to the number, weight, and sex of the fish, and the date as recorded, so that if recaptured at any time some idea might be gained of their rate of growth, movements, and migrations.* The eggs thus obtained, whether of salmon or of trout, are hatched * For a fall account of Mr. Atkins's experiment, see his report, p. 226 of the present vol- ume. xliv REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. out in contrivances which vary with the kind of fish, and which will be more especially referred to hereafter. Suffice it to say that those of shad are hatched in boxes which float on the water of the stream adjacent to the camp where the fish are captured and fertilized ; this being accomplished within a week, and after a further detention of a few days, or until the yolk-bag is absorbed, they are turned into the middle of the stream at night while the predacious fish are most quiet or lying near the shore, and soon find hiding-places for themselves. Theeggsof salmon and troutrequire a period of from two to four months for development, this being in the winter-season. This process consists in jjlacing them in boxes, with the bottom composed of parallel glass slats or of solid boards, lined with gravel, over which water of uniform temperature is allowed to. flow continuously until the exclusion of the young takes place. Sometimes trays are used with wire-gauze bottoms, either singly or in tiers, and the water caused to flow either from above downward or the reverse. After this the young are sometimes trans- ferred to some other receptacle until the yolk-bag is absorbed, when they are either introduced into rivers and streams or else retained in ponds and fed artificially for a greater or less length of time. The key-note to the treatment of the anadromous fish lies in the now well-established axiom that each will always endeavor to return to spawn, if possible, to the very spot where it was first introduced into the water as a young fish, and that it will make every effort to accomplish this result ; sometimes incurring even loss of life by persistent labor to this end. This is fully believed by all who have given attention to the subject, and in this we have the guarantee of success in any attempt to stock a particular body of water. It is true that the labor would in many cases be a profitless task, since the reaper might be, as already explained, and probably would be, a x^arty having no interest in com- mon with the sower. So universal, however, is the principle just enunciated, that we are assured that if three streams empty into the same bay on the coast, or are tributary to the same principal river, aud all are equally eligible for the maintenance of anadromous fish, although destitute of them, one of these may be stocked and abound with fish, while the others which have beeu neglected will, be almost entirely unvis- Ited or will possibly become supplied very slowly and after a long period of time. The existence of obstructions in a river, natural or artificial, is always detrimental in preventing the ascent of fish from the sea. If the young are introduced artificially into the headwaters, they will pass down after the proper period, and will remain in the sea for two or three and j)08sibly sometimes for four years, when they will return, and, as already explained, use every effort in their i)ower to reach their original station. If arrested at any point by an impassable dam, they will become the prey of such fishermen as have the right of access to them, while the upper waters will remain destitute and no captures be possible therein. For REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. xlv this reason it is that the action of State or gen-eral governments in regard to the multiplication of salmon and -other auadromous fish may even be carried on without any reference wliatever to the existence of dams ; and as far as the general interests of the community are concerned, it per- haps may be in many cases much cheaper to continue the artificial fertil- ization anddevelojjment of theeggs, andtheplantingof theyoungin suit- able waters, than to require the inconvenience and expense of removing artificial or natural obstructions or of inserting, costly fish- ways. After the preliminary stages have been performed, the expenditure of a few hundred dollars a year will be sufficient to insure the presence of many thousands of shad and salmon in the lower waters of a given stream. Of course, to provide for the natural multiplication of the species and their equal division throughout the entire valley of the stream, the dams or obstructions must be regulated as already referred to. 19. — TREATMENT OF CERTAIN SPECIES. The hatching of shad. The boxes most generally in use at the present time for shad-hatching we owe to the ingenuity of Mr. Seth Green, and their introduction con- stituted an era in the art of pisciculture. The ordinary methods for the development of fish-eggs would not answer the purpose for the shad, and all attempts at hatching in the regular establishments would be practically a failure in consequence of the comparatively small number that could be managed by the usual methods, while an immense aggre- gate is required to produce even a moderate effect upon the supply in a stream. The idea of a floating box is by no means new, such instruments having been used in Europe for many years, especially for hatching out the eggs of the Cyprinidw, which adhere to whatever they touch, and re- quire cnreful treatment. Mr. Millet used floating boxes in 1853 for hatch- ing trout and salmon. The difficulty in hatching shad existed in the fact that when the boxes floated in the water so that the bottoms were hori- zontal, the proper circulation inside of the box was not established, and the eggs would spoil when exposed to the heat of the sun in consequence of their crowded condition. By the simple expedient of nailing two strips of board scantling parallel to each other, one on each side of the box, at an angle inclined to the bottom, the boxes are made to float obliquely in the water, since the strips themselves floated horizontally, and caused the bottom to be tilted up. The boxes are anchored with the inclination up stream, so that the current of water, striking freely against the inclined face of the wire gauze, which constitutes the bot- tom of the box, passes through it with a constant flow, producing the necessary motion in the eggs. By means of this device it has become possible to hatch shad by millions, where results would necessarily have been limited to thousands. xlvi REPORT OF (TOMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Several modifications of this box have been made, the most prominent of these being that invented by Mr. Brackett, and used for the first tinie in 1873. In this the box floats horizontally, but has the up-stream end beveled, and the water striking against it produces an eddy under the box, which causes a gentle agitation of the eggs. The details of this and some other constructions will be found in Mr. Milner's article in the appendix. None of them, however, can compare in simplicity and efficiency with Seth (rreen's apparatus. In hatching the eggs of shad, much depends upon the temperature, and when the water is above 80*^ it is very difficult to bring them for- ward properly ; indeed, the fish appear to experience a loss of vitality, and toward the end of the season apparently sound, ripe eggs fail to develop, notwithstanding every care. When, therefore, the stream reaches the degree of heat in question, the work is considered to be over for the year. The hatching of icMte-fish, trout, salmon, i&c. An ingenious device has lately been patented by Mr. M. C. Holton, one of Mr. Green's assistants, for the purpose of securing the development of a large number of eggs from the trout, salmon, and white-fish in a limited spacer Instead of placing a single layer of eggs in a long, nar- row trough, he has prepared a can or box, of perhaps a foot square and several feet in height. This is filled with shallow trays of about half an inch in depth, with wire-gauze bottoms, on which the eggs are placed, so that with twelve trays, having a surface of one square foot each, he accommodates twelve times as many eggs as by the ordinary method. The box is so arranged that a current of water is carried by a covered pipe down the side of the can to the bottom and allowed to enter at that point. Thecurreut in its ovei-flow^passes from the bottom to the top, and the water circulates freely over the eggs. This arrange- ment has the additional advantage that once a day, or oftener if neces- sary, the trays can be taken out siugly, and any diseased or defective eggs removed, thus improving the entire mass. The eggs of white-fish require a long time for their development, like those of the salmon and trout needing from two to five mouths, accord- ing to the temperature of the water employed. The lower the tempera- ture the longer the period necessary. The general theory of the devel- opment of eggs varies very much, according as they are smooth and non-adhesive, or coated with mucus which causes them to attach to each other or to other objects. The latter characteristic belongs to the Cypri- nidce in general, such as chubs and suckers, to the yellow perch, and many other kinds, for which reason it is extremely difficult to hatch these out. But little has been done in this country in that direction, and here the European culturists have the advantage of us. I owe to the kindness of Mr. Rudolph Hessel, one of the best of the German pisciculturists, EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES, xlvii an account of the method of properly manipulating the adhesive eggs, ^hich will be found in the appendix. Fortunately the shad, striped bass, and the Salmonidce generally, with perhaps only the exception of the smelt, have smooth or non-adhe- sive eggs, which permits them to be fertilized and readily manipulated without the inconvenience caused by their sticking together. It is not my purpose to present here a treatise upon pisciculture in general, as I have nothing to add to the works already published on the subject, and which have been prepared by practical men of great expe- rience. Among the most recent works are those published by Dr. J. H. Slack and Mr. Livingston Stone,* and in them will be found all the best-known methods of treatment, and especially for the trout. I hope, however, to present hereafter some special details in regard to other species that have been developed in connection with the operations of the United States Fish Commission. The hatching of striped bass. Nothing was known until recently as to the treatment of striped bass J but Mr. M. G. Holtou, already referred to in connection with the improved apparatus for hatching the eggs of the Salmonidw, while in the employ of Mr. Seth Green on account of the United States Fish Com- mission, at Weldon, N. C, took occasion to experiment with the spawn of several of these fish. To his sui^prise he found that it was non- adhesive, precisely like that of the shad, and capable of being treated in the same manner. The eggs were hatched out in four or five days, and with a small percentage of loss. They, however, were considera- bly smaller than those of the shad, requiring the bottom wire of the boxes to be much finer ; twenty-two wires to the inch, at least, being needed. It is unnecessary for me here to go into detail concerning the special method of treating the eggs of such fishes as the salmon-trout, the brook-trout, and other species, as these are discussed in detail by Mr. Milner in this volume, and are also considered at length in the various special American treatises. Having thus presented a very brief indication of the history of multi- plying certain of the food-fishes as practiced in modern times, and having explained the general principles of the method adopted for the purpose, I proceed to discuss more particularly the economical importance and history of the species of fish to which the attention of the commission has so far been more particularly directed, and of some of those which it is proposed to take up hereafter. ^ Practical Trout-Culture, by J. H. Slack, M. D. Orange Judd & Co., New York, 1872. Domesticated Trout : how to breed and grow them, by Livingston Stone, A. M. Bos- ton, J. R. Osgood & Co., 1872. xlviii EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. D — FISHES ESPECIALLY WORTHY OF CULTIVATION. 1. — The shad. Among these fishes, the American sbad, Alosa sa2)idissima may be considered as holding the chief phice, occupying in its distribu- tion as it does the entire eastern border of the United States from the Saint John's River in Florida to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and even occurring in limited numbers in the waters emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. Its abundance in the early history of the country was such as to excite the unbounded astonishment of those who beheld it for the first time. With scarcely an exception, every river on the Atlantic coast within the limits mentioned was invaded in the spring by im- mense schools, which in their upward course furnished an ample sup- ply of the best food, first to the aboriginal inhabitants, and then to their European supplanters and their descendants. At one time it was imagined that the whole body of American shad, having wintered in the South, started northward with the new year, sending out detachments as they proceeded along the coast, first into one river and then into the next, until the last of the immense school made their way into the Saint Lawrence Eiver. This idea, which attached equally to many other species of fish, is now believed to be in great measure at least incorrect ; and it is thought more reasonable to suppose that the young fish, hatched in any particular stream, go out into the sea, and remain within a uioderate distance of the coast until the period again recurs for their upward migration.* It may be how- ever that a coastwise movement takes place to some extent. * Aa a convenient place for the purpose, I introduce here an important contribution to the natural history of the shad, recently received from Mr. G. Brown Goode and Mr. Joseph Shepard : "A knowledge of the occurrence of shad in the waters of the Saint John's appears to have been many years before the fishermen make any practical use of their iuforuui- tion. Shad were not taken in quantity for the local markets until 1864 and 1865, though I am informed by Colonel Sammis, of Arlington, one of the oldest settlers of East Florida, that he knew of their capture in small numbers as early as the last In- dian war (1839) and has since occasionally seen them. At that time the country was but sparsely settled, and there can have been little encouragement, and indeed little need for the use of seines, the inhabitants easily supplying their wants with the cast-net and the line. "About 1859 or 1860 Mr. P. Waterhouse, a northern fisherman, introduced gill-nets and took shad in large numbers on the bar at the mouth of the Saint John's ; these he shipped to northern markets, and it is said that ho refused to sell a siugie fish in Flor- ida, being angry with his neighbors for laughing at his project of catching shad in the Saint John's. " All fishing was interrupted by the war, but immediately after its close gill-nets were extensively used and the shad were found to be very abundant. There can be little doubt that the species has inhabited the Saint John's for a great many years ; the common idea that they are of recent introduction arises from the fact that through want of proper fishing they did not find their way to the markets till about ten years ago. The Saint Mary's River is still thought by many people living on its banks to be destitute of shad, EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. xlix Nothing bnt impassable dams or natural falls prevented the fish from making their way to the headwaters of oar rivers, and their though there can be little doubt of their occurrence there also. As there is no market near, there is no object in tishiug for shad ; but an old fisherman assured me that he found them abundant there many years ago. " The Saint John's fishermen do not use shad-seines, tliough small seines are employed along the banks of the river and in creeks to take the smaller species of fish. They do not seem to appreciate the superior advantages of the seine, and aver that the swift- ness of the current prevents its use. This is absurd since the current of the Conneeticut and other rivers, where seiues are used to advantage, is much greater. As the present system fully supplies, and often gluts, the market there seems no immediate necessity for a change in the method of fishing. " The gill-nets in use vary in mesh from three and one-half to four and one-quarter inches. They are about ten feet wide, and several gangs are fastened together so as to stretch nearly across the river, often a mile or more in width. The net is allowed to ' drive ' or drift with the current, entangling in its meshes all the full-grown shad which it meets. "The principal fishing-stations are near Mayport, on the bar at the mouth of the river at Yellow Blufts, and Trout Creek, respectively twelve and fifteen miles above, at Jack- sonville, twenty-five miles from the mouth, and at Pilatka, a still greater distance up the river. Several nets are used at the head of the river, in Lakes Harney and Monroe and in Salt Lake, to supply the hotels there. The Pilatka fisheries are small and supply the local market. More than thirty nets are used in the neighborhood of Jacksonville, whence the fish are shipped, packed on ice in barrels, to Central Georgia and Florida, to the interior of Sourh Carolina, and to Alabama. Yellow Bluffs is an- other extensive market, and sends its fish to Savannah and the northern markets. The estimated total number of nets on the river is seventy-five. " The largest haul of the past season was at Yellow Bluff's, where six hundred were taken from a single net ; at Jaeksonvile the largest haul was three hundred and twenty. "The average price at the fisheries during the past season was 21 cents each. "The hickory-shad (PomoJohtis mediocris) usually makes its appearance in the Saint John's the first or second week in November ; and as early as the 20th the first shad ap- pear. The shad-fishing begins about the first week in December, and is at its best about the 1st of January. The season ends about the middle of April. At the time of my arrival, April 12, the last shad were in the markets. The herring (Pomoloius pneudo-harengus) accompanies the shad in great numbers, but is not caught much after the, 1st of March. Two herrings or two hickory-shad count in the market for one ' white shad.' The dates given above are only approximate, taken from the memory of the fishermen and dealers ; but as the testimony of the various persons interviewed agrees tolerably well, I believe them to be nearly correct. "At the time of my visit the shad seemed to be in full spawning condition and were said to be very plentiful in the lakes of Central Florida, where the fishermen believe that most of them deposit their ova. At the time of their first appearance, the ova- ries and spermaries are said to be barely distinguishable. G. BROWN GOODE. According to Professor Wyman the young shad, even as early as on the 1st of May, are met with in great numbers returning to the ocean and measuring three or four inches in length. "The shad-season on the Saint John's, according to Mr. C. L. Robinson, of Jackson- ville, is from the 1st of December to about the 8th of April. " The first fishing done here for shad especially was by Captain Waterhouse, of Con- necticut, two years before the war. The first year there were three persons engaged in the businsss as proprietors, working eight men and four nets. The next year there S. Mis. 7J: IV 1 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. diffusion was almost universal, so that few portions of the country east 'of the AUegban}^ range were destitute of their share. . The fisheries were established on the river banks, and the farmers liv- ing at a distance from the streams were in the habit of coming in their wagons to these stations and hauling the fish to their homes, and there preserving such as were not needed at the time, for the winter's use. Sometimes the early settlers In new towus, remote from the rivers, before roads were cut through the forests, having no more convenient mode of transportation, were in the habit of taking their fish in bed- ticks hung across the backs of horses, in some well-authenticated cases for as many as tliirty miles. The fisheries were originally prosecuted almost entirely by the use of seines; and although at any one place very few were taken compared with the numbers now captured in connection with the great modern contrivances employed for the purpose, yet in view of their occurrence in every river and its subdivisions, it is by no means improbable that was doable tlmt number engaged and some twelve nets, aud so increased until a year ago ; this last winter there were between seventy aud eighty nets aud over one hun- dred meu employed from Pilatka down. "Above Pilatka, particularly in the lakes, there were many more employed, say twenty. " This last winter the business was about the same as the year before. It is estimated that about 500,000 were shipped from the Saint John's, mostly to Savannah. From Savannah they are distributed to various points north. " In size those caught here are not as large as those in the Connecticut River. " Our fishermen use a net of 4|- inches mesh, while in the Connecticut they use a Sc- inch mesh. "Thej4 appear in our river coming in on their way to our upper lakes and creeks to spawn. When they come in they are fat and go into all parts of the river; but on their return, in Jime and July, they are very poor, and keep low in the deep water and follow the channel. " Only a small portion of them return. It is thought they die of exhaustion, and are devoured by alligators and larger fish. The yonng shad go down to salt-water early the summer when they are about 1^ inches long. The fishermen are of the opinion that the shad have always been about txs numerous as now in the Saint John's, but that the appliances for capturing them have been improved from year to year, aud more persons engaged in it. " The facts just presented are all from Mr. Robinson, aud relate to the Saint John's River. I may say in addition , as rcgai"ds our own waters, that there are a few shad taken every season in the Saint Mary's and Saint Illaby peopleliving on those rivers for their own use; the net used beingsimplyahoop, 8 or 10 feet in diameter with handle 8 feet long, and held perpendicularly in the water by one man while another paddles the boat. When the holder of the net feels the fish against it, he brings it to the surface in the same manner as a scoop-net would be handled. From two to three and not unfre- quently five or six are caught at one time in this manner. But I do not think that shad are as abundant in the above-mentioned rivers (which are narrow and deep) as they are in the (shoal and broad) river Saint John's " Very respectfully/ yours, "JOSEPH SHEPARD, " Saint Mari/s, Ga, " Hon. Spencer F. Baird, " Commsmoner, WasMngion, D, C. " EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. li the agfgregate actually caught every year was far greater than at present. Seines and scoop-nets being then the only apparatus used, they were, of course, by no means a match for the wholesale devices of seines miles in length, of wire gratings cutting off entirely the upward movement of fish, of slides, &c. Little by little, impassable dams were erected at different points along our rivers and streams, and this was probably the first thing to ch€ck the natural increase of the shad; access to suitable spawning-grounds being an absolute necessity to the function of reproduction.- In a or possibly one hundred, no such kind of fish was known in these streams, and that it was only after the erection of the dams, making the passage of fish from below impossible, when the young fish were penned into the upper waters and rendered averse to the experiment of going down over them, that the so-called land-locked salmon was met with. This conclusion is, however, stoutly contested by other authors, as by Dr. A. Leith Adams. The laud-locked salmon, however, whether a distinct species or a variety of the true salmon, is one of very great value for stocking our small lakes ; and another season it is pro- loosed, should Congress authorize it, to attempt operations on a large scale in securing these eggs and placing the young fish in the more western waters. The fish are taken readil}^ with the fly throughout the greater part of the year, at least from early spring until late in the autumn, with the exception of a short interval in the hotter weather of midsummer. Many persons maintain that the salmon of Lake Ontario is really land- locked ; that is, it does not spend an3^ portion of its life in the ocean. This, however, is a question which cannot be determined by our present data. G. — The sea-trout [Salmo immaculatus f). Another fish which has been suggested for introduction into the waters of the United States is the sea-trout {Salmo immaculatus ?). This is very common in the waters of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and also in those of the Atlantic coast in ZSTova Scotia. It runs up in the spring into brackish waters in great numbers for the purpose of spawning. It is very abun- dant in Newfoundland and on the coast of Labrador, where immense numbers are caught and sent to the Boston market. As yet we know very little of its natural history; but there seems no reason to doubt that it would answer admirably for the streams on the coast of Maine* As a fresh fish it is of delicious flavor, although very inferior to the salmon when salted. 7. — The l('J:e-irout {SaJmo namaycnslif). This fish, very characteristic of all the great lakes of the Northern States, and occurring in one variety or another in smaller bodies of water REPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Ixxlii all along our northera frontier, is variously called saliaou-trout, lake- trout, togue, &c. The exact number of species, if actually more than one, yet remains to be determined. It is a valuable food-fish, and is especially prominent in this connection in Lakes Superior, Michigan, Erie and Ontario. As affording sport to the angler, it is fiir inferior to other members of the genus Salmo, but, from its size and ease of manipulation and transfer, has already attracted much consideration. It has for some years been the subject of attention on the part of the Incw York State commissioners and of their agent, Seth Green, who every autumn collects millions of eggs from the fisheries on the Canadian side of Lake Ontario to be hatched at Caledonia, N. Y., for distribution to the lakes in the interior of New Y'ork. The experiment has lately been made of planting the young fish in running water, as the Susquehanna, &c.; but it yet remains to be seen how they will thrive. The lake-trout is eminently worthy the attention of States along the great lakes, since, with the white-fish, it constitutes by far the most important element in the great fisheries. 8. — The liuclio or Danube salmon, {Salmo JiucJio.) Another species which promises to be of value in the United States is Salmo hucJio, or the salmon of the Danube. This fish has been warmly recommended as admirably suited for the Mississippi River, since, unlike the true salmon, it appears to spend most of its time in the river, seldom, if at all, making its way into the salt water. Opinions differ, however, in this respect, as to whether all the Danube fish spend a part of theii- life in the Black Sea, or whether it is those only which belong to its immediate vicinity that run into it. The hucho is of good quality for the table, and attains a weight of from forty to sixty pounds. It passes at the proper season into the smaller tributaries of the Danube, and is taken through- out its extent in immense numbers. It is a voracious fish, however, and feeds exclusively in the river, devouring other fishes with great avidity. In my judgment, it would be inexpedient to introduce this fish into waters where the true salmon live; the latter having the excellent quality of not disturbing the existing inhabitants of the rivers, but deriving the material of its growth, after the first few mouths of its existence, from the ocean. Unless the Sacramento salmon can be naturalized in the Mississippi, no other species but that of the Danube is likely to find suitable quarters there; and the question of its introduction will, therefore, be taken into consideration, after more full information in regard to the habits of the fish can be obtained. Further details respect- ing the hucho will be found in the article by Mr. E. Hessel on page 161. 9. — Small American trout. 1 have already referred to the various questions connected with the propagation of the eastern brook-trout, {Salmo fontlnalis,) and which, in view of the extent to which it is cared for by the States and by private Ixxiv KEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. establishments, requires no attention on the part of the United States. A second eastern species, of great beauty, the blue-back, [Salmo oquassa, Girard,) is found in the lakes at the headwaters of the Androscoggin, Rangeley, Oquassoc, &c., where it inhabits their depths for the greater part of the year, only coming to notice for a few weeks in the autumn, when it enters the tributary streams or outlets to spawn. ]S"o proposition has yet been made to multiply this species artificially. In this connection it may be remarked that, in the same lakes, the common brook-trout {Salmo fontinalis) occur of enormous size, even up to ten pounds, and that Mr. George Shepard Page, and his associates of the Oquassoc Angling Company, are about establishing a hatching-house for the purpose of securing eggs of this variety, known as the Rangeley. There are many species of brook and pond trout in the Rocky Mount- ain and Pacific region of the United States, as well as in British Xorth America; none of which, so far, have attracted the attention of fish- culturists on account of special merit. 10. — The Salhling, (Salmo salveUnus.) Another European fish that might be introduced to advantage is the char, or Salmo salveUnus. This is a species that lives, more or less, in the larger lakes, running up into tributary streams to spawn, and in this connection would serve an excellent purpose for stockiug interior waters that have now no specially desirable inmates. 11. — The grayling, {Thymallus tricolor.) A species of the salmon family found in restricted areas of the United States, has lately attracted much attention among fish-culturists and sportsmen. It seems to be prolific and numerous in favorable waters; is excellent as food, and what, to many, are more admirable quali- ties, will take the fly and make a spirited contest with the angler before he can land him on the shore or in his boat. It has also a most beauti- ful combination of colors on the body as well as on the very large dorsal fin that is a peculiar character in this genus. The grayling has lately been brought extensively to notice as occur- ring in the waters of Michigan, and even in that State seems to be con- fined to certain spring-fed rivers in the lower peninsula. It is also found in the headwaters of the Missouri in the region adjacent to the valley of the Yellowstone. Whether it is different from the grayling found in certain rivers of Alaska, is a question not yet positively de- cided, but its separation as a species from the English and European Thymallus vulgaris Nilss. is marked and decided. It has been successfully transported from Michigan to Tn'cw York State by Fred. Mather and Seth Green, as also to Southern Michigan, for the purpose of introduction into trout-streams. Seth Green has succeeded in hatching the eggs, and has found them well adapted to the artificial processes. REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. IxXV 12. — The ichite-Jish, Corcgoims, etc. lu the report by Mr. Milner, on page 1, will be found the result of his investigations, prosecuted through two seasons, with regard to this the most important fish of the great lakes ; and In his general conclusions and recommendations, as to the future treatment of the subject, I entirely concur. Few fishes of North America will better repay efforts for their mul- tiplication than the white-fish. It is to this species especially that the States bordering on the great lakes have had their attention directed, and it is probable that the efforts of the United States will not be re- quired to any great extent in aiding the multiplication of their numbers. It is understood that the newly-appointed commissioners of Michigan aim at introducing to the waters bordering on that State at least eight or ten millions of artificially -hatched eggs, and it is probable that Wis- consin, Ohio, and Minnesota will sooner or later follow suit. The intro- duction of this fish into the lakes of California and Utah will, however, continue to occupy my attention as far as the funds at my command will permit. Otsego Lake in Central IS'ew York, the head of the Susquehanna Eiver, is tenanted by a fish of the finest quality called the Otsego bass, {Coregonus otsego,) a true white-fish, and not yet satisfactorily distin- guished from the C. albus, or the white-fish of the lakes. This is now the subject of experiment in the way of artificial multiplication for the benefit of Otsego Lake, and may hereafter furnish a valuable contribu- tion to other lakes. Otsego Lake is, perhaps, the most southern station for the genus Coregonus, in the Eastern United States at least, and the fish from its waters are probably well adapted to other lakes of the same or even more southern latitudes. The experiment now making at Cooperstown, N. Y., under the direction of Capt. Elihu Phinney and Capt. P. P. Cooper, is, therefore, one in which the public have a great interest. 13. — The nerjiing, orfe, or golden tench. — [Iclus melanotus.) A fish lately introduced into England from Germany is the " orfe " or "nerfling," Idua melanotus, a cypriuoid related to the European tench, and which is valuable for its beauty, color, and appearance, as well as for food. It is said to surpass the gold-fish in the brilliant red color that covers the upper jjortion of the body. The belly portion is white. It is also said to be more active and lively in its movements, and attains a much larger size. It is very prolific, and sustains its numbers in larger bodies of water than the gold-fish does. Those who have seen this fish in its native waters state that there is no more brilliantsight imaginable than .to witness the schools of " nerfiings" rise in a body to the surface and flash along in the sunlight, as they delight to do. Ixxvi REPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. The bright, red color of this beautiful fish is not found in the orig- inal wild species, but is a character developed in domestication, and perpetuated in the progeny by breeding in and in, or at any rate by selec- tion of those individuals possessing the character in a superior degree. This process continued through many generations develops a tenacious tendency in all to reproduce the character, and a variety is established. 14. — The carp. Sufficient attention has not been paid in the United States to the in- troduction of the European carp as a food-fish, and yet it is quite safe to say that there is no other species that promises so great a return in limited waters. It has the pre-eminent advantage over such fish as the black bass, trout, grayling, &c., that it is a vegetable feeder, and, al- though not disdaiuiug animal matters, can thrive very well upon aquatic vegetation alone. On this account it can be kept in tanks, small ponds, «&c., and a very much larger weight obtained, without expense, than in the case of the other kinds indicated. It is on this account that its culture has been continued for centuries. It is also a mistake to compare the flesh with that of the ordinary Cyprinidcv of the United States, such as suckers, chubs, and the like, the flesh of the genuine carp {Gyprinus carpio) being firm, flaky, and in some varieties almost equal to the European trout. Mr. Hessel imforms me that there is the greatest imaginable difference in the taste of the so-called carp in the European ponds, and that a species very closely allied to the gutd (Gyprinus carassliis) difl"ers from it ih the greater abundance of bones and its muddy flavor. What he con- siders as a hjbrid between the two described as G. Jcollari, is in very many parts of Europe the representative of the carp, being frequently found in Germany, Holland, and Belgium under this name. Among the estimable varieties of the true carp, Mr. Hessel specifies as the best the king-carp, or Gyprinus rex cyprlnorum. This has the peculiarity of being almost destitute of scales, only a few being at- tached here and there to the skin. There are also, according to this emi- nent pisciculturist, varieties of carp in which the generative apparatus seems to be atrophied so as to render them incapable of reproduction. These are f )und in various regions on the Upper Rhiue, on the Danube, on the Ehine, and the Po, and are very much sought after, bringing three times the price of other fish ; indeed, as alrea'dy remarked, they are considered equal to the trout. Mr. Hessel professes to be ac- quainted with a method of producing this sterility on a large scale and with certainty. Another race equally eligible is the one entirely desti- tute of scale, {Gyprinus nudits, vel alepidotus,) in which the skin is soft as the finest velvet, requiring no scaling, and when cooked adding greatly to the savor of the fish. The constant form of this only occurs in certain lakes in eastern Europe. Neither of these varieties is known in England. REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. lxx\'ii The best carp, Mr. Hessel thinks, are to be found in the region of the Danube, characterized by the elevated, fleshy, and compressed back, a rapid growth, and delicious flesh. For almost thousands of years they liave been kept in ponds connected with various public and private estates. 15. — The gourami. — {Osphromenus olfax.) A fish that has attracted the attention of all interested in the intro- duction of valuable animals to the country of their residence is the gourami. It has had an existence, whether indigenous or not, for many centuries in the fresh waters of Cochin China, and is found also in portions of the mainland and islands of the China Sea and Indian Ocean. It has been successfully acclimated in certain islands to the eastward of Af- rica. Living specimens are now in the possession of the Museum of Natural History and of Mr. Carbonnier, of Paris. Attempts have been made, without satisfactory success, to introduce it into regions of South America, the West Indies, Southern Africa, Australia, Egypt, and France. The qualities that are brought forward as causing so high an estimate of the value of the gourami are its superior excellence as food and the fact that it is adapted to waters under a hot sun, attaining the highest degrees of temperature. It is also largely a vegetable eater, feeding upon water-plants of genera that are found in widely separated regions of the globe. It may be fed, too, with numerous articles of ordinary food, and the refuse of the table, and kept in confined bodies of water, provided they contain suitable plants. It attains, under favorable circumstances, the weight of twenty-five or thirty pounds, though from three to five is said to be the average. It is also said to thrive in brackish as well as fresh waters. The numerous failures to transport it and keep it alive during long voyages would scarcely influence American fish-culturists against its attempted introduction, as it is well known that inexperienced persons lose those fish during transportation which have the greatest tenacity of life under proper treatment. The fish could be brought from the Mauritius, India, Java, China, or other accessible localities, and, by care in selecting the period and route of the transfer, the experiment would doubtless be successful. Recent experiments have shown that some varieties resist the influence of cold more than others ; a tempera- ture even of 47° F. having been endured with impunity in the case of a number lately transported to France. They might be readily intro- duced from the region of China into the high-temi^eratiire " tule" lakes of Southern California and i^evada, and from there distributed farther east. They guard their eggs and young with the utmost vigilance and cour- age, and their propagation and multiplication can be left to nature if the proper conditions in water and food are afforded them. Ixxviii REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 16.— The sterlet. The sterlet, {Acij)e)iser ruthenus,) a small species of sturgeon, found in Eussia, has a superior reputation as a table-fish. The Eussian minister of Crown lauds has caused it to be introduced from its original home in the Volga to the vicinity of St. Petersburg. As the embryo has so short a period in the egg stage, the transporta- tion of the latter for long distances is attended with many difficulties. By means of a carefully-constructed apparatus, and provision for the anticipated hatching of the eggs en route, in 1870, a considerable number of the young fry were transported from Russia and introduced into the waters of Sutherlaudshire, Scotland, in apparently good condition. It has been, on several occasions, suggested that it would be a valua- ble acquisition to the United States for such waters as the Ohio and Mississippi Kivers, which are said to be very similar in their character and in their related climate to the Volga, of Russia, in which the species is native. Quite recently a number of sterlet were brought from St. Petersburg to the Brighton aquarium, where they form a conspicuous feature. They were obtained in the Volga, and transported 1,400 miles in the well of a fishing-boat to St. Petersburg, and thence by steamer to London. It is from the roe of the sterlet that caviare of the finest quality is made, which constitutes an article of commerce and trade in Russia ; and of which, in late years, a limited quantity has been made m the United States from the lake and Atlantic coast sturgeons. 17. — Eybrid Jish. In certain establishments in Europe much attention is paid to the ar- tificial production of crosses between certain closely-allied species of the Salmouid family, as the Salmon, the Brook-Trout, the Lake-Trout, the Siibbliug, &c. The fish thus produced, though for the most part barren, and requiring a continuation of the operation in successive years, are of very superior quality, of tender flesh, and grow with great rapidity, as is usually the case with animals with deficient organs of generation. They, indeed, bear the same relations to other fishes of their kind, as do domestic cattle, hogs, chickens, &c., when altered to the perfect animal. Salmon thus hybridized lose the instinct of migration to the ocean. There is no reason why the same method may not be applied to other fresh-water species, and to certain sea-fish, with corresponding results. CONCLUDING REMARKS. It is perhaps hardly necessary to summarize here the steps taken to increase the supply of shad in the United States, as the subject has already been fully treated of. As shown in the earlier part of the present report, my efforts, in 1872, EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Ixxix as Uuitecl States Comrnissiouer of Fish and Fisheries, so far as salmon were concerned, were directed to securing a large supply, first of Salmo salar, or the Atlantic salmon, from the establishment of Mr. Atkins, at Bucksport, and from the river Rhine, in Germany ; and, second, of the California salmon {Salmo quinnat :^) from the Sacramento River, through Mr. Livingston Stone, the details of which efforts it is unneces- sary to repeat here. In the accompanying report by Mr. Atkins (page 226) will be found the history of his experiments, with much practical information in regard to the habits and peculiarities of the fish. A similar article in reference to the California salmon, by Mr. Stone, is given on page 168. The labors of 1873 will, it is hoped, be conducted on a much larger scale, and I trust that enough eggs of the Sacramento salmon may be procured to make a satisfactory beginning of the experiment. I am quite well satisfied that it is to this species that we are to look for a supply for such rivers as the Hudson, Delaware, Susquehanna, Potomac, James, and perhaps others still farther south, as well as for the waters of the Mississippi Valley. Eastern salmon, on the other hand, will perhaps be best adapted to the rivers of JSTew England and to the great lakes; although it is proposed to introduce both kinds into such local- ities as the means at my command will permit. There is nothing to prevent the two species living together in the same stream, especially in view of the fact that it is only the young fry, for the first j'ear or two, which require food in the fresh water, the great mass of the material of growth being derived from the sea. Their periods of migration, too, are entirely distinct; the western species entering the rivers early in winter, and spawning at the headwaters as early as August ; while the eastern salmon, coming in several months later, does not spawn until October or the beginning of November. Should no change take place in the habits of either kind, the salmon season would be very much longer than otherwise, and salmon could be had, perhaps, over a period of from eight to eleven mouths, instead of three or four, as at present. The great advantage of the Sacramento fish is to be found in its abilit3" to sustain itself in a much higher temperature than that endura- ble by the A tlantic-coast salmon. Thus, while the eastern is said to be driven back to sea, in Germany at least, by a temperature of 65°, (60° being the maximum of preference,) the Sacramento fish occupies a river flowing through one of the hottest regions of North America, where in the season of 1872 Mr. Stone found the prevailing temperature dur- ing the whole season of the salmon-spawning to be from 100° to 115° in the shade, and almost unendurable. It is true that the river-water at the United States hatching establishment is cooled by the melting ice and snow from Mount Shasta, but lower down the Sacramento, where the salmon formerly spawned in great numbers, and do still to some extent, tbe teoiperature in the river reached 75° F., aud even more daring the summer. IxXX REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Another fact of importance couuecteil withtlia Sacramento fish is the great fapidity of its growth, those of corresponding age being almost twice as heavy as their eastern relatives. According to Mr. Reeder, fish commissioner of Pennsylvania, the Sacramento salmon, which were introduced into the Susquehanna Kiver in February, 1873, were found in good health and condition in the following September, measuring seven or eight inches in leagth, while the Penobscot salmon, about ten months old, w^ere not half the size. This difference is appreciable in all stages of growth, the eggs and young fish being twice as large as those of the eastern species. The Sacramento salmon is said to lack the very delicate flavor of the eastern fish. This, however, is stoutly denied, especially by Mr. Throck- morton, whose letter on the subject will be found on page 373. In any event, the difference must be trifling when the fish is procurable fresh ; and if the two species could be tas red side by side, under the same conditions, it is jirobable that the difference would prove to be of very little raoraent. The supposed disinclination of the Sacramento fish to take the hook has been presented as a great objection to it. This, if well founded, would be of very little consequence, since salmon, for economical pur- poses, are more generally taken in nets than with the hook. But, ac- cording to Seth Green, they can be taken with the fly f and Mr. Living- ston Stone maintains, as shown in his report, that they will bite vora- ciously at the roe of their own species, and can be taken in any number. The young fish in the hatching-ponds rise with the greatest readiness To Mr. Stone's report on this species I refer for farther details. As already remarked, experiments are contemplated in reference to the multiplication of the land-locked salmon and of the lake-trout. Whether the sea-trout, or white trout of the eastern coast, will be worth any special effort for its increase, is very doubtful. It is proposed, how- ever, as soon as it can be accomplished, to secure some of the impreg- nated eggs of the Danube salmon, {Salmo hucho,) which appears espec- ially fitted to the Mississippi River. The objection to this species, which attains the weight of fifty pounds and multiplies very rapidly, is mainly drawn from its alleged voracity, and from the fact that it is almost exclusively a river-fish, feeding therein all the year, and, of course, devouring other kinds in keeping up its own growth. At present, how- ever, there are very few fish of any special value as food in the great system of waters of the Mississippi Valley; the black bass, the salmon- perch, or wall-eyed pike, {Lucioperca,) and, perhaps, one or two species of pickerel, being most important. Of the great variety of suckers, chubs, sun-fish, &c., but little commendatory can be said. The great bulk of these fish, however, and of nearly all the Cijprinidm, are proverbial for their insipidity, and they are generally esteemed worthless as fooil. The effect of introducing the Danube salmon would be simply to sub- stitute for a superfluity of fish of very inferior value, a kind having all REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. IxXXl the gamesomeuess aud excellence of flesh of the salmou, and I think it would be perfectly safe to make the experiment. Under any circum- stances, the Danube salmon is a less voracious fish than the pickerel, and might probably require much less weight of food to acquire a given amount of growth. Some of the other species referred to above will probably be taken up for consideration at an early day. The restoration of food -fishes to localities originally tenanted by them, or their transfer to new waters, is, however, a question of time; aud in the immense extent of our river and lake systems, many years must necessarily elapse before the work can be accomplished. It is also inexpedient to attempt to cover too much ground at once, as in the necessary limitations furnished by the amount of the appropriations, and the difficulty of finding skilled assistants, it is considered the better policy to render fish very abundant in a few centers by concentrating effort upon them, and then from these centers to carry on the work else- where. It is not a percentage so much as au absolute number of young- fry that must be sacrificed to the rapacity of the pre-existing inhabit- ants of the stream into which they are introduced; and it is evident that, supposing that the average probability of destruction amounts to 10,000 fish in a given period, if we introduce only that number there will be no surplus; whereas with 50,000 the excess will be enough to allow the maturing of adults sufficient to stock the waters. It must, however, be borne in mind that it is not sufficient to take measures for introducing the fish, whether young or adult, into new waters, but that much then remains in the way of protecting them when once established, and in securing their passage to and from the sea. State legislation will be required to bring about the removal of obstructions ; introduction of suitable fish-ways ; prevention of the pollu- tion of the waters, and the capture of the fish at improper times', by im. proper modes, &c. When we consider that the prime cause of the decrease in our salmon aud shad fisheries is believed to be in the erection of impassable dams, thus preventing their access to the spawning-grounds, it will be readily understood that, unless some provision be made for surmounting these obstructions, the fisheries cannot be self-sustaining. Fortunately, how- ever, in the fish-ways, of which a great variety has lately been devised, we have in most cases a practical remedy; experience having shown that where these are inserted in dams, with the lower end perfectly accessi- ble to the fish aud a sufficient volume of water issuing from it, fish will ascend with great facility. This is especially the case with the salmon and alewife, but it is also probably true of the shad. The general theory of fish-ways, and the various forms suggested, or in use, will be found given in detail in an admirable essay on the subject in the present report as prepared by Mr. Atkins. Care must also be taken, in planting the fish, to introduce them as far S. Mis. 71 Yi Ixxxii REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. lip the stream as practicable, since it is an established fact that adult fish will always return to the place where they first made acquaintance with the water, passing directly by the mouths of streams or tributaries bet- ter adapted to their purposes, to gain their orignal home. For this reason, it is well to carry the young fish to the highest point in a stream that can be reached, even though numerous fish-ways may be required to permit the return of the adult fish. It may safely be assumed that fish born below an impassable dam will not ascend far above it, even with a suitable fish- way; although it is quite possible that when they feel themselves in a powerful current of the fish-way, they may enter it and reach the uppper part of the dam. Here, the water being quiet, they will probably remain without proceeding to any considerable distance. Mr. Seth Green informs me that the fish hatched at Castleton, below Albany, when ascending the river as adult fish, very rarely go beyond their original starting-point, so that, while there is a great supply at that locality, there has been little or no increase in the numbers higher up the river. In addition to the construction of fish-ways, steps must be taken to prevent the capture of the breeding-fish in improper numbers. This can only be done satisfactorily by providing for a close time during the fishing-season of two or three days in each week, during which no fish are to be taken, and by stopping the fishery entirely after a certain date. This period will vary with the season ; the time of cessation, as far as shad are concerned, coming earlier in the South than in the Forth — perhaps about the middle of May for the Potomac Kiver, the first of June for the Delaware and Susquehanna, the middle of June for the Hudson, and the twenty-fifth of June for the Connecticut. A proper close time for the eastern salmon would fail some time in August or the beginning of September. The use of nets and other engines for the capture of adult fish can only be considered improper when carried to an excess, and covering too great a period of time. Anything, however, that affects the young and destroys them before attaining their full growth should be pro- hibited. Among the most injurious agencies in this direction are the fish-dams, so abundant in certain streams in the autum n, consisting of two walls of stone in the shape of the letter V, the angle pointing down the current, and opening into what is called a fish-ba sket. The object of this is to guide the descending fish, in the entire breadth of the river, into this basket, into which they fall, and from which they are some- times removed by the wagon-load. The special object of this kind of fishery is the capture of eels, which, as is well known, run down, when mature, in the autumn to the sea for the purpose of spawning ; but the baskets take millions of other fish, and are especially injurious to the young shad, Pennsylvania and Delaware have, we believe, prohibited the use of these dams in shad-streams, and with very great propriety. Other points to be regulated, and requiring more or less of legislative REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Ixxxiii interference, are the introduction of injurious chemicals, refuse of gas- works, sewage, and other substances, into the rivers, by means of which the fish, both adult and young, are poisoned, or else their passage through to their proper spawning-grounds prevented, to say nothing of the unpleasant taste imparted to the fish themselves when exposed to these influences. These and other improper interferences with the fish and the rights of the people at large, which will readily suggest them- selves, should, as already stated, invoke the legislation of the States ; and, unless these can be guaranteed, it is hardly worth while to attempt the planting and propagation of fish in American rivers. It is true that by continuing indefinitely the practice of artificial im- pregnation of the eggs and introduction of the young into the water, the supply of fish can be maintained ; and should they, in ascending the streams, find an impassable barrier, the only effect would be to furnish a great abundance to the fishermen below the obstruction, while those above it would be entirely cut oif. It is not to be expected, however, that either State governments or Congress will continue to make such appropriations indefinitely, and it is quite time that a general system of legislation should be devised and carried into effect by the various States. In concluding the present report, I have much pleasure in returning my special acknowledgments to the commissioners of Maine, Massa- chusetts, Connecticut, and New York for their hearty co-operation in the steps taken to carry out the law of Congress in reference to the multiplication of the food-fishes. Ixxxiv REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AXD FISHERIES. Salmon-hatching operations in the Under wliose au- spices. Place where spawn was collected. Place wbere egg were hatched. In charge of hatch- ing. Waters stocked. Maine . New Hampshire. Vermont . Massachusetts . Rhode Island. Connecticut Newcastle, Ont. do Miramichi River, N. B. Penobscot River, Or- land, Me. Penobscot, River, Bucksport, Me. Miramichi River N. B. do do Whiting, Me. Alna, Me .... Augusta, Me . Norway, Me . W. S. Peavey David C. Pottle.. Crockett & Holmes Bucksport, Me Charles G. Atkins .do Penobscot River, Bucksport, Me. do do Miramichi River, N. B. do do do Penob.scot River, Bucksport, Me. Miramichi River, N. B. do .do Penobscot River, Or- land. Me. do Penobscot River, Bucksport, Me. do do Newcastle, Ont Penobscot River, Bucksport, Me. Miramichi River, N. B. do do Woodstock, N.H. Concord, N. H. . Meredith, N. fl -do Charlestown, N. H. ...do Chester, Vt ...do Rochester, N. T. ., East Wareham, Ma.s8. West Barnstable, Mass. Winchester, Mass ...do , ...do ...do Newcastle, Ont. do do do do .do Penobscot River, Or- land. Me. do Penobscot River, Bucksport, Me. .do .do .do .do -do ...do ...do Poneganset, R. I , ...do" Charlestown, N. H ...do Poquonnock, Conn ...do ...do ...do ...do North Branford, Conn. Middletown, Conn W.W. Fletcher. . . ...do Robinson & Hoyt do W. W. Fletcher . . Livingston Stone. ...do A. D. Hager. ...do Seth Green . S. T. Tisdale Dexter, Coolidge, & Bacon. E. A. Brackett . . . ...do .do .do .do Poquonnock, Conn ...do ...do North Branford, Conn. Westport, Conn. . . ...do .. do ...do ...do Poquonnock, Conn a DouUtfal. Penobscot River, Bucksport, Me. The distribution was proposed in 187;2. and no subsequent references made J. H. Barden ....do ...do Livingston Stone. ...do Poquonnock Com- pany. ...do ...do ...do ...do Waltonian Hatch- ing Society. Robert G.Pike... Poquonnock Com- pany. WiUiam Clift 6 . . ....do Waltonian Hatch- ing Society. .do .do .do .do Cobscook River. . . Sheepscot River.. Kennebec River .. Androscoggin Riv. Penobscot River.. Saint Croix River. Androscoggin Riv. Merrimac River. . . do .do .do ...do ... do Lake Champlain.. Connecticut River. ....do ...do Lake Champlain.. William Clift 6. Stream on Cape Cod. Mystic River Stream on Cape Cod. Merrimac River.. ...do Mystic River Red Brook Pawtuxet River . Blackstone River. Pawtucket River. Pawcatuck River.. Great Brook . . . -do Quinnebaug River. Honsatonic River, Farmiugton River. Quinnebaug River Saugatuck River. . Farm River Connecticut River. Quinnebaug River. Great Brook Saugatuck River.. Southport River . . Connecticut River. Mystic River Thames River Housatonic River. Stream at North Branford. Great Brook EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. IxXXV United States ietween 1866 and 1672. Tributaries in wliicb tisb were placed. Little Androscoggin Kiver. Tributaries Tributaries Pemigew asset Eiver Pemigewasset Eiver do Tributaries "Winooski River . "West Pdver do Williams Eiver Winoosbi and Lamo- ille Elvers. Agawam Eiver (?)... Pemigewasset Eiver. Tributary to Long Island Sound. do Broad Brook ■ Tributaries . do Little Eiver Tributaries . Tributaries . Tributaries . I-™ e5[iy Xanie of n<=arest city or village. 1^1 2i Bf^ "Woodstock, Jf. H . 50, 5S5 77, 550 98, 150 Livermore Falls, N.H. "VTood-stock, Thorn- ton, N. H. ...do Montpelier, Tt Weston, Tt Bellows Fails' Vt' 7,000 Plymouth. X.H.. New London, Conn ...do 1,430 1,430 6, 4C0 "Westport, Conn. . . North Branford, Conn. Middktown, Conn. North Branford, Conn. 1, 365 1,365 34, 880 1,500 3,000 21, 200 10, 100 1870 1671 1871 1872 1873 1873 1873 1866 1867 1869 1870 1872 1873 1873 18C9 1870 1873 1870 1870 1870 1872 1872 1873 1873 1873 1872 1873 1870 1871 1871 1871 1872 1872 1872 1872 1872 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 Eeferences. 225 1,500 800 21, 000 67, 000 10, 000 130,000 15, 000 250 5,000 1,000 16, 000 160, 000 14, 000 2,500 30, 000 7,000 3,000 1,500 700 5,000 16, 000 165, 000 11,000 11,000 9, 000 64, 000 2,000 90 1,876 8,000 a7, 377 a900 17, 000 5,000 4,500 4,500 115, 000 5, 000 10, 000 70, 000 35, 000 43, 000 Atkins's Eeport, p. 232. Fourth EepoTt Commission of Fish- eries, Maine, 1870, p. 28. Sixth Report Commission of Fish- eries, Maine, 1872, p. 15. Do. Atkins's Eeport, Table XI, p. 288. Do. Do. Eeport Commission of Fisheries, New Hampshire, 1869, p. 6. Do. Eeport Commission of Fisheries, New Hampshire, 1871, p. 6. Eeport Commission of Fisheries, New Hampshire, 1873, p. 4. Do. Atkins's Eeport, Table XI, p. 288. ^ Eeport Fish Commission of Yer- I mont, 1869, p. 11. C Eeport Fish Commission of Yer- l mont, 1871-'72, p. 5. Atkins's Eeport, Table XI, p. 288. Massachusetts Eeport, 1871, pp. 11, 12. Do. Do. Massachusetts Eeport, 1873, p. 16. Do. Atkins's Eeport, Table XI, p. 288. Do. Do. Third Annual Report Rhode Isl- and, p. 4. Atkins's Eeport, Table XI, p. 288. Atkins's Eeport, p. 230. Do. Connecticut Eeport, 1871, p. 20. Connecticut Eeport, 1872, p. 28. l^ Connecticut Eeport, 1872, pp. 27, I 28. Connecticut Eeport, 1872, p. 28. Atkins's Eeport, p. 241. Atkins's Eeport, Table XI, p. 288. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. b Private enterprise. IxXXvi REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Salmon-hatching operations in the United Under vrhose au- spices. Place where spawn was collected. Place where eggs were hatched. In charge of hatch- ing. "Waters stocked. New York . New Jersey . . Pennsylvania . Ohio Michigan. Wisconsin. Total. Penobscot River, Bucksport, Me. do do do do do Newcastle, Ont do Penobscot River, Bucksport, Me. do .do .do , .do .do -do -do .do .do .do .do -do .do .do .do .do .do .do -do .do .do .do Caledonia Springs, N. Y. ...do ...do Bloomsbury, N. J. ,...do ...do Dutchess Co., N.Y. Easton, Pa ....do Castalia, Ohio. . . Clarkston, Mich. ,...do ...do ...do .do do .do .do .do .do .do .do .do .do .do .do .do .do ■Waterville, "Wis . ...do ...do Seth Green Hudson River. ...do ...do J. H. Slack, M.D. ...do ...do Thaddens Norria. ...do Lake Ontario . . ...do Long Island Sound Raritau River. . . . Delaware River. . ...do ...do ...do John Hoyt Nelson "W. Clark. ....do ...do ...do .do , .do .do .do .do .do .do .do .do do .do .do .do .do H. F. Dousman. ....do ....do Lake Erie Lake Saint Clair. Lake Erie ...do ...do .do .do Lake Michigan ...do .do .do .do ...do ...do ...do Lake Huron Lake Michigan ....do ...do • REPOKT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Ixxxvii Stales between 1866 and 1872 — Continuecl. Tributaries in which fish were placed. Name of nearest city or village. ■=^aj References. Peating and Ingles- by Creeks. Salmon River Oswego River Sniairtributaries Headwaters Musconetoong Creek Bushkill River do Heitzinan Spring Bronk. Castalia Spr'g stream. Lord's Lake , Orchard Lake "Walled Lake Whitmore Lake 30, 000 15, 000 15, 000 2,500 15, 000 18, 000 Gnn Lake Barrier Lake Diamond Lake Barren Lake Lake near Marshall. . Headwaters St. Jo- seph River. Korth Branch St. Jo- seph River. do Stream tributary to St. Joseph River. Headwaters K a 1 a - mazoo River. Grand River Muskegon River !Manistee River Ausable River Pontiac, Mich Oakland Co., Mich ...do "Washtenaw Co., Mich. Hillsdale Co., Mich ...do 25, 000 2,500 Calhoun Co., Mich Hillsdale Co., Mich St. Joseph, Mich.. Jackson Co., Mich, ...do Menomonee River .. Oconomowoc Lake.. Milwaukee River . . . Roscommon Co., Mich. Oconomowoc, Wis "Wauwatosa, Wis . . 33, 900 1673 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1871 1872 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 1873 30, 000 15, 000 15, 000 2,500 15,000 18, 000 2.500 11,000 25, 000 2, 500 400 500 500 500 500 500 1,000 500 500 500 1,000 1,000 1,500 5D0 500 1,500 1,500 2,000 7,000 1,000 11, 000 517,805 1,258,841 Letter from Seth Green. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Pennsylvania Report, 1873, p. 1.5. Pennsylvania Report, 1873, p. IH. Atkins's Report, p. 238. Information from K. "W. Clark. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Letter of H. P. Dcusman. Do. Do. Ixxxviii REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Table of the distribuiion of young shaiJ By whom conrtucted. Shad-hatching stations where youag shad were procured. Waters stocked with shad. Alleghany River Mississippi River Alleghany Eivei Cuvahoga River "Wiute River aud Fisheries. Do do Do South Hadley Falls, Mass., Connecticut Eiver. do Do Do do Do do Missouri River Platte River Do ...do Do Do Washington, D. C, Potomac River do Greenbrier River Do Coeymans, N. T., Hudson Eiver do Calumet River Do Do .do Ashtabula River Monougahela River Wabash Kiver Do Lambert.sville, N. J., Delaware Kiver Coeymans, N. Y., Hudson Kiver do Do Do Do do Sacramento River Winooski River Housatonic River Penobscot River Do South Hadley Falls, Mass , Connecticut Kiver. do ... Do Do do Do do Do do Do do New Hampsliire Commission of Fisheries. Do North Andover, Mass., Merrimac Kiver. . . do Lake Winnepiseogee . . do Do do do Do do do Vermont Commission of Fisheries. Do South Hadley Falls, Mass., Connecticut River. do (Not recorded) Merrimac River Lake CbaniDlain Whitney's Pond Do 'Massachusetts Commission of Fisheries. Do South Hadley Falls, Mass., Connecticut River. North Andover, Mass., Merrimac River. .. do .... . ... Do Do do Concord River Weweantit River Eel River Do do Do do Do do Newmasket River Do .do . Do do do Do South Hadley Falls, Mass., Connecticut River. ... do do Ehode Island Commission of Blackstono River Pawtuxet Kiver Pawcatuck River Poquonnock River Saugatuck River . . . do Fisheries. Do do Do do Connecticut Fish Commission do Do do Do do New York Commission of Fish- eries. Do do do Do do Lake Champlain Mohawk River Do do Do do Do do Lake Onondaga Canandaigua Lake Do do Do . . do . Do do Genesee River (a) A few fry. EEPORT OF COxMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Ixxxlx to the waters of the United Stedes. Name of city or village. SaJamanca, X. T June 30, 1872 Paint Paul, Minn July 5, 1872 Salamanca, N. T July 3,1872 July 3,1872 July 4,1872 July 5,1872 July 7,1872 June 6, 1873 t Jnue 10, 1873 25, 000 25, 000 '2, 000, 000 Kent, Ohio Indianapolis, lud. ... Washington and Her- man, Mo. Denver, Colo Konceveite, "W. Va . . Central Station, Ya.. South Chicago, 111 June 16, 1873 Appleton, Wis ' June 20, 1873 Ashtabula, Ohio j June 24, 1873 Greensburgh, Pa ; June 25, 1873 Logansport, Ind ! June 30, 1873 Jordan, TTtah June 30, 1873 Tehama, Cal... BuiUngton, Yt. New Milford, Conn. . . Mattawaiimkeag, Me. Yergenne.s, Yt Detroit, Mich , Ionia, Mich July 2,1873 July 5,1873 July 8,1873 July 12, 1873 July 20, 1873 July 24, 1873 Julv 24, 1873 1868 18C9. 1870. 1872. Concord, Yt ... Burlington, Yt , Mass . . . Winchester, Mass Winchester, Mass Mass. J Mystic, Conn... Westport, Conn do Kochester, N. T do Whitehall, N. T . -, N. T , Kochester, N. T Syracuse, N. T C'anandaigua, N. Y Rochester, N. T , 1867 . . 1872 . 1867.. 1868. 1869. 1870. 1872. 1872 . 1871. 1871. 1872. 50, 000 40, 000 70, 000 70, 000 50, 000 15, 000 40, 000 40, 000 100, 000 90, 000 100. 000 100, 000 100, 000 June 30, 1870 June 8, June — , June 18, June 21, June 25, June 12, June 16, June 19, 1871 1871 1872 1872 1872 1873 1873 1873 5, 000, 000 (6) A certain amount of spawn. (c) Some spawn. (d) Several thousands of eggs. (e) A few in a bottle. 25, 000 25, 000 400, 000 (a) 400, 000 (a) 2,000 .30, 000 40, 000 70, 000 70, 000 50, 000 15,000 40, 000 5,000 35, 000 100, 000 90, 000 100, 000 100, 000 20, 000 80, 000 (&) 400, 000 (0 (d) (e) (/) 50, 000 5,000 (&) 100, 000 180, 000 100, 000 100, 000 100, 000 :, 125, 000 (0 (g) 750, 000 1, 500, 000 (h) Ab't 7h.30m. Ab't 60 h. 24 h. 30 m. 35 h. 15 m. 48 li. 78 h. 25 m. 124 h. 30 m. 15 h. 15 m. 25 h. 30 m. 33 h. 62 h. 25 h. 15 h. 40 h. Ab't 121 h. 170 h. 30 m. 15 h. Si. 28 h. 12 h. 44 h. 53 h. 30 m. (0 15, 000 50, 000 150, 000 60, 000 30, 000 .54, 000 54, 000 70, 000 In charge of transfer. Ab't 10 h. Ab't 10 h. Ab't 4h. 30 m. Ab't 10 h. Ab't 6h. Ab't 10 h. Ab't 9h. Ab't 10 h. Jonathan Mason. J. Mason & Chester Green. Pvev. William Clift. Do. Do. Do. Do. James W. ^lilner. H. W. WeLsher. James W. Milner and J. Mason. Do. Jonathan Mason. J. H. Slack, M. D. James W. Milner and J. Mason. Livingston Stone and H. W. Welsher. Do. James W. Milner and J. Mason. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. William W. Fletcber, M. D., and W. A. Sanborn. Albert D. Hager and Chas. Barrett. Wm. W. Fletcher, M. D. Kobert Holmes. Eev. William Clift. E. M. Lees. Do. Oren Chase. Do. Monroe A. Green. (/) Several millions. (?) (fif) A few thousands. (/() Not on record, (i) A few shad. XC REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. I'ahle of the distribution of young shad By wliom conducted. 'Shatl-hatching stations where young shad were x)rocured. "Waters stocked with shad. Michigan Commission of Fish- eries. Do "Washington, D. C, Potomac River Coeymans N. Y., Hudson Ei ver Potomac River (a) Do do Do do do Lake Erie do eries. Do Do .... do Lake Michigan Bear Ri ver Do do Do do Sacramento River (a) Destined for Grand River, Michiijan. Finding that they were dying rapidly, the remaining living ones were put into the Potomac River. A trip of forty hours is too long for one man to attempt to carry shad successfully. REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XCl to the icatera of the United States — Continued. Name of city or village. O ri l~ 71 Ma 5^ 5-a "■i^ c ^ t-.'S In charge of transfer. Cumberland, Md Lansing, Mich. . . Monroe, Mich . . . Lan.sing, Mich... Cleveland, Ohio.. Toledo, Ohio Chicago, 111 , Ogden, Utah Tehama, Cal June 5,1873 June 17, 1873 June 28, 1873 June 28, 1873 June 20, 1871 June 20, 1871 June 21, 1871 June 23, 1871 June 26, 1871 50, 000 80, 000 ]■ 12, 000 < 10, 000 80, 000 50, 000 200 (6) 200 200 10, 000 Ab't 9h. Abt 45 h. Ab't 44 h. > 25 h. 45 m. 51 h. 104 h. 184 h. N. W. Clark. K". 'W. Clark and George Clark. George H. Jerome and Oren Chase. 1 j !> Seth Green. (6) Not stated. XCll EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AKD FISEEEIElS. o o 0 ' ,_ c ^ ,0^ ^ 0000 o o > ^ £ 0 • rt 0 " ' . 0 0 0 0 oo ii ^ 0 a o-c ■6 'C 0 0 0 0 0~i0" cT a c in 5 T 0 i" a J3 j-'o-od'o" o - 0 g CS ^ CJ 0-. in CJ ■V.M. •S.I9^ ia c t 0. a '^'' c X ^ c ■ 0 =2 jiias [luqs Sauo^ o 3 ft O 5 m 5 r^ in' < ITi c ' o oo O O O O r - T. 0 000 0 o o o 6 c 0 = o o o O o o o 7^ ^<' - 0 CO 0 0 0 -9J •peeeai pi!qs Sanoi "1- CO ^ o" o-o" o" 5 in oo o i; fct en ; li oi-' co- in t- 0 OrH in § in o" o" '-- -t|< ; >in 00 co"-^" ^ o o o 000c c 0 0 ^ 00000 (3 o o ^ 0000 0 0 c 00000 O o o o 0000 c 00 0 00000 •sS,? 9 JO jgqninx o" o'o" o" o c 1- §sg"^" f 1^' IaO" CO l~ CO 0 S¥ssi T-4 -^ ^ 00 ma C£ rH 0 in CO CO t-i- in (rf fff - f r- 1- t- CO t- > O. C8 X> Old QC ,^00 r- in CO C5 -^ CO ■ CS o o -js f — o 1' t- 52 O) 1 t- •i >.> ^ i. ■> ^-^-ir-p _>-. >~. >) >: >>^>-->^a a S ^ " a s ^ a a 0 <1 ^ ^ h^ ►:; t^ >:; Hj Hjl- H l-5*-5l-5^ ■^, l-sl-5 1-5 *-5 1-5 i-5 1-5 (-5 l-B — T-lif5t-0''"» O-H O-t 0 — 0 c. CO in -J coooi-Hinoot'OO 01 rt ^ S -H U rt (TJ (H rt 01 — HJ CJ rt CJ ,-( rH CI rt •"iiinniSgg I £ C ^ S p a S-c a §1 §§|>--^&^-> 0 S a t- -i rS a © - K I, -. ce-- a -§ > c I c d ^■5 ^ c c ^ 0 c £ 1 3 ft A r; !^ d 1 ^ 1^ < -^ C5 0 0 KH ; ;_g ; _^ si ^^i'&o -< c c c3 a ~ o 'O £ .i 0 z _c c i c c a 1 = c s 0 c J c4 S 5 * o o a c ,© 1 Us : -c C ■^ ■c h-t 'C ri-c "5 3 3 O d "S S ci r "a >< "§ n a: > 1^ c ^ "A Ci ca O llglljl !«.= < l1 "^1 03 0 C c c to C 0 c i = c ^ 0 c JO s c t: j: 1 3 'C'S'C 0 •p i ill CO GO re r^ 00 ac c 0— -N 0 -^ 0 COOOOiO^OJCOCO UtJ9i i^ o I- '-0 CD i:;: « r- i— f- 1- i^ t- t-cocoi^r-i-f-t- CO ao GO 'Xi 00 cc onSo X oc 00 X OOOOGOXCDQOXIX) 5 1:2 1 i-i a il !0 m £ja § .s ■p .2 0 .2 0.3 ao a 11^ gS ill § . © m S ^ ® o 1 a 0 a s K t IS r= ;z; ^ 1 'i^ CONTENTS. Page. REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER. (Table of contents precedes report) .... i APPENDIX A.— THE FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES, AND THE SPE- CIES OF COREGONUS OR WHITE-FISH ciii I. Report on the fisheries of the great lakes ; the result of inquiries PROSECUTED IN 1871 AND 1872. By Jaiues W. Milner. (Table- of contents on p. 77) - 1 II. Miscellaneous notes and correspondence relative to the white- fish 79 A. The white-fish of the great lalies 79 1. Lake Superior 79 2. Lakes Erie and Ontario HO B. The whlte-lish of Eastern Maine and New Brunswick. B^^ Charles Lau- nian 84 C. Descriptions of new species of coregonus and argyrosomus. By Jaiues W. Milner 8G 1. Argijrosomus hoyi Gill. Cisco of Lake Michigan 8G 2. Argyrosomus nigripiunis Gill. Black-fin 87 Coregonus conesii 88 APPENDIX B.— THE SALMON AND THE TROUT, (species of Salmo) 89 III. On the North American species of salmon and trout. By George Suckley, surgeon, United States Army, (written in 1861) 91 Introductory note 91 Tabulated list of species 92 1. Salmo scouleri Rich. ; hook-nosed salmon 94 2. Salmo ]}rotcus Pallas ; h nmp-backed salmon 97 3. Salmo cooperi Sucklej' ; Cooper's salmon 99 4. Salmo dermaUnns Rich 100 5. Salmo consuetus Rich 101 6. Salmo cams Suckley ; dog-salmon 101 7. Salmo sa/flr Linn. ; common salmon 104 8. Salmo qui nn at Hich..; quinnat or Sacramento salmon 105 9. Salmo coiiflucntus Suckley ; Towalt salmon 109 10. Salmo aurora Giv .• 110 11. Salmo argyrcus Gir 110 12. Salmo paucideiis Rich. ; weak-toothed salmon Ill 13. Salmo tsuppiteh Rich. ; white salmon Ill 14. Salmo clarkii Rich. ; Clark's salmon 112 15. Salmo munaculatus &tovev; the unspotted salmon 113 16. Salmo gairdncri Hich. I Gairdner's salmon 114 17. Salmo trunoat us Suckley; square-tailed salmon. 115 18. Salmo richardi Suckley ; suk-kegh 117 19. Salmo camphelll SncVilej ; Pacific red-spotted salmon-trout IIB 20. Salmo hudsonicus Suckley ; Hudson's Bay trout 119 21. Salmo rosnii Rich. ; Ross' Arctic salmon 120 22. Salmo hparnHRlch.; Coppermine River salmon 121 23. Salmo alipes Rich.. ; long-finned char 121 XCIV CONTENTS. APPENDIX B— Continued. III. On the North American species of salmon and trout — Continued. 24. Salmo nitidus Rich. ; the angnialook 122 25. Salmo fontinalis Mitch. ; brook-trout of the Atlantic coast 123 26. Salmo iridea G'lhhows, ] Pacific brook-trout 129 27. iSa/momasoHi Suckley ; Mason's trout 134 28. Salmo virginaUs Gir. ; Utah trout 135 29. Salmo lewisi Gir. ; Lewis's trout 139 30. Salmo brevicauda Suckley ; short-tailed trout 140 31. Salmo gibbsii Snckley ; Columbia salmon-trout 141 32. Salmo sebago Gir. ; the Sebago tron t 143 33. Salmo kennerlyi Suckley ; Kennerly's trout 145 34. Salmo warreni Suckley; Warren's trout 147 35. Salmo bairdil ^ac]s.\eY \ Baird's river-trout 148 36. Sfl?;Ho prt/7i-et Suckley ; Parke's river-trout 149 37. Salmo oqaassa Gir. ; blue-back trout 50 38. Salmo namaycush Fennant; Mackinaw or salmon trout 151 39. Salmo coufuiis DeKay ; lake-trout 153 40. Salmo siscowet Agiiss. ; the siscowet 156 41. Salmo symmetrica Fvescott; Winuipiseogee trout 157 42. Salmo lioodii Rich. ; Hood's salmon 159 43. Salmo newberryi Gir 159 IV. The salmon of the Danube, or the Hucho, {Salmo hucho,) and its in- troduction INTO American waters. By Rudolph Hessel 161 V. Improvement in the salmon-fisiieries of Sweden, (extract from the report of the Royal Swedish lutendaut of Fisheries, 1868) 166 VI: Report of operations during 1872 at the United States hatching- establishment ON THE McCLOUD RiVER, AND ON THE CALIFORNIA SaL- MONIDiE GENERAJXY, WITH A LIST OF SPECIMENS COLLECTED. By Living- stou Stone 16^ A. Introductory remarks 168 1. The salmon-hatching establishment on the McCloud River 168 2. The location of the sal mou-breeding station on the McCloud River = 170 3. Oianges proposed for another season 170 4. Why more salmon-eggs were not obtained in 1872 171 5. Conditions of hatching salmon in California compared with similar operations at the East 171 6. Catching the salmon on the McCloud 171 7. Taking the eggs 172 8. The eggs of the Sacramento River salmon 173 9. The hatching-apparatus 173 10. Packing and shipping the eggs 174 B. The Salmonidw of the Sacramento River 17.''> 11. The Sacramento River , 175 12. The McCloud River 176 13. The McCloud River Indians 177 14. The climate of the McCloud River 179 15. The Sacramento salmon in general 179 16. General movements of the Sacramento salmon in the lower parts of the river 180 17. General movements, &c., of the Sacramento salmon in the McCloud River 181 CONTENTS. XCV Pago. APPENDIX B— Continued. VI. Hatching-establishment on the McCloud EI^^!:K — Continued. B. The Salmonida; of the Sacramento River — Continued. 18. Condition of the salmon darinnj their stay in the McCloud Eiver 182 Table showing the movements, conditions, &c.. of the Sacra- mento salmon in the MoClond Eiver la each mouth of the year 183 Table showing the condition of the ova of the salmon at the headwaters of the Little Sacramento, (Mount Shasta;) at the Lower McCloud ; at Tehama ; at Rio Vista and Sacramento City ; and at Eel River, Humboldt County, California 183 19. Answers to queries concerning the Sacramento salmon given in the order of Professor Baird's printed list of questions enti- tled "Questions relative to the food-fishes of the United States " 184 A. Name 184 B. Distribution 184 C. Abundance 185 D. Size 185 E. Migration and movements 186 F. Eelationships 1^9 G. Food 190 H. Reproduction ...w 190 I. Artificial culture 193 K. Protection 193 L, Diseases 194 M. Parasites 194 N. Capture 194 O. Economical value and application 195 20. Other SalmonidiB of the Sacramento Eiver 197 21. Other Salmonidaj of the McCloud Eiver 197 22. List of Indian words of the McCloud dialect 197 C. Catalogue of natural-history specimens, collected on the Pacific slope in 1872, by Livingston Stone, for the United States Fish Commission.. . 200 VII. Notes on the salmon of the Miramichi Efs^er. By Livingston Stone. 216 Fragmentary notes 217 VIII. The Salmonid^ of Eastern Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. By Charles Lanmau 219 1. The brook-trout, {Salnio fontinalis) 219 2. The great gray-trout or togue, ( Salmo toma) 220 3. The white sea-trout, (Salmo immacidatus) 221 4. The salmon, (Salmo salar) 223 5. The American smelt, ( Osmerus mordax) 224 6. "Xhe capelin, (Mallotua villosus) 225 IX. On the S.VLMON OF Eastern North Ajierica, and its artificial CULTURE. By Charles G. Atkins. (Table of contents on p. 336) 226 X. On the salmon of Maine. By A. C. Hamlin . .- 338 1. The laud-locked salmon ^^^ 2. The togue ^^4 XL The LAKE-TROUTS. By A. Leith Adams, M. A., «&:c . ^57 XII. On the speckled trout of Utah Lake. By Dr. H. C. Yarrow, U. S. A., SURGEON AND NATURALIST, &C 363 XIII. Miscellaneous notes and correspondence kelative to sai.:\ion AND trout 369 XCVl CONTENTS. Page. APPENDIX B— Continued. XIII. Miscellaneous notes, &c. — Continued. A. On the salmon in Maine. By Thomas Lincoln 369 B. On the stomachs of salmon and their contents 371 1. On the cajcal appendages of the stomach. By James K. Thacher 371 2. On the contents of the stomach. By S. I. Smith 371 C. On the silver-trout of Monadnock Lake. By Thos. E. Hatch, M. D 372 D. On the edible qualities of the Sacramento salmon. By S. R.Throckmorton 373 E. On the saluion-tisheries of the Sacramento River. By Livingston Stone 374 1. Drift-net fishing 374 2. Fyke-net fishing 378 3. Sweep-seine fishing 378 XIV. Additional reports relative to the hatching and planting of THE Penobscot salmon 380 A. Now Hampshire 380 B. New Jersey 381 C. Pennsylvania 382 D. Ohio 382 E. Wisconsin 383 APPENDIX C— THE SHAD AND ALEWIFE, (species of Clupeidie) 385 XV. Letters referring to experiments of W. C. Daniell, M. D., in in- troducing SHAD INTO THE AlAIJAMA RiVER 387 XVI. Letters referring to the presence of shad in the rivers tribu- tary TO the Gulf op Mexico 391 XVII. Report of a reconnaisance of the shad-rivers south of the POTOMAC By H. C. Yarrow, M. D 396 1. Introductory remarks 396 2. Great decrease of fish in Georgia 396 3. Decrease in North Carolina 398 4. Contrivances that capture all the fish 401 XVIII. Report on shad-hatching operations 403 A. Operations in 1872 403 B. Operations in 1873 406 1. The Savannah, Neuse, and Roanoke River.s 406 2. The Delaware River. By J. H. Slack, M. D 409 3. Report on the transfer of shad from the Hudson to the Sacra- mento River. By Livingston Stone 413 4. On shad-hatchiug operations by the commissioners of the State of Maine. By E. M. Stilwell 417 XIX. Report on the propagation op the shad, (Alosa sapidissijia,) and its introduction into new waters, by the United States Commis- sioner in 1873. By James W. Milner 419 1. Shad-hatching an important discoverj' 419 2. Plan of operations 419 3. Operations on the Savannah, Neuse, and Roanoke Rivers 419 4. Operations on the Potomac River 420 Table — shad-hatchiug on the Potomac River, Jackson City, Va., opposite Washington, D. C, in the year 1873 425 5. Methods employed in shad-hatching 425 6. Relation of the temperature of the water to the propagation of the shad 428 7. The ovaries and ova of the shad 430 CONTENTS. XCVll rage. APPENDIX C— Contiuued. XIX. Report ox the pkopagatiox of shad— Continued. 8. The male fish 431 9. The impregnation of sbad-eggs 432 10. The Susquehanna, Delaware, and Hudson Rivers 433 11. Journal of a trip with shad and eels to Calnmet River, Illinois. 434 12. Shipment of shad and eels to the Fox River, Wisconsin 437 13. Shipment of shad to Ashtabula River, Ohio 437 14. Shipment of shad to the Wabash River, Indiana 438 15. Shipment of shad to the waters of Lake Champiain, Vermont. 439 16. Shipment of shad to the Housatouic River, Connecticut 439 17. Shipment of shad to the Penobscot River, Maine 440 18. Establishment of station on the Androscoggin River, Maine. .. 440 l\). Second shipment of shad to the waters of Lake Champiain, Vt. 441 20. Shipment of shad to the Detroit and Grand Rivers, Michigan.. 441 Table of distribution of shad and eels 442 21. Mode of estimating numbers of eggs and fish 442 22. The care of young shad during transportation 443 a. The apparatus 443 i. The care of the fish 444 c. Water adapted to young fish 445 d. Temperature of the water in the cans 447 e. Transferring the shad from the cans to the river 447 /. Facilities required from the railroads 448 23. Possibility of stocking the great lakes with shad 449 24. Popularity of the work of the commission 450 XX. Notes ox the natural history of the shad and alewife 452 A. Notes on the shad as observed at Beaufort Harbor, North Carolina, and vicinity. By H. C. Yarrow, M.D 452 B. Notes on the shad as observed in the Delaware River. By J. H. Slack, M. D. 457 1. The importance of the shad as a food-fish 457 2. The decrease in the Delaware 457 3. The causes of decrease 457 a. Erection of dams 4.58 I). Destruction of fry 4.58 0. Destruction of seed-fishes 459 d. Destruction of impregnated ova 459 4. Habits of shad in the sjjaw^niug-season 459 C. The shad and gaspereau or alewife of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. By Charles Lanman 461 1. Tlie shad 461 2. The gaspereau or alewife 462 APPENDIX D.— FISH-CULTURE, (the history, theory, and practice of fish- culture) 463 XXI. The history of fish-culture 465 A. The history of fish-culture in Europe, from its earlier record to 1354. By Jules Haiuie 465 B. Report on the progress of pisciculture in Russia. By Theodore Soudakiivicz 493 1. The decrease of food-fishes 493 2. Pisciculture 495 3. Selection of male and female fish 497 4. The fecundation of spawn 498 5. The incubation of sjiawn 499 S. Mis. 74 VII XCVlll CONTENTS. APPENDIX D— Coutiuued. ^!^^^' XXI. The history op fish-culture — Continnerl. B. Report on the progress of pisciculture in Eussia — Continued. 6. Development of the embryo, and the hatching of fish 501 7. Transportation of spawn 503 8. Piscicultural establishment at Nikolsky 504 9. Piscicultural establishment at Suwalki , 511 10. Pisciculture in Finland 512 C. Report on the state of pisciculture in Franco and the neighboring coun- tries. By M. Bouchon-Braudely, assistant secretary of the college of France 513 1. Introductory remarks 513 2. Switzerland 514 3. Italy 518 4. Austria 518 .5. Munich 520 6. The great basins of France 522 D. The progress offish-culture in the United States. By James W. Milner. 523 1. The methods employed in fish-culture 523 2. Transfer of living fishes 524 The pike or pickerel 524 The muskellungo 524 The black bass and Oswego bass 525 The wall-eyed or glass-eyed pike 526 The eel .' 526 Thealewife 527 The smelt 527 The white-fish 527 The sahnon or lake-trout 528 The brook-trout 528 3. The transfer of naturally-deposited eggs 528 Spawning-races 528 Hatching from the offal of dead fishes 529 4. Artificial fecundation 530 Introductory remarks 530 The brook -trout 535 The salmon 538 Theshad 543 The white-fish 545 The Otsego bass 552 The salaiou-trout 552 The striped bass 553 List of species in North America and Europe which have been hatched artificially 554 List of hybrids in Europe and America which have been hatched 555 . Advances in fish-culture of American origin 555 Systematic records of observation required for rapid advance- ment in the art 558 E. Alphabetical list of American fish-culturists and of persons known as being interested in fish-culture 558 1. Names of persons who are or have been practically engaged in fish-culture 558 2. List of persons interested in the subject 561 CONTENTS. XCIX Paac. APPENDIX D— Continued. XXII. Papers relating to practical fish-culture 5(57 A. Method of treating adhesive eggs of certain fishes, especially of the CyprinidiB, in artificial propagation. By Rudolph Hessel 567 B. On the so-called "dry" method of impregnating spawn. By Alexander Stenzel, Inspector of fisheries in Silesia, German j^ 571 C. Fish-culture in salt or brackish waters. By Theodore Lyman, Fish- commissioner of Massachusetts.. 575 D. Descriptions of improved apparatus in fish-hatching 578 1. Shad hatching or floating boxes , 578 Seth Green's box 578 Brackett's box 579 Stil well and Atkins's box 579 2. Tray-apparatus for hatching 580 Holton's tray-hatching apparatus 580 Clark's tray-hatching apparatus 582 Williamson's hatching-box 585 3. The brook-shanty 586 E. Frog-culture, by Seth Green 587 1. How to get the spawn 587 2. How to take care of them 587 APPENDIX E.— OBSTPtUCTIONS TO THE UPWARD MOVEMENT OF FISHES IN STREAMS, AND THE REMEDY 589 XXni. On fish-ways. By Charles G. Atkins 591 A. Introductory remarks 591 B. Habits of migratory fishes 591 C. The construction and location of fish-ways 594 1. Situation 594 2. Attractiveness 596 3. Ease of ascent 601 D. Devices which are in use or have been proposed 603 1. Gap 604 2. Trench or Cape Cod fish-way 604 3. Oblique groove 605 4. Step-fish-ways 606 5. Smith's fish-way 607 6. Call's fish-way 608 7. Pike's fis h -way 609 8. Steck's fish-way 610 9. Inclined-plane fish-ways 610 10. The Pennsylvania fish-ways 610 11. The common rectangular fish-way 611 12. Brackett's fish-way 612 13. Fish-ways with oblique partitions 613 14. General arrangement 614 E. Subsidiary considerations 615 1. Protection against floods 615 2. Material and cost 615 XXIV. On OBSTltUCTIONS TO THE ASCENT OF FISH IN CERTAIN lUVERS 617 A. Obstructions in the rivers of Maine. By E. M. Stil well 617 Saint Croix River 617 Penmaqiian River 617 Denuys River 617 / C CONTENTS. Page. APPENDIX E— Continued. XXIV. On obstructions to the ascent op pish— Continued. A. Obstructions in the rivers of Maine — Continued. Orange River 618 East Machias River 618 Machias River 618 Wescongus or Pleasant River 618 Narraguagus River 618 Union River 618 Penobscot River and tributaries 618 Saint George River 619 Medomac River 619 Daniariscotta River 619 Sheepscot River 619 Kennebec and tributaries 619 Presumpscot River 621 Saco River and tributaries 621 Mousara River 621 Salmon Falls River 621 B. Obstructions in the tributaries of Lake Champlaiu. By M. C. Edmunds. 622 Lake Champlain 622 Saint Lawrence River and Lake Ontario 627 C. Obstructions in some of the rivers of Virginia. By M. McKennie 629 D. Character of the streams on the northern shore of Lake Michigan. By J. F. Ingalls 630 Peusaukee River 630 Oconto River 630 Peshtigo River , 630 Menonionee River 630 Cedar River 631 Barque River 631 Ford River 631 Escanaba River 631 Whitefish River 632 Sturgeon and Fish Dam Rivers 632 Monistique River 632 Seul Choix River 632 E. Characters of some of the northern tributaries of Lake Michigan. By James W. Milner 632 APPENDIX F.— NATURAL HISTORY 635 XXV. The Crustacea of the fresh waters of the United States. By Sidney I. Smith 637 A. Synopsisof the higher fresh-water Crustacea of the Northern United States 637 Macrura 637 Fanaily Astacidie 637 Famil}^ Paltemonidaj 640 Family Penoeidaj 642 Schizopoda , 642 Family Mysidre 642 Amphipoda 64.5 Family Orchestidie 645 Family Lysianassidas 647 Family Gammaridre 651 Isopoda 657 Family Asellidre 657 CONTENTS. CI Page. APPENDIX F— Continued. XXV. The Crustacea of fresh waters of the United States — Continued. B. The crustacean parasites of the fresh- water fishes of the United States.. 661 Faruily Argulidfe 662 Family Caligid* 662 Family Lernteopodidae 662 Family LernjBoceridse 665 XXVI. Synopsis of the North American fresh-water leeches. By A. E. Veirill 666 Genus Macrobdella 667 Genus Aulastomum 670 Genus Democedes 671 Genus Semiscolex 671 Genus Hesabdella 672 Genus Nephelopsis 673 Genus Nephelis 675 Genus Clepsine 677 Genus Cystobranchus 685 Genus Ichthyobdella 686 Genus Astacobdella 688 Genus Liostomum 688 Genus Hirudo 688 Genus Oxyptychus 689 Genus Centropygus 689 XXVII. Sketch of the invertebrate fauna of Lake Superior. By Sidney I. Smith 690 Account of field work and material obtained 690 Articulata 693 Insects .: 693 Diptera 693 Neuroptera 693 Acarina 694 Crustacea 694 Podophthalmia 694 Tetradecapoda 694 Amphipoda 694 Isopoda 695 Entomastraca 695 Cladocera 695 Ostracoda 696 Coiiepoda 697 Siphonostoma 697 Worms 697 Oligochaita 697 Bdellodea 699 Turbellaria 700 MoUusca 700 Gastropoda 700 Lamellibranchiata 703 Radiata 705 Bathymetrical distribution of species 706 XXVIII. Food of fresh- water fishes. By Sidney I. Smith 708 2 Cll CONTENTS. APPENDIX F-Continued. XXIX. Natural AND economical history of the gourami, (Ospliromenus goraniy.) By Theodore Gill 710 A. Natural history 710 Prefatory 710 Name 711 Form, &c 711 Geographical range '. 712 Size 712 Growth, and age 712 Station and teraijeratiire 713 Table of atmospheric temperatures of native and foster countries of the gourami 714 Food 715 Movements 716 Spawning and nesting 716 Young 717 Flesh 717 B. The introduction and attempts to introduce the gourami into foreign countries 718 Authorities 718 East Indian Islands 718 Island of Mauritius 718 Island of Bourbon or Reunion 718 West Indies 719 France 72 1 Algeria 725 Australia 725 Cape of Good Hope 726 Egypt 726 Conclusions 726 C. Rules for transportation and introduction 727 XXX. Notes on the grayling (Thymallus) of North America. By James W. Miluer 729 APPENDIX G.— MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS 743 XXXI. Temperature in the Gulf of Mexico, from records of the United States Coast-Survey' 745 XXXII. Correspondence with companies relative to facilities in transportation, etc 749 XXXIII. Reports of special conferences with American Fish-Cultur- isTs' Association and State commissioners of fisheries 757 A. Meeting at Boston, June 13,1872 757 B. Meeting at New York, October 17, 1872 763 XXXIV. Bibliography of reports of fishery-commissions. By Theodore Gill 774 A. Names of commissioners 774 B. Bibliography of reports 775 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 785 GENERAL INDEX 791 APPEXDIX A. THE FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES, AXD THE (SPECIES OF COREGONUS OR WHITE FISH.) I -REPORT ON THE FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES ; THE RE- SULT OF INQUIRIES PROSECUTED IN 1871 AND 1872. By Ja:\ies W. Milxer. A— INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 1.— 'OUTLINE OF OPERATIONS. In carryiug out the work allotted to me in the region of the great lakes, in 1871, 1 made a tour of the entire shore of Lake Michigan and the islands, visiting nearly every fishing locality, gathering testimony of the fishermen as to the present condition of the fisheries, its compari- son with former years, the kinds of nets in use and their effect on the numbers of the fish, and the opinion of the net-owners as to the influence of protective legislation. The visit to the fishing-grounds afforded op- portunities for acquiring information in the modes of fishing, the spe^ cies captured, and some knowledgef of their habits, of which I availed myself as far as I could. A collection was made, embracing nearly all the species of the lake, which was, unfortunately, lost with the building of the Academy of Sciences in the great fire of that year in Chicago. On being notified by you that the revenue-steamer Johnson vrould afford facilities for dredging, I went on board with a dredging outfit in Septem- ber, after returning from the north shore of the lake, and remained with the steamer during a cruise of two weeks, dredging whenever it was- possible, though the stormy weather during the trip prevented as exten- sive work as was desirable. Enough was done, however, to obtain a knowledge of the general distribution of invertebrate forms throughout all depths, and a collection of crustaceans, uiollusks, and insect larvse secured, which met| the same fate as the collection of fishes in the fire,. The late Dr. Stimjison had previously identified most of the species as. the same as those of his own collection on a dredging expedition in 1870. The general distribution of white-fish food throughout the lake^ bottom was sufficiently^ established. Iq 1872 localities on Lake Superior were visited, a collection of the fishes obtained, and ample notes of their habits recorded. The fisheries of Detroit River and a portion of Lake Erie were examined, and informa- tion gathered with reference to fishing-interests, and specimens of the fishes preserved. From Detroit River a quantity of white-fish spawn was. obtained and impregnated and placed in the troughs of Mr. N. "W. Clark's* hatching-house at Clarkston, Mich., with which gentleman a contract S. Mis. 71 1 2 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. was made for their care until ready to be turned into tlie waters. Anangenients were also made with Mr. ]Sr. W. Clark, and Mr. H. F. Dousman, of Waterville, Wis., for the care of the salmon-eggs fiu-nished for the States of Michigan and Wisconsin. A correspondence was opened with gentlemen of Wisconsin, who used their influence in obtaining a sufficient appropriation from the State for the expenses attending the introduction of salmon into its waters. Dr. J. W. Hoyt, Dr. I. A. Lapham, Hon. L. J. Far well, and Mr. H. F. Dous- man cordially assisted the movement and obtained the required aid. During the legislative session of Michigan, by invitation from those interested, I visited the capital, and afforded such information as had been obtained with reference to the fisheries, and at the request of the chairman of the house committee drew np a biU for the appointment of commissioners of fisheries for the State. During the session an ap- propriation of $15,000 was made to defray expenses of propagating food- fishes in order to increase their numbers. An attempt was made to interest all the States bordering on the lakes in the matter of protecting the fisheries, most of them having had the subject presented in some form previously. Letters addressed to the Governors were referred to the i)roper committees in the legislatures. In Ohio and Indiana the question came up in one form or another during the winter session. Illinois, though possessing a small extent of lake- coast, and having a large interest in the fish-sales of the Chicago market, has not yet taken the matter into special consideration. The fish-dealers of the lakes were addressed, either in person or by letter, and as full statistics of the catch of 1872 obtained as possible, in order that the importance of the interest might be better understood. 2. — ACKNOWLEDGMENTS OF ASSISTANCE RENDERED. I desire to refer to Mr. William D. Palmer, of Chicago, and Capt. Sam, uel Clement, of Waukegan, 111. ; Capt. E. Butlin and Mr. William Wright of the Goodrich steamer-line ; Dr. I. A. Lapham, of Milwaukee, and Mr. H. F. Dousmau, of Waterville, Wis. ; Mr. George Clark, of Ecorse^ Mr. J. P. Clark, of Detroit, and Mr. X. W. Clark, of Clarkston, Mich., for various assistances and traveling-passes, materially lessening the expenses of the work; to Mr. E. W. Blatchford, of Chicago, 111., for the use of instruments for deep-sea work and a complete set of nets; to Capt. David Evans and his officers, of the revenue-marine service, for their cordial assistance during the dredging- trip; to Mr. J. L. lugalls, of Waukegan, III., for valuable aid in obtaining information through a long extent of shore that would otherwise have required a personal visit; and to many others who afforded information and support to this work. In the following pages will be found the statistics of the catch of one year, conclusions with reference to the decrease of the food-fishes, the methods to be adopted for their restoration, the economical and natural MILNER — FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 3 history of the more important species, and the general resuUs of the work of the past two years. B— GENERAL CONSIDERATIOXS OX THE LAKE-FISHERIES. 3. — INVESTMENT IN THE FISHERIES. The fisheries of the lakes are an industrial interest of large extent and considerable commercial value, of which little is known except among those directly interested. Back from the lakes the very prevalent idea is that fisbing is an un- l)rofitable employment for an irregular class of men who eke out a meager subsistence from year to year by this pursuit. Though the risks and uncertainties of this vocation make the yearly income very variable, the investments of fishermen in their stocks are quite respectable sums, and compare favorably with the farming-communities, being all the way from three hundred to twenty thousand dollars, their sales reaching in some instances as high as $7,000 from their own nets. This refers to those men only who actually superintend their own fisheries. A few dealers who furnish the nets on shares sell five or six times as much in a year. iSTor is there any truth in the aspersion on the class of men, who are industrious, hard-working citizens, and, considering the hard- ships and exposures incident to their calling, singularly free from the habit of hard drinking. • The fishiug-stocks are necessarily a less stable investment than farm- ing-lands, liable to frequent loss and injury, and as the success of a fishing-season depends much on the character of the weather, there is of course uncertainty in the yearly income. The same as in other vocations, the alternation of abundance and scarcity does not develop the provident faculty that accumulates prop- erty", for though as a class not given to dissipation, they spend their money freely for comfort and good living when the fishing is prosper- ous. In spite of all these unfavorable conditions many attain com- fortable circumstances. The investment of fishermen and net-owners by itself is not inconsid- erable. Under your instructions last year I visited nearly all the fishing-ports on Lake Michigan, and made an accurate count of the fishing-stocks owned and used on the lake. In the following pages are given the statistics of permanent invest- ment, of the number of men employed, and their wages, for the year 1871. Investment in fishing-stocks on Lalce Michigan in 1871. 281 ponnd-net.s, average value $506 $140, 500 1-02 gill-nets, "heavy-rigs," average value $725 73, 950 348 gill-nets, " liglit-rigs," average value $225 78, 300 98 boats, average value $500 49, 000 348 Mackinaw boats, average value $100 34, 800 4 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 143 ponnd^net boats, average value $50 $7, 150 100 anchor-boats, average value $25 2, 500 4 steam fisMng-boats, average value $1,8(K) 7, 200 1 schooner 3, 000 500 shanties, average value $50 25, 000 100 ice-houses, average value $100 10, 000 Total of fishing investment 431,400 The current working capital employed in the fisheries, omitting wages, atid including packages, inspection, salt, ice, freightage, and repairs, is a large sum of money, probably as much as $150,000. The number of men employed by the nets of each kind is very uni- form. For three pound-nets, a crew of five men is necessary, while where but one or two are employed, at least four men are required. The " lieavy-rig'' gill-net stocks, working a large boat, and four and five gangs of nets, with from twenty-five to thirty-six nets to the gang, have five, or six men to the crew. The "light-rigs," with .a 22-foot " Mackinaw boat,"' and three or four gangs of from eight to twenty nets, have a crew of two or three men. It will be observed that the boat is the unit of a fishing-stock. It is so considered among gill-netters, as they speak of so many boats "light-rig," or "heavy-rig," in a locality. It has not been adopted among the pound-net men, though it would apply nearly as well. Though the number of boats represents the number of separate es- tablishments, they do not, however, correctly number the proprietors. There are net-owners on the lakes who have from twenty to thirty thousand dollars invested in nets, and who furnish nets and full outfit to as many as forty establishments, in the "light-rig" gill-net fisheries: the fishermen, in the parlance of the lakes, " filling" the furnished half- barrels on shares. On Lake Brie there are net-owners who employ a sufiicient number of men to run forty pound-nets, paying wages and receiving all the fish. On the other hand, the majority of establishments, managed by the owners, are partnership concerns. Out of about two thousand men engaged in the fisheries of Lake Michigan, but a few more than half are men receiving wages, and some of these are the minor sous of the proprietors. The time for which the men are hired varies in different localities. In a large region of the lake-fishing, the season lasts from seven to eight months. As early as the month of April, before navigation has opened, the fishing-boats are plying daily from their harbors to the fishing-grounds, often finding the mn of fish plentiful at this season. In 1871, many of the fishermen began the season before the middle of March. In the fall they prolong the work late into November and even December, and in very open winters, from a few ports, nets have been set, within MILNER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 5 three or four miles of the shore, every month ia the winter, continuing the fishing throughout the year. Where fishing through the ice is carried on, men are employed for winter work. On Lake Michigan, in 1S71, the summer fishing in the vicinity of Waukegau, 111., afforded employment to about forty-four men dur- ing three months of the year ; the spring and fall fisheries of the lake employed about eleven hundred and eighty men during five months ; the year fishing employed about seven hundred and sixty-five during about seven months; in all, about one thousand nine hundred and eighty- nine men, of whom only about nine hundred men received wages. The total outlay was about $180,000 in the season. 4. — THE EXTENT OF THE LAKE-FISHERIES. ^o attempt at obtaining any very complete statistics of the product of the lake-fisheries has hitherto been made, and in the census reports of the United States few and fragmentary figures of this large interest have been given. A complete exhibit, or one as complete as may be made of most of the market commodities, would be difficult to obtain, as a large amount of fish is used in the local demand in the vicinity of the fisheries, which is sold directly by the fishermen to residents, ped- dlers, and traders on steamers, and no account of it is kept. The tables of steamers and vessels are also supplied in this way. There are also a large number of small dealers, who keep no books, receiving and sell- ing fresh fish in lake cities. So that of a large amount of the fish caught no record is made ; and of the quantities taken reliable statis- tics of not more than about seventy per cent, can be obtained. The handling of the lake-fish on the market employs quite an amount of capital. Large warehouses are necessary for storage and the assort- ing and inspection of the fish, and are to be found in all of the larger cities. In the salt-fish trade, great quantities of salt come a second time into demand, for use in repacking. Of late years a process of freezing has been resorted to for the ship- ment of fresh fish. This process has been patented, and the right sold in all the important cities on the lakes. Large freezing and preserving bouses have been erected, and hundreds of tons of fish are frozen while fresh, and shipped in this condition to Xew York, Washington, Cincin- nati, Saint Louis, Omaha, and intervening cities. Many of the dealers employ small steamers in visiting the fisheries, and gathering in the fish that are salted on the shore. For the purpose of showing the extent of the fisheries, and their value as a commercial and food resource, we have attempted, since the close of the fishing-season, to obtain an exhibit of the catch of the year, as complete as possible, for the whole extent of the lakes. Though most of the dealers responded cheerfully to the application for figures from their books, a few failed to comply, and the tables are 6 KEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. in consequence deficient of some large quantities bandied by dealers in such places as Toledo, Ohio, and Detroit, Mich., and in a few points of lesser importance. The sales in Cleveland are large enough to compare with those of Sandusky, Buifalo, and Chicago, but the amounts obtained from that city, though cheerfully aftbrded by all who had them at command, are those only from original points, directly from the net-owners, and the gross sales were not in our possession. By far the larger proportion of the catch of Lake Huron and Lake Superior finds its way into the markets of which we have aftbrded statistics,. and the deficiency of the sum-total of their catch will be what has been shipped into the interior of the State. From these causes probably fifteen j)er cent, of the quantities put upon the market are not in the tables, while the local consumption before referred to, would add still more to the totals ; in all, perhaps, twenty-five per cent. 5. — STATISTICS FOR THE YEAR 1872. The fishes in the tables are classified according to the system adopted at Sandusky, Toledo, and Cleveland. This system includes under " hard fish" the wall-eyed pike, called pickerel on Lake Erie, ^Stizostedion ameri- cana Cuv. and Val. ; the black-bass, Micropterus nigricans Cuv.; and the Micropterus salmoides (Lac.) Gill, mss.; the \ake-i)ike, Usow lucius Lin.; the muskellunge, Esox nobilior Thomps.; the salmon-trout, Salnio namay- cusTi Penn. ; and the white-fish, Coregonus alhus Les. The skinned cat- fishes, selling for the highest prices in the market, are also included. Under the head of "soft fish" are comprised the sauger, Stizosfedion grisca DeKay; the white-bass, Roccus chrysops (Raf.) Gill; the suckers, Catostomns communis Les. ; C. anreolvs Les., C. melanops JKaf., and the carp, Carpiodes cyprinus Les. "Mixed fish" includes both kinds. * Statistics of the number of pounds of lake-fishes received by first hand- lers for the year 1872. Place. Hard fish. Mixed fish. Soft fish. Lake herring. Sturgeon. Salt fish. 11,725 1 471 023 78, 000 Buffalo, K. y 656,530 3, 008, 009 Erie Pa 193, 446 187, 498 27, 820 1,016,843 1, 646, 315 85, 000 197, 891 1,263,095 2, 346, 100 471, 468 54, 460 501, 046 12, 000 76, 603 883, 505 160, 880 25,000 98, 207 1, 560, 249 146, 600 913, 252 1, 080, 400 21, 000 135, 240 1, 750, 000 394, 405 720, 500 Toledo Ohio 1, 800, 000 662, 000 852, 306 4, 712, 198 18,800 17, 784 167, 673 25, 147 2, 519, 500 Inthehull.sof vessels frozen 270, 000 1 Total 13, 640, 927 1, 153, 205 2,387,808 1 4.122.621 745, 647 10, 199, 800 *A11 quantities exchanged bet-ween the places named, after being recorded for their original market, are deducted from the receipts of the subsequent cue. t The figures opposite Sandusky include both the fresh and salt fish. J Inoonaplete. § Obtained only through newspaper sources. MILNER — FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. T The sum-total of this incomplete record is 32,250,000 pounds of fish, with a value of $1,600,000. The two ports handling the largest amount of fish are Chicago, 111., and Buffalo, X. Y. Their relative figures are shown below : riac^. Hard fisli. Mixed ash. Soft fish. Lake herring. Sturgeon. Salt fish. Total. Value. Bnffalo N. T. . 2, 42>!, 750 937, 350 17, 784 3, 008. 000 2, 519, 500 6, 374. 100 7, 461, 104 1333, 625 08 414, 717 5') Chicago, lU-.-l 4,712,198 1 18, 800 167, 673 25, 147 Sandusky, Ohio, Detroit, Mich., and Cleveland, Ohio, would also show large figures in their gross sales. The table of statistics, as it shows in most cases only the original quantities received from fishermen and markets not recorded, of course does not exhibit the entire business of the different places. C— CHARACTER OFTHE FISHIXGINDIFEERENTLOCALITIES. The seasons and methods of fishing vary very much in different locali- ties. Slight differences in market demands at various points influence the capture of certain species. Difference in depth of shore- waters con- trols the range of some kinds of fishes. The season varies somewhat in different parts of the lakes, while the number of nets and men to the boat, as well as the size of the boats, is dependent on numerous conditions. 6. — IN LAKE SUPERIOR. In Lake Superior, within the bays and among the islands, the pound- nets are used. The bold shores of the greater part of the lake will al- ways prevent the use of these nets to any very injurious extent; though, from the local habit of the white-fish, some of the best localities may be - come depopulated. The principal fisheries are in the region of the Apostle Islands and at White-Fish Point. In both places pound-nets are in use, but the gill- nets are, thus far, used in greater number. The other fishing-localities of consequence this season were at Grand Island, Marquette, islands to the east of Keweenaw Point, and Superior City. The Canadian fislie ries, except those of Michipicoten Island, are principally under the Hudson Bay Company's control, at Michipicoten River, the Pie, and at St. Ignace Island, and are all gill-net fisheries. 7. — IN LAKE MICHIGAN. As the fisheries of Lake Michigan were worked up in detail in the year 1871, a description of the character of the fishing in difterent localities may be valuable for the light it may afford as to the neces- sity of discrimination in legislating for different regions. « REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Begiuning at South Chicago, near the head of the lake, there were teij pound-nets, distributed along about eleven miles of coast, lying three miles to the north and eight miles to the south of the Calumet Eiver. Unlike pound-net men in other portions of the lake, they here seek to catch every variety of fish, finding sale to the i^eddlers of every- thing but the dog-fish, Amia calva Lin. At Chicago there were six boats fishing with trot-iiues off the mouth ■of the river ; their catch being almost entirely the perch, Perca JJaves- ■aens. One man is employed during the season at Milwaukee catching bait, shipping tubs full of minnows daily. There has been no net-fishing here for years, the few experiments made proving failures. It is quite possible, now the filthy current of the river no longer flows into the lake, that there may be some success with nets. At Evanston, the pound-net fishing was of very much the same char- acter as at Calumet. At both points they have a spring and fall season, taking out the nets in hot weather, when the fish leave the shoal waters. From Lake Forest and Waukegan to the Wisconsin line were twenty- ■seven pound-nets, fishingfor both the fresh and salt fish markets. In this region comparatively few fishes are taken other than the white-fish. One proprietor has built a smoke-house, preparing and boxing the smaller white-fishes for the Chicago market, where they are sold as smoked herring. If there were no other objection to the capture of the small white-fish, thantheir useless destruction, this could be easily remedied "by disposing of them in this way, as they find a quick and profitable sale, the demand being far in excess of the supply. The season here is different from most other parts of the lake. Instead of a spring and fall season, with an interim of two months, in which the nets are taken out, the fishing, beginning late in May, lasts until the first week in September; the fisheries having their greatest run during the months in which the least fishing is done at inost points on the lake. It will be observed that in Illiuois's share of the lake-shore no fishing :is done, save with pound-nets. It is not likely that gill-net fishing w.ould be undertaken here if pound-nets were prohibited, as it would Ib€ too hazardous of life and property. Gill-net fishing is adapted only :to a coast with good boat-harbors, or at any rate favorable lees, as in Mgh winds, driving heavy seas on the shore, there is great difliculty in landing, and often when there is not sufficient sea outside to prevent taking up the nets, it is very difficult to launch a boat tbat would expe- irieuce no inconvenience when once fairly out from shore ; so that nets from a shore like this often remain out for days, while a few miles off from a harbor the boats run out and take up every day. Frequently •they are caught in a gale when outside, and are obliged to run for "Siarbors twenty or thirty miles to the north or south because of the dan- ger they would incur in beaching. The large number of deserted fish- MILKER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 9 iag-shanties along the beach, on the east shore of the lake, attests the impracticability of gill-net fishing from a lee shore. In this extent of shore there is no spawning-ground known for either the trout or the white-fish, though the fishing is not carried on sufficiently late in the season to find the species named upon their spawning beds. From Kenosha to Sheboygan are some thirty boats, working the " large gill-net rigs," having from five to six gangs to the boat, and from twenty to thirty nets to the gang, making the string of nets a mile or more in length, and requiring a crew of five men. They run out from shore from eight to twenty miles, according to the range of the white-fish and trout at different seasons. The boats used in this region are principally what are called the " square stern." At Kenosha five of the boats are " ]S"orwegiaus," and one a steamer, remodeled from a large " Huron boat." At Milwaukee, for a time, the most of the boats were the sloop-rigged " Norwegians," afterwards abandoned, and the square stern adopted ; and during the past year small steamers were substituted for some of these. On this line of coast, and farther north, where steamers land daily, the bulk of the catch is shipped fresh, in ice-boxes, to the Chicago dealers. In the northern half of this extent of shore there are some twenty- four pound-nets, for the most part packing their fish, as the steamers do not land at the points where they are located. The catch throughout this region is almost wholly white-fish and trout, the gill-nets in the spring and fall taking a quantity of "law- yers,"iyoto maculosa, that are thrown away as useless, except where a small local demand is supplied in the towns. The spawning- grounds begin to the southward of Eaciue, Wis., and are found northward along the whole extent of shore. At Two Elvers, and north to the islands, the boats are " Mackinaws," working the lighter rigs of gill-nets, with from eight to twenty nets to the gang, and three or four gangs to the boat, with a crew of from two to three men, and running out from shore seldom more than seven or eight miles. This is the character of the fishing with gill-nets — after excepting the Door Islands, where a few steamers and large sail-b(iats are used — for Green Bay and its islands, the north shore, the Beaver, Fox, and Manitou groups of islands, and the east shore of the lake, as far south as Manistee. The gill-net catch, throughout this line of coast, is little else than white-fish and trout, except in Grand Traverse Bay, where the black-fin, Goregomis nigripinnis Gill, (Mss.) is found abundant. At Point aux Barques and Seul Choix Point, a large type of the Coregonus albi(s is taken, feeding principally on the Mysida. Fishes of eight, ten, and twelve pounds are common in every lift, while as high 10 REPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. as eighteen pounds are claimed to be occasionally taken. Gill-nets with a mesh of live inches are in common use in this vicinity. The pound-nets, from the head of Green Bay as far north as Pesh- tigo, take little else that are made use of but lake-herring. A few pickerel and wall-eyed pike — dories, as they are called here — are packed, while sturgeon are thrown away. From Peshtigo, north, the catch is ijriucipally white-fisb, with a few trout, pike, and sturgeon. In this region of shoal waters these nets are frequently set four and five miles from shore, some of them in forty- five feet of water. The west shore of Green Bay is the great pound-net region of the lake, about ninety pound-nets having been in use the past season. Green Bay is the home of the wall-eyed pike, or dory, Stizostedioii americana — as they are here in larger numbers than in auj other i)art of the lake. The sturgeon are taken in great abundance in this region, and are almost universally destroyed. They come into the nets in great num- bers in the early fall, and are pulled into the boats with the gaft'-hook, and thrown upon the offal-heap. A pound-net, one long leader with a pound at each end, was set at about six miles from the land, off Big Bay de Koquet, on a 36-foot shoal. The proprietors owned a small schooner, which they kept an- chored alongside. They did remarkably well, catching a large grade of fish. From Seul Choix Point, eastward to Mackinaw, and southward to Little Traverse, Michigan, the pound-nets are used with success. In Grand Traverse Bay, and at Leland, they succeed during the fall sea- son ; but from this point south, along the east shore of the lake, pound- net fishing has proved an entire failure and has been abandoned. From Manistee, south to Michigan City, the larger gill-net rigs again come into use, with four and five men to the boat. The fishing is done from seven to ten miles from the shore, until, near Saint Joseph, the "run out" reaches from twenty to twenty-five miles. There is no spawning- ground from Saint Joseph southward, and consequently no late fall fishing. From Manistee, south, the bulk of the fish caught are packed in ice and shipped f»esh to Chicago, and a few to the interior of Michigan. In the winter season, after the surface of the water in Green Bay has frozen to a sufficient thickness, the fishing is again begun to a limited extent. Holes are cut through the ice, with chisels made tor the pur- pose, and baited hooks are lowered, in hopes of finding a school of trout in the locality. If unsuccessful, other holes are cut at a distance apart? until the fish are found, when they are hauled out as fast as they bite, a fisherman taking from twenty-five to seventy-five a day, weighing from one hundred to three hundred and fifty pounds, which are hauled home at night on a hand-sled. MILNER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 11 Gill-nets are set beneath the ice, by cutting holes a rod or more apart, and sliding aline along from one hole to another, until the desired dis- tance is attained, when a gang of nets is attached and drawn through. The fisherman has a shanty, placed on runners, with a section of the floor removed, and with a good fire in the stove, within a few feet of him, he lifts his nets and removes the fish, entirely protected from the weather. During the past winter, a pound-net was allowed to freeze into the ice, and a shanty built over the crib, or pot, so that it could be lifted through the opening, daily, without inconvenience. 8. — IN LAKE HURON. On the greater part of the American side of the Lake Huron shores the fishing is done with gill-nets. There are a number of pound-nets in use in iSaginaw and Thunder Bays, and a few at other localities. Seine- fishing for the wall-eyed pike is done on a large scale near Bay City,' Mich., on Saginaw Bay. Except at the northern end of the lake, the large Huron boat is used in the gill-net fishing, and gangs of from thirty to sixty nets are set at from eight to twenty-five miles from shore. At the northern end of the lake the Mackinaw boat is used, with fewer nets. The fisheries of Saginaw Bay are somewhat unique in character. Gill- nets are set in the ordinary season from the shores near tbe entrance of the bay. Pound-nets are numerous on both shores up to the mouth of the river 5 as many as two hundred have been in use at once. Close to the mouth of the river are the seining-grounds. Four or five 80-rod seines are in use on each side. On the one side where the current sweeps shoreward they are made of coarse twine and have heavily leaded lines, and are strong enough to carry ashore slabs, logs, and everything found in their way. The seine is laid out up-stream, and the current sweeps it on the shore below, when lines are made fast to the bag and it is drawn out by means of a 2-horse windlass. On the oppo- site shore, where the current sweeps out, there is the necessity for lighter seines and heavy leads, as there is a tendency to lift the lead-line from the bottom and allow the fish to escape underneath ; a difiiculty that jg said to have never been entirely obviated. » As soon as the ice leaves the river in the spring, the sehies are swept over the grounds, and usually immense quantities of wall-eyed pike, Stis- ostedion americana, are taken ; several tons are sometimes secured in a single haul, and the result of the seasons' fishing is often two thousand packages. The fishing only lasts about three weeks. The pound-nets take a variety of species. The wall-eyed pike is the more numerous species, and the white-fish next. The fall fishing is said to be the more important for this class of nets. The winter fishing is very extensive. Holes are cut through the ice and gill-nets are set, pound-nets are allowed to freeze in, keeping only the 12 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. surface of the crib open. Wooden " Im^e-fish" are used attracting the Mackinaw trout to tlie holes, where they are taken with the spear. Tem- porary houses are built upon the ice, until quite a village grows up, and traders take out small stocks of goods and establish stores. There is the most evident reduction of the quantities of fish taken throughout the shores of this lake within a short term of years. 9. — IN SAINT CLAIR AND DETROIT RIVERS. At the head of Saint Clair River, large fisheries were in operation several years ago, but the enterprise has gradually diminished, as the fish be- came fewer in numbers, until now three or four, fisheries have the fish- ing-privileges almost entirely to themselves. Between the mouth of Detroit River and the city are a number of fisheries, employing a large immber of men in the fall of the year, and j)roving as lucrative to their proprietors as any fisheries on the lakes. The ^^ Ponds ^' of Detroit River. These fisheries, known as ponds, are among the most extensive estab- lishments of the lake. Large numbers of white-fish are kept alive in them, from the fall of the year to late in the winter, when they are taken out, and sold in the market at good prices. The best ponds are situ- ated at islands in the middle of the river, where there is an ample cir- culation of water, keeping the fisli in vigorous, healthy condition for months. The pond is merely an inclosiu'e in the river, made by driving piles close together, and afterward sheathing the inside with planks, leaving joints of three-quarters of an inch width, to allow the free circidation of water through the pond. At one end of the pond a gate is put in, hinged at the bottom of the river to a mud-sill, and the upper portion, floating at an angle of about 45°, projects a foot or more above the sur- face, closing the entrance to the pond. By pushing the gate beneath the surface, with a pole, it is opened to the extent of one, two, three, or more feet, according to the depth the top of the gate is pushed down. The accompanying plate represents one of the best arranged and conducted fisheries on Detroit River. The buildings for the men, the net-house, and the store-house, with the windlass- sheds, are all in view. It will be seen that the fishing is carried on by sweeping a seine in front of the pond, that is drawn in by horse-power. When the brails come on shore the men haul in the seine until the bag is reached, when the leads are thrown over the top of the gate, which is then pushed down, leaving an open space at the surface, of two feet, through which the fish are emptied into the pond without being touched by the hand, or taken above water. At this fishery the seines in use are about one hundred rods long. A gang of thirty men are employed from September to the middle of November, working in two relays, night and day, and averaging about MILNEK FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 13 one sweep of the seine every hour. In each pond from twenty -five to forty thousand white-fishes, and a number of other species, are penned np every season. There are nine ponds belonging to American proprietors, and seven belonging to Canadians. 10. — IX LAKE ERIE. Lake Erie produces large quantities of food-fishes of several varie- ties. The wall-eyed pike — pickerel, as it is incorrectly named in the region — the blackbass, the white-fish, the lake-herring, the salmon- trout, and the sturgeon, are all staple fishes 5 while, besides these just named, a number of species of inferior food-fishes are shipped from the western portion of the lake, under the general class of " soft fish." The large quantities of fish that have been taken Irom the western part of this lake indicates the fact that shallow waters are more pro- ductive of numbers than the deeper regions. And this is not only estab-- lished by comparison with the other lakes, but is confirmed by the fact that the eastern, deeper, and larger portion of Lake Erie does not pre- duce anyhing near the quantities. The western end, from near Huron, Ohio, is shoal, full of islands, and a very great number of pound-nets are in use, the fish being carried to the adjacent towns ; Sandusky receiving the largest share. In the other part of the lake gill-nets are principally used. 11. — IN LAKE ONTARIO. From the information received from Lake Ontario, it is evident that the fisheries are more reduced than in either of the other lakes. There are few fishermen engaged on the American side, and but a compara- tively small supply of fish afforded. 12. — BOATS USED IN THE FISHERIES. The boats used in the fisheries are of several kinds and constructed on very different models. The "Mackinaw," the "Huron," or " square stern," the "Norwegian," and the "pound-boat," are the ordinary boats. The famous "Mackinaw" of the lakes has bow and stern sharp, a great deal of sheer, the greatest beam forward of amidships and tapers with little curve to the stern. She is either schooner-rig, or wjth a lug-sail forward, is fairly fast, the greatest surf-boat known, and with an ex- perienced boatman will ride out any storm, or, if necessary, beach with greater safety than any other boat. She is comparatively drj-, and her sharp stern prevents the shipment of water aft, when running with the sea. They have been longer and more extensively used on the upper lakes than any other boats, and with less loss of life or accident. The objection to the more general use of the Mackinaw is that her narrow- ness aft afibrds too little room for stowage. They are employed entirely with the light-rig gill-net stocks, and are usually from twenty-two to twenty-six feet in length. Lake Superior, the northern half of Lake 14 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Michigan,, and a large portion of Lake Huron, are the regions where they are in general use. The ''Huron" or "square stern" is the boat in most general favor where the large gill-net rigs are employed. It is the ordinary model of a schooner-rigged sail-boat, with less sheer than the Mackinaw, but with plenty of room for nets, fish, or half-barrels. The better models are faster than the Mackinaws. They are generally from thirty to forty feet in length; in most of the regions where they are employed the fishing is done much farther from shore than in the "light-rig" localities. An inquiry into the history of loss of life and accidents among the fishermen of Lake Michigan indicates that these boats had suffered the most, partly, no doubt, because of their longer runs out from shore. The "Norwegian" is a huge, unwieldy thing, with flaring bows, great sheer, high sides, and is sloop-rigged. She is absolutely dry in all weathers, and though perfectly safe, and with ample room, she is only nsed by the Scandinavian fishermen, most other fishermen objecting to her slowness and the great labor of rowing in time of a calm. These boats are in use in but very few localities. They are from thirty-five to forty feet in length. The pound-boats in use in the western end of Lake Erie are very well adapted to the purposes for w^hich they are employed. They are flat- l3ottomed, wide-beam, very simply-made boats, with a large center board, and carrying two very tall spars, and a wide spread of canvas. They are quite fast before the wind, and very roomy. They are used in transporting the fish from the nets to the warehouses and freezing houses. They are usually forty feet in length. The ordinary pound-net boat is flat-bottomed, is made from rough boards, and managed with oars only. The small steamers now used in a few localities are built much after the model of the small river-tugs, but with no upper works, and with wide hatchways extending along half the length of the deck. They ai?e used only with the heavy gill-net rigs. D— THE DECREASE OF THE FOOD-FISHES. The special investigation in reference to the decrease of the food- fishes was prosecuted among the fisheries of Lake Michigan. The im- pression prevails that there is an alarming diminution of the food-fishes of the lakes. This is the ordinary feeling among dealers, a majority of the fishermen, and the people generally. The supply of fish for the Chicago dealers has steadily increased with the demand, for a number of years, until this season. This is their tes- timony, and is evidenced by statistics of inspection, kept on file among the city's papers since 1854. This is to be attributed to the fact that the territory fished over has increased in this lake, and that, wherever the lines of steamers and railroads are extended, fisheries are established at new points. From Lake Superior, too, since regular communication MILNER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 15 lias been opened, a large amount of fish has been shipped to the Chicago market. 13. — THE EVIDENCES OF THE DECREASE. Statistics to prove decrease are hard to. find, as but few records are kept in the localities where the fish are caught; when they have been preserved they show an evident diminution. The summing up of shipments from the pier at Two Rivers, Wis., affords the following: 1867. Pounds. Fresh fish 332,000 Salt fish, 6,351 packages 635,100 1:!!68. Fresh fish 153,950 Salt fish, 4,679 packages 407,900 1869. Fresh fish...., 18.5,350 Salt fish, 3,661 packages 366,100 1870, Fresh fish 203,100 Salt fish, 2,811 packages 281,100 At this port the decrease has been fifty per cent, in four years. A firm in Mackinaw, receiving yearly a large amount offish, by reference to their books gave the following figiu'es, as totals of shipment: In 1869, 17,000 packages, of one hundred poimds each; in 1870, 13,000 packages; and though they had not carried out their records for 1871 , said they would fall very much short of the figures for 1870. The best evidence of decrease in the numbers of the fish is the testi- mony as to the few nets used formerly, with the same or greater success than is had now with about three times as many. Formerly, too, many of the nets were made of coarse cotton, not as well adapted for entan- gling a fish as fine linen twine ; the mesh used was one-fourth of an inch larger, and, it is claimed, the fishing was done much nearer shore. More labor, more expense, and more skill in the construction and use of nets are required now than formerly, and for the capture of a less quantity of fish. The white-fishes are smaller now than formerly ; in early times it is said that on an average fifty gill-net fishes would make a half-barrel ; now it requires about eightj' or ninety. Of the staple fishes taken in the lakes — white-fish, Coregonns albus ; trout, Sahno namaycush ; herring, Coregonus clnpeiformis — there has Iveen an evident decrease of the white-fish and the trout. Occasionally, after several years of small encouragement to the fish- eries, at some point hopes are revived by a heavy run of fish upon the shore. The investigation for decrease cannot be understood from the quantities of fish taken at isolated places; the fishes are not by any means distributed evenly throughout the lake, but range in large colonies 16 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. and run near the sliore at difl'erent points, while the majority of locali- ties may be entirely destitute of fish. 14. — WHEN THE DECREASE BEGAN. The.oldest fishermen I have met claim from twenty-five to twenty-eight years' fishing in the lake. They assert the fish to have been abundant, running in near shore, and that hauls of large quantities were made with the seine. The custom in many places was to employ the Indians to watch the sliore for a near run of fish, and when discovered draw the seine around tliem. Immense quantities were taken in this way. There are no recorded statistics that show a reliable calculation of dates, but the testimony of fishermen, dependent on their recollection of their purchases of nets and changes in their modes of fishing, places the beginning of a marked decrease within about ten years. 15. — THE AMOUNT OF DECREASE. • The amount of decrease, in the absence of statistics of capture, cannot be decided very definitely'. The records of shipments from Two Rivers, on a previous page, show a decrease of fifty per cent, in four years. The redaction in the number of boats at different localities, perha[)« indicates to some extent the amount of decrease in the fish. In 1858 there are said to have been thirty-three gill-net boats, fishing from Milwaukee, Wis. In 1871 there were but fourteen. Between Kenosha, Wis., and Chicago, 111., the ponnd-nets have diminished from thirty-six in 1869, to twenty-seven in 1871. At White-Fish Bay, Door County, Wisconsin, formerly an extensive fishing-ground, there are now but three pound-nets. A profitable fishery at North Bay is now entirely abandoned. The pound-net fishermen at Two Rivers complained of the scarcity of white-fish, and one asserted that a law prohibiting pound-net fishing would not be a very serious loss, in consideration of the poor success they had had for a few years. Compare this condition of things with the record of 18G4, in the report of Hon. Theodore Wendell to the Michigan legislature, in which, from four pounds, 2,800 half-barrels of fish were taken in White-Fish Bay, Wis., and with a few more nets a firm of fishermen, Sage & Douglas, took 4,000 half-barrels in the same region. The pound-net men generally acknowledge the^iecrease of the fish in their own localities, and attribute it to various causes. At Ausable, Mich., on Lake Huron, there are said to have been forty- two boats in 1865; while at present there are but six. The estimate of decrease, within safe calculations, is all of fifty per cent., which, in a period of ten or twelve years, is sufficiently large to be alarming. 16. — THE CAUSE OF THE DECREASE. If the take of fish, by nets of all kinds, is greater than the natural MILNER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 17 aunual iucrease, the numbers must of course diminish, and over-fishing is to be considered in investigating tlie causes of decrease. Still, it is veiy evident that much more wholesale causes than merely the num- ber of nets in use exist in the lakes, the principal one being the capture in large numbers of small fishes by the pound-nets. The taking of full-gro^^l, mature fishes, so long as all are preserved and used for food, cannof be questioned as a legitimate and rightful occupation. The capture of half-grown, immature fishes is less le- gitimate, not only from the fact that the number is diminished by the amount taken, but that the supply of full-gro^\'n fish in the waters through- out a term of years, being no greater than the demand, it is evident that if this demand is filled from half-grown individuals their numbers will diminish from year to year at an accelerating rate. And this ac- celerating ratio of loss is seen to be multiplied many times, when we take into consideration the fact that the supply is barely kept up if only those fishes are taken which are sufficiently^ matured to have spawned once or twice, while the destruction of fishes, too young to have spawned, must reduce the natural increase by perhaps hundreds in the death of each one. If every fish that had jjassed the precarious embryonic stages and developed into a thrifty swimmer of four or five ounces, had been al- lowed to mature, and to spawn once or twice before it was taken out of the water, the supply of white-fish would not have diminished to any great extent. The cai)ture of immature fishes is, without doubt, the principal cause of a decrease. The taking of fish in too large quantities to allow of handling and preservation, the destruction of fishes too small for use, or of others be- cause they are not in a special line of fishing followed by certain fisher- men, or the capture, when used, of those not old enough to spawn, are all entirely wrong and destructive to the fishing-interests. (IG a.) The pound-nets. — In observing the lifts of white-fish taken from the pound-nets during the spring and summer seasons of fishing, along the west shore, they were estimated to contain from one-twentieth to one- sixth of small fishes, that, when i>repared for salting, entrails and heads removed, would weigh less than eight ounces. These, among fishermen supplying the peddlers, are all made use of. A few fishermen prepare them by a slight salting and smoking, and sell them in boxes, as smoked herring, but the majority are compelled to bury them, as useless, as they are smaller than any grade recognized in the salt-fish market. The inspection-regulations of the Chicago market, that are accepted throughout Lake Michigan, provide for three grades of white-fish, with reference to size. The inspection is intrusted to the judgment of the inspectors without any very exact stipulations as to dimensions or weight of the different grades. S. Mis. 74 2 18 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISK AND FISHERIES. The standard of inspection, of the best inspectors, which is also ap- proved by most of the dealers, though not establishing the grade by weight, virtually makes the minimum weight of a No. 1 white-fish about one and one-quarter pounds ; a No. 2 fish, about three-quarters of a pound ; and the weight of a ISTo. 3 fish, from three-quarters of a pound to less; this is after the head and entrails are removed. On counting pound-net fish, as they were repacked by dealers, fish- ermen's uninspected packages, one hundred pounds, were found to con- tain from one hundred to one hundred and eighty fishes; in the latter case the fishes averaging less than nine ounces. Numbers of small fishes, weighing from five to six ounces, are found in the x)Ound-net packages. Certain localities, as the north shore of the lake^ have a large type of fish; but of pound-net white-fish, taken in a season, throughout this lake the average would not be above the No. 2 grade in weight. An advantage the pound-net has over the gill-net, or seine, iu warm weather, is, that in a large catch of fish it is possible to take out just such a quantity at a time as can be handled, leaving the rest alive, and fresh until it is convenient to return for them. In the gill-nets the lift must all be brought ashore at once, and what can be dressed and packed in a few hours are used, while the remainder spoil and have to be thrown away. Pound-net fish are generally superior to gill-net fish to ship fresh, because they are always fresh when put in the ice-boxes, while those from the gill-nets may have been dead twenty-four hours or more. (16 b.) The gill-nets. — The white fish taken in the gill-nets, in Lake Michigan, will average much higher than No. 2 fish. From reference to the books of dealers in Chicago, and an extended observation of the giU-uet fishing, it is evident that the entire catch of the lake would not give as low an average w^eight as one and one-quarter pounds. The in- spection of fishermen's shipments of gill-net fish seldom affords as low a proportion of No. 1 fish, as one-half. . The reasons for the larger size of the gill-net fish are in the fiicts re. ferred to on another page, in reference to the habit of the immature white-fish to remain near the shore, the least depth employed for the gill-nets, being twelve or fifteen fathoms, entirely outside of the range of the smaller white-fish. The giU-nets destroy a great many fish in time of storms, when the fishermen are not able to visit the nets for days at a time, two or three days being sufficient during the summer months for the fish to die and become tainted, when they are thrown overboard to rot on the fishing- grounds, making it offensive to the white-fish and driving them away. Tlie gill-nets, when they are lost, destr(5y fish by entangling them un- til the floats become water-logged and sink. They have been grappled up, two years afterwards, while searching for nets recently lost, full of decayed fish. This is quite an extensive agency of destruction, as a MILNER FISHERIES OF THE GRAAT LAKES. 19 great iiiauy gangs of nets are lost in tlie lake every year by heavy storms, and many in the late fall by being- left out until storms and ice prevent their recovery. A species of fish of good size aud really fair flavor is destroyed in large quantities in certain localities by the gill-nets, from the fact that there is no demand for it in the general market. This is the so-called " lawyer," the spotted burbot, Lota w««c«/osa, one of the family of Gadoids, to which belong the cod, the haddock, aud the ling, all well received in the market. The lawyer is rejected because of a prejudice against its appearance. The peddlers in Chicago, and the proprietors of fish- stands-'in Milwaukee, find no difficulty in selling it. The livers are very large, and are occasionally obtained in quantity, and regarded as a rare dish by experienced persons. (16 c.) Throwing offal on the fishing -grounds. — It is the uniform testi- mony of all fishermen that throwing offal or dead fish in the vicinity of the fishing-grounds is offensive to the white-fish, and drives him awa3\ The white-fish is peculiarly cleanly in its instincts, and has an aver- sion for muddy or foul water of any description. Mostitshermen regard their own interest sufficiently to be careful in this particular, while many careless and shiftless men injure themselves and others by dumping offal and dead fish anywhere in the lake where they find it convenient, reducing the catch of fish in the vicinity for several months. Unsal- able fishes are generaliy thrown overboard in the vicinity of the nets. (16 d.) PoJlntion of lal:e-ivater from sawdust. — The refuse from the saw- mills, slabs, sidings, and sawdust, is thrown into thestreams in immense quantities to float out and sink in the lake. It is having a very injurious effect upon the fisheries. The water-logged slabs, tilted on the bottom, and moved by currents, tear and carry away the nets. The sawdust covers the feeding and spawning grounds of the fish, and is so obnox* ions to them that in the vicinity of numerous mills, as at Muskegon, Mich., the fisheries become greatly reduced in numbers and success. The observations of Alfred Blais, a fishery-overseer in the employ of the Canadian marine and fisheries department, discovered the salmon- ova, diseased and decaying, with particles of sawdust adhering. Its contaminating effects extend far and wide from the vicinity of the mills, as the contents of a dredge, from one hundred fathoms depth, in Grand Traverse Ba^^, contained numerous blackened and decaying particles of sawdust. The gradual deposit of water-logged sawdust, an inert substance, in the water, with occasional slabs, forms nuclei for sand-bars in the mouths of the rivers, and in some of them will contribute to an injury to navigation, as it has to a considerable extent in the Menominee Kiver of Wisconsin and Michigan. E— PEACTICABLE METHODS OF INCEEASE. It is a matter of great importance that means should be imuiediately employed to arrest further decrease in the numbers of the lake-fishes, 20 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. and an effort be made to restore tliem to their former numerous con- dition. There are two methods that present themselves to accomplish this I)urpose. The more efficient one is artificial propagation ; the other^ necessary as an auxiliary to the first, is legislation. 17. — PROTECTIVE LEGISLATION. The experience of the past, both in Europe and the older portions ol our country, indicates the inadequacy of protective legislation in pre- venting the decrease and extermiuatiou of the food-fishes. In the compilation of the laws relating to the protection of fisheries in Massachusetts, published in the sixth annual report of the commis- sioners of inland fisheries of that State, there were three hundred and fifty-nine acts, passed by the legislature of the State between the years 1623 and 1857, involving directly the protection of the food-fishes. In 1857 the first provision for propagation was made. Until this time, though thelaw Jiad the influence to retard the decrease, it had not pre- vented it, and the salmon were exterminated, while the shad were reduced in numbers, until the fishiug was unprofitable, and their jirice in the market very high. The propagation of the shaIi0wn that by far the most important fish of the lakes is the white-fish. The fish culturists in the vicinity of the lakes, having the knowledge of the rapid decrease that had been going on in the numbers of this species for the past few years, appreciated the advantage that their art might afford should the white-fish prove to be adapted to their methods of culture. • Three prominent fish-culturists iu the vicinity of the lakes began their experiment about the same time : Mr. Seth Green of Rochester, 2Sr. Y. ;Mr. Xelson W. Clark, of Clarkston, Mich.; and Mr. Samuel Wilmot, of Newcastle, Ontario, Canada. Mr. Green and Mr. Wilmot obtained spawn iu the fall of 18G8, and Mr. Clark iu the fall of 1869, and treated them in the same manner as the brook-trout. These experiments Avere all attended with considerable success, though the large jiercentage of loss, compared with that in trout and salmon hatching, was anything but encouraging. The screens in the troughs, in most instances, were the same as those used for the trout, and the embryo white-fishes, being smaller, escaped and ran over into the waste- troughs, and down into tiie ponds below. This was in some measure a fortunate circumstance, at Mr. AYilmot's establishment, for the young fish, finding their natural food in the ponds, grew and thrived, and aftbrded the only positive data there are of their rate of growth. In the succeeding year Mr. Green and Mr. Clark made additional experiments, and from the experience of the preceding year, having learned the necessity of immediate attention to the white-fish eggs after they were placed in the troughs, began the work of removing the unimpregnated eggs within two or three days' time, and, giving them close attention, during the season hatched out a much larger percent- age of eggs. Mr. Green, in 1809, distributed a quantity of the white- fish spawn to numerous applicants who responded to an advertisement offering it for distribution. Some packages of spawn, from this sup- ply, were sent by steamer to Mr. Frank Buckland, inspector of salmon- 26 REFOET OF COMMIS.SIONER OF FI8H AND FISHERIES. fisheries for Great Britain. la referriug to the condition of the eggs, on tlieir arrival in London, he says, "A good proportion of the white- fish eggs were alive and well." Some temporary troughs were put up, in Detroit, Mich., and supplied with tbe ova, under the direction of Mr. A. M. Compeau, Mr. J. P. Cla'rk, Mr. George Clark, and Mr. James Craig. Experiments were again made by Mr. Green, Mr. Clark, and Mr. Wil- mot, in 1870. More than a million of ova were supplied by the liberality of Mr. J. P. Clark and George Clark, without expense, from their ponds in Detroit Kiver. Mr. Green also made experiments in the breeding of salmon-trout and lake-herring, with some success. In 1871 these gentlemen just referred to, from Detroit and vicinity, failing to arouse the interest of the State authorities in the matter of fish-propagation, to the extent they desired, furnished Mr. ]^. W. Clark, of Clarkston, with the necessary funds for the erection of a building, sixty-four feet in length by twenty in width, in which were put up twenty-six troughs, sixteen feet long and one foot wide. Tbe entire building was devoted to the hatching of white-fish, and the number of eggs laid down estimated at about one million. The experience of the previous years aided Mr. X. W. Clark to a most complete success, and by the 1st of April tlfte fish began hatching, and before the 13th of the month the troughs were swarming with young white-fishes. Be- tween the 20th and the 30th of April these were all distributed by Mr. Clark in a number of inland lakes in Oakland County, Michigan, and into the Detroit Eiver. Mr. Wilmot again procured about one-half million of white-fish eggs, which were handled v/ith improved success. Mr. Green gave less space to white-fish eggs this season, and laid down large quantities of salmon-trout ova, with the purpose of distribu- ting the trout in the inland w^aters of the State. In 1872 an employe of Mr. Green devised a new apparatus for hatch- ing fish, that economized space to a great extent, and aftbrded him room for a large supply of both salmon-trout and white-fish ova. Visit- ing his establishment in January last, w^e found them hatched out in large quantities, and orders arriving daily for the fry, to stock the waters of inland lakes in all parts of the State. Mr. Wilmot obtained a supply of white-fish spawn at Sandwicli, on the Canadian side of the Detroit Eiver. November 11th I met Mr. X. W. Clark at Ecorse, and in company with Mr. George Clark w^e visited Grassy Island for the purpose of ob- taining w hite-fish spawn. The box which Mr. ]^. W. Clark has devised for carrying ova is constructed so as to carry a greater quantity of eggs, with easier carriage, than any in present use. It is a large square can, of zinc, about thirteen inches square and tvrenty-two inches deep. This, for protection, is set inside of a strong wooden box, with a light frame in the bottom, supported on stiff s]nniigs. Strong handles are MILNER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 27 fasteued to the box, for conveuieuce iu bandliag, and to preveut any necessity for throwing it out of level while carrying it. The zinc can contains ten trays, each of which carries fifty-four small boxes, two inches square and two inches deep, set in compai-tmeuts, each compart- ment having an inch hole cut iu the center. The partitions between the compartments are just high enough (about five-eighths of an inch) to inclose the bottom of a box, and hold it firmly in its place. Ko covers are provided for the boxes, but a large cover can be fitted to the zinc can, and a lid, with a good lock, is fittetl to the outside box. The bot- toms of all the little boxes are perforated, the position of the holes being directly over the circular hole in the compartment of the tray. The ziiic can has also holes in the bottom, and the wooden box has three-quarter inch holes bored on each side, near the bottom, so that there is drainage for the surplus water of all the boxes, and a free cir- culation of air throughout, which is deemed important by some of the fish-culturists. At the island the most perfect arrangements were provided by Mr. George Clark for obtaining the spawn. Two tanks of about five feet diameter M^ere placed at the edge of the shore and partly filled with water. As soon as the bag of the seine was on the beach the men l)icked up the white-fish and put them immediately into the tanks. The pans for impregnation were close at hand, and as one man lifted the fish above the water in a dip-net, another took it from the net, and with his right hand over the head of the fish and his left around the tail he held it over the pan, standing at the left of the operator. The left hand of the oi>erator was put against the back of the fish and the right hand used in manipulating the abdomen. It was found that to induce the eggs to flow freely from a fully ripe female, all that was necessary was to apply a gentle pressure just behind the pectoral fins, just where the nudging and bunting of the head of the male fish is applied while racing her through the warter. i-Tot until the greater part of the free eggs had fallen into the pan was it necessary to slide the hand along the abdomen. The free eggs came away in a steady, liquid stream, but from a fish partially ripe their extrusion was slow, and in masses com- paratively dry, that did not freely disengage themselves from the fish and fall into the pan. The female exhibited the most indications of pain when the pressure was applied in the vicinity of the ovipore. The milt from the male will flow in from one to three jets by pressure in tlie vicinity of the anus. The method employed by Mr. X. W. Clark was that which was origi- nal with Mr. Seth Green, using the smallest quantity of water possible. The eggs, after falling into the pan, and the milt having been stirred up with the water, were allowed to stand about half an hour, when the milt and water were poured off and the eggs carefully rinsed through several changes of water. A small ([uantity of water was left with the eggs when they were perfectly dean. 28 EEFORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. By repeated actual couut.s, and by arraiigiDg on a plate in a true square, it was found that a large table-spoon, moderately heaped up, contained about a thousand eggs. Eight ripe white-fish eggs will lie entirely within the space of an inch, and the ninth will lie i^artially across the line. A pat of moss was then i3ut into the cups and a piece of canton flan- nel, cut into the form of the Swiss cross, after thorongh saturation with water, was pressed lightly down into the cup, and a table-spoonful of eggs poured upon it. The canton flannel was used to line the sides of the boxes, because it was found that the contact of the zinc was fatal to the eggs, probably from the poisonous elements of the oxide. The patch of canton flannel proved to be a great convenience in taking out the eggs, as all that was necessary was to take the edges lightly in the fingers and remove it from the box, and dipping the cloth with the eggs into a pan of water, they were rinsed oif with a few quick mo.tious, without any tedious picking and rinsing the eggs free from particles of moss. In arranging the eggs for transportation for a short distance, the use of the cloth patches is undoubtedly a good method. After filling the boxes they were placed in the trays, and the trays adjusted within the zinc can, when water was poured on until the whole contents were thoroughly saturated, when the lid was closed and locked and the case was ready for transportation to the hatching-house. A small fee to the baggage-master excites considerable interest in. the safe handling of the box. Two trips were made from Ecorse to the hatching-house at Olarks- ton, and about one million three hundred and thirty thousand eggs were put into the troughs, Mr. Clark having increased the number of troughs to fifty for the purpose of receiving the extra supply of eggs. One-half of the eggs were the property of the commission, the other half to be controlled by Mr. J. P. Clark, of Detroit, Mr. George Clark, of Ecorse, and Mr. N. W. Clark, of Clarkston. The eggs received at- tention from the second day after they wertf placed in the troughs until about the middle of January, the eyes of the embryo then showing dis- tinctly, and the subsequent loss being very small. Upon receipt of the instructions to ship a quantity of eggs to the State commissioners of California, a case similar to Mr. Clark's was made, substituting a good quality of tin for the zinc, and adding a sec- ond square can, large enough to contain the can with the trays and revented the possibility of obtaining moss, and a good quality of sponge was substituted. This was prepared, first, by whipping out .the calcareous dust that it contained, and, after being cut in thin slices, was thoroughly" washed MILNER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 21> throngli several changes of warm water. Pieces were then fitted to the bottom of the cups, and while standing in a pan of water, a half table- spoonful of eggs was poured in, a thin slice of sponge, fitting the inside of the cup, laid lightly over the eggs, and the remainder of the spoon- ful poured in, when a third piece of sponge v»'as put over them to cover them. The tray, with the cups, was then put into the inner can, which was placed withiu the second can, with one inch of sawdust filling the vacant space on the sides, bottom, and top. A piece of burlaps was tied over the top, and the whole placed upon the springs, within the packing-box, and the lid fastened down. The packing-box had two half- inch holes bored near the bottom to admit the air. The filling of saw- dust was considered as a necessary safeguard against the cold weather of the time. The case was put in charge of the baggage-master, and I accompa- nied it as far as Omaha, Xeb., attending' to its transfer from one train to another, and regulating its position in the car. At Omaha it was given in charge of the express company, and the messenger in- structed as to the effect of heat and cold upon the eggs, and a letter containing full instructions sent with the box to be delivered to the mes- senger at Ogden, where the box was transferred to his care, there being no further change of messenger between that and San Francisco, Cal. On two sides of the box, in distinct letters, was printed the caution, " Fish-eggs ; must not be jolted or allowed to freeze." The weather continued cold throughout the time the eggs were on the way, and they arrived at their destination in very bad condition. Mr. Stone attributed the damage to the use of sponge, and the sawdust- l)acking i^reventiug ventilation. Mr. Rudolph Hessel, an experienced fish-culturistof Oflfenburg, Germany, while visiting Washington, informed me that he had used sponge for packing eggs for long distances with en- tire success. The lack of ventilation is a more probable cause, though the description given by Mr. Buckland of the method of packing the eggs received from Seth Green's establishment in January, 1870, was similar in the fact that the cups containing the moss and eggs were buried in the sawdust. A small quantity, received from Mr. N. W. Clark, at the Smithsonian Institute this winter, was packed in the same manner, using^ sponge and burying the cups in a pail of sawdust, and they were found to be all alive after a fifty hours' journey. The necessity of a certain supply of oxygen to the eggs has been very thoroughly proven by the researches of W. H. Ransom, M. D., of Xottiug- ham, England, published in the first volume of the Journal of Anatomy and Physiology. The ex^^eriments were made while investigating the nature of the rhythmic contractions of the yelk, known to occur in the living eggs of fishes. Among several experiments, in which, by inge- nious methods, the oxygen of the atmosphere was kept from contact with the eggs, those of the stickleback being employed, he relates as fol- lows : 30 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. ''I tberefore made a series of suffocative experiments on im])regiiated and nuimpreguated eggs, using aerated distilled water in cells, all of tlie capacity of .05 cubic inch, [sealing the covers with hot wax, and varying the number of eggs in .each cell. "Five observations were made with unin^pregnatad eggi}, having, respectively, 35, 30, 18, 9, and 7 eggs in a cell; and although, in conse- quence of the accidental loosening of the wax, and the entrance of a little bubble of air, the duration of the contractions was not in all cases inversely as the number of ova in the cells, yet the general result was that both the rhythmic contraction and the pseudo cleavage continued longer in the cells containing the smaller number of ova, the eggs which lay nearest to the air-bubble always being the last to cease to move; the accidental failure of the luting affording thus additional evidence of the importance of oxygen. In all the cells the contraction ceased in from 23 to 30 hours, or one-fourth of the time they continued in aerated water and unlimited space. Five similar observations were made on impregnated eggs, with 48, 38, 17, 10, and 7 eggs in each cell, with similar but more marked results; the yelk-contrac- tions ceasing earlier than in the uuimpregnated ova. The cleavage was more rapidly checked than the pseudo cleavage, and still more so than the yelk-contractions. "Seven experiments were then made to ascertain the relative depend- ence upon the presence of oxygen of the movements which result in cell multiplication and ditrcrentiatiou, and of the muscular contractions of the embryo compared with the yelk-contractions. "Two healthy developing ova were sealed in similar cells at 76, 101, 127, 150, and 174 hours each, after impregnation, and two free embryos at 24 anawning-gTound, while dredging in company with Mr. George Clark, at the close of the spawning-season, v,'ere found to be dead and white, or so coated and stained with the black ooze that they could not have survived. In the pond on Grassy Island, where as many as ten thousand female white-fish deposit their spawn in a season, we succeeded in taking between fifty and sixty embryo fishes, by draw- ing a seine lined with millinet, and a diligent search through several hours at the surface in the month of Aj^ril. In obviating all of these evils, artificial propagation asserts its ad- vantage, and though the number of eggs that may be handled is ex- ceedingly small compared with the millions sown by the fishes, yet the number of fishes produced may really exceed the present production in a state of nature. This assertion has amjile proof in the restoration of fishes in regions where they have been nearly exterminated, and even where no change was made in the restrictions upon the fishing that might have assisted the increase. The experience of the past few years has proved entirely the possi- bility of increasing the numbers of the white fish by artificial propa- gation. The running water in the troughs supplies the conditions re- quired by the eggs; the fertilization of the ova in the pan brings every egg in contact with the milt ; thej- lie undisturbed and free from injuri- ous sediment or filthy water ; the spawn-eaters have no access to them whatever, and the dead eggs are immediately removed from contact witli the living ones ; the young fish are under control in the troughs, until the ovisac is ab*sorbcd, when they are ready to be placed in their natural home, the cold waters of the northern lakes. S. Mis. 74 3 34 EEPOKT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. The experiments of Mr. Seth Green and Mr. K. W. Clark have re- duced the loss of the eggs to an inconsiderable number, and with a small outlay of money this fish may be restored with a success equal to that of the shad in the rivers of the Atlantic coast. The losses in the fry-stage merit consideration, though there is every evidence to believe that they are very small. One great advantage in favor of the young wl^ite-flsh is its strength and vigor almost from the time it leaves the egg, and its disposition to seek the surface, as observed in the troughs and where they were seen in their natural condition in Detroit Eiver. The piscivorous fishes of the lakes are to be found almost entirely in the lesser depths. Of these the -pike, Stizostedion americana, is the most destructive in the regions wiiere it is to be found in numbers. Their number, however, does not at all approach that of the spawn-eating herring, and it is not probable that the white-fish suffer from their vo- racity in the earliest stages of their growth, but after they have attained a couple of inches or more in length. The regions where the pike is nu- merous are the western end of Lake Erie, Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron, and Green Bay, Lake Michigan. The perch prevails in limited numbers throughout the whole extent of the lakes. The lake-trout is not found, within the range of the smaller white-fishes, in sulficieut numbers to do them much damage. The habit of the young embryos to seek the surface is also a protection to them. There is not in the lakes a single surface-feeding fish, except perhaps a few small Cyprinoids and a CJtirosioma, which are not piscivorous species. There is no savage feeder, such as the blue-fish, Pomatomus saUatrix, of the sea, that comes to the surface. So that at this stage of growth thej^ are comparatively safe. There are also large schools of the Cyprinoid family found in the lakes at the same season of the year as the small white-fishes, and from the month of June until late in the fall large schools of embryo fishes are found in the waters, principally Cyprinoids. So that there is abundance at all seasons of the year to supply the appetites of the piscivorous fishes besides the young white- fish, and they, of course, suft'er much less in consequence. The increase of shad on the sea-coast has resulted from turning loose the embryos, when but a few days from the egg, where the piscivorous fishes are numerous, and an increase of equal or greater rapidity may be looked for in the white-fish, with comparatively few dangers to encounter. (IS h.) Breeding of salmon-trout. — The breeding of the salmon-trout, Sahno namaycush, with the exception of the hatching of a few eggs by Mr. IsT. W. Clark, has been entirely in the hands of Mr. Seth Green, of Eochester, N. Y. His experiments extend from the fall of 1870 to the IDresent, with continued success. The past season eggs and youn^ of the salmon-trout were distributed to about seventy different persons, to stock the lakes of the State of New York. MILNER FISHEEIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 35 F— eco:nomical and natural history of the moee IMPORTANT FOOD-FISHES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 19. — Distribution of the species accordinq to depths. (19 a.) Vertebrate fauna. Observations of the net-fishing at different depths made the fact apparent that there are quite well defined ranges, with reference to depth, in the fauna of the lakes ; not that the lines are so distinct that fishes peculiar to a certain zone are not frequently found straying into the ones contiguous, but still so well defined that a fisherman of short experience, knowing the depths at which he is setting his net, can predict with confidence what species of fishes he will cap- tiu-e and what he is not at all likely to take. While a few of the deep- water fishes seldom or never approach the shore, there are many species, of the shallow^ waters, never taken in deep soundings. The migratory instinct of the spawning-season temporarily changes these habits in a few species, and there is considerable evidence to prove that the tem- perature of the water modifies the preferences of many fishes to certain depths. As one or two fishes of the deepest zone are the most constant in their attachment to their limited range, it will be as well to begin with the deeper water, in describing the ranges of the species. The fishes referred to are, a small Cottoid, the Triglopsis ihompsoni Gir.; and a Salmonoid, the hXiic^-f^n, Argyrosomiis mgriinnnis Gill, (Mss.) These fishes are most abundant in seventy fathoms and deeper, and are seldom taken, in the fishing-season, even in as great a depth as fifty fathoms. At Grand Haven, Mich., where a line of steamers keeps the harbor open throughout the winter, the fishermen take the black-fin in quantities, within thirty or forty fathoms, in the month of December. This fi.sh has thns far been found only in Lake Michigan. The Triglopsis is only known from specimens taken from the stomachs of larger fishes in Lakes Superior, Michigan, and Ontario. The remaining species, of which a few are sometimes found at the depth of seventy fathoms, are the lawyer. Lota maculosa Les., the salmon-trout, Salmo nama ycush J^enn.^ the siscowet, *SV(7mo siscoivet Agass.,the white-fish, Goregonus albus Les., and the cisco, (not the cisco of Lake Ontario,) Argyrosomus hoyi Gill, (Mss.) At fifty fathoms, the nets take the five species last named abundantly. This may be considered, in the deeper lakes, the zone of the Mack- inaw trout and of the cisco, throughout the spring, summer, and fall, with the exception, in the case of the trout, of the spawning-season. Between twenty und forty fathoms the gill-nets take the salmon, or Mackinaw trout, with a few lawyers and ciscos. From twenty fathoms to the shore are found the most numerous as- semblage of species: The lawyer, ioto maculosa Les., one or two small Cottoids, TJranidea franMini Agass., and U. richardsonii Agass. ; the sheepshead, Haploidonotus grunniens Raf ; the black-bass, Micropterus nigricans Cuv. and Val. and the small-mouthed black-bass, M. salmoides 36 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. (Lac.) Gili; the rock-bass, Amhloplites rupestris (Eaf.) Gill; the perch, Perca flavescens Guy.', the wall-eyed x)ike, Stizostedion americana, (Cuv. and Val. ;) the Sanger, S. grisea (DeKay ;) the blue-pike, sp. u. ; the white- bass, Boccus chrysops (Rat) Gill; four (?) species of Btheostomoids ; Chirostoma siocidum Cope; the sticklebacks, Gasterosteus inconstans Kirt.; G. nehulosus Agass., and G. pygmwus Agass.; the lake-pike, Esox lucms Lin.; the muskellunge, E. nohiUor Thomps.; the mud-minnow, Umbra limi (Kirt.) Gunth ; a few Oypriuodouts; Fercopsis guttatus, Agass.; the white-&sh, Cor ego n us alb us hes.; the Menominee white-iish, Coregonus quadr Hate rails Eich.; the lake-herrings, Argyrosomus clupei- formis Mitch., and A. harengus Eich.; the speckled-trout, Salmo fonti- nalis Mitch.; the moon-eye, Hyodon tergisus Les.; the saw-belly, Fomo- lobus chrysochloris Eaf.; the mullet-sucker, Ftychostomus aureolus (Les.) Agass.; the spotted-sucker, F. fasciatus (Les.;) the long-snouted sucker, C. hudsonius Les.; the common pink-sided sucker, Catostomus communis Les.; the black sucker, Hylomyzon nigricans (Les.,) Agass.; the carp, Carpiodes cyprinus (Les.,) Gunth., and eighteen (f) species of Cyprinoids; the bull-head, Amiurus catus, Lin.; the great lake cat-fish, Amiurus nigri- cans Les.; the fork-tailed cat-iish, Ictelurus cwrulescois Eaf.; the yellow back-tail, Noturusjiavus Eaf.; the dog-fish, Amia calva Lin.; the bill-fish or gur-inke^Lepidosteus osseus Lin., and L.platystomus Eaf.; the sturgeon, Acipenser rtibicundus Les., and the lamprey, Fetromyzon. In this zone is also found the Amphibian Menobranchus lateralis Say. It will be observed that the lawyer, the white-fish, and the lake- trout, are found in all depths in more or less abundance. This is a fact, not only in tiie spawning-season, but at all times. Tlie trout, however, are comparatively rare inside of a depth of about thirty fathoms in the deeper lakes, except during the spawning-season ; and the lawyers are only taken in quantities outside of forty fathoms in the spring of the year, (19 b.) Invertebrate fauna. The invertebrate fauna of the bottom has been investigated to a limited extent by dredgings. This work was initiated by the Chicago Academy of Sciences, in the year 1870, in the shallow water off Chicago Harbor. Dr. Stimpson re- ported finding but little life in this vicinity — insect larvte, a leech, small mollusks, mosses, and algne. Later in the season a tug was employed at Eacine, and a party, including Drs. Stimpson, Lapham, Andrews, Hoy, and Mr. E. W. Blatch- ford, made dredgings in from thirty to sixty-four fathoms, resulting in finding the lake-bottom thickly inhabited by two genera of small crustaceans, Mysis and Gammarus, a i>lanarian, and a small mollusk, of the genus Fisidium. The crustaceans were deteryiined by Dr. Stimp- son to be the same as those which Dr. P. E. Hoy had taken from the stomach of the white-fish, in a partially digested state. In August of 1871, under the direction of General C. B. Comstock, of MILNER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 37 the. lake survey, Professor S. I. Smith made extensive dredgiugs in Lake Superior, working out the bottom fauna very thoroughly, and discovering some fourteen new species of invertebrate life, and eleven other forms previously described, distributed from the shores out to one hundred and sixty-nine ftithoms in quite well-defined zones. In September of 1871, on receipt of the notification that the revenue- steamer Andrew Johnson had received instructions to afford facilities for the examination of the fauna of the lake-bottom, a small dredging- outfit was received on board, and as full collections made as the stormy weather of the trip permitted. Tbe Academy of Sciences of Chicago furnished a large part of the out- fit from their stores of apparatus; and Mr. E. W. Blatchford, of Chicago, supplied a quantity of lines and nets, among the rest a trawl-net used by him in collecting off the coast of Florida for the museum of the Chicago Academy. This apparatus, with the dredging-coUections of the trip, and the entire collections made on Lake Michigan, v/as burned, ■with the academy, in the great fire of that year. Dr. Stimpsou had previously worked up the collection, and identified the species as the same as those of his dredgiugs. The trawl-net was used in thirty fathoms in Grand Traverse Bay, but failed to take anything, as there are probably no fishes in the lakes, other than the smaller species, of so little activity as to be unable to escajle capture from a twelve-foot trawl. The dredgings were made in from twenty-six to one hundred and forty-four fathoms. The small forms of life were found to be abundant at all depths, and the bottom fauna was found to be quite uniform in the region of the lake examined. The different dredgings have made it evident that the invertebrate life of the bottom is all small forms, though so abundant as to afford food for unlimited numbers of fishes. The stomachs of the white-fishes examined in many localities were found gorged with the crustaceans and moUusks which they had found in the bed of the lake. Li the month of August, while making the tour of the northern shores of the lake, in a Mackinaw boa-t, the dredge was carried over to Torch Lake, in the Grand Traverse region of Michigan. This lake is nearly eighteen miles long, with an average width of two miles. It;/ outlet is first through*a shallow creek, then through two connecting lakes, and through a sharp and shallow rapid into the bay. Earlier in the season, with a roughly-prepared map in hand, I had sounded the lake through about eleven miles of its length, to determine its average depth, which was found to be forty fathoms, the deepest soundings being forty-five fathoms. The hauls of the dredge discovered the same species of invertebrates found in Lake Michigan. The fishes of Torch Lake are also the same as in the main lake, its transparent waters harboring none of the properly river or stream fishes. 38 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. The deep trough of Torch Lake is the eastern one of a series, with a general north and south direction, easily traceable in the United States Army engineers' chart of the north end of Lake Michigan, which forms a' notable feature in the submarine topography of the lake. Two other lakes in Michigan, in which the white-fish are said to make their home, are Crystal Lake, near Frankfort, and Higgins Lake, in Eoscommou County. There are also a few small lakes into which they have been introduced. L. J. Farwell, ex-governor of Wisconsin, introduced the white-fish into the lakes at Madison, in the year 1850. 20. — The salz^ign or mackinaw trout, 8almo namaymsh Penn. The trout of the great lakes is one of the three most numerous fishes, and, except the sturgeon, attains the greatest weight of any of the lake- fishes. It is captured almost exclusively by the gill-nets, the pound-nets in some portions of the lakes taking them during the spawning-season. In winter a great many are caught in the bays, through holes cut in the ice. They are found in all of the great lakes and in a few inland lakes in their vicinity. As compared with the white-fish, their merits as a fresh fisli are rela- tive to taste, though the greater number would decide in favor of the latter. Salted trout bring a lower price in the market than white-fish, as they are inferior to them as a salt fish. Their migrations, as far as observations have been made, are confined to the spawning-season. They do not ascend the rivers, and although they are known to be in a few inland lakes connected to the main lake by rapids, there seems to be no knowledge of their ever having been seen or taken in the outlets. Their range of depths at other seasons than the spawning-period is in deep water. A few stragglers occasionally approach the shore, and are taken in the pound-nets, or with the hook, from the piers extending into the lake. lu the northern portions of Lake Michigan they are taken in depths of fifteen fathoms, in small numbers, by the gill-nets, and more plentifully throflgh the ice in the winter time, though a depth of os-er thirty fathoms is the most favorable ground for their capture. In the shallow waters of Lake Erie, in the western part of the lake, they are scarcely found at all, though numerous in the deeper portion, east of the city of Cleveland. The lake-trout is a ravenous feeder. The fishermen say of him that " he always bites best when he is the fullest." In Lake Michigan, where the investigation of the character of their food was carefully made, it was found to be principally the cisco, Argy- rosomus lioyi Gill. Mss. The prevailing notion that tliey feed hirgely upon the white-fish was not confirmed by these observations. Althougli it was continually asserted by the fishermen that the stomachs of the trout were found full of young white-fish, there was no instance under my MILNEK FISHEKIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 39 observatioQ wliere it was so. During 1871 no opportunities were omitted to observe the stoinacli-coutents of the trout, when the^^ were sufficiently undigested to determine the species, and often, when, to con- firm the repeated assertions, a fisherman would throw out the contents of a stomach, to show me the young white-fish, the head and mouth in- variably indicated the genus Argyrosomus xlgass., and he would readily admit his mistake. Questioning fishermen closely, who asserted that they found the young white-fish to be the principal food of the trout, they generally assented that they had not given close enough attention to decide positively between young white-fish and the cisco, though manj?^ gave testimony of finding unmistakable white-fish, of mature size, in the stomachs of the overgrown trout taken in portions of the lakes. Stragglers into the shoal waters, and the trout migrating into shallow places, to find their spawning-grounds, would undoubtedly prey upon the smaller white-fish as readily as they would upon any other species ; but during the larger part of the year they make their home in deejier water than the young fish are found in. 'An instance was related, in 1871, of a large trout having swallowed a smaller one, which the fisherman removed from its stomach in a good state of preservation. It is not an unusual thing for a trout to swallow a fish too large for the capacity of his stomach, and the tail protrudes from his mouth until the forward part is digested. A trout measuring twenty-three and one- half inches was brought ashore at Two Elvers, Wisconsin, from the mouth of which some three inches of the tail of a fish, Lota maculosa, projected. The " lawyer," when taken from the trout, measured four- teen inches without the head, which had been digested. Their exceeding voracity induces them to fill their maws with singular articles of food in the bill of fare of a fish. Where the steam- ers or vessels pass, the refuse from the table is eagerly seized upon, and I have taken from the stomach a raw peeled potato and a piece of sliced liver, and it is not unusual to find pieces of corn-cobs, in the green-corn season, and in one instance I heard of a fragment^ of a ham-bone. They are readily taken with a hook baited with pieces of fish. They are a sluggisli fish to pull in, taking hold of the bait with a tug at the line and then allowing themselves to be pulled to the surface, with no more vibration in the line than if a heavy sinker was the weight at the end. Parties going out ^vith the fishermen often take a large number while the nets are being lifted, and in some localities the largest of the trout are taken in this way. While becalmed near Summer Island, i i Lake Michigan, in 1871, two of us, in about one hour's time, took in fifty pounds of trout, in seventeen fathoms of water. The explanation that the red color of the flesh of certain species of this family is attributable to the red i)igments of crustaceans, which form a principal article of food, is very directly contradicted in the ex- 40 KEPOET OF COMMISSIONEE OF FISH AND FISHERIES. ample of the Mackiliaw trout and tlie white-fisli. In this trout the very deepest tiuts found in the flesh of the sahnon are frequently to be seen, while the food of the tront is almost Nvholly fishes, and in no case crustaceans; while in the white-fish the flesh is of the purest white, and the food is almost wholly crustaceans, undlavgely of Gaminaridaey with a considerable amount of the red pigments referred to in their shells. The spawuiug'-seasbn of the trout begins about a month earlier than that of the white-fish. The details of their habits I can only give from information I have gathered by continually questioning fishermen and others who have had better opportunities of observing them than I have. The uuiv^ersal testimony is that the spawn is found running from the females in the latter part of the month of October, the fish coming on to the sijawning-ground a week or more earlier. At Detour, at the head of Lake Huron, on the IGth October, I saw a large lift of trout brought in from the spawning-grounds ; the ova were large and separated, but were still entirely retained in the folds of the ovaries, and the fishermen said they had not found them running from this fish as yet. The localities selected by the trout for their spawniug-grouud are usually rock bottoms in from fifteen fathoms to seven feet of depth. Near Milwaukee, on a reef at about the greater depth named, is a spawn- ing-ground, from which for years a large type of trout has been taken. The spawning-grounds are found from Kacine north on the western shore of Lake Michigan, and from a little to the northward of Saint Joseph north on the eastern shore. The spawning-ground nearest Saint Joseph is said to be a clay bottom. At Detour the nets were set so close to the shore that the tips of the floats showed above water. The trout are said to settle close to the projections and edges of the honey-combed cavities of the rock, and that, frequently, when a loose fragment of the rock is drawn up by the nets, the cells are found to contain numbers of the eggs. The ovaries from a Mackinaw trout of tvv-euty-four pounds weight were preserved, and weighed three pounds four and one-fourth ounces, and contained fourteen thousand nine hundred and forty-three eggs; the ealculation being niade by counting a fractional weight. The knowledge of the time at which the young fish make their appear- ance is limited to the experience of the few fish-culturists in the country who have hatched the eggs. Li water of an average temperature of 47*^, they are found to hatch about the last week of January. At the lower temperatures of the w-ater, in a state of nature, their develoijment would be retarded for several weeks. Of the habits of the young trout 1 am entirely destitute of informa- tion. I have seen one of eight inches in length, and learn of rare in- stances in which the fishermen have seen small ones. The smallest ones MILNER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 41 that are taken iu auy numbers are fifteen to eighteen inches in length, and these are not very numerous. -, The average weight of the hike-trout taken in the gill-nets is nearly five pounds. It is claimed that in years past they averaged much higher. They are quite frequently taken weighing fifteen pounds. A specimen of a female was obtained last summer at Shoal Island, Lake Superior, weighing twenty-four pounds. One taken at Grand Haven, Mich., iu the month of June, 1871, a female, weighed thirty-six pounds and one-half. After the gills and entrails were removed, it weighed twenty-niue pounds. It measured three feet six and one-half inches in length. The tradition of the largest trout taken is preserved at each locality, ranging from fifty to ninety pounds. One that I am satisfied was au- thentic, from having taken the testimony of those who saw it weighed, and having the .story confirmed by Tather Peret, of Mackinaw, was taken at that i)lace in 1870, and weighed eighty pounds. There are no species of fishes in the lakes sufiiciently formidable to be considered enemies of the trout after tliey mature. The spawn and fry probably suffer to some extent from the same causes that the ova and young white-fish do. They are troubled with a few parasites, especially a tape-worm that is found very numerous iu the intestines of some of them. Solitary in- dividuals, known among the fishermen as "racers," are found iu the summer-time swimming sluggishly at the surface. They are easily taken with the gaif-hook, and bite readily at any bait tlirown to them. The}' are always very thin in flesh. Dissection of the few that I have taken tailed to find any adequate cause for their condition. The para- sites were generally present, but not iu auy larger number than in healthy fish. The fishermen on the north shore of Lake Michigan generally keep a few hogs. The offal of the white-fish is fed to them freely, but they are very careful to allow no trout-offal to be thrown in their way, as- serting that the hogs, after eating trout, frequently become crazy and die. The only plausible explanation of this fact, if it is a fact, is that some eutozoon of the Mackinaw trout, passes through one stage of its development in the hog, and occasions disturbance of the brain, having much the same habit as the cystic Ccenurus does in the sheep. Dr. Bannister informs me that the opinion prevailed amOng some of the Russian residents of Alaska that a tape-worm was occasionally pro- duced in the human subject by eating the chaiwicha, Salmo orientalis Pal., the largest species of salmon common in that country. The fact that it was quite a common i^ractice to eat fish frozen, or dried, or salted, without cooking, would favor the introduction of any parasite existing in the body of the fish. The decrease in lake-trout is not so apparent as it is in the white-fish. The pound-nets have not made the extensive inroads upou their numbers, 42 REPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. and none bnt mature fislies are taken. The larger ones are less numer- ous ; and it is claimed that the average weight of the trout caught is less than in former years. Like the other Salmonoids, the trout have proved to be well adapted to artificial culture. The one drawback with them is the difficulty of obtaiuing the spawn in the fall of the year, when the rough weather renders the visits to the spawning-grounds a matter of hardship and danger. 21. — The Siscowet, Sahno stscowet Agass. This interesting fish is confined, so far as known, to Lake Superior alone. In a few localities in that lake it is very numerous. With rare exceptions of young specimens, found near the shore, it is taken entirely wiih the gill-nets in deep water. It is a remarkably fat fish, and, as a fresh fish, is very inferior for .the table. Even boiled, it is oilj" and rank in flavor. As a salt fish, packed in'brine, it is most excellent, and is universally admitted to surpass either white-fish or trout. Its range of depth is outside of forty fathoms. How much deei)er than this it may be found I cannot tell, as no fishing at greater depth than fifty fathoms came under my observation in Lake Superior. The stomachs were found to be filled with a Cottoid. This seemed to be its entire article of food in the vicinity of the Apostle Islands. The flesh varied from nearly white to a light reddish tnit, not so deep- colored as is found in the salmon and the Mackinaw trout. They spawn earlier in the fall than any of the other Salmonoids in the lakes. By the latter part of August the spawn in some of them is ripe and running freely, while in the mouth of September the females are all ripe and depositing spawn. They seemed to have no migratory instinct at this season, but were taken while spawning in the same vicinity where they had been taken for weeks previously. The ovaries from three specimens of mature females contained the following quantities of eggs : Weight of iisli. Weight of ovaries. 5 pounds 5 jjouuds Ounces, 12 10 12 Number of 2,796 3,120 3,756 We have no knowledge of the time it requires the eggs to hatch, nor any data with reference to the growth of the fish. The young ones probably remain in deep water, as they are not taken in the pound-nets, and frequently quite small ones are found in the gill-nets. They will average about four and one-half pounds in weight, the largest coming under our observation weighing about eight pounds. MILNER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 43 The enemies with which they would have to contend are probably few. The white-fish lives in the vicinity of their spawning-beds, and as it is known to be a spawn-eater, it probably makes food to some extent of the eggs of the siscowet, though in the. early days of Sep- tember, when we had opportunity to exauiine the white-fishs' stomachs, no eggs w^ere noticed. The food of the Cottoid we were unable to learn, as the only specimens we obtained were from the stomachs of the siscowet, and nearly digested. It is quite possible the eggs form iiart of its food. One external parasite was found to be numerous, a Lerueau, and the Intestines weie generally infested with tape-worms in abundance. 22. — The ^^':BITE-FISH, Coregonus alhus, Les. (22 a.) General considerations, — The species of the genus Coregonus are widely distributed through all the northern regions of both hemispheres, from about 46° latitude in the Old World and 41° 30' in America, to the Arctic seas. They are the most extensively used of all fresh-water food- fishes, unless it be the carp of China or the genus Salmo. . They inhabit all the deeper lakes in the regions referred to, the rivers of the more northern latitudes, and some of the species, if not anadro- mous, live indifferently in either the rivers or the sea. Specimens from Hudson's Baj^ are in the possession of the Smithsonian Institution, and in Pallas's Zoographia Rosso -Asiatica several species of the Coregoni are described as ascending the rivers from the sea. They have been a most extensive food-resource to the Indians, pioneers, trappers, and hunters of the vicinity of the great lakes, and throughout British America and Alaska. The statistics already given indicate the extent of their use in the older and more thickly populated region of the country. The white-fish has been known since the time of the earliest explor- ers as pre-eminently a fine-flavored fish. In fact there are few table- fishes its equal. The testimony of very many summer travelers, this season, on Lake Superior, from Eastern States gave preference to the white-fish over the shad, both for flavor and its almost entire freedom from bones. To be appreciated in its fullest excellence, it should be taken fresh from the lake and broiled. Father Marquette, Charlevoix, Sir John Richardson, explorers who for months at a time had to depend on the white-fish for their staple article of food, bore testimony in their writings to the fact that they never lost th«ir relish for it, and deemed it a special excellence that the appetite never became cloyed with it. The fact that the white-fish is loth to take the hook is sufficient to prevent much interest in it from a large class of people. There^is dan- ger, in the work of fish-culture in this country, of conceding too much importance to this point in the habits of a fish. The fish-interest of the country has a much larger stake in the protection and increase of the staple-food fishes than in the game-fishes simply as such; although it might readily be acknowledged that among all other sporting recrea- tions angling was the most sensible. Seth Green, in his magnificent 44 KEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. success ill restocking the rivers of the Atlantic slope with the shad, did a work of far greater importance than he with other fish-culturistshave done in the propagation of trout. The cod, mackerel, herring, white-fish, shad, salmon, and salmon-trout, deserve the principal attention in the efforts at increase. With the three first-mentioned artificial propagation has nothing to do at present; probably nev^er will. Of the others the white-fish is the most important as a food-resource,, because of its numbers and because it can be obtained at all seasons of the year. In adaptability to artificial propagation it is probable the shad has the advantage because of the rapid development of the eggs. But there is still a difficulty in the way of the propagation of an unlimited num- ber of shad, in the fact that the streams to which they formerly resorted are obstructed by numerous and high dams. There are no obstructions of this character to interfere with the white-fish ; and in the great lakes, if it were advisable, there is nothing apparent in the way of the propa- gation of unlimited millions. The character of its food has also a bearing on its adaptability to rapid increase. There is considerable loss among the speckled trout from the larger ones preying upon the smaller. In England the salmon have been accused of the same habit to some extent, while the young are in the parr and smolt stage. But nothing of this kind will ever deplete the numbers of the white-fish. Invertebrate, forms of life constitute its entire food. To some extent it will suffer from the rapacity of other fishes, but, as shown on other pages of this report, in a state of nature the ova-stage is the one in which the greatest loss is suffered. (22 h.) The food of the white-fish. — The food of the white-fish has been a problem inciting numerous conjectures among fishermen, sportsmen, and fish-culturists, and baffling the investigations of a few naturalists for a number of years past. To Dr. P. E. Hoy, of Eacine, we think belongs the credit of first dis- covering correctly the character of their food. On opening the stomachs of numerous white-fish he at first failed to determine the character of the stomach-contents, until, after washing the half-tligested mass in a basin of water, he found the sediment to be full of small Crustacea^ whose existence in the lake had never before been suspected. M,y examination and preservation of the stomach-contents from all quarters of the lakes confirmed- Dr. Hoy's observations, and discov- ered a few other small forms of life as the food of white-fish. The invertebrates found were of crustaceans : species of the families Gammaridcv and Mysidw; of the mollusks: species of the genus Fisidium; and certain insect larvae. A few fish-ova were frequently found in the stomach, and it was not unusual to find a little gftivel. In the greater portion of the lake the Gammaridm constituted the principal food. In shallow regions small Conchifers were more uu- MILNER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 45 merous. At Poiut aux Barques on the north shore of Lake Michigan, where a very large type of the ^yhite-flsh Avas found, the stomach-con- tents were entirely of the Jli/sis relicta Loven. In the Sault Sainte Marie Eapids in July a mass of small Chrysalides was found in the stomachs of a number of white-fish. In October, from the same locality, the larvaB of the caddis-tly were found in the stomachs, apparently carefully separated from their artificial coverings. Stomachs opened in Lake Superior contained principally the Mi/sidw. At Ilocky Island, in the northwestern part of Lake Michigan, a vessel with a cargo of wheat was lost a few years ago. The fishermen say that white-fish were taken in that vicinity for several years afterward with wheat ill their stomachs. Rarely white-fish will take a bait. The breakwater protecting the Illinois Central Eailway at Chicago was formerly a favorite fishing- place, and in early summer was oft-eu lined with a row of boys and men fishing for perch. There was seldom a day passed but that a few white- fish were taken. Mr. Trompe, of Sault Sainte Marie, has frequently taken them in that locality with a hook baitecl with a May-fly, Epheme- ridce. At a fishing-dock on Sand Island, one of the group of the Apostle Islands, Lake Superior, there were a few taiien this season with a worm- bait. The leech, Icfhi/ohdeUa inmciata Smith, parasitic on the white-fish, aud numerous in some localities, was in no instance found in the stomach. This corroborates Dr. Hoy's observations. A similar fact was noticed afterv/ard at Detroit River. A parasitic crustacean, a lyernft'rt, was found adhering to the white-fish in numbers, and, though many stomachs were examined, in no instance were any of the parasites found in the contents. Both the Lenid'a and the Icthi/ohdella are related to species made use of as food by the white-fish as near in the one instance, as being in the same class, and the other in the same order. The mouth is constructed for nibbling along the bottom, the opening beiug directed nearly downward, and they gather in the small life of the bottom and the gravel as they move slowly along. Dredging in the lake at different localities and examination of stomach- contents at numerous points prove that the crustaceans and the mollusk, constituting the principal food of the white-fish, are distributed through- out the lake-bottom, in all localities aud at all depths, over about twenty fathoms. In Torch Lake, a deep inland lake in the Grand Traverse region, Mich- igan, where a large type of white-fish is found, the dredge brought up the same species of crustaceans and mollusks as were found in Lake Michigan. The failure to find food in the stomachs of white-fish has frequently resulted from the fact that the fish examined were taken from the pound- nets, where they had remained long enough to digest the contents of the 46 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Stomach before tbey were taken from the water. Fish from the gill- nets have generally the food in the stomach only partially digested, while a hundred fish in succession from tbe pound-nets may be opened and every stomach found empty. It is frequently asserted that aquatic vegetation afforded sustenance to the white-fish. The investigations in the past two years did not result in any confirmation of this notion, and it would not accord with the habits of any species of the family of fishes to which the lake white- fish belongs. (22 c.) The migrations of the white-fish. — The assertion was sometimes made among the fishermen that the scarcity of white-fish at any one locality was no reliable indication that the number had decreased, but that the schools had probably migrated to some other region. At Waukegan, Ills., the white-fish come into shallow water in the greatest abundance in the months of June and July. The same habit is observed in various localities on the lakes, though by no means at all points. Several places on the shores of Lake ]\Iichigau, in the south half of the lake, in the vicinity of the Apostle Islands, Lake Superior, and at the Thunder Bay Islands of Lake Huron may be referred to as locali- ties where the July migration occurs. George Keith, Esq., a factor of the Hudson Bay Company, at Michipicoten, in 1840, affords Sir John Richard- son the same information in the habits of a species of the Goregonus. It was for a long time a ditficult matter to discover the reason for this suin- mer run on the shore, if, indeed, it has yet been correctly accounted for. The contents of the stomach were found to be the same as at other seasons of the year. It was not probable that the white-fish was an exception to all its congeners of the Salmonoid family, and jireferred the warmer temperature of shallow water to the colder waters outside. Besides, the schools of white-fish were always found to leave a region where wide areas of shoal- water existed as the heat of summer advanced. The theory adopted to account for this summer visit to the shore was that the calm, quiet weather of the summer months, from the slight dis- turbance of the surface, prevented the amount of aeration to the water that occurred at other seasons of the year, and the fish sought the shore where the splashing on the beach and sand-bars supplied the water with the requisite amount of air, just as other species of this family of fishes delight in rapids and falls, because the breaking up of the masses of water supplies it with a large amount of respiratory gases. In waters like Lake Erie, where, according to the lake-survey, the temperature attains as high as 75°, the white-fish seek the cooler deep waters in the summer, and I have not learned of a migration upon the shore at any point, they, perhaps, preferring a less amount of aeration to a high degree of heat. The fact that in the month of August the v. hite-fish of the Sault Ste. Marie Eapids leave the river entirely, and do not return until in Septem- MILNEE FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 47 ber, weakens the force of the theory that the aeration of the water is the necessity that brings them to the shore of the hike in the summer. Professor Agassiz, in his tour of the north shore of Lake Superior, in 1849, found the white-fish scarce along the shore and at the rapids, in the month of August. Among the Apostle Islands, Lake Sui)erior, and n most of the deeper portions of the lakes, no scarcity is observed at this season of the year. At the rapids they so entirely abandon the locality in August that the supply' of fish for the hotels has to be ob- tained from Point Detour, at the head of Lake Huron. It was a disputed point among the Waukegan fishermen whether the migration was directly in from de^p water or along the shore. The fact that, in some instances, the schools of fish struck the nets at one point, and afterwards entered the nets in succession along the line of the shore, was thought by many to prove a littoral migration. Bat the fact was that, in all likeliliood, the advance portion of a school would touch the shore at some point and then move in either direction aloog its line. The presence of large white-fishes in numbers at certain localities on the north shore of Lake Michigan, of a size that are never taken at other parts of the lake, would indicate a local habit, with no disposition to range throngh long distances. Another observation, sustaining the probability of this, is the fact that there are many localities on the lakes where the pound-nets, a few years ago, found prosperous fishing, and in the first few years took the white fish in great abundance, but found afterwards a decrease from j'ear to year until the locality was abandoned, while fift}' miles away the busi- ness still continued successful. The well-known local instincts of the salmon would, to a slight extent, confirm the probability of like instincts in its related genera. The fact that certain types of the white-fish are peculiar to particular localities, as the north shore of Lak^ Michigan, the Sault Ste. Marie Eapids, Bachewauna Bay, on Lake Superior, indicates a local habit through many generations until certain characters of a race have become established. The same fact has been stated for the shad on the Atlan- tic coasts. Some observations made in 1871, perhaps indicate the opposite of all the foregoing statements. In the early part of the season there had been very few fish caught On the west shore of Lake Michigan, between Chicago and the Door Islands. South of Chicago, at the mouth of Calumet River, the run of white-fish was in excess of anything had for j^ears. But, about the 15th of June, the schools of fish left Calumet, and a few days later there was a decided improvement in the catch at Evauston. About June 22, the lifts at Waukegan began to be heavier than they had been before. During the first week of July the fishing was observed to improve at Mil- waukee, Manitowoc, and Bailey's Harbor, and, a little later, at the Door Islands. 48 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. The coincidence in dates ratlier indicated a probability that the same schools of fish that clogged the nets at Calumet during six or seven weeks had ranged northward along two hundred and sixty miles of coast. Still, the effect on the fishing would have been the same if it had been the migrations of schools of fish from deep water at these points in to the shore. In order to obtain a definite knowledge of their habits in this particu- lar, metal tags, with numbers indicating the locality, were distributed to fishermen at twenty points along the lake, to be fastened to the fins of live fish, wliich were then to be released. Instructions were at the same time sent to all fishermen to rei^ort the capture of fish bearing these marks, and the distances from where they were taken to the point of de- parture would indicate the extent of their migrations. It is thought that but few of them were used. A similar proceeding was afterward carried out by Mr. George Clark, of Ecorse, on the Detroit River, but none of the fish were ever heard from. Some of the fishermen of the west shore assert that, after severe storms, encroaching on the shore, and making the water mnddy for a long distance ont, when the storm- snbsides there is a heavy deposit of mnd on the bottom, and that the white-fish abandon the locality for a time, because, as they snrmise, their food is buried ill the sediment. On the contrary, after ordinary storms, there is generally an improve- ment in the catch of fish, i^robably for the reason that the great aeration of the water renders them lively, and incites them to move about. The migration from the sonthern portion of Lake Michigan is of yearly occurrence, abont the middle of June, and is, without doubt, occasioned by the large extent of shoal water becoming heated. The same thing occiu\s in Green Bay, and in the shoal regions of the westerii end of Lake Erie. The migrations into shallow water, and uj) certain streams, in the fall of the year, for the purpose of spawning, will be considered further on. This migration, and the summer visit to the shore, are the general mi- grations peculiar to the white-fish, while the departure from shoal re- gions in summer, and from certain localities in August, are local pecu- liarities. (22 d.) The habits of the ivhlte-fish during the spaivning-season. — The anadromous habit of the salmon is shared by their relatives, the Coregoni, to a considerable extent. Several species are known to ascend the riv- ers of Northern Asia and Europe, from the Arctic Sea. These migra- tions, as described by Pallas, though they have not, perhaps, in all species, a close relation to the time of spawning, in a few are quite evi- dently for that special purpose, as, in his Salmo clupeoides^ Corcgonus merlcii of Gunther, he says they ascend the rivers during the autumn, and return again when the ice forms. Others live indifferently in fresh and salt water. There are specimens, in the National Museum, of white-fish collected by the late Mr. Drexler, from Hudson's Bay. Some eight or nine species of the Arctic regions MILI^ER — FISHEEIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 49 are found in both salt and fresli water. The Coregonus qiiadrilateralis Eich., of Lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron, was found by Eichard- son in the Arctic Ocean. The white-fishes, throughout the larger portion of the lakes, come into shallow water, to deposit their spawn, about the middle of Novem- ber, just at the time when the salmon-trout has finished spawning and is returning to deep water. At this season they come in from deeper water, in vast schools, and are taken in large quantities by the nets. A notion, prevalent among the fishermen in some localities, that the female fishes arrived first, and were followed, a few days later, by the male, was not confirmed by my observation. The bottoms on the spawning-grounds vary in character in different localities; rock, sand, clay, and mud being used indift'erently for the spawning-beds. The depths at which they spawn range from eight feet to fifteen fathoms ; the larger number probably spawning in depths of about eight or ten fathoms. In the Sault Ste. Marie Eiver, and in the Detroit Eiver, in the fall of the year, they congregate in great numbers, for the purpose of spawn- ing. 'In a number of rivers emptying into Green Bay, the white-fish was formerly taken in abundance, in the spawning-season. Saw-miUs are numerous on all of these streams at the present day, and the great quantity of sawdust in the streams is ofi:ensive to the fish, and has caused them to abandon them. In one or two rivers of the north shore of Lake Michigan they are still found in the autumn. The Michipicoten Eiver of Lake Superior, on the authority of Major Long, who commanded an expedition to this region in 1823, and George Barnston, Esq., of Montreal, Canada, formerly of the Hudson Bay Company, is a favorite spa^vuing-ground of the white-fish. The Nepi- gon Eiver, which our steamer entered while returning from the north shore of Lake Superior, about the middle of October, was said to con- tain schools of white-fish, which liad probably entered the river for the purpose of spawning. There is a probability that there was a time when the white-fish ascended many of the clear rivers of the northern lakes, though 'that this was a universal habit is not probable, at any rate since the white man has been in the country. The fishermen, with their 'gill-nets, follow in shore the migration of the white-fish in the month of October, and a few days before the middle of Xovember the spawn is ripe in a few fishes, and by the middle of the month is running freely, so that boats and nets are covered with the spawn and milt. Just at the time the ova are beginning to ripen the lake-trout, Salno namaycush,has finished spawning, and is leaving for deep water. The white-fish continue to spawn until the last week of November or the first week of December, when they, too, leave the shore and seek deeper water. S. l\ris. 74 4 50 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Ill the Detroit Elver, where there were iiiie opportunities for observ- ing the fish at this period, owing to the advantages afforded by Mr. George Clark, of Ecorse, we found that the fish ascended the river about the last week of September, usually following the same course among the islands year after year. Mr. Clark's observations on the migration of the white-fishes had discovered that they ascended much farther years ago than they do now. They are still taken as high up as Cottrelville, twelve miles up the Saint Clair Eiver. jSTone have been caught above this point for many years. It is a singular fact that the white-fish are not known to descend from Lake Huron into the Saint Clair Iliver. This is established by abundant evidence from continued fishing at Fort Gratiot, where Mr. Clark, between the years 1830 and 1842, took large quantities of the wall-eyed pike, StUjiostedion amencana, taking frequently' one thousand barrels in a year. The catch of white, fish amounted to an occasional supply for his own table, except after long-continued storms from the northward, when the fish sometimes en- tered the river in schools. They were never found in this portion of the river in the spawding-season. Thesamefact is claimedby the In Jians in theSault Sainte]\Iarie River, that the white-fishes of the lake above never descend the rapids, while the white fishes of the river, it is also asserted, never ascend to Lake Superior. There is not as good evidence for the truth in this locality as at Fort Gratiot; still it may be the case. Examining the fish on the 30th of October, it was found that the spawn of the white-fish was hard and firm, with rarely a fish approaching ripeness. On tlic 1st of November, in the picketed pond, where the fishes are inclosed, numbers offish were seen jumping from the water, principally the herring, who take delight in this exercise at different seasons of the year. Occasionally a white-fish threw its bulkier form above the surface. On the 8th of the month Mr. Clark and I were out on the piling surrounding the pond, and found the white-fish jumping in numbers, so that there was a continual splashing of the water. They almost uni- formly jumped in pairs, and we could see quantities of spawn in the water immediately afterwards, which rapidly sank. Mr. Clark and I both succeeded in capturing a pair in the act of leaving the water, and found male and female with milt and spawn run- ning freely. Mr. Clark made use of a fine wire scoop as the pairs of fish disappeared from the surface, and almost invariably took a quantity of spawn from the water. The males were uniformly smaller than the females. I succeeded in catching a pair in which the female weighed seven pounds, and the male, who escaped before he was weighed, did not exceed one and a half jiounds. November 9. — I again saw the wliite-fish jumping from the water in the evening, almost uniformly in pairs. Earely there were three leaped MILNER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 51 together, oue female, and two males. In the pairs there) was always a large oue, evidently" a gravid female, and a smaller one, the male. At this season of the year it is easy to detect the difference in sex, the abdomen of the female being swollen and rounded, while the males are leaner and angular in the abdominal lines. I saw by loug watching that the males were worrying the females. They seemed possessed of strong sexual ardor, and followed the female with ijersistence, keeping close against her and with the head about even with the i)ectoral fin. Driven by the persistent attention of the male the female arose vertically, he following, and she making a con- vulsive effort to escape, the water being from three to ten feet deej), they threw themselves together above the surface, and the spawn and milt were emitted at the time when, from their position, their vents were approximated. The spasmodic fluttering and effort observed sug- gested a sexual orgasm. At times I saw them moving rapidly beneath the water in the same close contact, and the male with his snout even with the pectoral fin of the female, often turning together with the white of the belly upward as she turned and twisted to esc{fi)e him. Often as they came out of the water they would fall apart in different directions, but the male invariably turned immediately in pursuit, so that I was led to think they were monogamous, as is the fact with their relatives the salmon and the speckled trout. November 10. — The white-fish jumping in great numbers toward sun- set. In most instances, when near by, I observed a quantity of eggs, perhaps three hundred or five hundred, emitted at once. The milt of the male did not discolor the water. The same actions occurred as before observed, springing vertically from the water with a spasmodic, fluttering effort, the male's head oppo. site the pectoral fin of the female, turning together beneath the water until both abdomens showed upwards. Occasionally three sprang above the surface together. Sometimes the pair fluttered along the surface to- gether for a long distance. November 14 and 15. — Went out to the pond at midnight, and again at 1 o'clock a. m., and found the white-fish jumping. The fact that they are quiet in the day-time, previous to 4 or 5 o'clock in the afternoon, indi- cates a parallel habit to that observed by Seth Green, of New York, in the shad, they, as he asserts, spawning i^rincipally in the night, though, unlike what was the case with the shad, we had no difficulty in finding spawners in the forenoon with the seine. November 18. — The fishing stopped all along the river. Visited the island. Cold, strong wind from the southwest. Thermometer 20°. ^o white-fish to be seen in the pond. A few herring coursing around the piling. November 19. — Same as yesterday; no white-fish to be seen. Caught some of the herring with the dip-net ; found their spawn still hard and small ; their stomachs were full of white-fish spawn. Mr. Clark and I 52 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. took a boat with two men and dredged in the river, obtaining a quan- tity of white-lisli eggs. Nearly all were dead. Afterwards dipped a quantity from the pond, nearly all of which were dead. Novemher 20. — Made another visit to the island. No white-fish seen in the pond. Cold, freezing weather. On the 24th and 25th of the month, while at Sandusky, Ohio, numbers of white-fish were found with the spawn in different stages of ripeness? though a majority of them had spawned. After spawning, the abdomen of the female fish is somewhat flabby and wrinkled, and the fish is undoubtedly relaxed and weak; but not to the extent that the salmon, as well as certain other species of the Coregoni, are said to be reduced. The male shows but little indication of weakness. A series of ovaries were preserved from fishes of different sizes, and a count made by weighing the entire ovaries and then counting the eggs of a definite fraction, and calculatiug from it the number of. the whole. Accurate scales were used for this work, and the table may be relied upon as correct : Weisiht of fish. 2 pounds. 2f pounds 4 pounds 7^ pounds Weight of Number of ovarios. e-gs. Ounces. •'^ 21,229 7i 2c',r500 IV> 48,000 25 06,606 This makes an average of about ten thousand increase for every ad- ditional pound weight in the fish, which is precisely Mr. Seth Green's estimate, from his observations in spawning white-fish. Considerable variation in the weight of an equal number of eggs was observed, de- I)euding upon the stage of development at which they had arrived in the ovaries. During the spawning-season, the fish from the river were found to have very little in their stomachs. (22 e.) Habits of hroolc-trout during the breeding-season as compared icith those of the ichite-Jish. A comparison of the habits of the male and female white-fish with those of the trout, Salmo fontinalis, and of the salmon, is interesting, from the entire difference of their conduct toward each other, and the manner of depositing the spawn. The male brook-trout, in his behavior to his mate, is a cavalier of the first order. His colors are at their brightest, and his fresh and bright appearance makes him one of the handsomest inhabitants of the north- ern waters. Instead of driving the female and annoying her with a per- sistent worrying, as is the case with the white-fish, his whole wooing is MILNER FISHEKIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 53 the most polite atteutioii and the gentlest of persuasioos. He moves continually to and fro before her, parading- his bright colors, while she rests quietly, with her head up-stream, vibrating her fins just sufficiently to prevent floating down. While at Mr. H. F. Dousman's breeding-house, near Waterville, Wis., early in the winter, I had the opportunity of observing the habits of the trout on their spawning-grounds. A pair of large trout had selected a spot near the bank of the stream where the water was about ten inches deep. The female had fanned the gravel with her tail and anal tin until it "was clean and white, and had succeeded, by strong sweeps and flappings of her caudal fin against the bottom, in excavating a cavity in the bed of gravel. December 14. — A pair of large trout were frightened away from their nest as I came to the edge of the bank. Concealing myself behind a willow-bush I watched their movements. The male returned first, reconnoitering the vicinity, and satisfying himself that the coast was clear, spent a half-hour in endeavoring to coax the female to enter the nest. She, resting half concealed in the weeds a few feet away, seemed unwilling to be convinced that the danger was gone, and he, in his full bright colors, sailed backward and forward from the nest to his mate, rubbing himself against her, and swimming oft" again in a wide circle close along the bank, as if to show her how far he could venture with- out finding danger. She finally entered the nest. December 15. — Carried out a bufl;alo-robe and shawl to the top of the flume, near the head spring. Found a pair of trout in possession of a nest. They fled at sight of me, and having got comfortably settled in the robes, I laj' quietly for fifteen minutes before the male approached. He swam directly over the nest, and examined in the vicinity for a few seconds, and then swam off to find his mate. A close observation de- tected a scar on his side, possibl}^ received in a battle with some other male. It served as a very distinct mark to identify him among others. He returned to the spot once, driving off another male before she came with him. They moved along in the vicinity of the nest, she turning and swimming away for a short distance once or twice, and he attend- ing her devotedl3'. She finally settled in a nest about five feet from my position. He drove away a small trout several times without any very violent demonstrations. She soon began to turn in the nest as if ex- amining its condition, and again settled quietly, keeping up the slow fanning movement with her tail, the anal fin brushing the pebbles as large as pigeon-eggs that were in the cavity. Soon after she rolled on her side, made three convulsive flutters, striking the pebbles with her tail, and sending up a little cloud of gravel and sand. Immediately afterward she turned short round, as if look- ing at the condition of the nest, or its contents, and once I thought I detected her in taking some gravel, possibly an egg, in her mouth. She lay resting quietly on the bottom for a short time, whilethe male played 54 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. back and fortii around her. She moved away from tlie nest after a wliile, visiting- some nests in the yicinity that probablj^ contained the eggs of other trout, but soon returned to her own nest. The male at- tended her very closely, and, as they returned to the nest, resting for a second near her, he curved his body slightly, bent the dorsal fin to one side, and with his body strained to rigidity, a slight tremor was ob- served, and he again moved away. About once in ten minutes the flut- tering occurred on the part of the female ; a little cloud of sand was stiiTed up, but I looked a long time in vain for an egg. At last one was throwai upward with the sand, and the male coolly swam toward it? opened his mouth, and it disappeared down his throat. His oft-recur. ring rigidities and tremors seemed to have no special connection with her throes, or the possible emission of eggs, which L suspected at these times, though without any evidence of sight. He was very brave in driving off the males that approached, but one large one came twice, while I was watching them, that he did not attack, but swam in between him and his mate several times, with an evident intention of keeping him from her. The stranger, however, in both instances placed himself near the female, and the same curving, and rigidity, and tremors were observed. The last time the rightful groom swam away with the stranger, who gave him several punches with his jaws. The evident intention of the former seemed to be to entice the intruder away from the nest. He es corted him off for a long distance and returned again to his mate. After three hours' observation of similar maneuvers, I left them to pursue, un- disturbed, their singular actions. TJie whole conduct of the male toward the female was a continued series of caresses. He spent his whole time in circling around her, rubbing against her, and wheeling away to return again, and exhibited everj- evidence of jealousy when other males approached, l^o violence to the female was offered at any time by her mate, though I saw him twice bite her gently while the stranger-trout was near', as if communicating to her. Seth Green, who has occupied hours in observing the movements of trout, thinks the whole movements I had the fortune to observe, were merely the usual actions of trout just subsequent to the time of spawn- ing. They serve, however, to contrast the conduct of the male toward the female with that of the white-fish. Mr. Green says that occasion- ally when the female tries the patience of the male too long in refusing to enter the nest, he suspends moral suasion for a time and hurries her toward the nest with a vigorous use of nose and jaws. A vertical move- ment over the nest, and occasionally the pair locking their jaws to- gether, as they rose, was what Mr. Green observed whenever the eggs were emitted by the female. The brightness of the skin and colors, the white margin on the under fins, and the comparative thinness of body, distinguish the male at the spawning-season from the female, who is dark-colored, the outer rays 3IILNER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 55 of the under fins tinged with blue, and the abdomen swollen at this period. (22 /.) JDevelojmient of eggs and embryo. — It has been proven by repeated observation by fish-culturists that the higher the temperature of the water in which the eggs are placed the more rapidly the embryo fish develops within the egg, and the sooner it escapes from its inclosure in the shell. The temperature of the succeeding months after the spawning-period probably regulates to a considerable extent the time of hatching of the white-fish in the lakes. On the 11th daj'^ of April, at Ecorse, on the Detroit Eiver, I visited Grassy Island in companj" with Mr. George Clark. The inside of the bag of a seine was lined with millinet and dragged in the river, bringing ashore a great quantity of mud and the small forms of life inhabiting the bottom. Sifting and washing out tbe mud resulted in finding one little worm-like fish-embryo, one-half inch in length, which I at once suspected to be the specimen sought after. Other attemx)ts with the seine failed entirely from taking any more. Mr, Clark then proposed that we take a boat and search carefully on the surface for the young fish. Taking a pail and dipper, we shoved off our boat, and Mr. Clark pulling very slowlj" with the oars, I hung over the gunwale, and in a very few minutes found a little, active fish swim- iug with his head at the surface, and captured him with the dipper. He X)roved to be identical with the one taken with the seine. In the course of half an hour we captured forty, all of the same size and state of de- velopment. Most of them were taken within five or six inches of the surface, though they were frequently seen coming up from as far below as they were visible. They were nearly white, with, a pair of large black eyes, were very active, moving continually, propelling themselves with, a constant motion of the tail, and swimming with the head up and the body depending at an inclination of about fifty degrees. They seemed apprehensive of danger, and turned quickly from the dipx)er when it came near them, occasionally escaping. They had no gregarious instinct whatever, and thougli occasionally taken in j)airs it was probably an accidental circums'tauce. On April 14 we again visited the island and caught a number more of the young fish. A few days later Mr. Clark and I visited the breeding-house of Mr. X.W. Clark, of Clarkston. He had put down a large quantity of white- fish ova in November, and had taken the water flowing over the eggs from a pond that had remained frozen over nearly all the winter. The temperature of the water had remained at 34° or 35°, and the young fish had begun to hatch out on the 1st of April, and about the 9th or 10th were all out of the shell. This temperature is probably much the same as Detroit River at Ecorse, sixty-eight miles below Lake Huron, the current flowing at the rate of two miles per hour. The appearance of the umbilical sac in the specimens from both 56 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. places, made it evident that tbey were of about the same age, and indi- cated the fact that in waters that are frozen over throughout the win- ter the young white-fish escape from the egg about the first week of April. The temperature of Lake Michigan, Huron, or Superior probably does not descend below about 40^ or 43^ in ordinary winters, and the young fish would be likely to make their appearance a week or two earlier. The young fish lived iu the glass jar of water two da^'s, were then transferred to an eight-ounce bottle, and, carried over thirty hours by rail and steamer, and did not arrive at their destination, Waukegan, 111., until thirt3^-six hours after they left Ecorse, Mich. They were all in good condition, and were placed in a quart jar of fresh w^ater. There were thirteen of them altogether. April 19. — The young white-fish are very vigorous, and are in con- tinual motion. The water has been changed once. Although the yelk sac has not diminished, they act as if seeking food iu their movements around the jar. They open their mouths very wide. Occasionally they take in dust masses, aud eject them agaiu as if they were unpal- atable. April 21. — Umbilical sac in one individual diminishing. April 22. — Umbilical sacs reducing rapidly-. Ap^ril 23. — Yelk-sacs being rapidly absorbed. The membrane on the anterior part of dorsal line is also slightly diminished. April 24. — The umbilical sacs becoming minute. The fiu-membrane anterior to i)Osition of dorsal becoming absorbed. At the center of the anterior ventral section of fin-membrane, a slightly opaque white spot is apparent. In front of the anus, and on lower half of caudal, are similar ones. The color of the head is assuming a greenish tinge. April 25. — The globule in anterior part of yelk-sac has become divided up into numerous smaller globules, scattered like beads, or more like a row of bubbles, through the length of the sac. When they open their mouths the gill-arches show quite distinctly. Excrement voided by some of them. April 28. — Umbilical sac entirely absorbed. First dorsal tin becoming well defined. Posterior section of dorsal membrane contracting. Pur- cation of caudal slightly indicated. After an absence from home of six days, I returned on May 6 to find only one alive. A brown coufervoid growth had developed in the water, and the young fish, attempting to swallow it, always got it entan- gled iu its gills, and soon died. In my absence I visited Clarkston aud purchased for private parties from Mr. iS". W. Clark one thousand young trout, which I brought safely to a brook two miles north of Waukegan, III. Mr. Clark gave me one hundred and fifty young white-fish, most of them with the yelk-sac only partially absorbed. The ditforence in temperature evidently made some MILNER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 57 difference in the rapidity with which the umbilical sac disappeared, as the young fish I had carried home were in the same stage of development, April 14, as when I had visited Clarkstou i)reviously. ISTow, May 1, the fish in Mr. Clark's troughs still retained considerable of the sac, while on the 28th of April the young fish in the jar had lost it entirel}'. The jar had been kept in a moderately warm room, with a temperature of about G5°, while the water in the troughs at Clarkstou flowed from a pond that had been covered with ice until within a few days previous. (22 g.) Food of emhryonic white-fish. — The young fish reached Wauke- gan in safety, and were placed in five quart glass jars, and an experi- ment begun in attempting to supply them with suitable food. A num- bered label was pasted on each jar, so as to keep them distinct. Knowing that the larger white-fish fed largely on crustaceans, an at- tempt to feed them on food of this character was thought worth a trial. A few craw-fish were procured and pounded to a paste, and small por- tions put into jar No. 1; the young fish ate it readily. They were fed at night, and the next morning every oue of them was found to be dead. Jar I>ro. 2 was supplied with bread-crumbs, and the fish were seen to take small particles in their mouths; they did not die so sud- denly. Jar Xo. 3 was supplied with sweet cream, but no evidence was afforded that the occupants fed upon it. A quantity of rain-water was exposed to the rays of the sun for the purpose of generating minute forms of life, and a teaspoonful was poured into jar Xo. 4, morning and evening, in hopes that their proper food was of this character. In jar No. 5 a variety of food was provided, dry fresh beef, mi)k, boiled potato, and bread. The crumbs of bread and the scrapings from the beef were all that the fish were seen to take into their mouths. They died, one after another, very rapidlj', and in a few days all were dead. There were other things unfavorable to them, in these experiments, be- sides the lackof their natural nourishment. To conduct these experiments favorably, they should be placed in a large vessel, and a stiNeam of fresh water should be supplied constantly so that the water should continue pure and the production of confer va3 be avoided. This difficulty of pro- curing a suitable food for the young white-fish has been the experience of the few fish-culturists who have hatched them. A set of specimens representing young fish from the Detroit Eiver, from the troughs at Clarkstou, and from the jars, were preserved in alcohol and submitted to Mr. S. A. Briggs, editor of the Lens, Chicago. A letter from Mr. Briggs containeJ the following: " Chicago, May 28, 1872. ''My Deaii Sir: The four vials containing C. albus came duly to hand, and have, with the alcohol and water in which the specimens were preserved, been carefully examined. '' The intestines of specimens No. 77 and 78, from Clarkstou, were en- tirely destitute of organic matter recognizable under a power of 400 linear, which ouglit to be ample for the purpose. 58 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. " Those of specimens 76 and 79, from Detroit Eiver, contained numer- ous specimens of two species of Biatomacecc, viz, Fragilaria ca/pucina^ and StepluDiodiscus niagarce. The former is a filamentous form which grows very abundantly in our lake-inlets attached to stems of lilies. The latter is a large form which, from its peculiar build, contains con- siderable nutritious material. " Very sincerely, yours, "S. A. BEIGGS." (22 h.) Rate of (jrowth of ichite-fish. — Farther research for the young- fish was unavoidably delayed until the 1st of July. Towards the end of June, from a seine-haul at Waukegan, a specimen of Coregonus albns measuring eight and three-tenths inches in length, one of C. qnadrilat- eralis, measuring seven and four-tenths, and one of Coyegoiiiis harengus, measuring three and four-tenths inches, were obtained. At Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., on July 2, with an Indian in a birch canoe, the vichiity both above and below the rapids was explored in the current and in the still water and along the shores, to find the smallest grade of while-fishes that were to be had. Along the shore, in the sharp current, schools were found of which the smallest taken meas- ured four inches and nine-tenths, and the largest six inches and one- tenth. It was quite evident that they had all been hatched the same season. Another excursion in the birch resulted in nothing materially different. The minimum measurement of the next grade taken was eight inches and three-tenths. At Shoal Island, one of the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior, a white- fish was taken from the pound-net about the middle of August, measur- ing six inches in length, and another measuring six and one-half inches. On the 3d of December, at Point Edward, Canada, at the outlet of Lake Huron, two specimens of Coregonus albus were obtained from a seine, one measuring six inches and eight-tenths, and the other seven inches and seven-tenths. It is very probable that the Shoal Island fishes of August and the Point Edward ones of December 3 were the larger-grown individuals of the same generation as those taken at Sault Ste. Marie in July. The difficult point to decide was in what year the beginning of this genera- tion should be placed. The only positive data with reference to the growth of white-fish, are found in the observations of Mr. Samuel Wilmot, of Newcastle, Ontario, in charge of the government hatching-house of Canada. Mr. Wilmot reports that- in ]N"ovember, 1868, he placed a quantity of Spawn in the hatching-troughs for an experiment, and in the following March and April a large number of young fry made their appearance. He failed in finding food adapted to the young fish, but a number that escaped through the screens were carried down to a small pond where they seemed to thrive and soon became well-developed young fish. In MILNER FISHEEIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 59 the month of September they were exhibited at a fair in London, Can- ada. They were then about five inches long. In December the young fish had attained the length of seven inches. Mr. N. W. Clark, of Clarkston, Mich., visited Wilmot's hatching-house in 1871, and in an address before the house of representatives of Michi" gan, said: "Enough is known from the success of Samuel Wilmot, Esq., of Canada, to sustain us in the assertion that they (the white-fish) increase in weight about three-quarters of a pound a year, as those he had when we saw them, last January, we judged to have weighed about one and a quarter pounds, being then about eighteen months old." These are the only records of observations of the growth of the white- fish, and evidences of this character are the only ones of any value of the rate of gr owth. An attempt was made several times from large lifts of fish lying in the fish-shanties to arrange the different sizes of white-fish in series? with the hope that some evidence of the rate of growth per year would result. It was always found that the row of fishes, from the larger to the smaller, assumed the form of a spire-like pyramid, and a "straight- edge " laid at tlieu' heads would have touched the nosfes of every one in the series, and on the opposite end it would have touched every tail, so l^erfectly regular was the gradation. It was difficult to believe that the white-fishes, of from nearly five inches to six or seven, had attained these dimensions in three months from the little half-inch embryos of April and May, though none of less size were found with the most diligent searcli. Mr. Wilmot's young fish measured about five inches in September when four months old. Experience has proved that there is a more rapid growth of the yomig trout and salmon afterwards than during the first two months. The observation on the development of the young, white-fish from April to the first week of May showed the slightest per ceptible difference of length a"ud bulk. If we assume them to be the fish of this season, then they had increased ten times in length in two months, precluding the possibility of a more rapid growth afterward. It is altogether probable that the fish measuring from four to seven inches in July were those of the previous season's hatching, and about sixteen months old. It is equally probable that the Point Edward fish of seven inches are those of the same season, as the five months intervening- the 1st of Jujy and the 3d of December should have produced considera- ble growth. To confirm this opinion we have Mr. Wilmot's statement that his white-fish had attained the length of seven inches in December- These evidences of the rate of growth are the only conclusions we have been enabled to adopt with reference to the size attained at differ- ent ages. Nor does this decide the average size of the growth of the white-fishes the first and second seasons. A very excellent opportunity of observing the sizes attained by the 60 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. brook-trout at different ages, was aftbrded at Mr. H. P. Dousman's liatcliing-liouse at Waterville, Wis. There is a more uneven growth in the trout of tlie same season than among any of our familiar domestic animals, such as sheep, pigs, or chickens. Mr. Dousman's fish of the season, hatched in January and February, measured at the time of my visit, October 25, from two and one-half to five inches in length 5 while his trout of the previous season, about one year and eight months old, were from seven to fourteen inches in length. Mr. Dousman is a large feeder, supplying his fish with food regularly twice a day throughout the year. He has the most perfect arrangements for keeping his fish of diiferent ages separate, as there is no possibility of their getting together other than being dipped out of one of the box- flumes in which they are separately confined and dropped through the trap-door of another. The same great variation is found to occur in the parr and grilse stage of the salmon, and is probably the case with all the species of the Sal- monoidw at all ag'es, the lake white-fishes included. (22 i.) Average size of mature fishes. — The average size of mature fishes, in difierent localities, varies greatly. The white-fish of the region of the Apostle Islands is a medium-sized fish. The entire catch of the nu- merous fisheries in their vicinity should not be estimated higher than one and a half pounds for all the fish marketed. In Thunder Bay, on the northern shore of tlie lake, a lift seen in October contained fish that averaged about the same as at the Apostle Islands. Mr. George Baruston, of IMontreal, a naturalist, connected in former times with the Hudson Bay Company, says, with reference to the white- fishes of Michipicoten Bay and River : " The produce of our own seines and nets I always regarded as composed of one species of white-fish, and the same as that caught everywhere in the lakes." w A large type of white-fish is reported from localities in the western half of Lake Superior, taken at certain seasons. Mr. E. Alvord, of San- dusky, Ohio, took a white-fish at Madeline Island, one of the Apostle Islands, weighing twenty-two pounds and a half. Stories, not well authenticated, of specimens weighing twenty -four j^ounds and over, are common on Lake Superior. In White-Fisli Bay a type of white-fish is taken, said to average very large. A specimen was forwarded to Buflialo from this locality, this sea- son, weighing twenty pounds. In Bachewauna Bay, opposite AYhite-Fish Point, Mr. Baruston speaks of the white-fish as longer, and much thicker and heavier, than those of Michipicoten. At the foot of the Sault Ste. Marie Rapids the Indians fish in the swift current, from birch canoes, with large dip-nets, taking a type of white- MILNER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 61 ilsh, ill large numbers, that will a\Trage four pounds iu weight. A specimen Avas obtained of one of them this season weighing twelve pounds. The white-fish from the greater portion of Lake Michigan will average lower than those of Lake Superior. A locality on the north shore of the lake has a very large type of white fish, of which the average of lifts I have seen brought to the shore could not be less than four pounds. I was informed that eleven white-fish had been put into a package weighing one hundred and seven pounds and shipx>ed to a man at Charle- voix, whom I afterwards saw and heard him repeat the fact. The gill- net mesh in use at this point was one-half inch larger than that of most Ijoints on the lake. Two specimens obtained at. Point aux Barques weighed respectively ten and eleven pounds. Lake Huron white-fish are moderately large. From the western end of Lake Erie a large typo of fish are taken. Those ascending the Detroit Eiver in the fall of the year average two and a quarter pounds. From the eastern portion of the lake the white-fish are smaller. The average of Lake Ontario fish is small. {22 j.) Ranges as to depth favored hy young iclute-fish. — It is quite evi- dent that the young and immature white-fishes confine their range en- tirely to the shallow waters near the shore. The pound-nets set in from twenty to forty-five feet catch numbers of small fishes seven or eight inches in length weighing only a few ounces. The capture of a white- fish as small as seven or eight ounces is a very rare occurrence with the gill-nets, for which twelve or fifteen fathoms is the least depth ordinarily employed. Though making this a special point for observation during the tour of Lake Michigan, not a single specimen as small as eight- ounces was seen among fishes taken from the gill-nets, and the percent- age of fish as small as one pound in weight before dressing was incon. siderable. A farther confirmation of the inshore range of young white-fish is in the fact that the catch of a pound-net set on a thirty-six-foot shoal, six miles from the land at Bay de Noquet, contained only ]S"os. 1 and* 2 fish. The head and mouth of the white-fish are so constructed that it is to a slight extent better guarded against entanglement iu the mesh than its congeners, the lake herring and the cisco, so that there is a possibility that the small fislies pass through the meshes and escape capture. Still it is likely occasional ones would be taken, as all species taken by the gill-net are frequently found entangled about the body and fins, without any threads fastened in the mouth or even in the gills, and this often with the slender herrings and ciscos. The fact already referred to, that no young-white-fish were found iu the stomachs of the lake trout, has an application here. The range of the trout in the warm season is in deep water, and as it is altogether likely the trout would make food of the smaller white-fishes if they were £2 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. to be found, the iuferenee is natural that tliey do not range into the deep, water. From these observations it was evident that the white-fish were not found in any abundance in the deeper waters smaller than one and one- fourth pounds, audit is not until they attain about this weight that their migrations into the deeper waters of the lake begin. From the examination of stomachs of immature fishes, the food was found to be small crustaceans and insects. (22 1c.) Enemies of the ivhite-Jish. — The largest percentage of destruction the white-fish suffers is without doubt in the ova-stage. The spawn-eaters of the lakes are a numerous and widely distributed list of animals, including fishes, amphibians and, itis claimed, divers, and ducks. The destruction of the spawn by these methods is immense, and far exceeds the losses while in the stage of fry. The most wholesale devourer of the eggs is undoubtedly the lake-her- ring. On opening the stomachs of the herring from the ponds in Detroit Eiver, in November, they were found to contain the eggs of white-fisli. At first it was considered possible that, as they. were confined in the ponds, their eating spawn might be a matter of necessity, but later, at Sandusky, their stomachs were found gorged with the ova. The herring, the most numerous species inhabiting the spawning-grounds of the white-fish, are without doubt the i^rincipal agents in keeping in check the increasing numbers supplied from the fertilized ova. The suckers, sturgeon, and smaller bottom feeding-fishes are found with spawn in the stomach. The so-called " water-lizard," MenobrancJms lateralis Say is very numer- ous in some of the streams and portions of the lake-shore. Mr. George Clark, of Ecorse, Mich., had a minnow-seine fitted to the bag of a sweep- seine, and at one haul took two thousand of the " water-lizards." Estimat- ing the extent that the net had passed over, he calculated the average number of lizards to each square rod to be four. He says, further, in one of the Detroit papers, " The lizards were so gorged with white-fish spawn that when they were thrown on the shore, hundreds of eggs would fly out of their mouths. * * * Some of the larger lizards would devour the whole spawning of a white-fish in a day or twoj and when we consider that these reptiles are feeding upon eggs from No- vember till April, some idea may be formed of their vast capacity for destruction." Mr. Browne, of Grand Haven, Mich., states that some three years ago an epidemic seemed to prevail among the Menohranclii in Grand E-iver, in the month of June and that their dead carcasses were washed ashore by hundreds, so that they lined the banks of the river, and the mill-men were obliged to throw the bodies off into the current, to be carried down stream to prevent the offensive stench that was wafted into the mills from the decaying remains. A fisherman at Evauston, 111., a few years ago had nine hundred MILXER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 03 hooks sot in the lake, and in one day took from these live hnndred lizards, removing- them all himself, as his men, sharing the popnlar notioij on the lakes, believed them to be poisonous, and preferred to cut away hook and all to taking hold of the slimy amphibian. They are, of course, en- tirely harmless in this particuhir, and make no more attempt to bite than a frog does. A full series of this species was this season collected from Detroit Elver, from the length of one and one-fourth inches to thirteen inches. Later, about the middle of the month of July, Mr. George Clark col- lected a quantity of their eggs, proving this month to be the spawning- season of the animal. The sturgeon are very generally believed to be spawn-eaters. Though the ova of the white-fish and the perch have been observed among the stomach-contents of this fish, the principal food has always been found to be snails, the fresh-water genera being generally represented, the weaker shells crashed into fragments, and the stronger ones of the Fa- ludinidw and even Lhnneas remaining unbroken. Dr. E. Sterling, of Cleveland, who examined the stomachs of a large number of sturgeon in the vicinity of the Sandusky fisheries, made the same observation. There are few of the bottom-feeding fishes but whose stomachs will not generally be found to contain a few eggs, though in company with other food in greater quantity. The white-fish stomach is generally found to contain a few fish-eggs, though its priucipal food is the Crustacea. The habit of leaving the shore immediately after spawTiing probably pie vents it from being an agent in diminisliing its o^vn numbers. The natural casualties of storms, deposits of sedmient, smothering the eggs, the vegetable growth found to be so fatal in the hatching- troughs, are to be considered in this oonnection as the dangers, though more fully represented on another page. In the fry-stage they must suffer to some extent from the piscivorous fishes. The most numerous and voracious of their enemies is likely to be the wall-eyed pike, Stizostedion americana, numerous in the shoal waters of the lakes and comparatively rare on the deeper shores. The perch, Ferca flavescensy are very generally distributed and quite numerous; the contents of their stomachs are generally found to be vertebrate forms. The black-bass, Micropterns nigricans, is plentiful in Lake Erie, but as its ordinary food is the craw-fish, where these are numerous its depredations on the schools of young fish would be of comparatively little importance. The white-bass, iioccws clinjsops, the muskellunge, Ehox nohilior, and the lake-pike, Usox lucius, do not inhabit the lakes in sufficient numbers to be very troublesome to the white-fishes. It is the prevailing idea on the lakes that the Mackinaw or salmon- trout feeds largely on the white-fish. This point has been fully consid- ered on a iJ.revious page, and the evidences disproving it related. 64 KEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. As everywhere civilized man disturbs the bahiuce of nature, and be- comes the great enemy to all forms of life that do not conform to his artificial methods for their protection. Kot only by the hundreds of artifices for the capture of the white-fish, but in the foul drainage from the cities, smelting-works, and manufactories, and in the quantities of sawdust from the mills, they are driven from their favorite haunts and spawning-grounds, and their food destroyed by waters tainted with fatal chemical combinations. The white-fish, as far as my observations have extended, is infested with two external and two intestitial parasites. The external ones are a crustacean, a Lcrnea., and an annelid, the Icthyohdella punctata. The Lernean was found only in the Detroit lliver, adhering to the fish on the dorsal region, and with its bell-shaped sucker buried in the epi- dermal sheath of the scales. On the white-fish swimmiiig in schools near the surface around the edge of the pond in Detroit Kiver, it could be detected by close examination lastened to the fish. There were sel- dom more than four on one fish. The lake-herring, confined in the same pond, swam in close contact with the white-fish, but in ho instance, although careful observations were.made repeatedly of the herring while in the water and after capture, was the Lernean found upon them. In Lake Superior they are found to be numerous on the siscowet. The Icthyobdellan, a leech of three-fourths of an inch long, grayish white in color, with brown tesselated markings, was seen in great numbers in the month of April, while the fishermen were lifting their nets from about fifty fathoms some fifteen miles out from Kenosha, Wis. They covered the nets and fishes of all species, and fell in such numbers on the deck that it became slippery, and an old coat was thrown down for the man who was lifting the gang to stand upon. They were very tenacious of life, living for a long time on the deck, and for several days in the bilge-water of the fish-boats. They were in such numbers that it was difficult to decide whether they had a preference for any species, and were found filled with blood both in the gills and while attached to the body, though it was difficult to imagine that they could fill themselves with blood from the epider- mal sheath of the scales. They were thought to be most numerous on the white-fishes, as they were in greater numbers on tlieni than on the trout, the lawyer, or the cisco, the only other fishes taken. A prevailing but mistaken opinion in the vicinity was that the white- fish fed upon the leech. Dr. Hoj^'s investigations disproved the notion, and all examinations of stomach-contents confirmed this fact. One of the intestinal parasites resembled the leech somewhat in formv The otherwas an Echinorliymlius. They were never found within thestomach, but always in the duodenal portion of the intestine near the mouths of the ciBcal tubes. MILNER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 65 23. — THE LAKE-HEREINa. The so-called lake-herrings, Argyrosomus chqjeiformis, (Mitch.,) and A. harengus (Rich.,) are very numerous in the shoaler waters of the lakes. In the shoal regions of Green Bay and Lake Erie they are found in vast schools, crowding into the pound-nets in masses until the " cribs " are filled to the surface of the water. In Lake Erie frequently a corner of the net is lowered and a large proportion of them allowed to escape before the remainder are thrown into the boat. Although they have been taken in this way for years, there is no apparent diminution in their numbers. Perhaps the little disposition on the part of the fishermen to catch them in some measure accounts for this fact, though there must be, as well, some natural advantages in their prolificity and in the tenac- ity of life of the ^gg. They are little sought after because they are not a favorite fish in the market, being rather deficient in qualities as a fresh or salt fish, though having no objectionable liavor. They are small and thin when opened, and become shrunken when pickled. A mode of curing them, lately adopted at Waukegan, III., and Sandusky, Ohio, makes them the most delicious food. It is merely a slight pickling in salt brine, and then exposing them to the smoke of a hot fire for a short time. By this process they are prepared for eating without any further cooking, and are very much superior to the ordinary smoked herrings. They will keep two or three weeks in hot weather when but slightly smoked The profit on them to the fishermen is less than any other fish handled from the lakes, because of the low j)rice they command in the market, and the expense of dressing and packing is much greater than in white-fish, trout, or pike, because of their smaller size. The greatest length attained in an overgrown specimen seen at Point Edward, on the Canadian side of the head of Saint Clair River, was about nineteen inches in length, and it weighed about two pounds. The aver- age length is scarcely one foot and the weight about nine or ten ounces. Ditfering from the white-fish in the construction of the mouth, it being terminal, they more readily take a bait, and may be fished for with hook and line with a suitable bait. Insects are the best for this purpose, though they are frequently taken with a minnow. The con- tents of the stomach have been obtained in but a few instances, the fish being taken almost exclusively in the pound-nets, and in these they have generally remained long enough to digest the stomach-con- tents. A few specimens from seines 'in the Detroit River were found to contain insects and a few of the Gammaridce, but no remains of vertebrates, though the herring are frequently taken with a minnow bait. They were found, by examination of the stomachs during the spawning- season of the white-fish, to be spawn-eaters of the worst character, their stomachs being crammed with white-fish ova, and, considering the great numbers of the herring, and their vicinity to the spawning- grounds, the destruction they efi:'ect must be very great. S. Mis. 74 5 6Q KEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Although a very general opinion prevails, in different parts of the lakes, that the herring spawns earlier than the white-fish, the oppor- tunities afforded for observation, this season, indicated otherwise. In Green Bay it was asserted that the herring came on to the shore in masses about the 6th of November, and although they were found in more or less abundance at all seasons of the year, there was a very evident general movement at that time. The only positive evidence of the fact of spawning is the emission of spawn by the fish when handled, and the migrations of the schools and the mere fact that the spawn are large does not determine the season of spawning. In regions where fishing is not carried on late in the season, it is a very common habit among the fishermen to conclude on some particular time during the fishing as the spawning-period, basing the belief on migration or appearance of the spawn, Miien, in reality, the fish do not spawn until after the fishing-season closes. By November 25 of last year, the majority of white-fish in the west- ern end of Lake Erie were found to have finished spawning. With few exceptions the ovaries were emptied of their load of eggs ; the abdomen was wrinkled and flaccid, and but few eggs were emitted when thrown into the boats or on the fish-house floor. The lake-her- rings at this time were found to be full of ripe eggs, which were voided from the ovipore of females whenever the fish was moved, aiid even while lying in heaps on the bottom of the boats or floors of the fish-houses. Earlier than this, between the 1st of November and the 20th, examina- tion of the ovaries on nearly every day had found, in the larger j^ropor- tion, the ovaries hard and compact. The herring were taken at this time in their usual haunts, the pound- nets capturing them in immense quantities, making it probable that they do not change their locality in the spawning-season. What their subsequent habits may be, would require observation later in the sea- son than fishing is generally carried on, though the new custom of allowing pound-nets to remain until the ice has covered the bays would afford a favorable opportunity. If they remain upon the spawning- grounds they would undoubtedly' be their own worst agent of destruc- tion. In the winter of 1S71, in Green Bay, to the south of Escanaba, Mich., it was discovered that the herring had congregated in large numbers in an open space free from ice next to the shore where a number of springs in the bank supplied a quantity of water of too high a temperature to freeze readily. Minnows were found crowded in masses at the water's edge, and using them for bait the herring were taken in large numbers, and occasionally a white-fish from about twenty inches of water. All that is known of the time of hatching of the herring-ova is from the experiments of Mr. Seth Green. . In the report of the commissioners of fisheries for the State of New York foV the year 1871, it is stated that a quantity of the impregnated MILNER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 67 spawn of the lake-herring was obtained and treated similarly to the white-fish ova. It is stated that "their time of incubation is about the same [as the white-fish. J The newly-hatched fish are very small, not exceeding three-eighths of an inch in size. The umbilical sac lasts but a few days, and the fish begin to swim and feed as soon as they come out of the shell. They are as active at one day old as the trout at two months. The young fish, being so small and delicate, are, of course, hard to keep. # * *' They have increased in size faster than the white-fish, and the indications are that they are a more hardy fish and more easily raised." The ovaries of a specimen examined weighed two ounces, and con- tained sixteen thousand and forty eggs. At Waukegan, III., from a seine-haul on the 23d of June, a num- ber of young herring were swept in with the larger fish, measuring from three and one-third inches to four and a half inches. At the rapids of the Sault !Ste. Marie Eiver a number were taken, from among the rocks near the shore, on the 2d and 3d of July, that measured froin two and five-eighths inches to six inches in length. It is probable that the smaller grade were the fish<^s hatched the previous year. On the 3d of December last herring were taken with a minnow-seine, at Point Edward, measuring from five inches to the size of mature fishes, the smaller ones being in all probability the same generation as those found at the Sault Ste. Marie earlier in the season. Besides its enemies among the spawn-eaters, the herring has much the same class of enemies as those already enumerated for the white- fishes. Of the parasites the most marked species is a Bothriocephalus found in the muscles of the dorsal region. They measure two or three inches in length and are found in masses between the intermuscular fascine of the back. The specimen in which the parasites were found was taken in Detroit Eiver in the month of April, and though not observed after the month of June, it is certainly common earlier in the season, as the fish- ermen are familiar with the fact. A parasitic worm has also been seen in the intestine. The external parasite of the white-fish, a Lernwa, was not seen at- tached to a single specimen of the lake-herring where hundreds were con- tinually passing in the confined ponds of Detroit Eiver, though they were seen to be very common on the whi te-fish. ]^or were any specimens of the Ecliinorliynclms found in the intestines, though a white-fish is seldom examined without finding them numerous. 24. — THE LAKE-STURGEON, Acipemer ruMcundus. (24 a.) Synonymy. — Acipenser ruMcundus ^Iu'EBJJ'E.x^'R,^ Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc, (new series,) i, p. 388, pi. 12 ; Eichardson, Faun. Boreal. Amer., iii, p. 284; Fitzinger and Hecicel, Ann. Wien. Mus., i, p. 316 ; DeKay, 68 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Zool. IST. Y. Fishes, iv, p. 344, pi. 58,- fig. 191 5 Stoker, Synopsis Fishes N. A., p. 218; Thompson, Hist. Yt., part 1, p. 119. Acipenser ruthenus rnajor. — Forster, Phil. Trans., Ixiii, p. 149, [Young.] Acipenser rupertiawLs. — Eichardson, Faim. Boreal. Auier. Add., p. 311, pi. 97, [Yoiiug:J Storbr, Syn. Fishes ISI. Am., p. 249, [Young.] Acipenser laevis. — Agassiz, Lake Superior, p. 267; Dumeril, Hist. [tfat. Poiss., ii, p. 151, pi. 17. Acipenser car J) onarius. — Agassiz, Lake Superior, p. 271, pi. 5, [Young;] Dumeril, Hist; Nat. Poiss., ii, p. Ill, [Young.] Acipenser rhynchwus. — Agassiz, Lake Superior, p. 276, [Yoiiug;] Du- MERLL, Hist. Nat. Poiss,, ii, p. 179. Acipenser oxijrhijnchus. — Thompson, Hist. Vt., part i, p. 149. Acipenser viaculosus. — Gunther, [in part,] Cat. Fishes Brit. Mus. viii, Po 339, [Young;] Dumeril, Hist. Nat. Poiss., ii, p. 114, [Young.] Acipenser anthracinus. — Dumeril, op. cit., p. 12G, pi. 15, [Young.] Acipenser megalaspis. — Dumeril, op. cit., p. 135, [Young.] Acipenser lamari. — Dumeril, op. cit., p. 139, [Young.] Acipenser Icirtlandii. — Dumeril, op. cit., p. 161. Acipenser nertianus. — Dumeril, op. cit., p. 162. Acipenser buffalo. — Dumi^ril, op. cit., p. 231, [Young.] (24 b.) Characters separating it from other American species. — In com- parisons with the limited number of specimens of other species that are available, the more prominent differences between this species and the others were found to be in the following characters : In general form there is perhaps one American species, A. oxyrhynchus, more elongate. The mouth is large, compared with the species mentioned and with A. brevirostris. In the size of the area of naked skin around the eyes and nostrils, it agrees with A. acutirostris, and differs from the other American sturgeons, in which it is very perceptibly larger, appar- ently reaching its maximum in A. transmontanus. A, oxyrhynchus, in the specimens at hand, is well distinguished from the lake sturgeons, as well as other American species, in the proximity of t-he frontal plates, usually merely separated by a naked strip of skin, the last-mentioned character very marked in the young specimens. In A. rubicundus and others, the ethmoid plate extends high up between the frontals, separating them entirely. Exceptions to this fact are very rare, the only one that has come under oiu" observation being in a young specimen of A. maculosus, from the Ohio River. There are no i^lates surrounding the anus, as in A. oxyrhynchus and A. brevirostris. In the fact of the presence of well developed shields posterior to dorsal fin, it is different from A. transmontanns and A. medi- rostris. The variations in the number of shields in the dorsal series, in a very large number of observations at the lake-fisheries, was found to be between 11 and 15, the number of 13 being found most frequently. In this, though a variable character, it is pretty definitely separated from the other species, except A. transmontanus and A. brachyrhynchns. MILNER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. G9 The variation in the Literal series was within the numbers thirty and thirty-nine, the most often-recurriDg number being thirty-four. In this character it is well separated from A. oxyrhynclmsj A. hrevirostris, A. transmontamis, A. ctcutirostris. The number in the ventra.1 series was found to vary between eight and ten. From A. maculosusj of the Ohio Eiver, a very constant character differing from .1. rubkundm was ob- served in the longer blades of the keels on the shields, they being pro- longed backward and the points or hooks directed posteriorly, while in the lake species the keels are more central and their points rise nearly vertically. In the obsolescence of the plates, certain species of the old world are similar. Kirtland claims the same fact for the Ohio River sturgeon. In a specimen of A. transmontamis^ in the National Museum, the same tendency is indicated, the plates of the body having become thin and wafer-like and no api>earance of the keels remaining, though in younger specimens the keels are prominent and sharply hooked. The skin throughout is covered with tooth-like points, and is unlike other American species in the minuteness of these interserial ossifica- tions, except A. transmontanus and A. medirostris. The snout in the adults is very much obtuse and rounded, and its cartilaginous extremity very bttie i)rotected by plat«s. Its great reduc- tion in length, with age, makes it. an unreliable element in calculating the proportions of the body, and in the table of proportions it is, for this reason, not included in the measurements of the specimen ; the x)ropor- tions of parts to the length of the trunk being calculated with refer- ence to the distance from the opercular opening to the end of the lateral series of plates, and the parts of the head to its length, are calculated with reference to a measurement from the orbit to the posterior edge of the opercular opening. (24 c.) Different characters in old and young sttirgeojis.—The great number of species of sturgeons made by numerous authors has resulted not alone from basing them on characters of insufficient value, but from the great differences in the appearance of old and young specimens. These differences are in the snout, which is, in young specimens, long and slender, but whch, by being absorbed or failing to grow as rapidly as the rest of the body, in the large sturgeons has a blunt and obtuse form; and in certain species, in the possession of large, well-developed shields in the younger ones, and their gradual disap- pearance as they mature and attain full size. Allusion has been made by Dr. Kirtland to the fact of the disappear- ance of the shields in certain American species as the fish increased in size. In accordance with this view, he fdaced the names of several species of other naturalists as synonyms of A. rubicundus. This arrangement was accepted by Storer and introduced in his Synopsis of the Fishes of North America. 70 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Giiuther refers to the tendency to variation in these characters in the common European sturgeon. Dumeril refers to the shorteuing of the snout and wearing away of the ■plates, but is not influenced by his knowledge of the fact in establish- ing species. Among many hundreds of sturgeon of different sizes brought in from the nets and landed while we were visiting the fisheries of Lakes Michigan, Superior, Huron, and Erie, not a single specimen was seen, of a size of three feet or less, in which the five rows of shiekls were not developed and keeled ; and if the young of the larger individuals are not represented in these, they are not taken by the seines, pound-nets, or gill-nets that gather in fishes from all parts of the lakes and streams. Up to an average length of about twenty-five inches the shields in- crease somewhat in size ; afterwards there is a gradual diminution by the wear of the keels and the absorption of the shield at the edges and base. The snout, too, from the thin, elongated point of the smaller in- dividuals, is dwarfed into the short, obtuse anterior extremity of the lar- ger ones. Besides the examination of a large number at the fisheries with the ob- ject of determining the number of species, we have made a minute ex- amination of twelve specimens, of from one foot three inches to five feet seven inches in length, from the lakes, with the following results : In specimens of fifteen inches and less in length the shields are distinct, large in proportion to the size of the fish, but crowded and imbricated j up to about twenty-five inches in length-the shields increase somewhat in size and become less crowded. The shields of these smaller speci- mens have well-developed keels, terminating in a hook or spur, with a sharp point. In those a little larger the points are found dull and the hook disappearing. The keel, finally, is no longer apparent, leaving the white, worn mark of its base on the shields. The shields decrease in size from the edges ; those just anterior to the ventrals are the first found missing ; the ventral shields disappear entirely, and the posterior dorsal shields are next found missing, until a few of the anterior ones are barely distinguishable ; even the callosities of the skin, showing the former position of the shields, become effaced, so that it is impossible to count the number of ventral or dorsal shields. The lateral series are the most persistent, and have never been found in our observation entirely effaced. In a description of a specimen from Lake Erie, Dumeril gives the absence of the lateral shields as one of the characters. [Hist. Nat. Poiss., p. 151.] This entire disappearance of the ventral shields is almost without exception in the full-grown specimens. Examination of hundreds of spe- cimens at the fisheries of the Detroit Eiver, at Sandusky, Ohio, where a very large quantity are taken, at Waukegan, 111., Calumet, 111., and the Lake Huron and Lake Superior fisheries, proved this fact beyond question, the only exceptions being the retention of a remnant of the MILNER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 71 shields, like a small button, iu a few mature specimens. The keels of the dorsal shields have been seen in a few individuals slightly promi- nent, where they had attained the length of about three feet, though these might not have been older than some of a smaller size who had not had so rapid a growth. (24:f?.) I>escrq)tion of adult specimen. — Head from orbit to pectoral arch, .20 of length of trunk; an oblique line from orbit to posterior of supra-occipital plate, .19 of length of trunk. The following proportions are given in one-hundredths of the distance from the orbit to the posterior edge of opercular opening, measured in a line with the axis of the body: Width of head at anterior nasal ori- fices, .34 ; width of head at orbits, .50 ; width of head at temporal plates, .Gl^ ) width of head at narrowest part of opercular openings, .541 P. 40; D. 35; A. 26; C. ff. Dorsal shields, 4 anterior ones apparent ; lateral shields, 38, reduced to indistinct, narrow remnants ; ventral shields, no trace remaining j shields separated and without keels. Length, 5 feet 7 inches. Locality, Ecorse, Mich., Detroit Eiver. (24e.) Description of young specimen. — A comparison of young speci- mens with mature ones shows the greatest differences to be the develop - ment of the shields, and the very much longer snout. The number of fin - rays, the series of shields, and the form and arrangement of the bones of the head, on all but the rostrum, correspond to the older specimens. Head from orbit to pectoral arch, .17 of length of trunk; an oblique line from orbit to posterior ot sui^ra-occipital plate .16 J of length of trunk. The proportions of the head are given in one-hundreths of the drstance of the orbit to the pectoral arch. Width of head at anterior nasal ori- fices, .40; width of head at orbits, .59; width of head at temporals, .70; width of head at narrowest point of opercular openings, .66|. P. 37; D.37; A. 24; C. f f. Dorsal shields, 11; lateral shields, 34; ventral shields, 8 and 9; keels slightly w^orn. Length, 28.2 inches. Locality, Bayfield, Wis., Lake Superior. Specimens from Lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior have no more variation in characters than can be found among the specimens taken at a single fishing ground. (24/.) Size of mature fsh. — The sturgeon of this species attains the largest size of any fish of the lakes. They are taken only within com- paratively shoal waters, and in some of the bays, and among the islands they are very abundant. The largest specimen it has been my fortune to see did not quite attain the length of six feet, though there are traditions in localities on 72 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. the lakes of nine-foot sturgeons. The average of the mature ones taken is less than five feet. (24(7.) lumbers. — In numbers they will not compare favorably with any of the staple food -fishes. At Sandusky, Ohio, where they are more numerous than in any other locality, except, perhaps. Green Bay, Wis., there were about fourteen thousand mature sturgeons handled, weighing about seven hundred thousand pounds, obtained from about eighty-five pound-nets. (24/i.) Economical value. — As an article of food they are not generally popular. But few people in the cities know the modes of cooking that make their meat a palatable dish. A certain quantity is disposed of fresh by the peddlers. With the Canadian-French people of the lake- shores they are in demand, and are prepared in the form of soups, {bouillon.) With a good, hearty out-door appetite, this is very palatable food, but too rich in the flavor of the oil of the fish for ordinary use. The flavor of sturgeon-meat has very little of the taste of fish, and the bouillon, when carefully prepared by skimming oft" the oil, is very much like chicken-soup. A very good pickled meat is made of it by boiling it and preserving it in vinegar. But the best form of preparing sturgeon is by smoking it. The smoking of sturgeon-meat has been done at difierent points of the lakes on a small scale, but is only carried on to a large extent by Schacht Brothers, of Sandusky, Ohio. The method employed by this firm is the following: The sturgeons are skinned and the viscera taken away. The thick parts are then cut into strips, and after a slight pickling in brine are smoked over a close fire. The thin portions and offal are boiled down for oil; the spawn is made into caviare; and from the bladders isinglass is manufactured. The smoked sturgeon is a most palatable meat, and is quite popular, making an excellent substitute for smoked halibut, and, in the opinion of a great many, having some qualities superior. The caviare is made by i)ressing the ova through sieves, leaving the membranes of the ovaries remaining in the sieve, and the eggs falling through into a tub. This is continued until the eggs are entirely free from particles of membrane, when they are put into a salt-pickle and allowed to remain for some time. Nearly all the caviare is shipped to Europe while in the salted condition. [For full account of manufac- ture, see appendix ; Account of Fisheries and Phoca hunting, &c.] Mr. Schacht says they use from ten to eighteen thousand sturgeon a year, receiving during 1872 thirteen thousand eight hundred and eighty, averaging fifty pounds each. Before this firm began their work, the sturgeon taken by the nets were uselessly destroyed or sold by the wagon-load for a trifle, just as is the case in Green Bay, Wis., at the present time. The firm at Sandusky settled at that point only a few years ago, bringing with them but a small amount of money. They now own their curing-house, wa.rehouse, and freezing-house, all neat, well- MILNEE FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 73 arranged buildings for their purpose. A good substantial dock adjoins the buildings. They have interests in other profitable investments at Sandusky, and are generally well to do. The sturgeon has been the main part of their business, though they have smoked other fish for the mar- ket, principally the lake-herring. Out of a shameful waste of a large supply of food they have established a large and i)rofitable industry. The details of their success are reported because in the other parts of the lakfes, excepting the vicinity of large cities, where they are gener- ally marketable, the sturgeon are destroyed in the most wanton and useless manner, and there is the opportunity in Green Bay, Wis., for some one with skill and enterprise to succeed to an equal extent, and to utilize thousands of pounds of food that are wasted every year. Visiting a firm in Chicago, who handled smoked sturgeon, I learned that their books contained orders for much more than they could supply, and they were willing to pay a round price for the article. The fisher- men would, of course, be willing to sell the fresh sturgeon as they are taken out of the net, but think they cannot afford the trouble of smok- ing the quantity they capture in their own nets. The Sandusky firm are not net-owners, but i^urchase ail their fish, and the same arrangement is necessary in this locality. Some of the Lake Michigan fishermen own- ing a small steam fishing-boat would be the best prepared for this work as they could gather up the catch of each day from a large number of nets and carry it to the curing-establishment. The sturgeon could be obtained for a mere nominal price, as the only care among the fishermen of the locality, during my visit in 1871, was to get rid of them to the best ad- vantage. [This enterprise has been lately begun by a man well quali- fied to' succeed.] (24: 1.) Range of Sturgeon. — The chosen range of the sturgeon is the shoaler waters of the lakes and their bays. They are very abundant among the islands at the western end of Lake Erie, in Green Bay of Lake Michigan, and at the southern end of this lake. Chaquamegon Bay of Lake Superior, near the Apostle Islands, has them in numbers. They are found in all localities in more or less abundance. (24 ;.) Food. — Their food consists almost entirely of the shell-fish of the lakes, principally Gasteropods — the thinner-shelled kinds of the genera Physa, Planorhis, and Valvata, being found broken in the stom- achs, while Limncea and Melantho remain whole. A few eggs of fishes have been found at different times, but examination of stomachs during the spawning-season of some of the most. numerous fishes did not prove them to be very extensive spawn-eaters. (24 I:) Habits in the spawning-season. — The spawning-season of the sturgeon in the more southern lakes occurs in the month of June ; in Lake Superior it is a little later. Early in June, in the southern end of Lake Michigan, they begin to congregate near the shores and at the mouths of the rivers, the Kalamazoo Eiver, emptying at Saugatuck, Mich., being a favorite spawning-ground. They may be seen in the 74 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. eveuiug in this river, leaping from the surface, tlirowiag tlieir bulky forms entirely out of the water. At Pier Cove, Mich., on the 11th of June, 1871, schools of sturgeons were at the edge of the shore in a few feet of water, and men from the vicinity were in the habit of wading out and drawing them ashore with gaff-hooks. Eigliteen were taken in this way the morning we visited the locality. They were said to be found in the vicinity every year about this season, remaining about a fortnight. It is likely they were spawning at the time. Whether the shore of the lakes, where the waves would disturb the eggs in every storm, is a natural spawning-ground, is a question. They may have been late arrivals seeking the mouth of the Kalamazoo liiver, a few miles to the north of which the}' are said to ascend to the first dam, many miles inland. Mr. J. G. Portman, of Benton Harbor, successful as a fish-culturist, has seen the sturgeon at this season lying in numbers on a shallow clay ledge at the edge of a stream, several of them lying flat on their backs, with their bellies upward, rolling and splashing in shallow water, with apparent enjoyment. Two or three that were taken with spears were opened, and the stomachs examined, and found to contain some of the sturgeon-spawn. At the mouth of Calumet River, South Chicago, 111., July 1, of the year just referred to, a large lift of sturgeon were brought ashore, looking flaccid and emaciated, and but one specimen out of over twenty individuals contained spawn. In the vicinity of Bayfield^ Wis., Lake Superior, they were seen lat& in the month of July with the ovaries full of spawn, and the milt of the male fishes large, making- it probable that the time of spawning was later in colder waters than ia warm. (24 /.) Enemies. — In Green Bay the fishermen set their pounds for fall- fishing about the 10th of September. The sturgeon are in abundance and the nets often contain a hundred or more. This is said to continue until about the middle of October, when they diminish in numbers and the white-fish become plentiful. As the latter are the fish sought for, the sturgeon are considered a nuisance and annoyance. A few fishermen are considerate enough to lower the corner of a net and allow them to escape, but the commoner way is to draw them out of the net with a gaff-hook and let them go wounded, or to take them ashore and throw them on the refuse-heap, asserting that there will be so many less to trouble them in future. A very large number are destroyed in this way, probably equal- ing or excelling the number taken in the vicinity of Sandusky. The spawn is probably subjected to the depredations of numerous fishes. It is not likely that the young sturgeon, except in the earliest stages of their growtli, suffer from the attacks of other fishes, as they are too well defended with the sharp spine of their shields to make a comfortable mouthful for any fish of the lakes, and after the spine dis- appears have attained a size large enough to render them safe. A parasite that troubles the sturgeon is the lamprey-eel, Petromyzon MILKER FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES. 75 argenteus Kirt. , wliicli is found very frequently attached to the skin. The circular scars and raw sores sometimes found upon the sturgeon, and attributed to this cause by the fishermen, are correctly accounted for in this way. It is probable that their natural food is the slime or mucus exuded in abundance from the pores, but they fequently retain their hold upon a spot until they have eaten through to the flesh, and deep ulcer- ous cavities occasionally result from the sore. The decrease in numbers is. apparent, to a certain extent, in localities where the pound-net has been in use for a number of years. At San- dusky, Ohio, the numbers brought in from the nets and handled at the curing-establishment in a season are said to have- nearly reached eighteen thousand a few years ago, while in 1872 the books showed a record of thirteen thousand eight hundred and eighty received. This fact has several times been advanced as an argument in favor of the pound-net, that the destruction of the sturgeon, asserted to be an ex- tensive spawn-eater, more than compensated for the numbers of white- fish taken. 25. — An important species. There is another species of fish, the wall-eyed pike, Stizostedion americana, a knowledge of whose habits would be important to a proper conservation of the species, but its spawning season is in the spring and earlier than circumstances have permitted us to visit its localities. TABLE OF CONTEXTS. rage. A. lutrodiictory remarks - 1 1. Outline of operatious for 1S71 and 1S72 1 2. Assistance aftbrded 2 B. General consideration of the lake-fisheries » 3 3. Investment in the fisheries 3 4. Extent of the lake-fisheries '. 5 5. Statistics for the year 1S72 6 C. Character of fishing in difierent localities 7 6. Lake Superior 7 7. Lake Michigan 7 8. Lake Huron 11 9. Saint Clair and Detroit Rivers 12 10. Lake Erie .' 13 11. Lake Ontario 13 12. Boats 13 D. The decrease of the food-fishes 14 13. The evidences of the decrease , 15 14. When the decrease began 16 15. The amount of decrease 16 16. The causes of the decrea.se 16 a. The pound-nets 17 h. The gill-nets 18 c. Throwing ofi:'al on the fishing-grounds 19 d. Pollution of lake-bottoms with sawdust 19 E. Practicable methotls for increase 19 17. Protective legislation 20 18. Ai-tificial propagation , 24 a. History of white-fish culture 25 &. History of sahnou-trout cultm-e 34 F. Economical and natural history of food-fishes of the lakes. . . - 35 13. Distributions of species according to depths 35 a. Vertebrate fauna 35 h. Invertebrate fauna 36 20. The salmon or Maciukaw trout, Salmo namaycusli 38 21. The siscowet, Salmo siscmvct 42 22. The white-fish, Coregonus aJbus 43 a. General considerations , 43 b. Food of the white-fish 44 c. Migrations of the white-fish 46 d. Habits during the breeding-season 48 e. Habits of brook-trout during the breeding season, compared 52 /. Development of eggs and embryo 55 (f. Food of embryonic white-fish 57 h. Rate of growth of white-fish 58 i. Average size of mature fish 60 j. Range of young white-fishes as to depth 61 78 CONTENTS. Page. fc. Enemies of the white Hah 62 23. The lake-herring, clupeifonnis 65 24. The lake-stiirgeon, Acipenser rulicundits 67 a. Synonomy 67 b. Characters separating it from other American species 68 c. Different eharacters in old and young , 69 d. Description of adnlt specimen 71 e. Description of yonng specimen 71 /. Size of mature fish 71 g. Numbers 72 h. Economical value 72 i. Range 73 j. Food * 73 k. Habits in the spawning season 1 73 I. Enemies 74 25. Slizosi(cliof) amcrkaria, an important species 75 II.-MISCELLANEOUS NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE RELATIVE TO THE WHITE-FISH. A— THE WHITE-FISH OF THE GREAT LAKES. 1. — LAKE SUPERIOR. • Montreal, Xovemher 2, 1S72. Dear Sir: Touching the white-fish sent by me to the Smithsonian from Michipicoten, so long a time has elapsed since then that I cannot recall the particular circumstances. This I remember, however, that in Michipicoten Bay itself there is no great disparity in the size of the Coregonl. The produce of our own seines and nets I always re- garded as composed of but one species of white-fish, and the same as that caught everywhere in the lakes and rivers of the North; but in spring we sometimes had sent to us from a small ontpost at Bachewaino Bay a fish or two, longer than our own and much thicker and heavier. Without having entered into any careful examination, I used frequently to declare my opinion that they might be, possibly, a distinct species. It is very possible that a skin of one of these Bachewaino fish might have been forwarded by me to the Smithsonian, with other subjects of natural history. They are found iu Bachewaino Bay, and I am told also, by a gentleman who was long a resident on the north shore, that Pancake Point, farther eastward, is a famous locality for their catch. I never had an opportunity of submitting these white-fish to a close com- parison with the large specimens taken at the Sault Ste. Marie, below the rapids, but I conjecture they might be of the same species. In this ])articular, however, I might have easily fallen into mistake. For the table, these are a drier fish than the smaller common white-fish, and they occur in far less numbers iu the places to which they resort. Occasionally a very large white-fish is taken about Fort William, no others approaching it in size, and they are looked upon as overfed mon- strosities by the people at the posts. At l!forway House, north end of Lake Wiunepeg, where I resided many years, I was in the custom of sending a fisherman, late in the fishing season, in October, to the nar- rows of a river twenty miles distant, to obtain a larger and finer fish than what were to be had at the place. The reason for sending was, of course, the fish being larger, and equal in quality for food to those caught nearer. Still, upon inquiry I could never get the natives to say that it was of a different kind. They seemed to think the difierence in size arose from the greater abundance or better quality of their food. 80 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. I believe Major Long was correct iu saying tliat the white-fish run up the Michipicoten Eiver to spawn, but they cannot and do not run up far, for very high falls and long sweeps of raging rapids obstruct their course in both the main river and its tributary-, not far from the Great Lake. Half a mile above the station I have assisted in seining white- fish at the spawning season, and succeeded occasionally in making a good haul. These fish must have come from the bay or lake, for they could never have descended the falls in safety, and the native fishermen (in all such cases good judges) considered them lake-fish. Can you inform me whether you have ever received from the north shore of Lake Superior any specimens of the "Mucqua trout" of the natives? as, translated by me, the "bear trout," or Salmo ursinus. It is still fatter than the siskowet, and can be melted, with little residue, into oil. I have named it a distinct species, following the idea of the Indians, and observing it to possess a different shape of body and head entirely from the siskowet. It is found in small numbers through- out the lake, along the north shore, but, like the siskowet, prevails most in the neighborhood of the Pic. Can it be hj'brid between namaycush and the siskowet ? GEOUGE BAENSTOK 2.— LAKES ERIE AND ONTARIO. DOMINION OF Canada, Ramilton, Ontario, Kovemher 18, 1872. Sir: I had the honor to receive from the minister of marine and fish- eries of this Dominion, recently, a circular directing me to i^rocure specimens of white-fish from those localities of my district situated in Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, and to forward the same to you; and to accompany them by any remarks on their habits and varieties I may think of interest. In obedience to the instructions received, I now send you four large white-fish I obtained in Lake Erie^ near Port Dover, in the township of Woodhouse, county of Norfolk, and province of Ontario, in this Domin- ion. You will find the fish male and female. I also have the honor to send you at the same time four smallar white- fish I procured in Lake Ontario, at Wynona, in the township of Salt- fieet, in the South Eidiug of Wentworth, province of Ontario, and Dominion of Canada. I believe you will also find the latter four fish male and female. The white-fish at this season of the year, fall and winter, feed on small shell-fish. This you can ascertain yourself by analyzing the con- tents of their stomach. In spring and summer they feed on a kind of shrimp-like insect; and from my knowledge and experience I have never known them to change to any other kind of food than those two kinds now described to you bv me. NOTES RELATIVE TO THE WHITE-FISH. 81 The white-fish spawn, both in Lakes Erie and Ontario, on the reefs and rocks, during the month of November. The eggs dropping into the crevices of the rocks are protected from suckers, a fish alwa^'s on the alert at this season of the year to devour the eggs. The two specimens sent herewith, you will please find by examination differ from each other in many respects. This you will be able to find out to be the case only by close study and observation. The Lake Ontario fish you will find to be a finer and superior fish than the Lake Erie white-fish, both in delicious delicacy of flavor and taste, and the whiteness and riclmess of the flesh. Still as regards the food for this fish, in both lakes, I have in every instance and on all occasions found it the same. The fish live by suction. There is an observable difference in the shape of the white-fish of Lake Ontario as compared with the shape of the white-fish of Lake Erie. Thus you will please find that the Lake Ontario white-fish are rounder and broader on the back, while the Lake Erie white-fish are flatter and sharper on the back. You can also find out other little differences by actual measurements of the fish, and this at the different parts of them ; and which I have been able, by strict acciu'acyand study, to set at rest. I have packed the eight white-fi'^h I now send you in cut straw in a small box, which I understand will preserve them sufliciently for your purpose until they reach you at Washington ; and I shall feel greatly hon- ored if your learned views and researches will hereafter in any manner correspond with my humble assertions regarding this delicious fish. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, JOHN W. KERR, Fishery Overseer, Hamilton I}istrict. Professor Spencer F. Baird, United States Fishery Commissioner, Washington, D. G. Wolfe Island, December 4, 1872. Sir: In obedience to instructions from the minister of marine and fisheries, I have the honor to send you, by this day's exi)ress, some speci- mens of our white-fish, taken in Lake Ontario, and I have been farther instructed to accompany them by such remarks on their habits and varie- ties as 1 might think of interest. I would therefore beg to state, from having long experience as a fisherman, that the white-fish which are found in the Canadian lakes are social in their habits, moving about in shoals or great numbers. Three species may be enumerated, quite dis- tinct from each other. The first hfts a very small head and a rounded back, and is known as the " Bow-back." This is considered the best species for food. The second has also a very small head, and a dark, round body, something resembling that of a sucker. Tlie members oi S. Mis. 74 6 82 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. this species are the smallest, upon an average, among the white-fish tribe, and they are, moreover, inferior to those of the other two species. The third species, and the one most common in the lakes of this part of Canada, has a common-sized head, and a regular and symmetrical body. The fish of this species average in weight about three pounds, although some are caught which go as high as ten pounds. In the lakes of the back country they are said to be generally larger, averaging as high as five pounds. In Lake Ontario white-fish are caught in the early spring, at some considerable distance from shore, and in about 200 feet of water j but about the 1st of June, as the summer approaches, and the weather gets warmer, they approach the shore and are then caught in great numbers, upon their favorite feeding grounds, which consist of a sort of a honey-combed rock, in about 30 feet of water. Their food consists chiefly of small worms, obtained from the porous rock of the bottom, and different kinds of aquatic insects. About the 1st of August, as the water begins to be uncomfortably warm for them, they retreat precipitately toward the deeper and cooler portions of the lake, and it is at this time that we find them in their best condition. About the middle of October they return toward the shore for the purpose of spawning, arriving at the proper locality about the middle of i^ovember, or from that until the 1st of December, depending upon the severity or mildness of the season ; for they do not deposit their spawn until the water has reached a certain temperature, which must be something near 40° F. The fish, like some others, eat nothing during their spawning season, after which they retire to the deep water until the next spring. The specimens of white or any other kinds of fish which inhabit our waters, as well as any information relating to their habits and varieties, will be cheerfully sent to you, when required. You requested me to send a bill of any costs or expense incurred in sending you specimens of fish. I beg to state that there is no expense whatsoever on our part. I have the honor .to be, sir, very respeetfally, your obedient servant, PETER KIEL, Fishery Overseer. Professor S. F. Baird, Washington^ D. C. Wolfe Island, January 16, 1873. Sir : I beg leave to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 10th ultimo, which came to hand in due time, but which I did not answer im- mediately, in hope that the weather* would moderate and that some white-fish might be taken, from which I could procure for you better defined specimens than those previously sent, which were the best I could obtain at the time, the weather being exceedingly cold and NOTES EELATIVE TO THE WHITE-FISH. 83 stormy duriug the month of i^^ovember; but unfortunately the stormy weather continued, and no white-fish were secured. From thirty years experience as a fisherman, and after obtaining" all the information possible from others on the habits of white-fish, I beg leave to remark that during the month of November the white-fish are known to unite, or join iu pairs, male and female, and that they ap- proach the shore for the i)urpose of spawning. Should the weather be very cold they move more rapidly and arrive at their destination about the loth. Their favorite place is a sheltered or laud-locked bay or inlet having a sandy or gravelly bottom. When in from 10 to 20 feet of water the female, endowed with an instinctive knowledge that her time has come for depositing a part of her spawn, selects a spot and com mences to dig vigorously with her head, at the same time moving the tail rapidly to stir the sand or gravel; in a short time she forms a nest about two. inches deep; the male, staying close by, seems to be atten- tively watching her movements. When the nest is satisfactorily arran ged she ejects a quantity of spawn into it. The male immediately darts alongside of her and impregnates it with the milt. He then moves off a little way while she covers it partly over with her nose and tail. They remain near the spot two or three days, until all the eggs are dej)Osited in the same nest, when they return to the deep in search of food, leav- ing the eggs and young fish, when hatched out, to shift for themselves. In the meantime the spawn, being heavier than water, remains on the bottom, which it would do even if not partly covered over, nature hav- ing provided an adhesive substance which fastens it to the sand or gTavel. It remains about one hundred days, when the young fish emerge into life. While they were exposed for so long a time we cannot fail to admire the beautiful and mysterious laws of nature manifested in their protection from the severity, of the weather, from predacious wild fowl, from voracious fish and from reptiles, which duriug the winter are iu a semi-dormant state. As soon as the young fish are strong enough to move off they gradu- ally work out into the deep, where they remain three or four years, when they attain their full or average size, and move round periodically with the parent-fish to their various feeding and spawning grounds. White-fish are very prolific, and would multiply very rapidly if not destroyed by a reckless mode of fishing. Many valuable fishing- grounds have been, rendered useless by hauling seines during the breeding season, since, in such case, the parent-fish are not only de- stroyed, but the spawn is disturbed by the seines dragging along the bottom, so that it will not hatch. Another destructive mode of fishing is to set gill-nets across the mouths of bays or inlets, where the fish, iu accordance with their habit, enter- in periodically; these nets turn their course some other way, and it will be clearly understood that they are so social in their nature, that in whatever direction the main body of them incline the others are sure to follow. Our fishery laws have done much already toward the prevention of such abuses. 84 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. The white-fish is of a flue organism, and, being entirely destitute of teeth, is neither predacious nor yet very voracious in its nature, but lives on the most simple fare, which consists principally of small worms and insects that abound in great numbers among the plants and porous rocks on the bottom. It is my candid opinion that the propagation of white-fish by artifi- cial means would be attended with great difficulty, since when they are hatched out the trouble would be to procure food for them ; but I see no serious obstacle in the way of stocking lakes or rivers where the aquatic plants and grasses closely assimilate those from whence the parent fish is taken. In such case they should be moved in the fall or early spring, since transporting them in a small qaantity of water for any length of time in hot weather would be very likely to kill them. The ISTorth American white-fish is of the most delicate structure. It is beautiful and symmetrical in form, always clean and healthy in ap- pearance, and is free from any parasites, either internal or external. It is unsurpassed in its delicious flavor and health}^ quality as an article of food by any other fish. The greatest number of white-fish are caught during the month of July. White-fish cannot be caught with hook and line at any season of the year. I have the honor to be, sir, ycur most obedient servant. PETER KIEL, Msh Observer. Professor S. F. Baird, Washington, D. G. B— THE WHITE-FISH OF EASTERN MAINE AND NEW BRUNSWICK. By Charles Lanman. This fish, the celebrated attihawmeg of the great northern lakes, so frequently described by Arctic voyagers as the most delicious of all purely fresh-water fishes, is found in considerable numbers in Lake Temiscouata, where many are taken every autumn by the French Cana- dians, who come over from the Saint Lawrence to fish for them, and call them poisson poinfu. The English lumbermen call them "gizzard -fish." They are take-n occasionally along the Madawaska River, and the writer has caught them with rod and line below the tails of that river, at its confluence with the Saint John, in the early part of summer. At these falls the inhabitants take about forty barrels every autumn, which are cured in pickle for winter use. The white-fish abounds in all the Eagle Lakes, at the head of Fish River, a tributary of the Upper Saint John, NOTES RELATIVE TO THE WHITE-FISH. 85 and in the Saint Francis Lakes, at the stream's head. In these lakes, it is caught abundantly every autumn, by torch-light, with dip-nets. It has not been observed in any of the lakes or rivers which discharge into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, nor yet in any of the waters of Xova Scotia. Some years since, this fish was abundant in the Grand Lake, where the writer, in the month of May, saw great numbers taken out of gill- nets set for gaspereau, and thrown away by the fishermen as worthless. At the same time, the writer caught a number of them, witli rod and line, in one ot those small pieces of water connected with the Grand Lake, usually called " key-holes." It is occasionally taken in the Saint John, throughout its whole extent. In the harbor of Saint John, in spring, it has been often caught in the seines and weirs with the gas- pereau, and salted with that fish, because its value was not known. It is probable that the similar fish found in the lower part of the Saint John have strayed from the great lakes at the sources of its upper tribu- taries, and have been swept over the Grand Falls by some extraordinary flood ; once over those falls, there is no jiossibility of return. The white- fish seen by the writer have seldom exceeded a pound and a half in weight; but they are taken in Lake Temiscouata of the weight of three pounds., and even more. It is an inhabitant of all the interior lakes of America, from Lake Erie to the Arctic Sea. Several Indian tribes mainly subsist upon it ; and it forms the principal food at many of the fur-posts for eight or nine months of the year, the supply of other articles of diet being scanty and casual. Its usual weight in the northern regions is from two to three pounds; but it has been taken in the clear, deep, and cold waters of Lake Huron of the weight of thirteen pounds. The largest seen in the vicinity of Hudson's Bay weighed between four and five pounds, and measured twenty inches in length and four in depth. One, of seven pounds' weight, caught in Lake Huron, was twenty-seven inches long. "Very recently, the writer had an opportunity of seeing some fresh speci- mens of the white-fish of Lake Erie, and was satisfied of their identity with the "gizzard-fish" of the Saint John and Lake Temiscouata. During the summer, the white-fish is not seen in Lake Temiscouata, and it is then supposed to retire to the depths of that unusually deep and cold lake. In October, it draws near the shores, and ascends the Tuladi Eiver, for the purpose of spawning. It ascends the river during the night, and, having deposited its spawn, returns as quickly as possible to the lake. It is when this fish draws near the shore, prior to spawn - ing, that the fishery is carried on, chiefly at a little bay in Lake Temis- couata, into which the Tuladi discharges its waters. At the same time, the great gray trout (Sahno ferox) follows the white-fish to the shore, and preys upon it. While the nets are set for white-fish, the fishers, with torch and spear, attack and capture the Sahno ferox, frequently of large size; and hence this latter fish has acquired the u^mQ o? txdadi from the river to which it is attracted by its ftivorite prey. The white-fish feeds largely on fresh-water shell-fish ; its stomach, in 86 ep:port of commissioner of fish and fisheeies. couseqnence, acquires an extraordinary thickness, and resembles the giz zard of a fowl ; hence its popular name of "gizzard-fish." The stomach when cleaned and boiled, is a favorite morsel with the Canadian voy- ageurs. C—NEW SPECIES OF AEGYROSOMUS AND COEEGONUS. By James W. Milker. Argyrosomus Agassiz. This genus was separated from Coregonus by Professor Agassiz in 1850.* The principal character referred to as distinguishing it is that the lower jaw is the longer. The examination of a number of species has discovered, in addition to this character, a constant difference in the form of the supraorbital bone. In Coregonus, it is short and broad, and does not reach the middle of the orbit. In Argyrosomus, it is long and narrow, and extends considerably beyond the middle of the orbit. The premaxillaries in Argyrosomus are much shorter ; and this character and the projection of the lower jaw make the snout more pointed than in the other group. Minute teeth are present upon the premaxillaries and tongue. Professor Agassiz refers to the latter character as if it were peculiar to this genus; but, in the dried heads of Coregonus alhus, (not of Agassiz,) teeth are apparent on the premaxillaries. Argyrosomus Hoyi Gill, (MSS.) Argyrosomus Eoyi Gill (MSS.); Hoy, Trans. Wise. Acad., vol. 1, p. 100, 1872. The Cisco of Lake Michigan,t not to be confounded with the cisco of Lake Ontario, is a fish frequenting the deep waters. It is taken in con- siderable quantities, at depths of from 30 fathoms to 70, and is the prin- cipal food of the salmon or Mackinaw trout. Specimens were sent to the Smithsonian Institution, in 1870, by Dr. P. E. Hoy, of Eacine, Wis., obtained in that vicinity, from which Dr. Gill made diagnostic notes, and adopted the name of Argyrosomus Hoyi. In a list of species of Lake Michigan, published in the Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Dr. Hoy included Dr. Gill's manuscript name. In 1871, while prosecuting work for the United States Commission ot Fisheries, I collected specimens of the species in abundance, all of which were lost in the great fire of Chicago. In 1872, 1 obtained them in Lake Superior, and from one of this collection the following description is made: The differences between this species and the common "lake-herring" [A. clu2)ciformis Mitch.) are quite prominent. The orbit in the cisco is very large, encroaching a good deal upon the frontal bones. The froutals are in consequence abruptly diminished in width near the posterior edge of the orbit, and in the superior aspect of the head expose the upper border of the eye. The exposed portion of the shoulder-girdle is of less width ; * Lake Superior: its Physical Character, &c., p. 339. tFor account of hahits, see page 35. NOTES RELATIVE TO THE WHITE-FISH. 87 the upper portion of tlie clavicle (Parker) narrows abruptly to a slender blade. The premaxillaries, though higher, project forward, so as to ren- der the snout more acute. The snout is shorter, as is also the maxillary. The mucous tubes of the bead are coarser and more prominent. From A. nigrlpinms, described below, it differs in having a shorter head, a more prolonged snout, slightly less length of maxillary and mandible, as well as less width of head and interorbital area. Body compressed; deeper than in most of the species of the genus. The height of the body is less than the length of the head. The dis- tance from the snout to the nape is but little more than the length of the mandible, (1.9 inches to 1.3 inches.) The width of the interorbital area much less than length of snout. The length of the suout more than the length of operculum. The length of the maxillary is more than the greatest width of head. The muzzle is prolonged. The lower jaw ex tends rather beyond the premaxillaries. The maxillary is long, reach- ing beyond the center of the eye. The submaxilliary is long, and of mod- erate width. The orbit is large. Minute teeth are present on the tongue. The preopercular bone projects backward at the lower jjosterior angle. The height is .22| of the length;* the length of the caudal peduncle,t .IG ; the distance from the snout to the dorsal fin, .50 ; the distance from the snout to the anal fin, .71 ; the length of the head is .25i; the distance from the snout to the nape is .19 ; the width of the head is .27f of length of head; the width of the interorbital area is .20^; the length of the snout is .31; the length of the maxillary is .35; the length of the man- dible is .51 J; the diameter of the orbit is .24.' Br., 9; D., 3-10; A., 2-10; C, 9-18-S; P., 15; Y., 11; scales on lat- eral line, 73; number of rows of scales abave lateral line, 8 ; below lat- eral line, 12. Length, 11.7 inches. National Museum, No. 1075G. Locality, Outer Island, Wisconsin, Lake Su})erior. ARGYR0S03IUS NIGRIPINNIS Gill, (MSS.) Argyrosomus nigripinnis (Gill, MSS.); Hoy, Trans. Wise. Acad. Sc, vol. 1, '\}. 100, 187'2. The black-fin | is not known from any locality thus far other than Lake Michigan. It is found in the deepest portions of the lake, and is espec- ially abundant in Grand Traverse Bay. Specimens were received at the Smithsonian Institution from Dr. Hoy, in 1870. The only species closely related to it is the one just described. From this it differs in the shorter head, snout, maxillary, mandible, and the greater width of bead and interorbital region. There is a greater number of scales in the lateral line ; the fins are more developed ; and the height of the fish is slightly greater. It attains a much greater weight than A.ffoyi; its average * Measured from premaxillaries along lateral line to end of scales. t Measured from a point vertical to the last ray of the anal fin. i For reference to habits, see page 35. 88 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. being about oue and a fourth pounds, while A. Hoyi I'eaches a maximum of less than one-half pound. The height of the body is equal to the length of the head. The dis- tance from the snout to the nape is much more than the length of man- dible, (2.28 inches to 1.52 inches.) The width of the interorbital area is equal to the length of the snout. The length of the snout is less than the length of the operculum. The length of the maxillary is less than the greatest width of the head. Body comi)ressed,- deeper in i^roportion to length than other species of the genus. The bones of the head are stronger and more prominent than in other species; mucous tubes on preoperculum, on frontals, and parietala large and prominent. Teeth very minute, yet present on premaxillaries and tongue. The height is .22 of length; the least height of tail is .07f ; the length of the caudal peduncle is .13-^ ; the distance from the snout to the dorsal fin is .47^; the distance from the snout to the anal fin is .78^^; the length of the head is .22|; the distance from snout to the nape is .1G|. The width of the head is .343 of the length of the head; the width of the interorbital area is .22;^ ; the length of the snout is .22i; the length of the maxillary is .32; the length of the mandible is .48J; the diameter of the orbit is .25^. Br., 9; D., 3-10; A., 2-10; C, 10-18-9; R, 10; V., 12; number of scales in the lateral line, 80; number of rows of scales above lateral line 8; below lateral line, 11. Length, 16.5 inches. National Museum, 'So. 12455. Locality, Grand Haven, Mich., Lake Michigan. 3. — CoEEGONUS CorESii, sp. nov. A specimen of a white-fish was taken in Chief Mountaiii Lake, at the eastern edge of the llocky Mountains, by Dr. Elliott Coues, U. S. A., surgeon and naturalist of the northern-boundary commission. This specimen is very different in its type of form from any species hitherto described from this continent. In Giinther's arrangement of the species of Coregonus, it would be placed in group (a), with the upper jaw j)roduced into a cutaneous appendage. In this particular, it resem- bles Coregonus oxyrhynchns Lin. and C. Lloydii Giintli. Unlike these species, it is an elongate fish, the proportion of height to length being much the same as in G. ^V illiamso7ii Gir. and C. quadrilateralis Eich. ; it also resembles this type of form in the narrow supplementary bone of the maxillary, and the former species in the shape of the maxillary. The only previous reference to a fish supposed to be of this genus from the Saskatchewan Eiver is in some remarks appended to the description of C. lahradoricus in the Histoire Naturelle des Foissons. Ya- lenciennes refers, in the most undecided manner possible, to a fish which he believes to be a salraonoid, and makes his diagnosis from a drawing. There is, in fact, no direct evidence in what he says to prove that the specimen was in his possession. He admits that he is "not able to NOTES RELATIVE TO THE WHITE-FISH determine with certainty the genus ; " and, after stating that " my first impression was to make it a Coregonus, since I have placed the design by the side of the other species of the same genus," ends this most uncertain and undecided effort to determine its relationship with the question? ^' Could one name it Coregonus angiisticeps f " It may be that the specimen at hand is a fish of the species indicated in the above name, the ascribed locality heightening this possibility > but there can be no consideration of the matter that will decide it, and the name is consequently passed over. The character given of 55 scales in the lateral line is very far from agreeing with Dr. Coues's specimeni and, in fact, with any description of a Coregonus we have seen, and may indicate that the author was right in his hesitancy to decide upon the genus. The most marked feature is the extensive i)rolongation of the snout, which protrudes far beyond the opening of the mouth. The head nar. rows regularly toward the anterior of the frontals, where two strong angles are found narrowing the head abruptly at the point where the short supraorbitals join, and the frontals and nasals continue forward in a narrow, blade-like extension. The supraorbitals form a bold prom- inence at the anterior of the orbit. The maxillary is short, dilated at its posterior portion, and has a narrow supplementary bone. The pre maxillaries are somewhat retroverted, and have very little width, making the muzzle thin and narrow, as it is in G. quadrilateralis and G. Wil- liamso7ii. The adipose fin is large, attached to the body almost to the posterior extremity, and is ensheathed in scales for a considerable dis- tance from the dorsal line. The greatest height of body is equal to the length of the head. The least height of tail is equal to the length of the snout. The lengths of the caudal peduncle, of the snout, and of the mandible are equal to each other. The width of the iuterorbital area is equal to the length of the maxillary. The height is .22 J of the length without the caudal ; the least height of tail is .07^ ; the length of the caudal peduncle is .12i ; the distance from the snout to the dorsal fin is .44| ; the length of the base of the dorsal fin is .12^, its greatest height .14, and the length of the last ray .06|j the distance from the snout to the anal is .73^; the length of its base, .09, and its greatest height .13^; the length of the middle caudal rays is .08, and of the external rays .15^ ; the distance from the snout to the pectoral fin is .21^, and its length is .17^ ; the distance from the snout to the ventrals is .51^, and its length is .15. Br., 9; D., 3-12; A., 4-10; C, G-18-6; P., 17; Y., 2-11; the number of scales in the lateral line is 88 ; the number of scales above the lateral line is 8; below the lateral line, 8-5. Length, 13.6 inches. National Museum, No. 14146. Locality, Chief Mountain Lake. Col- lector, Elliott Coues, U. S. A., surgeon and naturalist of the northern boundary commission. APPENDIX B. THE SALMON AND TROUT. (SPECIES OF SALMO.) Ill -ON THE NORTH AMERICAN SPECIES OF SALMON AND TROUT. By George Suckley, Surgeox, United States Army. ( Written in 1861.) Note. — The late Dr. Suckley made a special study for some years of the North American Salmonidfe, his attention having been specially called to them by the number of species met with in his journeys across thje northern part of the United States to the Pacific coast while serving as naturalist to the Pacific Railroad Survey, under Governor Stevens, and while stationed as surgeon at Western military posts. A report was prepared by him on this subject iu 1859, forming part of the twelfth volume of the series of Pacific Raik-oad Reports, and was reproduced in a separate volume entitled " The Natural History of Wash- ington Territory," by Dr. J. G. Cooper and himself. After the return of the Northwestern Boundary Survey, in 1861, he was intrusted by the Commissioner, Mr. Archibald Campbell, with the preparation of a report on the Salmonidce of Washington Territory, which he completed, although it was never published, and which Mr. Campbell, by permission of the State Department, kindly turned over to the Smithsonian Institution to dispose of as it might think proper. At the request of the Smithsonian Institution, Dr. Suckley then en- larged this report by the addition of other species of North American Salmonidce, thus making a second and much improved edition of his first memoir, embracing, as it did, the large amount of material belong- ing to the Institution, among the most important of which was that col- lected in the Hudson Bay territory by Mr. Kennicott and other corre- spondents. This memoir was delivered to the Institution in July, 1861 ; and, although in the thirteen years which have elapsed, much change has taken place, in our knowledge of the subject, still, on account of the completeness of the paper, and the absence of anything more full on the subject, I here introduce it, by permission of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, in its original form. Whatever be its defects or redundancies, it will serve as an excellent basis for further investigation ; and although it is probable that the actual number of species is less than that given by Dr. Suckley, who doubtless considered certain variations of age, sex, and season as spe- cies, it will be easier to reduce them to the proper number after the publication of this report. S. F. BAIRD. 92 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Altbougli a g^reat many divisions have been established for the spe- cies of the okl Linnseau genus Salmo^ for the purposes of the present report it will be sufficient to consider them all as one, only recognizing a separate section of OiicorhynchuSj for the sea-salmon with permanently hooked bill. For convenience, however, we may arrange them as fol- lows: I. Anadromous salmon. Species running up into fresh water to spawn; the young remaining there for a greater or less time, then returning to the sea, in which they continue to abide, except during the period of reproduction. (Salmon.) a. Intermaxillaries of the fresh-run adult male fish or those just from the sea, long, decurved, projecting and hooking downward considerably beyond the top or knob of the lower jaw ; well armed with strong teeth ; the extremity of the lower jaw terminating in a broadly dilated knob, similarly armed with strong, hooked teeth. (The subgenus Oncorhijnchus, Suckley.) 1. Sahno scouIeH, Richardson. — Hook-nosed salmon; fall salmon, (Pacific coast.) 2. Salmo profeus,VAL.L.AS. — Hump-backed salmon. (Alaska coast.) 3. Salmo cooperi, Suckley. — Cooper's salmon. (Columbia Eiver.) . 4. Salmo dermatinus, Richardson. — (Bering Sea.) 5. Sahno consiietus, Richardson. — (Yukon River.) 6. Sahno canis, Suckley. — Dog salmon; spotted salmon. (Puget Sound.) h. Jaws of adult males when fresh-run, symmetrical, and either sub- equal or the point of the lower jaw received in a notch between the premaxillaries. t Without red spots ; not feeding in fresh water, except from caprice. 7. Sahno salar^ LiNN-^EUS. — The common salmon. (North Atlantic.) 8. Sahno quinnat, RICHARDSON. — The California salmon, (west coast of the United States.) 9. Sahno confluenUis, SuCKLEY. — Towatl salmon, (north- west coast.) 10. Sahno aurora, GiRARD. — Red-char; Salmon. (Columbia River.) 11. Sahno argyreus, Girard. — (West coast.) 12. Salmo jjaucidens, RICHARDSON. — Weak- toothed sal- mon. (Eraser River.) 13. Sahno tsuppitch, Richardson. — White salmon. (Colum- bia River.) 14. Sahno clarJcii, Richardson. — Clark's salmon. (Colum- bia River.) SUCKLE Y MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 93 15. iSabno immaculatus^ Storbr. — The unspotted salmon. (Labrador.) 16. Scdmo gairdneri, EiCHARDSON. — Gairdner's salmon. (Columbia River.) 17. Salmo truncatus, Suckley. — The short- tailed salmon. (Columbia Elver.) 18. Salmo richardi, Suckley. — Eichard's salmon. (Eraser Elver.) tt Spotted with red ; feeding freely in fresh water. 19. Salmo campbelli^ Suckley. — Cami^belFs salmon. (Col- umbia Elver.) 20. Salmo hudsonicus, Suckley. — Hudson's Bay trout. 21. Salmo rossiij Eichardson. — Eoss' salmon. (Arctic Ocean ; Boothia Felix.) 22. Salmo heaniei, Eichardson. — Coppermine salmon. (Coppermine Eiver.) 23. Salmo alijjes, lliGHARDSO'N. — Long-finned Char. (Lakes of Boothia Felix.) 24. Salmo nitidus^ Eichardson. — The angmalook. (Lakes of Boothia Felix.) II. Species not auadromous, nor running up from the sea, but living entirely in fresh water or only occasionally passing down to the sea. (Trout.) c. Spotted with red or black ; found in flowing fresh water j feeding, spawning, and spending the greater part of the year in the same ; retiring to deep, still water in the winter 5 access to salt water usually relished, but not indispensable. t Eed-spotted. 25. Salmo fontinalis, MiTCHiLL. — The American brook- trout. (Eastern States.) ft Black-spotted. 26. Salmo iridea, Gibbons. — Pacific brook-trout. (Califor- nia streams.) 27. Salmo masoni, Suckley. — Mason's trout. (Columbia Eiver.) 28. Salmo virginaUs, Girard. — ^^Utah trout. (Southern Eocky Mountains, Utah ; New Mexico.) 29. Salmo leicisi, GiRARD. — Missouri trout. (Eocky Moun- tain slopes north of South Pass.) 30. Salmo brevicauda, Suckley. — Short-tailed trout. (Puget Sound waters.) d. Trout found in ^Jeej) rivers or lakes, ascending shallow streams to spawn. 94 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHEEIES. t Black-spotted. 31. Salnio gibhsii, SuCKLEY. — Columbia salmon trout. (Columbia Eiver.) 32. Salmo sebago, Girae.d. — Sebago trout. (Sebago Lake, Maine.) 33. Salmo kennerlyi, Suckley. — Kennerly's trout. (Chi- loweyuck Lake ; Fraser's River.) 34. Salmo warrenu Suokley. — Warren's trout. (Fraser's River.) tt Red-spotted. 35. Salmo bairdii, Suckley. — Baird's trout. (Clark's Fork of the Columbia.) 36. Salmo parM^iiiiGKLWs:. — Parker's River trout. (Koote- nay River, Rocky Mountains.) 37. Salmo oquassa, GiRARD. — Blue-back trout ; Oquassa. (Raugeley Lake, Maine.) e. Lake trout, passing their lives in deep, fresh water lakes, ap- proaching the shores annually to spawn in shallow water ; never entering running brooks or repairing to the sea. 38. Salmo »iam«2/cws/t, Pennant. — Mackinaw trout. (Great Lakes.) 39. Salmo confinis, DeKay. — Lake trout. (Lakes of New York.) 40. Salmo siscoicet, Agassiz. — Siscowet. (Lake Superior.) 41. Salmo symmetrica, Prescott. — Winuipiseogee trout. 42. Salmo hoodii, Richardson. — Hood's salmon. (Lakes of Atlantic slope, north of Canada.) 43. Salmo netcberryiy Girard. — Newberry's salmon. (Kla- math River.) 1. SALMO SCOULERI, Richardson. SKOWITZ; HOOKED-NOSED SALMON; FALL SALMON. Syn. — Salmo scouleri, Rich. Faun. Bor. Amer. iii, 1836, pp. 158 and 223, PI. 93 ; DeKay, N. Y., Fauna iii, 1842 ; Girard, Gen, Rep. Fishes, p. 305 ; Her- bert, Fish and Fishing, &c., SiippL, p. 37, 1850 ; Suckley, Nat. Hist. Wash- ington Territory, p. 335. Salar scouleri, Valenc. in Cuv. and Val. Hist. Nat. Poiss. ssi, pp. 242, 345, 1848; Storer, Syuops,p. 194, 1846; Ged. in Proc.Acad. Nat. Sc, Philad. viii, p. 217, 1856. ? Salmo comuetus, Rich. Zool. Voy. Herald, Plate sxxiii, 1854. ? Salmo lycaodon, Pallas, Zoogr. Eos. Asiat. Oncorlijjncluts scouleri, Suckley, "Notices of a Species Salmon," &c., N. Y. June, 1861. Sp. Ch. — Male. — Profile much arched, the convexity rising from nape to dorsal fin. The body at that point is thick, tapering from thence to SUCKLEY MONOGKAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 95 the caudal. Intermaxillary prolongation strongly deciirved, and armed with large hooked teeth. Under jaw armed with a dilated and slightly incurved knob, similarly provided with strong teeth. The teeth on the sides of both jaws are strong, and very irregular in size or disposition, and extend almost to the angle of the commissure. Teeth on the vomer, present or absent, varying in this respect in different specimens. Cau- dal fin moderately lunated, the degree varying according to age. Colors. — In recent specimens fresh from the sea we find a silvery luster; not, however, as strongly marked as in the S. gairdneri, S. quinHat, and other species. The ground-color of the back is lead-color or a silvery blue, and that of the belly white or yellowish white. The back and sides, dorsal tin, and tail are unspotted. Female. — The fresh run females differ in having symmetrical jaws, destitute of elongated intermaxillary, or of the incurved knob on the lower jaw. Diagnosis. — The male may be known from all but the other hook- billed species by having the long decurved interraaxillaries and cartilag- inous snout extending considerably beyond the point of the lower jaw; by its large irregular teeth on the maxillaries: From the S.ijroteus and B. dermatinus, by having less of a dorsal hump; by the marked lapping of the scales, and by having an unspotted caudal fin. The teeth along the maxillaries are also not awl-shaped and uniform as in S. proteus., being more frequently alternately large and small. They are also less numerous. The female may be recognized from those of most of the other species. Habitat. — Pacific coast; auadromous; enters fresh-water rivers in autumn. Spec. 1129 Smiths. Coll. has a less number of rows of scales both above and below the lateral line, than has No. 1130. This may be ov/ing to sex, or perhaps species. In many respects the fish agree very well. No. 1130, however, has the tongue and vomer toothless. May not this be the re- sult of age? If not, and the fish prove to be distinct, which shall be considered new? or which 8. lycaodon, Pallas, 8. consuetuSj Eich., or S. sco2ileri, Rich ? It would be very easy to take up one of these specimens and impose a name upon it, and, ergo, an additional incubus upon the study of the family. But I refrain. A few years will probably bring us plenty of speci- mens from the waters of the North Pacific, on both sides. Then, and not till then, can the synonymy of the hooked-snout, big-toothed, and round- backed species be properly determined. This is an exceedingly abun- dant species on the northwest coast, and affords the principal salmon harvest to the Indians, who dry vast numbers for winter use. It usually commences to run up the streams which empty into Puget Sound about the first week in September, and continues to arrive until near Christmas. During the mouths of January, February, and March, they are found abundantly in small shallow brooks and streams tributary to the larger 96 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONEE OF FISH AND FISHERIES. rivers. At this late period they are much emaciated, owing to their exhaustion from breeding' and from months of abstinence, they being said not to eat after entering fresh water; and their flesh, when cooked, is rank and ill-flavored. During the month of April they suddenly dis- appear, probably returning by the spring floods to salt water, although the Indians say that but few return to the sea. The flesh of this fish, when fresh from salt water, the individual being fat and in good con- dition, is of a very pale yellowish "salmon" color. This color soon changes to a pinkish-yellow, and, when the fish is worn out, to yellow- ish-white. The males of this species have the hooked snout while still in salt water and in good condition. In this difference of the jaws in the sexes they agree with the 8. haniatus of Lapland, which, according to the author of the "Lachesis Lapponica," has the hooking of the lower jaw confined to the male sex. (See quotation in Rich. F. B. A.) The female slcowitz when fresh run has symmetrical jaws. The snout becomes slightly decurved when they are much emaciated, and is sim- ply owing to the absorption of the fatty cushions along the intermaxil- laries, and therefore more apparent than real. The skowitz runs in immense shoals up the rivers emptying into Puget Sound. Fisheries have been established in certain localities, and as many as 3,000 fish taken in one haul of the seine. Since writing the report for the Pacific Railroad survey, so frequently alluded to in this monograph, I have been further convinced that Dr. Gairduer, whose notes are quoted hy Sir John Richardson, confounded the Salmo irroteus and the present species, and recorded notes, part of which apply to one and part to the other. The flesh of this fish, although inferior to ^S*. quinnat, S. gairdiierl, and S. tnincatus, is far better than of the other autumnal kinds. Being of a convenient size, they are rather preferred for packing in salt. After entering the Columbia the slcowitz ascends the current of the main river and its tributaries to points fully seven hundred miles by water from the sea. The Indians say that many individuals return to the sea. According to the natives at Fraser River, the present fish after entering salt water changes color in a very uniform manner, the males turning red, the females black. It, as well as S. canis, enters Chiloweyuck Lake. On the 4th of October, 1859, George Gibbs, esq., obtained from the Okanagon River, Washington Territory, a female of this species, (No. 2007 Smith. Collect.,) which he says is the kind known to the Indians of that region as the l:a-sJioo, (ke-as-soo, or ka-lca-soo, McDonald.) (See chap, on Salinonid?e, Cooper & Suckley, j^at. Hist. Washington Terri- tory.) According to Mr. Gibbs, the length of his specimen was 27 inches; head, 5.75 ; lateral line, 18; distance from snout to ventrals, 13.50; to dorsal, lO.GO; to adipose, 18.75; to anal, 17.75; meat, red; eggs, orange; size of beaver, short. It had just arrived in the river. SUCKLEY MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 97 The species was not yet quite ready to spawn, and does not do so till after the ta-ah-nia, (8. cooperi) A specimen in Dr. Kenuerly's col- lection appears to be that of a female of this species, taken from the salt water when in prime condition. It was obtained at New Dungeuess, Straits of Fiica, in August, 1857, and was called by the Indians of that locality the kutsh-lcusfi, the name thej' are known to apply to the >S'. scoideri. There is nothing remarkable about the specimen except its bright silvery appearance, which, however, the species always has while yet in the salt water. It has also 14 to 15 branchiostegals, one more than is usual. In a paper entitled " Notices of certain New Species of North American Siilmonidiie," published by the writer in June, 18C1, I proposed a distinct sub-genus for the group of salmon embracing this species, the >S^. scoulerl, 8. 2)rofeus, and S. cooperi, in which the adult males have the premaxiilaries considerably elongated, and the tip de- curved, extending considerably beyond the extremity of the lower jaws where there exists a knob at the extremities more or less broad, and heavilj" armed with strong curved teeth, as are the premaxiilaries above. The type of this sub-genus (which I designate as Oncorliynclius) is the Salmo scouleri of Eichardson. If my separation of this group from the other salmon is considered as based on sufficiently good anatomical differences, the species above mentioned will hereafter be known as OncorhyiicJius scouleri, Oncorhynchus cooperi, Oncorhynchus protem, On- corliynclius dermatinus, Oncorliynclius consuetus, and Oncorliynclius cams. In the latter species the projection of the intermaxiliaries beyond the lower jaw is not so strongly marked, but the broad knob and the heavy armature of strong teeth on both that and the premaxiilaries exist. 2. SALMO PEOTEUS, Pallas. HUMP-BACKED SALMON. Specimen in Smithsonian collection Fishes, No. 1132. Syn. — Salmo proteus, P^iXLAS, Zoog. Eos. Asiat. iii, p. 376 ; VALE^ic. in Cuv. and Valexc. Hist. Nat. Poissons, xxi, p. 360, 1848 ; Suckley, Nat. Hist. Wash . Territory, p. 339, 1859 ; Ibid., P. E. E. Eepts., vol. xii. Salmo gibber, Suckley, Ann. N. Y. Lyceum Nat. Hist., Dec, 1858. Salmo dermaiinus, Eich., Voy. of Herald, 1854. Oncorhynchus proteas, Suckley', Notices of Certain New Species of Salmon. N. Y., .June, 1861. Gorbuscha ot Kamtschatka ; Hiinnun of the Lummies ; Ruddoli of the Nis- quallies. Sp. Ch. — Male. — Dorsal profile much more arched than in S-. scouleri, Eich. After entering fresh water, an adipose hump becomes strikingly apparent, its greatest prominence being nearly ojiposite a point midway on a line drawn from the eye to the anterior margin of the base of the dorsal fin ; intermaxillary projection curved strongly downward, as in 8. scouleri; jaws long, as in latter, the latter terminated by a dilated knob, (as in several other species of the genus,) which is armed with four S. Mis. 74 7 95 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. or five strong, sharp teeth on each side; hibials and limbs of the lower jaw closely set with very fine, sharp teeth, finer and more numerous than those of the S. scouleri ; vomerine and palatine teeth much larger than those of the labials ; those of the vomer disposed in a single row on its anterior portion ; tail rather strongly lunated, and profusely dotted with large, elongated, oval, dark spots; the other fins usually unspotted, adi- pose rather elongated ; scales much smaller than those of the IS. scouleri and ver}' thin. They are imbedded in the skin and do not lap over, and in many parts of the body do not even touch each other; those of the back are much smaller than those below the lateral line. Skin very thick. Hab. — The i^orthern Pacific coasts of Asiatic Eussia and America; Puget Sound. Said not to enter the Columbia or to be seen south of the Straits of Fuca. Diagnosis. — The present species may be distinguished from the S. scouleri by its smaller size, the prominent hump in the males, its smaller scales, spotted tail, and the fine regular teeth along the sides of the jaws. The teeth of the 8. scouleri are scattered irregularly, and are generally large, but by no means uniform in size along the sides of the maxillaries. The female is shaped much like a shad. The si)ots on the caudal of specimen 1132 are larger in proportion than those found on the tail of any salmon of which examples from the northwest coast are contained in the Smithsonian collection. But two hump-backed salmon have thus far been received from the northwest coast, both obtained by Dr. Ken- nerly, and both described in Vol. X, Pacific llailroad Reports. The condition of the skins before us does not well admit of a satisfactory demonstration whether the smaller scales along the abdomen and near the tail do not overlap each other ; but the fact that they do not even touch each other on the back and sides is apparent. It is very probable that the salmon described by Richardson, (and included in the present monograph,) 8. dermatiiiiis, is identical with the Froteus. (See S. der- MATINUS.) One of Dr. Kenuerly's specimens has a smooth, toothless tongue ; the other, a female, has a single tooth thereon. The colors of this species, like those of all anadromous salmon, become greatly changed after en- trance into fresh water. Those of the male sent by Dr. Kennerly had "the head greenish-yellow, clouded with black ; opercuhtj dull pinkish ; upper parts, dirty grayish and yellow; ventrals and pectorals, grass- green; dorsal, ultramarine and green ; tail, blotched with black." There are two specimens of the true hump-backed salmon of the north- western coast in the Smithsonian collection. The writer described them as new, under the name of iSalnio gibber, in the annals of the New York Lyceum, December, 1858 ; but upon further examination, and a careful comparison with Pallas's description of Salmo proteus, he become con- vinced that it refers to the same fish* Upon comparing the same speci- mens with Richardson's account of S. dermatinus, a similar identity of SUCKLEY MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 99 resemljlance is manifest. The Smithsonian specimens 1132, 1133, (male and female,) are described as 8. jiyoteus. The male agrees remarkably with Richardson's figure. The tongue is smooth; tail of the same shape ; fin membranes very thick ; skin ditto ; scales very small and imbedded in the skin; except on the abdomen, perhaps; they do not lap or even touch each other, l^o. 1132 has been drawn and figured for the present work. The hump seems greater than in the iS. dermatinus. The female has a single tooth on the tongue. May not the toothless tongue be a mark of old age? For the present it is thought best to retain the species under Richard- son's name, and wait for moi-e specimens of salmon, not only from Arctic America and the vicinity of Vancouver's Island, but also from Kamts chatka, before deciding the question of names and synonyms. The average weight of the fish is about 5 or 6 pounds. Its flesh is pale, and for a white man, it is poor eating. The Indians say that this salmon is usually quite fat, and that as food they like it very much. They state that it enters Puget Sound and the rivers on alternate years, it being very rare for even a single individual to be caught in the intermediate season. The run of the huddoh in its regular years is large, coming in vast numbers, comparing favorably in this respect with the saisiq), sicowitz, or h-liwhai. According to the natives of our coast, the hunch-hack never returns to the sea after spawning, but dies in fresh water. In this respect they again agree with the Kamtschatka fish. In our opinion this is undoubtedly the gorbuscha of Kamtschatka, men- tioned by Pallas and referred to by Sir John Richardson, The hump-back enters the rivers about Puget Sound in August of alternate years. It is thought that it does not visit the Columbia River. The hump of the male is said to be caused by a thick layer of adipose matter. For additional facts and extended quotations the reader is referred to the Pacific Railroad Reports, vol. xii, p. 339. 3. SALMO COOPERI, Suckley. Cooper's Sai^mon; The Ta-ah-nia. Syx. — Sahno cooperl, Suckley, Notices N. S. N. Am. Salrn. N. Y., June, 1861. Oncorhynelms cooperi, Suckley, op. cit. The Ta-a]i-nia of the Okina Kaues. Sp. Ch. — Male. — Head enters nearly four and one-quarter times in the total length. Back much arched, lia\ing a tendency to hump. Scales rather coarse and large. Skin thick and strong. Tail deeply lunate ; profusely sprinkled with oval spots of black. Snout (premaxillaries) somewhat elongated. Dental development much like that of S. proteus, Pal., but the fish differs in lacking the exaggerated hump, and in the lapping of the scales on the body. The adults rarely exceed 22 inches. Female. — Of similar size ; mouth symmetrical ; back less arched ; teeth 100 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. developed much as in tlie female 8. scouleri. lu botli sexes there are usually thirteen branchiostegal rays on a side. , DiaGtNGsis. — From >S'. proteus, Pal., by the comparatively small hump, by its smaller size, and by its proportionately larger scales. From the S. scouleri it may be known by its smaller size, spotted tail, and small uniform teeth along the bodies of the maxillaries. Hab. — Auadromous, ascending the Columbia in autumn. Found ex- ceedingly abundant in Okina-kane River, where it is known to the whites as the "little red salmon," and to the natives as the ta-ah-nia. This species, which we have named after Doctor James G. Cooper, who has spent much time investigating the natural history and physical geography of Washington Territory, was obtained by George Gibbs, esq., at the Okina-kane. 8. coojyeri. Two specimens (typical) were obtained by Mr. Gibbs. " Okina-kane Eiver, September 30, 1860. This fish is now drawing to its spawning season. It frequents this river and the lakes above in immense numbers, its pecidiar color actually reddening the bed of the river. " Measurements. — Male. Length, 21.75 inches ; head, 5 ; to dorsal •fin, 10; to ventral, 10.50; to anal, 14; to adipose, 16. Upper line of head very concave ; iris, yellow ; body, brick-red ; near the tail, scarlet ; caudal brown, profusely speckled with black. Female. Leugth, 22 iuches; head, 4.50; to dorsal, 10; to ventral, 11; to anal, 14.75; to adi- pose, 16.75. " Colors. — Head, light greenish; back, brick-red, inclining to purple ; belly, dirty, yellowish gray ; caudal, speckled ; upper line of the head convex — the reverse of that of the male ; eggs red and of the size of swan-shot; caudal but slightly lunated. "The fish measured above appear to be about the average size of adults." 4. SALMO DEEMATIXUS, Richardson. Syx. — Sahno dcrmatinus, Rich. Zool. of the Voyage of the Herahl, p. 169. PI. xxxiii. London, 1854, ? Sahno proteus, Rich. f Salmo gibber, Suckley, Annals N. Y. Lyceum. Oncorhynchus dermatituis, SucKLEY, "Notices of Certain New Species of the Salmonid;B," &c. N. Y., June, 1861. Sp. Ch. — (Condensed from Richardson's description.) Tongue, tooth- less; seven or eight teeth on each premaxillary, unequal ; one or two at the tip larger than the others, recurved. Maxillary armed with 18 to 21 acute subculate teeth, the first being stoutest, third and fifth next in size. Dilated knob on end of lower jaw, armed with strong teeth. This meeting the incurved snout (in males only *?) prevents the closing of the mouth. Scales do not overlap each other, but are imbedded in a thick SUCKLEY MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 101 muciferous epidermis, aud do not even touch each other. Branchioste- gals 14 to 15. Tail strongly cut out. Hab. — Ascends the rivers eniptyiug into Behring's Sea. A single specimen of this salmon, about 32.4 iuches ia total length, was obtaijunl by Sir John Richardson from the Yukou River iu Arctic America. It is tliere known to the fur hunters as the retljisfi. Sir John says it is very distinct from any of the European anadromous salmon. It is called by the Kutchin tribe tleuM-Jco. They take it by weirs constructed between island aud island, and by spearing. The flesh and roe are dried for winter use, and the tough skins are made into clothing. (Vide Rich- ardson, op. cit.) 5. SALMO COXSUETUS, Richardson. Syn. — Salino consnetns, Eich., Voyage of the Heraklj Londou, 1854, j). 167, Plate, xxxiii. ? Salmo colhu-is, Pallas, Zoogr. Ross. As. ? Sahno lycaodoit, Pallas, op. cit. ? Salmo scouleri, Rich. Fauu. Boreal. Am., pp. 158 and 223, pi. 93. Oncorhi/Hchits consuetus, Suckley, "Notices of N. S. Salm.," N. Y., June, 1861. Sp. Ch. — Drawn from Richardson's description and probably applica- ble to an exhausted or emaciated male. General form that of /S\ salar when out of season, but smaller. Head disproportionately large; jaws distorted. Length of head (when measured from tip of snout to distal margin of operculum) contained four and two-third times in the total length of the fish. Cartilaginous snont decurved and extending con- siderably beyond the mandibles. Five or six rather large teeth on each premaxillary. Scales smaller than those of S. salar, but resemble them in delicacy of luster, and the ease with wbich they can be detached. Tongue armed with two parallel rows of teeth, six on each side. Dorsal outline strongly arched. Tail lunated. Hab. 7. — Ynkon River, Arctic America; ascends as high as the falls of the Porcupine. Sir John Richardson drew his description from a male about 23.5 inches in total length. In this the scales in size compared to those of aS. salar were smaller, as 12 or 13 to 10 on patches of skin of equal size; 140 scales on lateral Ihie. Fin membranes (juite thick. Rays Br. 12-13; D. 11-0: A. 15; C. IJ^: P- 1^ or 15: V. 9-9, or 10-10. 6. SALMO CANIS, Suckley. DOG SALMON; SPOTTED SALMON; LE KAL Syn. — Salmo canis, Suckley, Annals N. Y. Lyceum, Dec, 1858; Ibid. Pacific R. R. Reports, vol. xii, part Fislies, p. Ml. [The sp. ch. given in vol. xii., P. R. R. RejDorts and in the original doscripti(jn were written from memory. Luck- 102 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. ily since then Dr. Kennerly lias sent home a fine skin and one or more heads;] Ibid. Nat. Hist. Wash. Terr., chap, on Salmonidte. Oncorhi/ncits canis, Suckley, Notices of Certain New Species N. A. Salmonidse. N. Y., June 15, 1861. Sp. Oh. — Head large ; contained about 4^ times in the total length -, its dorsal outline nearly straight; a dilated knob on the extremity of lower jaw, upon which there are usually at least three large curved teeth, the anterior being the largest. Large curved teeth on the premaxillary ; arms of the jaws studded with small teeth of nearly uniform size and appearance. Tongue with a diverging row of four teeth on each side. Nostrils large and pyriform. Free margin of opercuia rounded much as in )S. salar ; average number of branchiostegals, 13. Skin thick, fleshy; tin membranes ditto. Scales quite adherent and over-lapping each other about one-third. General form of body, compressed laterally, causing it to be a rather deep fish for its size and weight; dorsal outline only moderately arched; caudal insertion rather deep, caudal furcate. Colors. — Skin unspotted ( t. e., without speckles) but blotched on the sides (especially after being a few days in fresh water) with large patches of dingy-green and purplish-red. Fins and tail unspeckled. Diagnosis. — The Salmo canis is kuown from the S. sconleri by the greater equality of its jaws; by its shorter intermaxillaries; by the short, small, iiointed, nearly uniform aw^-like teeth on the bodies of the inferior maxillaries. From the humped species it can readily be re- cognized. Like the 8. scoidcri it has an unspotted tail. Hab. — Northwestern coast of America; enters the streams along Piiget Sound in great numbers in autumn. The mouth of the female, as is usual with this group or subgenus of salmon, is nmch more symmetrical than that of the male. The dried skin of a female salmon was obtained by Mr. George Gibbs at New Dungeness, Straits of Fuca, August 12, 1851. It is now cata- logued in the Smithsonian Museum as No. 1128. At first we took the specimen to be a female S. scoideri, but more careful examination showed our error. It more nearly approaches the ;S'. canis and is probabl^i the female. Mr. Gibbs says it was known to the Klallams as the Jcet-hlchfs. In the alcoholic specimen before me, the adipose fin is much elongated; its anterior (or upper) margin much curved. The jaws are about equal in length, but owing to the long teeth anteriorly they could not be made to close tightly — the nearest approach to perfect closure being when the under jaw was diverted to the right or left of its true line, like a pair of tongs, in which the extremities pass each other owing to a defect in the joint. There are also two teeth felt near the middle of the vomer, one before the other. The jaws nearly equal in length, the lower being barely received in the upper. The following quotation from our former report contains all the infor- mation recorded concerning the habits of the fish : SUCKLEY MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 103 " The fipotted or le leal salmon enters the rivers of Paget Sound in great numbers every autumn, generally appearing between September 15 and October 10. They come in vast numbers, and arrive so simultaneously as to seem to be in shoals, thongli, probably, that is occasioned, not by a gregarious habit, but by the same instinct causing all the individuals to leave the sea at about the same period for the purpose of procreation. They are not a finely flavored fish, even when " fresh run," many indi- viduals being at that time in bad condition — a condition unusual among salmon just quitting salt water. After a shoi^fc residence in fresh water, all become poor and unsavory, and some even intolerably rank. Upon first arrival the sickly fish are readilj' distinguished by the natives by their colors, the best fish being of a leaden-olive or dingy-green on the back, and a yellowish-white along the belly. The poor ones are of various shades and tints of dingy-green and yellow, more or less macu- lated on the sides with purplish and black blotches. They enter by preference the smaller streams. Owing to the large jaws and loiig fero- cious-looking teeth of the species, they have obtained from the whites the name of dog-salmon. Vast numbers are taken by the Indians with spears, gaif-hooks, weirs, &c., and dried for winter use. Upon their arrival in September and October their roes are nearly mature. It is interesting to witness their persevering efforts to run up shallows, and in overcoming insurmountable obstacles, even running out of- water upon the shores in their blind eagerness to surmount impossibilities and reach the head- waters of the stream to deposit their spawn. In endeav- oring to ascend high falls, and in passing through rocky, violent pas- sages, their snouts and bodies become much bruised and injured, giving rise to sores and ulcerations. The fins become much worn, also. The impoverished fish have hooked snouts and pale whitish flesh. At no time is it seen with the bright salmon-red flesh common to other kinds j but on the first arrival, when in good order, they are found with flesh which, when cooked, has a pinkish-buff' color, and is not, in my estima- tion, bad. Like several other species of salmon, they are very regular in tlie periodical arrivals at the mouths of the rivers. In 185() they arrived in the vicinity of Fort Steilacoom on the 3d of October, and by the 7th were in such vast numbers that a small boy with a pole armed with a gaff-hook could readily take one or two hundred pounds weight in Jin hour." The Indians say tliat, although this species enters the rivers later than the 8. scouleri^ it returns earlier, staying a shorter time away from the sea. They say, also, that most of tlie individuals return to the sea after spawning, many more comparatively than do of the ,S^. scouleri. They say that all individuals of the S. 2»'ofeHs die. The dog-saluion is pre- ferred by the Indians for drying, as it has but little fat. It is found sparingly in the Straits of Fuca and the entrance of Puget Sound as early as August 10. 104 KEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH 'AND FISHERIES. 7. SALMO SALAE, LiimiBus. COMMON SALMON OF EUROPE. We are bj' no means satisfied that this European species exists on the American coast, although Dr. Storer, De Kay and others have so writ- ten. Herbert, quoting Mr. Perley, says that the Salmo trutta, Flem,, of Europe, is also found, and it has been stated that the 8. hamatus, Cuv., occurs. Most x)robably these species are, if ever found, oidj' met with as accidental individuals ; and those fish taken after cursory examina- tion" to be identical with the European are really of distinct species, analogous to or the counterparts of tlieir relatives' on the other side. The description of Salmo salar, contained in Storer's synopsis, is so meager tliat it is useless for purposes of identification. Those of other authors are exceedingly contradictory. Jenyns, in his "Manual of British Vertebrate Animals," gives the following character as pertaining to the species : "Form, oval ; moderately elongated, with the head and back in nearly the same line ; the greatest depth a little before the dorsal ; contained about five times and a half in the entire length, increasing, however, with age ; thickness, half the depth, head small, about one- sixth of the entire length ; snout rather sharp ; jaws in young fish nearly equal, but in old males the lower one longest and curving up- ward in a hook. A row of sharp teeth along both sides of each jaw as well as on the palatines ; but those on the vomer confined to its anterior estreiuity, and in some specimens rather obsolete. " The only specimen m the Smithsonian collection, obtained from the American coast, which closely approaches the S. salar of Europe, is the head of a salmon supposed to have been brought from Maine, hav- ing been purchased in the Washington market. In certain respects the fish undoubtedly approaciies the European species, if we may be allowed to judge by the head alone. Compared to the specimen sent from the Swedish Academy, and labelled S. salar^ (of the correctness of which name we have, however, strong doubts,) we find the head comparatively much wider between the eyes, and posteriorly, in the Maine specimen. The taper of the snout and lower jaw is more rapid; their extremities sharper; teeth more irregular in size, and the angle of the mouth but little behind a line drawn vertically from midway between the eye and nostril ; whereas in the European specimen the angle, when the jaw is moderately drawn down, is found just beneath the pupd. The shape of the pre-opercula also differ ; that of the Maine fish having its poste- rior border nearly vertical, and not, as in the European specimen, arch- ing almost parallel with the semicircular curve of the operculum. " In addition, the vomer of the American fish has no teeth upon its shaft, and but two on its anterior extremity, in this respect agreeing with Jenyn's description of »V. sniar, but ditfering from the Swedish specimens, which have two rows of teeth upon the shaft of that bone.'' SUCKLEY MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 105 The Swedish specimeu (102, adult) shows scattered dark spots along* the sides, and numerous small, round dark spots on the opercules and pre-operx,'nla. Tail unspotted. 8. SALMO QUINKAT, Eichardson. QUINNAT. SY^.—Salmo quiiniat, EiCH. F. B. A. iii, 1836, p. 219 ; De Kay, N. Y. Fauna, iv, 1842, p. 242 ; Stoker, Sj-uopsis, 1S4S, p. 196 ; Herbert, Supplemeut to Frank Forrester's Fish and Fishing, &c., 1850, p. 31 ; Grd. in Proc. A. N. Sc. Phil., viii, 1856, p. 217 ; Ibid. Pacific R. R. Reports, vol. vi ; Ibid. Gen. Rep. Fis"hes, p. 306 ; Suckley, P. R. R. Rept., vol. xii. Part 2, p. 321 ; Ibid. N. H. Wash. Terr. &c., p. 321. Common Salmon, Lewis and Clarke. Figiu-es. — A young fish called by this name, and probably belonging to the species, has been figured under Dr. Girard's supervision, and appears in the volume on the fishes collected by the United States Pacific Railroad sur- vej'iug parties, Plate Ixvii. Sp. Ch. — Adult. — Head pointed and large, forming about a fourth of the length from the snout to the end of the scales on the caudal. Dor. sal outline regularly arched. Caudal deeply" cut out, (in the dried speci- men forked,) snout cartilaginous, as in ;S'. salar. Chiii pointed, a trian- gular bare projection extending beyond the teeth. "General tint of the back bluish gray, changing after a few hours' removal from the water, into mountain green ; sides ash-gray, with sil- very luster ; belly white ; back above the lateral line studded with irreg- ular rhomboidal or star-like black spots, some of them ocellated. Dorsal fin and gUl-cover slightly reddish ; tips of the anal and pectorals black- ish gray; the dorsal and caudal thickly studded with rouud and rhom- boidal spots; back of the head sparingly marked with the same. Whole body below the lateral line, with the under fins, destitute of spots." (Gairdner in Rich., F. B. A. Fishes, 220.) Scales large. Brauchiostegal rays varying from IG to 20. Young f — " Body fusiform in profile; compressed; head forming about the fifth of the total length ; maxillary bone curved, extending beyond the orbit ; anterior margin of the dorsal equi-distant between the ex- tremity of the snout and the insertion of the caudal ; dorsal region oliva- ceous, studded with irregular black spots ; dorsal and caudal fins similarly spotted. Region beneath the lateral line unicolor, silver}^ along the mid- dle of the flanks, and yellowish on the belly; inferior fins unicolor; head above blackish-gray ; sides bluish-gray." — Gii-ard. Based on a si^ecimen. No. 939, Smithsonian collection. Hab. — Pacific coast of North America, from San Francisco northward; entering the larger rivers in great numbers annually. This being the most important salmon, both in excellence and numbers, found in the western waters, I have taken the liberty of reproducing a portion of the remarks on the species which were embodied iu the report 106 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. on this tamiiy fui'uished by the writer for tlie twelfth volume Pacific Eailroad Eej)orts : In shape, and in many other particulars, this fish agrees with the description given in Pallas, Zoog. Eoss. Asiat. of the S. orientalis^ and, as quoted by Brevoort in notes on some figures of Japanese fish, like it, reaches a weight of sixty pounds ; ascending the larger rivers only in the months of April, May, and June ; in having fieshy lips, and in gastro- nomic excellence. It also has a large pointed head, with very similar jaws. It differs from Mr. Brevoort's figure in having the tail much more deeply cut out — almost forked — and in having spots on the back and head. It also but seldom attains the large size given above, the average being usually about twenty-five pounds. Valenciennes says that the S. orientalis has numerous crescent-shaped spots above the lateral line. Tills remark is based on a drawing, taken b3^ Mertens, of a female. (See Brevoort's work above quoted, p. 23.) The >S'. quinnat, according to Gairduer, has the spots differently shaped. In a memorandum furnished me by George Gibbs, esq., he says that in a visit to Chinook, near the mouth of the Columbia, he saw " the true spring salmon of the Columbia. Speckled on back, fins, and tail, with half-moon spots. Tail in large specimens not alvv^ays spotted. Tail forked." The 8. quinnat is designated by Lewis and Chxrke as the "com- mon salmon" of the Columbia. It was first scientifically described by Sir John Eichardson from specimens and notes obtained from Dr. Gaird- ner, who was then (about the year 1835) living at the trading-post of the honorable Hudson Bay Conqjany, situated on the right bank of the Columbia, nearly opposite the mouth of the Willamette Eiver, about one hundred miles from the ocean, then ami still known as Fort Vancouver. While stationed as siu-geon at that important point, Dr. Gairdner, in a most praiseworthy manner, busied himself actively in studying the natural history of the region ; and in connection with the labors of Tol- mie, Townsend, Nuttall, and Douglass in the field, and of Eichardson, Hooker, Audubon, and Bachman in the study, presented to the public almost all that was known to naturalists of that remote portion of the world up to the period when the late scientific explorations were under- taken under the auspices of our Government. This salmon is, perhaps, the finest of all that enter the ri-s'ers and in- lets of our Pacific possessions. The adults are readily recognized by the settlers from their great size and their large deeply-forked tails. When fresh from the sea tliey are in superb condition for the table, equal, in our estimation, to the best English or Scotch salmon. Tlie color of the flesh is of the richest "salmon-red," The general ex- ternal appearance of the* fish presents very bright silvery reflections. They first arrive in the Columbia Eiver during the month of April — the periodical advents usually varying but a few days. Lewis and Clarke speakof their first arrival at the Skilloot village, be- low the site of Fort Vancouver, on the ISth of April, 1800, and at the Dalles (two hundred miles above the numth of the Columbia) in the year SUCKLE Y MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 107 1807, on the lOtli of April. Major G. I. Kaius, United States Arnij^, no- ticed them at the latter place in 1854, on the 28th of April, and I m,yself saw the first of the season in 1855, April 11. George Gibbs, esq., in mss. notes informs me that iu 1853 the same species were "in season" at the mouth of the Columbia on the 20th of April. The quinnat, iu an economical point of view, is by far the most valu- able salmon of any species found in Oregon. The extreme richness and delicacy of its flesh cause it to be much preferred for salting, and were it not for the hitherto high prices of labor, barrels, and salt, it would have, ere this, been found a staple article of export from the Columbia. In numbers they seem to be inexhaustible, and are readily taken in nets and otherwise. Daring the "season" they are so abundantly taken at tiie rapids near Dalles that, notwithstanding the high rates at which most articles of domestic consumption are sold, I have frequently pur- chased noble specimens of this fish, weighing twenty pounds or more, each, for the small price of a quarter of a dollar. The Indians on the Columbia take immense numbers, eating what they need while fresh, and drying thousands for winter consumption or for trade. The principal method of capture employed at the Dalles is by " scooping" at random in the rapid water as it passes a projecting rock along the banks of the stream. The salmon, keeping close to the shore, in order to avoid the force of the current, take advantage of " shore eddies" in their ascent. The Indian selects a proper location, generally by a projecting rock, upon which he builds a platform, and with a "scoop-net" about four feet in diameter, attached to a long pole, rapidl}^ sweeps the water below. The net passing down with the current, and immersed four or five feet below the surface, is alternately dipped and drawn up, again to be plunged in the boilingwaters above. Daring the height of tbeseasou it isuotuucommon for a single man thus to take twenty or thirty fish in an hour. The time chosen is usually during the long twilight of the evening or early morning. Whether this is because the fish do not "run" during the the bright hoiu-s of the day, or because they, seeing better, avoid the net, I am in doubt. For subsequent consumption the salmon are split o]3en and the entrails and back-bone taken out; they are then hung up in the lodges to dry in the smoke. When perfectly dry they are packed iu bundles and kept iu baskets or mats, and in some places, as along the river from Walla- WaUa to Fort ColviUe, large stores are placed on platforms raised on poles some twelve or fifteen feet from the ground. This is to protect them from the ravages of the wolves. To guard agaiust rain and the plundering i)ropensities of crows, magpies, and ravens, they are covered with mats or strips of bark, and occasionally with rough-hewn boards. No salt is used by the savages in preparing the fish; nevertheless, the food thus preserved keeps in good order for several years. Four undoubted specimens of the S. quinnat * are in the Smithsonian * A much fuller collcctiou iu tlie proscut day. 108 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OP FISH AND FISHERIES. collection, two of whicli were sent hy Mr. James Wayne, of Astoria, Ore- gon. A fifth specimen, obtained by the writer from Paget Sonnrt, is the skiu of a youug fish, labeled by Dr. Girard iV. argyreus. Although imma- ture, it resembles more the present species th«,n any other I have been able to compare it with. In an appendix to the private edition of the report above quoted (published under the title of jSTatural History of Washing- ton Territory) the following additional information concerning this species was included: " The ^Salmo quinnat, Rich., (see page 321 ,) we have ascertained by care- ful examination to be the principal species brought to the San Fran- cisco markets. It was found abundant there during the months of Jan- uary and February, and could easily be recognized by its large head and pointed jaws, and by the number of its branchial rays, which are usually over fifteen in number. The tail is large, and well cut out, and the lower fins unspotted. We heard of two specimens which had been brought to the market that weighed sixty-four and a half pounds each. These were the largest that we have known of in that locality, but fish of seventy pounds, it is said, have been caught farther north. This must be about the maximum weight to which it'ever attains. " The quinnat salmon is obtained for the San Francisco market by fishermen in the Sacramento River, who take them with gill-nets, much in the same way as shad are caught in the Hudson. "The fishmongers to Avhom the question was put, whether any pecu- liarities in external appearance serve to distinguish the sexes, answered that they knew of none. The same species of salmon was found, about the 1st of December, abundant in the bay at Port Towusend, and at Port Gamble, Paget Sound. The Indians took them in moderate quan- tities, by trolling in the manner described on page 329. These salmon were not running up the rivers, not yet impelled by instinct so to do, as their ova tlius early in the season were but very slightly developed. " In the San Francisco market we also noticed a small salmon, more spotted, with smaller head and more rounded jaws than the quinnat — in fact, much more nearly resembling the 8. gairdneri or the 8. trun- catiis. This kind is called b}' the dealers salmon-trout. It does not ap- pear to attain a very large size, rarely exceeding 28 inches, and is for its real or supposed excellence sold for a much greater price than the Quinnat." Mr. George Gibbs states that the Skagit Indians believe that the yo- mufsh salmon die after spawning. Tiie largest he saw weighed forty pounds, and were about three feet in length. They become worn out by July or August. The Simiahraoo Indians, speaking another dialect, say that the Jcwitshia {8. quinnat f) alone bite at the hook. We have seen many of the 8. quinnat taken with hook and line at Port Towusend. Mr. Gibbs in his notes describes the manner the Lummi Indians take salmon in salt water by a net about 15 feet square, dipped several feet under water at the front end, but kept stretched between two canoes, SUCKLEY MONOGEAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 109 the hind part of the net being lifted a little above the surface. Tbe canoes are propelled gently along, and when salmon are felt the net is raised like a dip-net, and thus the fish are captured. They occasionally in this way will capture fifty salmon at one "lift." 9. SALMO CONFLUENTUS, Suckley. TOWALT SALMON. Typical specimen in Smithsonian collection Fishes, ISTo. 1135. Syn. — SaJmo confiuentus, Suckley, Ann. N. Y. Lye, December, 1858 ; Ibid, P. R, E. Eep., voL xii., pt. 2, 1839. Towalt of the Nisquallies. Sp. Ch. — 2Iale. — Form, stout; dorsal outline rising to a point just anterior to dorsal fin, then rapidly tapering to tail; dorsal, adipose, and caudal fins profusely spotted ; caudal broad and moderately lunated ; adipose opposite anal, and much elongated ; spots along the back and sides, generally linear, or V-shaiDed; others irregular, (but few round,) covering from two to five scales; the most common cover three scales, and are about half an inch in length; fins on under parts unspotted, as also all parts beneath the lateral line. A triangular bare projection of the chin, anterior to the front teeth, as in the S. quiiinat, but smaller; scales scarcely as large . as those of S. truncafus. Teeth of irregular size, and not so closely disposed on the arms of the jaws and labials as in S. gahfhicri; middle of dorsal fin nearly opposite a point at the middle of the total length. Differs from S. quinnat in having the tail but mod- erately lunated at the extremity, that of the latter being so deeply cut out as to be almost forked ; in the number, shape, and size of its spots, and in its smaller head. Young f (Characters drawn from a young tsaJi-lciDai, sent by Dr. Kennerly from Chiloweyuk Lake, JSTo. 203 in the doctor's collection.) Head contained 5J times in the total length. Tail handsomely forked. Dorsal, adipose, and caudal spotted with oval black spots. Head spot- ted with round spots of the same, each about li lines in diameter. Br. 16 : P. 17 : D, 15 : Y. 11 : A. 16 : C. 20 : rows of scales just in front of dorsal, 31 above lateral line; 42 below ; 145 upon it. Hab. — Xorthwest coast of America, entering the rivers for spawning purposes during the spring, and continuing throughout the summer. A verj^ large salmon, known to the Indians of Puget Sound as the tGicaJt or to-oh-odlt, is caught in Black Eiver, a fork of the Dwamisli. It is said that this species is distinct from the satsup, (which we take to be the quinnat,) but it is identical with the tsah-lcwai of Fraser Eiver. Mr. George Gibbs, while on Fraser River, speaks of the salmon known to the natives there as the tsah-Jcivai. He says : " A few enter Fraser river as early as March, bnt they are so few that they are not caught at the fisheries before April. Mr. Gibbs mentions obtaining in the Haro Straits, on the 12th of Marcli, 1859, one of these salmon. " Belly, silverj^- "white; back, dark olive-green on the ridge; sides, lighter and with 110 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. light bronze reflections to within an inch of the lateral line, with black linear spots on the same ; tail and dorsal fin, speckled ; head small and pointed; ventral tins commence nearly as far back as the dorsal ends; scales very small and bright. At this date they are still scarce." A tsah-kwai obtained by Dr. Kennedy at L. Chiloweyuk, September 8, 1858, had, according to the doctor's notes, a length of 3 feet, 10 inches, (nearly 4 feet,) and an abdominal circumference of 1 foot, 10 inches. Black sj)ots on the tail as large as a buck-shot; those of the dorsal tin oblong. Greneral color, silvery-grey with metallic lustre. Lateral line very distinct. Sides above the lateral line with irregular black spots. Snout projects a little when the mouth is closed. Head 8 inches long. This species was in good condition and abundant at Ghiloweyuk at date. He also adds: "This species is the largest found in these waters. Its meat is quite white and not so much esteemed as the suTc-keh, which has red meat." In speaking of a young specimen he says: "The spots are quite distinct, i)erhaps of larger size in proportion than those of the adult." 10. SALMO AUEOEA, Girard. Syn. — Fario aurora, Grd. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc, Philad., viii, 1856, p 218; Ibid. P. R. R. Rep., vol. X, 1858, p. 308. Sahno aurora, Grd. Suckley, P. R. R. Rep, vol. xli., part 2, p. 343 ; Ibid. Nat. Hist. Washington Territorj', j). 343, pi. 6 8. ? ? Bed-char, Lewis and Clark. • Sp. Oh. — Body fusiform, compressed; head forming the fourth of the total length, caudal fin excluded; upper jaw longest. Maxillary gently undulating, its posterior extremity extending to a vertical line passing considerably behind the entire orbit. Anterior margin of dorsal fin ecjuidistant between the tip of the snout and the base of the caudal. Ground color, greyish-silvery above; sides and belly, yellowish-orange; dorsal fin spotted. — Girard. The two specimens from Astoria still remain in the Smithsonian col- lection. No others have been received since their arrival in 1851. Dr. Girard's description (based upon the characters of what appear to be young of immature fish) gives very uncertain data for the ideutiflcation of adults of the species. The typical specimens are numbered 563 on the museum register. Collectors near the mouth of the Columbia would do well to preserve for study and comparison several small (healthy) red salmon, if they can be obtained. 11. SALMO AEGYEEUS, Girard. Syx. — SaTmo arffi/rcus, Gi?d. Pacific R. R. Rep., vol. x, 1858, p. 312, pi. 52 ; Suckley, P. R. R. Rep., p. 32i3, and Nat. Hist. Wash. Terr., p. 326. Fario argijreus, Grd., Proc. A. N. Sc, Phil, viii, 1856, 218 ; Ibid. Pacific R. R. Rep., vol. vi, part iv, i>. 32. As the description of this species given by Dr. Girard seems based on the characters of two young, partially grown fish, the specific characters SUCKLEY MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SxVLMO. Ill thus deduced are probably much unlike those of the adult in good con- dition. Sp. Ch. — "Body very much depressed, rather deep upon its middle region, and quite tapering posteriorly. Head moderate, constituting the fifth of the entire length. Jaws equal. Maxillary slightly curved; its free extremity extending to a vertical line drawn posteriorly to the orbit. Anterior margin of dorsal fin nearer the extremity of the snout than the insertion of the caudal fiu. Bluish-grey above; silveiy along the mid- dle of the flanks; yellowish beneath." — Girard. Three specimens are in the Smithsonian collection, labeled by Dr. Girard, as belonging to this species. From two of these, also, he based Ms description, and had the drawing of Plate Ixx, Gen. Rep. Fishes, P. R. R. Rept,, made. They are alcoholic specimens, and are numbered on the museum register 579, 580. The least examination shows that both were very young fish — so young as to render it impossible to decide with certaiuty to what species they really belong. In many characters they resemble the >S'. quiuiiat, and i)articularly so in having fully fifteen branchiostegal rays. 12. SALMO PAUCIDENS, Richardson. WEAK-TOOTHED SALMON. Syn. — SaJmo paueidens, EiCH. F. B. A. iii, p. 222; — Herbert, Sup. to Fisli and Fishing, &c. 1850, p. 36;— Stickley, Nat. Hist. Wasli Terr, and P. R. E. Reports, vol. xii, p. 325, 1859-'G0. Dr. Girard's species, the 8. aurora., has the back well arched. This may be owing to youth. Were it not for this circumstance the exceed- ingly small, weak teeth of the specimens hibeled by the doctor as S. aurora, (and from which he based his description of the species) would induce us to consider the latter name only as a synonym. The young of all the species of salmon known to the writer have forked tails, and it is, therefore not until the fish have reached adult age that this charac- ter can be relied on as specific. The salmon in. Dr. Keunerly's collection from Frazer River, labelled the suJi-lcegh, and described by us in " Kotices of Several New Species of Salmouidte, &c., Xew York, June, 18G1," as the Salmo richardi, comes nearer to this species than any that we have received ti'om the Pacific coast, even including the S. aurora. More specimens from the Colum- bia will settle the question. For discussion of certain i^oints in connection with S. paueidens^ we refer to the works last quoted in the synonymy above. 13. SALMO TSUPPITCH, Richardson. WHITE SALMON. Syn.— .S'«?/yiO hupi)itch, Rich. F. B. A. Fishes, 1836, p. 224 ;— De Kay, N. Y. Fauna, iv, 1842; — Storer, Synop. 1846, p. 197; — Herbert, Supplem. to Fish 112 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONEE OF FISH AND FISHERIES, and Fishing, 1850, p. 39 ;— Suckley, Nat. Hist, of Wasli. Territory, I9r,0. (not Fario tsuppitch;—GnT>. Pr. A. N. Sc. Phil., viii, 1856, p. 218;— Ibid., Gen. Rep. Fishes P. R. R. Rep., 1858, vol, x, p. 300.) ? White Salmon, Settlers on the Columbia. ? Silvery-wliite Salmon-trout, Lewis and Clarke. Figures. — The plate (LXIX, figs. 1-4) in the P. R. R. Reports, represents the Salmo f/ibbsii, and not this species. — (See remarks on S. gihbsti.) Sp. Ch. — Convexity of dorsal outline rising gradually to origin of first dorsal, declining from thence to the tail. Caudal forlml. Head small, exactly eonlcal, terminating in a pointed snout. Commissure of mouth very slightly oblique. Back of body and head studded with oval and circular spots ; sides and fins, includuig the caudal^ destitute of sjmts. Teeth minute and sharp; a single row on each palate bone, a few on the anterior end of the vomer, and a double row on the tongue. [The fore- going descrijition is deduced from Dr. Gairdner's notes in Eich. F. B. A., p. 224.J The portions italicized in the above summary of specitic characters are those differing strongly from a correct description of the fish taken by Dr. Girardfor this species, and described by me as the >S. gibhsii. The description, &c., above quoted is copied bodily from the Report on the Salmonid;e, by the present writer, contained in part 2, twelfth volume Pacific Railroad Reports, and duplicated in the work entitled Natural History of Washington Territory. Since then no additional information has been obtained concerning the fish, although careful inquiries have been made. 14. SALMO CLARKII. Richardson. CLARK'S SALMON. S,\"S.— Salmo clarJcii, Rich. F. B. A. iii, 1836, p. 224 ;— Storer, Synop. 1846, p. 197 ;— Herbert, Fish and Fishing of the U. S. Suppl., 1850, p. 40 ;— Suckley, P. R. R. Report, vol. xii, p. 344, 1859 ; — Ibid., Nat. Hist. Wash. Territory, 1860. (not Salmo clarkii, Grd.^ Sp. Ch. — (Drawn from Richardson's description and Dr. Gairdner's notes.) Dorsal profile nearly straight. Yentrals opposite to the mid- dle of first dorsal. Fissure of mouth oblique. Extremity of caudal nearly even. Both jaws armed vrith strong hooked teeth, a single row on each palate bone, and a double row on the anterior half of the vomer and on the tongue. The teeth are long, slender, and acute. Lingual teeth longest and most curved, An oblong jjlate on the isthmus which unites the lower ends of the branchial arches rough, with very minute teeth. Sixty-six vertebra? in t!ie spinal column. From the colors given by Dr. Gairduer we infer that they were noted from partially exhausted individuals of some species of anadromous salmon. He says: "Back generally brownish purple — red, passing on the sides mt6 ash-grey, and into reddish white on the belly. Large patches of dark purplish-red on the back, dorsal and base of the caudal SUCKLEY MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 113 ash-gray; end of caudal pausj-purple. Back, dorsal, and caudal stud- ded witk small semi-Umar spots. A large patch of arterial-red ou the operculum and margin of pre-operculum. Pectorals, ventrals, and anal, grayish-white, tinged with rose red." Bmjs.— ''Br. 11; P. 12: V. 8: A. 13: D. 11-0." The original speci- mens were obtained by Dr. Gairdner at the Oathlapootl Ilivel-, a small tributary to the Columbia. None have been obtained during the recent explorations, although it is by no means improbable that some one of the species lately described from healthy-run individuals may reall^^ be identical with this fish. For further remarks and suggestions concern- ing S.cJar1:ii, see "i^at. Hist. Washington Territory," or Pacific E. R. Reports, vol. V2. 15. SALMO IMMACULATUS, Storer. THE UNSPOTTED SALMON. 8yx. — Sahno immaculaius, H. R. SxoitER. Bost. Joiirn. Nat. Hist., vi, pp. 264-1169. Sp. Ch. — (Drawn from Storer's original description.) " Length of head about one-sixth that of the body ; its depth two-thirds of its length. Jaws with numerous sharp incurved teeth. Eyes laterally elongated, their diameter one-third the distance between them. Opercles rounded posteriorly ; beloAv, naked and marked with concentric stritie. Pre-opercle la^rger than in S.fontinaJis. Scales larger than those of S. fonthialis. Lateral line commences back of superior angle of the operculum, and assuming the curve of the body is lost at the commencement of the caudal rays. The first dorsal commences just anterior to median line, and is nearly quadrangular. Fins. — Adipose at a distance back of the first dorsal little less than one-half the length of the fish. Pectorals just beneath posterior angle of the operculum ; their length three-fifths that of the head. Yentrals just beneath posterior portion of first dorsal. The plates, at their base, very large ; anal about the length of the head behind the ventrals, ter- minating directly beneath the adipose fin. Caudal deeply forked, its length equal to greater depth of body. Colo)^. — Silver}^ on sides and abdomen ; darker on back. ]S"o spots. DiAaNOSis. — The diagnosis betweeii this species, if it should really prove distinct, would be by the following : Its silvery color ; absence of spots ; great length of head compared to the body, the strongly forked tail and its great length. " D. 9 : P. 13 : V. 9 : A. 11 : C. 30." ' The specimen described by Dr. Storer appeared to be unique. Its length was thirteen and a half inches, and trom that circumstance, and from the deeply-forked tail, I am strongly inclined to consider it as that of a young fish, probably belonging to some species already known — perhaps ^8'. truttq. The naming of salmonidae, and the description of new species, based upon the characters of young, partially developed fish, cannot be too strongly reprobated. There is already too much confusion in the synonymy of the various kinds; and if the jiractice of S. Mis. 74 8 114 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. describing and naming new species from the characters of unideutifiedj immatnre individuals is not stopped, the study of the relations of the species will become so complicated that useful classification will be next to impossible, and the principal object and usefulness of scientific arrangement, such as simplifies the study of natural history in other branches," will be greatly impaired. Examples of description based on young fish are Salmo newherrii, Grd., and Sahno {Fario) argyreus Grd. Errors of this kind might easily be avoided by a little care in labeling by the collector in the field. These remarks are meant generally, and not to reflect upon individuals. Dr. Storer adds to his description the following statement : "But a single specimen of this beautiful fish was taken, and that by a gill-net stretched across the mouth of a brook flowing into Red Bay, Labrador.''- IG. SALMO GAIKDXEEI, Richardson. Gairdner's Salmon. Syk. — Sahno f/airdveri. Rich., Fauua B. A., Fishes, 1836, p. 221 ; — De Kay, N. Y. Famia, ir, 1842, p. 243; — Storer, Sjniop., 1846, p. 196; — Herbert, Suppl. to Fish and Fishing of the United States, 1850, p. 34; — (not Fario gaird- neri, Grj>., Pr. A. N. Sc, Phil., viii, 1856, p. 219 :— Ibid. Pacific R. R. Re- poi-ts, vol. vii : et Gen. Rep. Fishes, p. 313, Plate Ixji, fig. 1-4) ; — Suck- ley, P. R. R. Rep., vol. 12, p. 331 ;— Ibid. Nat. Hist. Wash. Ten., p. 331. Qiiannich or Kwnannich Chinook, (not jargon.) Sp. On. — [Based on data given by Richardson, and on the examination of two dried skins in the Smithsonian collection.] Profile of dorsal outline nearlj' straight; tail terminating in a vslightly semilunar outline. Ventrals correspond to conuneucement of dorsal, and adipose to end of anal. Jaws fully armed with strong hooked teeth, except a small space in center of up]ier jaw. Vomer armed with a double row for two-thirds of its anterior portion. Back of head and body, bluish gray ; sides, ash gray; belly, white; caudal, spotted with oval dark spots; snout, rounded ; head, short and comparatively broad'; under fins, light-colored. Habitat. — Pacific Ocean, northwest coast of America. Enters and ascends the Columbia in the spring. DiAGNOSLS. — From S. qiihmat by its round muzzle and chin, and when adult b^' lacking the forked tail. From S. truHcatus by its broad- head at the base ; its round " snub " snout. [For further marks of dif- ference see those species.] It resembles the S. tnincatus in its short head,' small teeth, truncate tail, and large scales. In the specimen examined the operculum differs considerably in shape from that of the male S. quinnat. Gairdner's salmon enters the Columbia in the spring in company AA'ith .the 8. quinnat. It is a flue silvery fish, and equal in flavor and delicacy to the latter, but much smaller in size ; the average, according to Dr. Gairdner, being about six or seven pounds. Two skins are in the Smithsonian collection, sent from Astoria by Mr. James Wayne. SUCKLEY MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 115 4 17. SALMO TRUXOATUS, Suckley. SHORT-TAILED SALMON ; SQUARE-TAILED SALMON. Syn. — Sahno truncatus, Suckley. Ann, N. Y. Lye, Dec, 1858. — Ibid. Pacific K. R. Reports, vol. xii, p. 327, 1859. EUt-shim of the Klallams. Typical specimen, No. 11.34, Smithsonian collection. Sp. Ch. — [Based upon the skius in the Smithsonian collection.] Body, fasifonn ; dorsal ontline but slightly arched; anterior margin of dorsal ftu much anterior to a point equidistant between the nose and the inser- tion of the tail; head very small; jaws fully provided with small teeth ; tail small, its free margin, when extended, being almost straight, having a very faint tendency to lunation ; scales large. Colors of the fresh run fish : Back of head, l)ack, dorsal and caudal fins bright blue, spotted on the head with roundish, on the fins with oval spots of black-; the blue of the back is silvery, that of the head and fins darker; lower parts silvery white, this color extending about an inch above the lateral line, and merging itself irregidarly into the color of the back ; no spots below the lateral line, which is faint and of a bluish dusky color ; lower fins pale and unspotted, their tips somewhat darkish. Abdominal cavity comparatively' small ; fish weighty for its size ; usually two rows of teeth along the body of the vomer. The male has a slightly larger head than the female; the teeth are also stronger ; and between the front teeth opposite the intermaxillary a notch exists for the reception of the more pointed chin. It i^robably never becomes " hooked-billed." Diagnosis. — From *S'. quinnat can be distinguished by its more rounded snout and chin ; by lacking the triangular bare space in front of the maxillary symphysis anterior to the teeth ; by its short head ; even, spotted tail; and by its large scales, which are double the size of those of the (ptinnaf. From /S'. gairdneri. Rich. Snout and angle of jaws sharper; head much narrower at the base and more tapering; scales slightly larger. The species are however nearly allied. [For remarks in detail con- cerning the differences and aiiinities between this and other salmon, see Pacific Railroad Reports, vol. xii, part 2, page 328.] Hab. — Anadroraous ; Puget Sound ; ? Columbia River. Since the preparation of the twelfth volume of the Pacific Railroad Reports, Dr. Kennerly obtained and forwarded some additional material, (skins 2097, 1119.) Xo. 2097 was obtained during the winter of 1859 at Fraser River; the other in the Straits of Fuca, in August. We have, therefore, been able more satisfactorily to determine the distinctions between this species and the S. (jair(hierh. Mr. G-ibbs now seems to think this fish is not identical with the skicowl of the Xisquallies. The measurement of the head of the typical specimen mentioned in the last works quoted in the synonymy was taken from the snout over the 116 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. vertex along tlie median line^and not from snout to farthest point on edge of operculum. It was this measaremeut of the head which was one-thirteenth of the fish's total length. The following is extracted from the report on the Salmonidse in the Pacific Railroad Report, vol, xii : While residing at Puget Sound I collected the following information from the Indians respecting the salmon known to the Nisquallies as the skwotcl, which I consider identical with the Jclutchin of the Klallams, a specimen of which has served as the typical example of the present species. This fine salmon is second to none in beauty, size, or excel- lence. It arrives in the bays and estuaries of Puget Sound about the middle of autumn, and toward the 1st of December commences to run up the larger rivers emptying into the sound. Their ascent of these streams continues through December and Jiinuary. This arrival of the species in fresh water is not as simultaneous, neither do tbey arrive in such, great numbers at any one time or in schools, as is the case with the sicoivitz, and several other species, but the " run " being somewhat more "drawn out" affords a stead^^, moderate supply to the Indians during its continuance. In the fall and winter large numbers are taken by the Indians from the salt water by trolling with hook and line in the bays and coves of Paget Sound. The bait used is generally a small kind of herring, a little larger than the common sardine of commerce. After entering the rivers it is taken by the Indians in nets, traps, bas- kets, and also by spearing. Its flesh when cooked is of a beautiful salmon-red, and, as a table delicacy, Avhen fat, as it generally is when " fresh run," ranks equally with that of the S. salar, the satsttp, or the quinnat. The Cowlitz River, (a branch of the Columbia,) situated not more than sixty miles from the head of Puget Sound, has salmon of various species entering it at regular periods annually. Indians of in- telligence have told me that the species under consideration is the only kind common to both these waters. How far we can place reliance on their statements is difficult to determine. The distinguishing characters which strike the eye at a glance are its short and small head, the small weak teeth in the-jaws, and the shape of its tail, which is trimcated, not forked. Mr. George Gibbs says that the aS'. truncdfus {lilfsliin or Idut-cJiin) has the most solid meat of all the sal- mon, and has a very small abdominal cavity. It keeps its depth to the insertion of the tail, and weighs more in proportion than any other. Body covered with small black, roundish spots ; back, dark olive; sides, gray ; belly, white — gray behind ; nose straight. A specimen obtained by him, 29 inches in length, had a girth in front of dorsal flu of 17 inches; girth at insertion of caudal, 7 inches. Length of head, 5 inches ; nose to dorsal fin, 13.75 inches; breadth of tail, (at extremities of lobes,) 6 inches. Scales small ; weight, 9.75 pounds ; male. Whether this be the sicicowl or not, the fact that slcicoivl enters the rivers in mid-winter and is gone or exhausted when the 8. quinnat arrives, is of value, and will afford a clue to the collector. SUCKLEY MONOGEAPn OF THE GENUS SALMO. 117 18. SALMO RICHARBI, Suckley. SUK-KEG-H SAI/MON; RICHARD'S SALMON. Syx. — Salnio rkhardU, Suckley, Notices New Species N. Am. Salmon. N. Y., June, 18G1. ? S. paucidens, Rich., F. B. A. Sp. Ch. — [Based on a skiu in alcohol, No. -2005, Smithsonian Cat. ; Fishes.j Dorsal ontline moderately convex, its point of greatest height being at the insertion of anterior ray of dorsal — the arch from the snout to the caudal insertion being very uniform. Femije. — Head conical; ja^vs apparently equal — the thick, fleshy tip on the point of the lower jaw of the fresh-run fish aiding much to give this appearance. Maxillary extends back to a point immediately below the posterior of margin of orbit. Teeth extremely small, and l»ut few. Tail deeply lunated — almost forked. Tail and other fins unspotted. Does not often attain a greater weight than fifteen potinds — the average being scarcely more tlian eight. Br. rays, usually 14. ^ Hab. — IsTorthwest Pacific coast. Enters Fraser and Skagit Rivers. The species is named in honor of Mr. J. H. Richard, the cl^'er artist who has so handsomely and correctly dra^T]l the ichthyological illustrations of the Pacific Railroad Reports. Diagnosis. — The forked or deeply lunated tail will serve to distin- guish the species from those not possessing that character. From the quinnat it differs in lacking the strong teeth and pointed, triaiigular, smooth, projecting chin which extends in front of the teeth of the latter. The unspotted tail and fins assist in the diagnosis. Concerning its identity with S. paucidens, see text beyond. The " lip" in front of the teeth on the lower jaw is not triangular, but is rather thick, extending some distance in front of the teeth, and in this respect approachiug to the 8. quinnat. This salmon runs up Fraser River in great numbers, where it is the principal summer salmon. In the Skagit it occasionally is found, and is there considered a great rarity by the natives, who call it oheli-itl. This fish in many respects agrees with Richardson's descrij)tion of the S-pau- cidens. But as that is so meager and may apply to the yoimg of so many different kinds, I have been guided by the known difference of time in their arrival from the sea. Dr. Gairduer says that the weak- toothed salmon enters the Columbia in comx)any with the S. quinnat, (in April and May,) whereas the sulc-Jcegh does not run up Fraser River until later. " The procuring of specimens from the Columbia of the salmon known to the Indians of the lower river as the Tcweachts, would settle this question. " The sukdcegh is the best summer salmon of Fraser River, being in priim? condition in the rivers during August and the early part of September. When they enter Lake Chiloweyuck they almost immediately die, owing, 118 REPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. as the Indians believe, to something peculiar in the water. — (Kennerly, in MSS.) Dr. Kennerly in a note made on the 13th of September, 1859, says that he had that day " observed many jdead salmon floating on the lake." Mr. Gibbs found the species in fuU run August 1, 1857, in the salt water on the west side of Lnmmi Island. II. S]Dotted with red, feedmg freely in fresh water. 10. SALMO CAMPBELLI, Suckley. PACIFIC RED-SPOTTED SALMGN-TRqUT ; CHEWAGH. « Syn. — Sahno sjjectaMJh, Ged. Proc. A. Nat. Sc. Pli. viii, 1856, p. 218; — Ibid. Pacific R. R. Rep.jVoLxii, p. 307 ; — Suckley, Rept. ou the Salmouidi», P. R. R. Re- ports, vol. xii, and Nat. Hist. Wash. Terri., p. 342. Sahno eamphcUi, Suckley. Notices of certain New Species of N. A. Salmon, June, 1861. Sp. Ch. — A slender fish for the genus. Head, measured from snout to distal edge of oi^erculum, contained about four and three-quarter times in the total length ; measured from snout to nape, it is contained seven and a half times. When the pectorals ara smoothed backward against the belly the point of greatest girth is along a line drawn verti- cally neai- their eniveii by Richardson, arc obscure, as they were based OH the appearance of a dried skin. Tliere appear to have been yelh)w or orange spots along the sides. Lower parts white or yel- low. We have been able to obtain no specimens for examination. 24. SALMO NITIDUS, Eichardson. THE ANGMALOOK. Syn. — Salmo nitidus, Rich. Nat. Hist., App. Ross's Voy., p. Ivii; — Ibid. F. B. A., iii, p. 171, PI. 82, fig. 1; PI. 86, fig. 2 ;— DeKay, Rcpiut, p. 242;— Stoker, Synopsis ; — Gill, Catalogue Fishes E. Coast, p. 52. Variety of S. alijjcs, (Rich.) The Iviksarolc of the Greenlanders. Sp. Oh.— [Condensed from Sir John Richardson's description.] Knob at point of lower jaw, received in notch between interiuaxillaries. Back nearly straight. Teeth mnch as in S. alipes, as are also many other ana-tomi(;al characters, for which see sp. ch. of S. alipes and " diagnosis" below. Lower jaw, when depressed, slightly longer than from snout to nape. Scales tiled, small, roimdish. Colors, (according to Cai)tain Ross :) Body above the lateral line, deep greeii, softening towards the belly, which is of a beautiful yellow- ish-red tint posterior to the pectoral pin. Under parts white, sliglitly clouS'. alipes ; belly more prominent, fins shorter, anus farther back ; head less arched above and in profile ; mesial ridge and lateral porous curves less promine'nt; no radiating lines above the orbit, which is proportionately nearer the snout; upper jaw shorter. This fish, the 8. alipes^ S. bairdii, and S. parkei, agree in possessing' characters almost sufficient to include them in a distinct subgenns. They all belong to the chars, (subgenus SalDelimis of JSTilsson;) bnt in addi- tion have an elongated, fleshy projection standing np from the ijoint of the lower jaw, which is received into a toothless notch between the i)remax- illaries. They, in addition, have a mark common also to the *S'. fontiualis, Mitchill; this is in having the first rays of the pectorals, ventrals and anals yellow, red, or white. None of the black-s[)otted trouts, or sal- mon, have these rays in color specially distinguished from those of the rest of the fin. SUCKLEY MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 123 When we speak of color of the ray, we mean of tlie integument or membrane covering it. 25. SALMO F0NTI:N^ALIS, Mitchill. COMMON TROUT; BROOK TROUT OF THE ATLANTIC COAST OF NORTH AMERICA. Syn. — Salmo fontinalis, Mitchill, Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. of N. Y., 1, p. 435 ; — Rich. F. B. A. iii, p. 17(5; — Kihtlaxd, Report, Zool. Oliio, pp. 169-194 ^ — Thompson, Hist. Vermont ; — DeKay, N. H. State of N. Y., Fishes, p. 235 : — Aykes, Bost. Journ. N. H. iv, p. 273; — Kirtlaxd, Boat. Joiun. N. H. iv, p. 305 ; — Valenciennes, H. N. ties Poissous, xxi, j). 26G, 1848 ; — Stoker, Synopsis ; — Bigelow, Bost. Jonrii., vi, p. 49 ; — Foksyth, Bost. Journ., v, p. 412; — Herbert, TFrank Forrester,) "Fish and Fishing;" also, "Sup- plement to the same ;" — Gill, Cat. Fishes E. Coast N. A. Salmo nigresceiis, Raf. Ichth, Ohien, p. 45.* Salmo erjithrogastcr, DeKay, Report, p. 236. — (Red-bellied variety.) Baione fontinalia, DeKay, Rep. Fishes, p. 244, 1842. (A species founded on the young.) Salmo canadensis, Ham. Smith, " Grif. Cuv., vol. 10, p. 474, PI. 41."— De Kay, Rep., p. 243. — Storer Syuop., p. 197. Salmo fario, Smith, Fishes of Massachusetts, p. 141. Sp. Cil — [Mostly condensed from DeKay.] Body oblong, compressed ; back, broad and rounded; head, slo[)ing nearly symmetrically above and below; nostrils donble; labials, intermaxillaries and lower maxillaries armed with minute teeth ; tongue with two rows of from four to six teeth ; vomer, with six to eight teeth in a single row. Br. 12, 12. Colons. — Above with irregular dark markings on a horn-colored ground, which, in freshly caught specimens, give bluish and greenish metallic reflections; sides lighter, merging into silvery-white on the abdomen, but showing much red in the spawning season; upper part of the head dark greenish-brown, with obscure mottlings ; vermilion dots and large yellow spots in the vicinity of tlie lateral line. The pectorals have the first ray yellow or the second black, the remainder orange; ventralsand anal with first ray white as on the tips of second and third. Caudal red- dish, with obscure parallel dark bands, more distinct toward the tips of the lobes. Caudal somewhat emarginate ; quite forked in the young, which have also dark transverse bars on the sides. Hab. — Fresh-water lakes and streams from Canada to Tennesee on tlie Atlantic slope. Occasionally repairs to salt or brackish water if within reach. Among some fifty specimens of this species of trout in the Smithsonian collection are individuals from Eastern Tennessee; Preston County, Virginia, (Professor Andrews;) from the Potomac Eiver; from various rivers and streams in Pennsylvania, New York, and the New England States, Lake Superior, and Canada. Notwithstanding the great range of the species there is but little sign 124 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. of local variety, except what may be caused in color by change of posi- tion from still to rapid or fresh to brackish or salt water, to which the species is very fond of repairing when accessible. The more southern specimens are paler, while those from Lake Superior and Canada are darker than is usual in the Middle States. This must be owing to some natural law affecting the Salmouid;e. The New Mexico specimens of 8. virginalis in the Smithsonian collection show the same bleaching when obtained from southern localities. TLie S. eryihrogaster, DeKay, is nothing but tliis fish tinged with red during the breeding season. This is the favorite game-fish of the Middle States, where its capture during the proper season is one of the most keenly-relished sports of our scientific anglers. Its weight rarely exceeds four pounds, and it is rare indeed to find one in Southern Xew York weighing more than three. The mountain streams, which are the sources of the Delaware, are favor- ite resorts of anglers, where large numbers are taken without difficulty, but unfortunately they are usually of small size. On Long Island much larger fish are taken. There are there — especially on the south side — many fine private ponds, where trout are carefully preserv^ed and their management reduced to a specialty. Many of these ponds are owned or leased by fishing clubs. Stringent rules exist against the destruc- tion of fish below a certain size, or the killing of more than a limited number daily. Probablj^ the finest and best preserved trout-pond on the island, Massapequa, belongs to William Floyd Jones, esq. The writer can testify to the excellence of the fishing there, the large size of the fish, and the genuine hospitality of the proprie,tor. John D. Jones, esq,, at his country-seat on the north side of the island, has several artificial ponds in which, at the time of writing, (June, 1861,) he is experimenting in the artificial raising and maintenance of this beauti- ful fish. The following interesting remarks on the habits of ISalmo fontinalis are extracted from a letter addressed to Dr. Storer, by I. B. Forsyth, M. D., published in the Boston Journal of ]!^atural History, vol. v, p. 412. " The few observations I have to communicate upon the habits and peculiarities of the salmon-trout, were made during a residence of ten years in Sandwich, Cape Cod, where the facilities for that purpose are very abundant. "It may be well to premise, that the distance, at this point of the cape, from one bay to the other, varies from five to ten miles, and the laud is gradually elevated from each shore, till it reaches the center, and con- sequently the streams, for the most part arising from springs, are short, terminating in creeks upon the marshes. Many of these are of sufficient magnitude for mill-sites, and are therefore crossed by permanent ob- structions; and hence it frequently happens, in the short space of a quarter of a mile, you find specimens of both, as they are familiarly SUCKLEY MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 125 called, the fresh and salt water trout. The following varieties in color^ and appearance have been observed : "1st. Those having the u[>per part and sides of a pale brown, gradu- ally becoming less so, till it terminates in white on the under part, having a silvery appearance when first taken from the water, and cov- ered with small, distinct scales ; the circular yellow^ and red spots very indistinct; generally found in the marshy creeks, or in open streams, where the sun has free access. They are well fed upon minnows and shrimps, having a plump appearance, and are the variety mostly sought after by those who desire the trout in its highest perfection, for the table. They are taken mostly between the months of January and July. They vary in size from one -fourth of a pound to four pounds; but I have never seen one to exceed two and a half. "2d. Those having the upper x»art and sides of a dark brown, havmg a dark-green appearance, terminating in white or orange underneath, and covered more or less with round yellow spots, with a bright red center, color varying according to the location; and generally not so plump and well fed as those above mentioned. "3d. Those having the upper part and sides of either a light or dark brown, with spots more distinctly marked on the dark than the light; underneath, the color uniformly ferruginous or orange. "Each of these varieties is found both in the streams communicating with the salt marshes, and in those which, are entirely cut off' from theui, by permanent obstructions. The first-named variety, however, is no- where found in so great perfection as in close approximation to the salt creeks. The difference between the salt and fresh water trout, in this vicinity, seems to be only in name, so far as I have been able to deter- mine, with ample opj)ortunities in taking them, and with specimens before me. "The peculiarity of these varieties seems to depend entirely upon the location and the nature of the soil at the bottom of the stream they in- habit. The first variety is found in clear water, with light gravelly bottom, and where the banks are not shaded by shrubbery, but where they are almost constantly exposed to the rays of the sun; The second variety inhabits streams which are for the most part shaded by trees, or which take their rise iu, or pass through, jieat-bogs. Thus in one stream, the trout caught at the head of it were always of a very dark brown, almost black, highly marked with yellow and red spots, while those taken near the mouth of the stream were of a light color. One of these streams arises from a deep basin of dark water 30 feet in diamete and 10 feet deep, surrounded by a peat-bog, where fish taken, so far as I know, have been uniformly of a dark brown. In other streams having a bottom of ifon ore they are uniformly marked with orange under- neath, the color of the upper part and sides appearing to depend upon the amount of exposure to the sun's rays. These observations are made independent of any of the changes of color or markings which take place during the spawning season. 126 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. "About the 1st of January these fish are found congregated together at high-water mark, and seem to have come down the stream for the l^nrpose of locating themselves in the marshes, where they can obtain food. So uniform are they in this that, for a number of years it was my custom to visit one j)articular stream during this mouth, and I was always sure to find them assembled in waiting for me within a few rods of the same spot, in number 1 cannot say how many, but I would take of them varying from sixty to seventy-five. " During the months of February, March, and April they become sepa- rated and are distributed the whole length of the creeks, and about the 1st of May begin again, in small numbers, to ascend the stream. This they continue to do as the season advances, and this means of sustenance increases (wliicli is principally insects and flies) till about the middle of October, when they are found in great numbers, as near up as they can conveniently get to the origin of the stream. This is their spawning season, and having deposited their spawn, they begin to wend their way down the stream, for the most part in a body, till they reach again the marslies. "These fish were formerly taken in cousiderable numbers with a kind of net used in the herring fishery; but this mode of taking them is, I believe, prohibited by legislation. They are now taken, for the most part, with line and hook, baited with minnow, shrimp, or earth-worm ; or, at some seasons of the year, with the artificial fly, more especially in the fresii ponds. Two other methods of taking them have been resorted to in the small streams, both of which deserve a passing notice. The first is by titillatioii, so-called; and the second, hooking them up by the caudal extremity, decidedly the meanest way of taking them. " The method of taking them by titillation is this: About the spawning season they are found, for the most part, in the small and narrow head. streams, and seem more sluggish th 1^5 t-1 S ^ U 592 Salmolewisi* Falls of the Mo. R. 8.25 5 25 Dr. Suckley. 592 Do Do 8-25 5 25 Do. 33215 Do Do 8 25 5 20 Dr. Cooper. 33-27 Do Do 8.75 5 20 Do. 30-31 S. virjnnalis, Fort Mass., N. M. 7.10 4 50 Dr. Peters. 31-31 Do Do 7.35 4 75 Do. 30-31 < Do. * Do 7 35 4 50 Do. 30-31 Do Do 7 20 5.00 Do. 595 Do. youns- Uta,h Creek, N. M. 6 75 4 50 Lt. Bcckwith. 595 Do. ...... Do 6 90 4 65 Do. 595 Do Do 6 95 4 65 Do. 597 Salmo iridea San Mateo Cr.,Cal. 6 75 4.40. R. D. Cutts. 597 Do Do 6 75 4 50 Do. 595 Do San Francisco. .'. .. 6 50 4 60 Dr. Newberry. 27 Do. (rivnlaris) Sau 'Fi-ancisco 6 20 4.40 Dr. Ayi-es. 594 Do. iridea.. Cliico creek, Cal... 6 25 4 25 Dr. Newberry. 596 Do Hnmboldt Bay — 6 30 4 60 1123 Do Dalles, Oregon 7.30 5.25 Dr. Suckley, skin, P. mark. 584 ?Do Ft. Steilacoom 7 25 • 5 00 Dr. Suckley. 590 Do F; Dallas 6 90 5 00 Do. 586 Do.brevicauda Ni.squally Creek.. 7 50 5 00 586. Do : Cape Flattery 6 30 4 75 Lt. Trowbridge 586 Do Do 6.50 4 50 Do. H Do Pni^et Sound 6 75 4 50 Do Do 7.20 4.75 * Typical specimens. This fine trout upon the Pacific slope replaces the Salmo fontinalis or the delicious red-spotted brook-trout of the Atlantic States, so much prized by both sportsmen and epicures. The fishing is very fine in nearly all the rapid streams of the Coast and Cascade Mountains of Oregon. At Fort Dalles, O. T., trout-fishing is good in April, May, Juno, and July. Many of the rapid snow-water streams descending from Mount Hood abound in delicious fish of this tribe. But all pleasures have their drawbacks, and in this region, after the sunflower blossoms in spring, Piscator must look sharply when fishing, for other kinds of bites than trout-bites, namely, those of rattlesnakes. The great number of these infernal reptiles about Fort Dallas actuallj'^ interferes much with the enjoyment of angling. These streams have another disadvantage ; the3" are so thickly lined by cotton-woods, willows, and squaw-bushes, that it is very difficult to find positions where the fly can be successfully cast. Where this can be done, the trout rise boldly, and take it greedily, ^and the fish themselves are active, plump, and delicious, affording good sport. Owing, as above stated, to the dense brush along the banks of these waters, fly-fishing is generally impracticable. Theaugleris there- fore obliged to resort to " bait-"fisbing, which, indeed, has its pleasures, too, as, " old Izaak " has testified. 132 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. There are few ang^le-worras in Oregon or Washington, perhaps none. The writer has never been able to find them there, yet they will proba- bly be hereafter introdaced by civilization. (Introduction of certain worms, bugs, &c., the concomitants of civilization, into new countries by civilized emigrants, is by no means uncommon. Examples of this are given by Darwin in his remarks on Kew Zealand ; vide Voyages of a Naturalist.) Common raw meat is a very good bait for these trout — the tougher the better ; we generally used the meat of a crow, killed for the purpose. This flesh combines redness and a rank smell with its proverbial tough- ness— all important desiderata for " killing" bait. Grubs and the larva? of wasps are also good bait, but troublesome. When the fish are capri- cious we have frequently found good sport by trolling with one of the belly-fins of a fresh-killed fish. On Puget Sound, in the vicinity of Fort Steilaooom, the writer had the best sjiort. A much longer residence taught him the " ropes" better; and besides, the rattlesnake was absent. Nearly every stream and brook abounds in trout ; all, except the salmon-trout, not yet described, of the black-spotted species. Here we .noticed many peculiarities distinguish- ing tbis fish in habits from its Atlantic congener. Although fond of running water, it seeks the more deep and less turbulent portions of the stream, alid it even does not eschew i^erfectly still water. When a youngster, we learned and practiced trout-fishing in those beautiful tributaries of the Delaware, the Beaverkill, and Willa-weemock, in Sul- livan and Delaware Counties, New York. There the trout delight in fierce water, and if found below a violent rapid, or a waterfall, they may be caught almost always just outside the strength of the current, but not by any means are they fond of the Jstill water, a little farther below the rapids, unless, indeed, the weather be very cold ; or if in summer, during the shades of evening, when they repair to the more placid water, that they may the more readily perceive insects and other floating food. But in Washington Territory the brook-trout seems more fond of moderate currents, or of places that are perfectly still, where the waters are well shaded and deep ; and it is rare indeed for the angler to have good sport at the immediate foot of a rapid or fall. One of the best spots for trout-fishing in the neighborhood of Fort Steilacoom is a small portion of the stream running through " Melville's claim," near the "Government garden." This place is where the water of the stream is very sluggish, and almost choked up by lily-pads and grass. There are here but few trees, and the brook only averages 15 feet in width by about 4 in depth. The space in which throwing the line is practicable is but of limited extent, certainly not exceeding 75 yards in length. Here one day in August, 185G, we took twenty-five trout, the weight of the fish running from four ounces to a pound. Bait and flies were both used* Nearer the fort — even within sound of its drums — there is a small iso- lated lake, without outlet, and fed by a small spring. This lake be- SUCKLEY MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 133 comes almost dry in summer. It is full of trout; hovr tbey ever j;2:ot into it is a mystery. Here, seated ou a half-submerged log, we have caught mauy a fine bunch of "speckled bellies." Flies do the best tiiere, especially late in the afternoon, and until it becomes so dark in the evening that the angler cannot see his fly break the water. After this time, unless he has artificial ivhite moths, the ^y must be put aside, and then the anal fin, or a piece of the belly of a fresh-killed fish, gently trolled near the surface, will frequently hook "big ones." Steilacoom Creek, below " Chambers's Mill," is an excellent place for trout in January, February, and March. Here the waters rise and fall v/ith the tide, and are fresh, brackish, or salt, all within the space of half a mile. The writer has there caught several male trout, weighing, two hours after killed, over two pounds each. The two largest were killed in February, 1854, with a large, unnatural, gaudy salmon-fly. Fish of large size are rarely taken in this place later than March ; after that they are replaced by vast quantities of small ones, rarely exceed- ing 7 inches in length, which, although excellent for the table, certainly aftbrd no sport. Although there are other good spots, such as the Turnwater Falls, near Olympia, Clark's Creek, near the Puyallir[), and many more that could be mentioned, the writer will confine himself now to the consideration of but one more good fishing-ground, and then bid the geographical por- tion of the article good-bye. This last place is McAllister's Creek, situ- ated about eleven miles from Fort Steilacoom, and nine from Olympia. It affords the best trout-fishing we know of in the Territory. Perhaps there a>re no more fish here than in many other similar water-courses in the neighborhood, but it has the advantage of having good banks, only moderately shaded, from which casts can readily be made. The best por- tion of the fishing-ground extends from the old mill-site to a point about three quarters of a mile below. This is all subject to tide influence, but the water is fresh for the greater part of the tract, and even at the lower end is but slightly brackish at high water. The best time for fishing in this creek commences about an hoiu" and a half before high water, and lasts three-fourths through the flood-tide. In one day's fishing in Octo- ber, 1856, the writer caught, at tliis place, thirty-eight fine trout the ag- gregate weight of which, six hours after death, was fifteen pounds. The bait used on that day was principally salmon-ros, one-third dried, but we have frequently taken many fish, in the same place, with artificial flies, grasshoppers, meat, and most of the other ordinary allurements. To such of our readers as may probably condemn the uusportsman-like practice of fishing with salmon-roe, meat, or grasshoppers — to those who have no patience with any other mode of trout-fishing, except by the scientific whippings of an artificial fly — we must apologize by saying that our only fly-rod was irretrievably broken, our flies were gone, and it was nearly a thousand miles to the nearest fishing-tackle store. In the streams near Fort Steilacoom there are probably many in- 134 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. dividual brook-trout which will weigh as high as three or four pounds ; but owing to the want of tackle, &c., already alluded to, the writer was never fortunate enough to secure any fish that exceeded a trifle above two pounds. One peculiarity about the northwest trout is, that the fish remain in good condition for the table until near Christmas, at which time they begin to spawn. On the contrary, the trout of the Middle and New England States spawn during the months of September, October, and November, and may scarcely be said to be in good condition between the 1st of September and the 1st of February, being, during the interval, lean,, flabby, and insipid. The black-spotted brook-trout of the northwest is by no means de- pendant upon occasional access to salt water, although he seems to avail himself of its invigorating effects when practicable. In a lake near Bellingham liaj", and also in Chiloweyuck Lake, trout of this species or its relative, the hrevicauda^ are said to attain a weight of ten or twelve pounds ; and in the latter lake according to Lieut. D. B. McKibben, of the United States Army, the common weight of the fish caught will scarcely fall below three or four pounds. 27. SALMO MASONI, Suckley. mason's trout. Syn. — Fario clarkii, Grd. \_7>on Salmo clarlcii, Rich.] Vide Proc. Aoad. Nat. So. Phil., viii., p. 219, 1856; also P. R. R. Rep., Geu. Rep., FLslies, vol. x, p. 314, PI. Ixxi, figs. 5-8. Salmo masoni, Suckley, racific Railroad Reports, vol. xii, p. 345; — Ibid. Nat. Hist. Wash. Terr., p. 345. Sp. Ch. — Head forms nearly a fifth of total length. Dorsal outline well arched; back dark olivaceous; sides silvery; belly white; the whole sprinkled with small irregular spots of black, which, however, are more faint than in S. iridea, as if the coloring matter was placed deeper below the surface ; scales large ; tail forked ; upper fins and tail spotted Diagnosis. — It may be known from S. iridea by the absence of red patches, also by its fainter spots, more convex dorsal outline, and larger scales, nearly double in size to those of the iridea. From tS. bra- vicauda the diagnosis is more difficult ; but in the latter the scales are very loose, and the tail more encroached upon by them. Hab. — Small streams entering into the Columbia. This fish may prove to be simply a variety of S. iridea, which, beyond a doubt, exists in the waters of Oregon and Washington Territories. Dr. Cooper caught in the Katapootl Eiver the specimen (No. 582) from which Dr. Girard drew his description of S. clarldi, and upon which the description of the present species is based. The S. clarlcii of Richardson is a very different fish, probably an anadromous salmon. The habits of this fish are almost precisely similar to those of S. iridea. On the 13th of August, 1859, Mr. Gibbs obtained a trout on the Ska- SUCKLEY MONOGKAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 135 git River which we have referred to 8. masoni. The total leugth of this fish was 12.75 inches, and the distance from snout to dorsal fin 5.75. " Colors. — Back and sides above Literal line sprinkled with small spots of irregular shape, black on the back, on the sides blue, with a black edge behind. Behind the anal spotted below the line. Sides, as far back as anal fin, with a broad streak of lake-red. Dorsal and caudal spotted with black. Back, dark brown, approaching to black, with blue reflections. Belly, yellowish-red. Head partly spotted above, on the snout and on the preopercula. "Head, short and blunt. Tail, slightly lunated. Another specimen had small specks along the belly, and the colors were lighter, with more red, " Much larger specimens were taken, but the meat in cverj- instance was white. ]Mr. Gibbs obtained a fish, apparently similar, from the waters ot the Sunilkamun, flowing into another basin ; but this had red flesh, and lacked the broad streak along the sides. [This latter is probably an effect of age or sexual excitement.] The lateral line was red." — Gibbs' Mss. ■ Two species of trout were taken in the mill creek, east of the Colum- bia, at Fort Colville, through the ice. One, with red flesh, is known as the humddna, and is the larger — {S. gihlsii ?) the other is the peestl^ and is the common black-speckled brook-trout. "Again," Mr. Gibbs re- marks, " the Indians say that the Peestl has the dashes of carmine under the jaws which the Humddna lacks. They also say that it is the male fish which has a reddish tinge on the belly." * * * Qq i\^q od of April " found the Indians at the crossing of the Little Spokane taking the Humddna in small numbers. A female had the roe entirely de- veloped." 28. SALMO YIRGIIfALIS, Girard. UTAH TROUT; SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN TROUT. Sy-s.—Sahno (SuTar) virfiinalis, Grd., Pro. Acad. Nat. Sc, Phil.,' Tiii, 1856, p. 920 ;— IiUD., P. E.R. Report, A'ol. X., p. 320; — Suckley, Appendix Eep. Fishes, Nat. Hist. Wash. Ter. Sp. Ch. — [Drawn from a large number of specimens in the Smithsonian collection.] Body rather slender ; dorsal outline but slightly curved ; tail broad and but little cut out; black spots on sides of body and on back; posteriorly somewhat stellate and numerous; anteriorly scattered, dis- tinct, and round; top of head unspotted; anal fin spotted with black; extremity of maxillary extends to a vertical line drawn from the posterior rim of the orbit; anterior margin of dorsal nearer the extremity of the enout than it is to the insertion of the caudal. Colors. — [Taken from living specimens by the writer.] Ground color of the back pale brown, tinged with red, sprinkled on back and sides with small black spots, most numerous and irregular posteriorly; anterior lialf of the body, with those spots scattered sparsely, and quite round 136 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. in shape; under parts white and but little spotted. [See description in detail beyond.] Anal-fin spotted, pied chin, patches on the cerato-hyals. Fig. Plate Ixxiii, Pacific Eailroad Eeports, vol. x. (Part embracing Lieutenant Beckwith's Export.) Hab. — Southern Eocky Mountains, Utah, New Mexico. DiAGrNOSis : From Salmo lewisL See text relating to the latter species. From *S^. iridea it may be distinguished by its usnally smaller head, the absence of dark spots on the top of the head, the profusion of which in that situation in >S^. iridea being a notable feature of the species ; the sparsely scattered, large, round, black spots on the anterior portion of the body; their distiuctuess and regular shape distinguishes them from the more numerous spots of the latter species. The tail of this species in the adult is nearly even at its fore margin; that of an adult 8. iridea is well forked. A trout sent from Santa Fe, K. M., preserved in the Smithsonian col- lection, shows slight variations from those received from Northern New Mexico, Utah, und Nebraska. It agrees with the 8. virgiiialis in many characters; in fact, in all essential points, such as the dorsal profile, size of head compared to body, &c., &c., and in general plan of colora- tion. It is, however, a brighter or more silvery-looking fishj its dark spots smaller and less numerous. Dr. Girard first described this species from a young trout sent from Utah Creek, a tributary of the Eio del Norte, by Lieutenaut Beckwith. A variety of the Sahno virginalis occurs in Lake Utah, a large sheet of fresh water about fifty miles south of Salt Lake City. The fish are less spotted than those caught in the mountain streams near by, and attain a much larger size. They ascend the Timpanagos Eiver for spawning purposes; at the proper thne, according to the accounts of the Mormons, leaving the lake simultaneously in great numbers. They are said to be occasionally seen a yard in length. A friend — Lieutenaut Williams, of the United States Army, caught one of this kind in the Timpanagos, about seven miles from the lake, which weighed seven pounds. I myself have caught smaller fish in the same stream, which varied considerably from those caught on the eastern side of Bear Mountains. In the Smithsonian collection two fish, obtained by Captain Simpson, United States Army, seem to be of that variety. They are simply labeled as from Utah, and appear to have been salted and diied before being- thrown into alcohol. For this variety or kind we will, for the present, apply the provisional name of Balmo Utah. Characters. — Highest point of convexity of dorsal profile rather anterior to the same on 8. virginalis ; scales appear somewhat larger, (but this may be more apparent than real, owing to the insufficieht material for comparison;) appearances of fish more silvery, spots much smaller in size and more irregular in shape; iu other respects resembling 8. virginalis. SUCKLEY MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 137 In 1859 the writer crossed tlie contiueutvia Salt Lake. In the course of this journey many notes were made concerning objects of interest in nature, most of which, liowever, are. from force of circumstances, neces- sarily excluded from these pages. None of the Salmonidcv were found along our route on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains ; but in most of the streams of Utah, more especially Black's Fork, near Fort Bridger, Weber River, and the Tim- panagos, (flowing into Lake Utah through Provo Oaiion,) the Sulmo vir- ginalis, a very handsome trout, was . 1 ntiful. In its habits and general appearance it much resembles the brook-trout of the Middle States, ( S. fontinalis.) It is abundant in Black's For , from which, on the 25th of August, we caught half a dozen, and on the following day about forty, with the artificial fly, to which they rose exactly in the manner of their more eastern relatives, and greedily seized, like unsophisticated fish, as they were, scarcely, learning caution or timidity until pricked once or twice by the alluring and deceitful bait. Probably but few artificial flies, if any, have ever before been cast on those waters. One speci- men, about 10 inches in length, ( aught with a red-hackle, was selected for examination and description. In general outline it was, perhaps, slightly more stout than the brook-trout of I^ew York, {S. fontinalis.) The curve from the nose to the anterior insertion of the dorsal fin was very regular. The anterior point of insertion of said fin was but slightly in fi'ont of a point at the middle of a line drawn from the tip of the nose to the insertion of the tail. Colons. — Ground color of back, pale brown, tinged with red ; spotted above the lateral line with small spots of black, which Avere but spar- ingly distributed anterior to the dorsal finj a few spots of the same col- ors were also found on the opercula and on the top of the head. In shape, the spots anterior to the dorsal fin were nearly round and quite small ; those in the vicinity of the same fin, but farther back, were stellate, but slightly larger, and those posterior to a vertical line drawn from the anus were much larger, more numerous, and quite irregular in form, somewhat resembling those of >S^. stellatus. Anterior to the anus there were scarcely any spots below the lateral line except near the head, where there were about half a dozen j i)osteriorly, however, they were equally numerous both below and above. The general style of the spots, their size and distribution in individu- als of this species, are well displayed in the gure given in Volume x, Plate Ixxiii, Figs. 1-4. Indeed, in the markings, spots, &c., of this spe- cies, I noticed great uniformity in all the specimens observed. The color of the dorsal, adipose, and caudal fins was the same as that of the back, but thickly studded with oval and roundish spots of black. The pre- vailing reddish-brown color of the back extended to the nose, but was of a slightly different shade on the head. From the median line of the back it extended down the sides, filling up two-thirds of the space of the lateral line. The silvery-white of the beUy was separated from the 138 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OP FISH AND FISHERIES. Ijrevailing color of the back by a fiiint golden band, of irregular width ; [in some specimens this extends from the iris to the base of the tail.] The lateral line was distinct. Irides, golden bronze, with several round- ish spots of black upon them of the size of a pin's head. The un- der fins were of a pale red, their external rays of a deeper color. Patches of bright vermilion, about one-eighth of an inch in width, were found extending back from the chin to a point oi)posite the middle of the opercnla. The chin was white, Uke the belly. [The vermilion bands above spoken of exist normally in all the specimens seen of this spe- cies, and are present also in other species, for example, the S. stellatus of Oregon.] The tail was but slightly emarginate. Angle of mouth about opposite (belowj the posterior border of the pupil. The general hues of the Fort Bridger trout, when freshly taken, were silveiy, glistening with bright reflections 5 the scales are somewhat larger than those of S. fontinalis ; the point of greatest girth being reached by the tips of pectoral fins when stroked back. Upon inquiry at Fort Bridger, we learned that 17 or 18 inches might be considered the maximum size in those waters, and out of forty or fifty fish it is rare to find one over a foot in length. The species in the Timpanagos Eiver appeared, upon careful examina- tion, to be identical with that of Black's Fork, but much larger. They retreat to the quiet and deep w^aters of Lake Utah, from whence they ascend the Timpanagos at certain seasons of the year. A friend there caught, in August, 1851, one trout which weighed some five or six pounds, (approximately,) and was 26 inches in length. They are said to grow occasionally to 30 inches in length, and are an active, fine fish, affoKd- ing much sport to the fly-fisher, and a delicacy to the epicure. About the 1st of September last, we caught three trout from the same stream. Two of these were of good size, weighing from If to 2^ x>ounds, respectively. They rose freely to large, dark hackles, but refused gaudy or light-colored flies. Owing to poor flies, which had been in our pos- session for several years, the whipping of the hooks having shrunk so that they were easily pulled off, we caught but these three out of many fish that jumped at them. The stream was excellently adapted for casting the fly, and aboundilig in flsh of fine size and quality, was fit to take position in an angler's paradise. The trout of Weber River seemed to vary from those of Black's Fork, in having the lower fins much more tinged with yellow. The stomachs of all, when examined, were found ,to contain insects, such as wasps, beetles, ants, &c. We are inclined to believe that the geographical range of the species extends to the west as far as Gravelly Ford, on the Humboldt. Speci- mens were examined which were caught at Deep Creek, one hundred and fifty miles west of Great Salt Lake. Approaching so nearly to th© trout of all other places in general appearance, and trout-like habits so peculiar and unmistakable, we cannot refrain from again expressing entire want of faith in the so-called genus Solar. SUCKLEY ^MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 139 29. SALMO LEWISI, Girard. LEWIS'S TROUT ; MISSOURI TROUT. SYH.—Sahno Jewisi, Grd., Pro. Acad. N. Sc, Phil., viii, 1856, p. 210 ;— Ibid., P. R. E. Rep. Fishes, vol. x, p. 29 ; — Suckley, P. R. R. Rep., vol. xii, p. 348, PI. Ixxi. [By mistake written ("*S« /mo .S'rtZa/' letvisiJ') The '^salar" would have been stricken ont had the author read the proof-sheets;] Ibid., Nat. Hist. Wash. Terr. 348, pi. Salar lewisi. — Girard, in both the works already quoted. Sp. Ch. — Body somewhat thick ; back well arched ; head compara- tively small, being contained a little more than five times in the total length of the fish. Ground color of the upper region olivaceous; of the lower, yellowish-white. The back, peduncle of tail, with the dorsal, adi- pose, and caudal fins, are profusely sprinkled with stellate and irregular black spots. The belly and lower fins are usually unspotted. Tail somewhat notched. Young. — Resemble the young of S. virginalis. Diagnosis. — Salmo lewisi, Grd., is known from ;S^. virginalis, Grd., by its smaller head ; the greater dorsal arch; its more deeply-notched tail ; that of S. virginalis in the adult being nearly even; by having the top of the head profusely spotted wit . black, and, by having a different arrangement or plan of spot markings. The black spots are smaller, more numerous, more irregular in shape in this species than in S. virgin- alis, there being scarcely a well-rounded spot posterior to the middle of dorsal fin. The spots on the tail are more numerous, but not so large. The hues of this species are darker, audit is a stouter fish; its scales, also, are larger. For comparative measurements of the head and body see table The young of this species and the S. virginalis are very similar, and it is only by a comparison of adults that strong diagnostic marks present themselves. From Salmo iridea. Gibbons, this fish may be known by having larger scales ; a much smaller head; dorsal outline more arched ; head less sx)otted ; fewer spots on body anterior to a line drawn from origin of dorsal to same of ventrals. These spots also are more sym- metrically round. Those near the tail are very irregular and resemble in shape those of the S. iridea. The tail of this fish, although mose cut out than that of S. virginalis, is much less forked than that of 8. iridea. Adults of the latter, of one footer more in length, show strongly-marked forked tails. A good example of this is shown in specimen 59, sent from Ohico Creek, California. From other species oif black-spotted trout the diagnosis can be made up by reference to their descriptions. Hab. — Both slopes of the Rocky Mountains, north of the Souti Fass; head-waters of the Missouri, (Dr. Suckley, Dr. Cooper.) Sou hciu tributaries of the Yellowstone; Black Hills, Nebraska, (Dr. Hayden.) Clarke's Fork of the Columbia, (Dr. Cooper, Mr. Gibbs, Dr. Kennerly.) Kootenay River, (Dr. Kennerly.) Specimens have been received from all 140 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. the above sources, and are now in the Smithsonian collection. Dr. Cooper obtained, in the autumn of 1860, a specimen of trout from the Bitter-EootEiver, Washington Territory, (west slope of the Eocky Moun- tains,) differing in no important character from two specimens of S. lewisi obtained by him. at the Falls of the Missouri, in Nebraska. This gives the species a wide range — ^probably extending as far westward as the Great Falls on the Clarke, Spokane, and other rivers of the western slope. Another trout, got by Dr. Cooper from the Spokane Elver, above the falls, i)artakes partly of the characters of this species, and partly of those of the S. iridea, var. sfeUatus. It may be a hybrid between the two. It has no characters sufficiently distinct from either species to warrant the recognition of its title to a new name. Toward the Lewis trout ihe writer feels more than an ordinary interest, having probably the honor of catching the first of the species ever taken with the artificial fly- This was at a point a mile or so below the Great Falls of the Missouri, in September, 1853, after a horseback ride of thirty miles on purpose to procure sjiecimens. Their existence had been indicated by Lewis and Clarke, who spoke of having caught ftZac/t'-speckled trout at the falls. I found them a lively, fine fish, jumping readily at the fly, and takin-g bait freely. Three-quarters of a pound appeared to be the average weight, but, doubtless, individuals of much larger size are found. Two of my specimens, taken in 1853, were sent to the Smithsonian, and were ren- dered typical of the species, as from them Dr. Girard based his origi- nal description. They still exist in the collection, numbered 520 in the museum catalogue of fishes. 30. SALMO BEEVICAUDA, Suckley. SHORT-TAILED TROUT. Syn. — Salmo hrevicauda, Suckley, Notices of Certain New Species of North Americm Siilmouidfe. New York, June, 1861. Sp. Ch. — Body long and slender; its dorsal outline from a point oppo- site the posterior margin of the operculum being nearly straight. Scales large, quite thin, and glistening with metallic lustre; very loosely ad- herent. They encroach upon the tail for nearly a third of its length, thus giving it a short appearance. The peduncle of the tail is wide for the depth of the body, and the caudal itself is somewhat short and narrow. Head long, but not deep. Dorsal and caudal fins freely spotted with oval black spots. Body marked with small stellate and irregular dark spots, their nmnber and size varying greatly in different individ- uals. There are usually two rows of teeth on the vomer. The head is contained nearly five times in the total length, which rarely exceeds eighteen or twenty inches. The tail appears shorter than it really is by reason of the great distance upon it that the scales extend. Diagnosis.^ — Upon a comparison of adults this species may be readily distinguished from S. iridea by its long, slender head and body, its appa- SUCKLEY — MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 141 rently short, narrow tail, and its thin silvery scales, so easily detached. Hab. — Obtained from the waters of Puget Sound and the streams in that vicinity by Drs. Keuuerly, Cooper, and Suckley. This trout abounds in the fresh-water streams emptying into Puget SouQd, and are not unfrequentl^' caught in tide-water. It is known to the ISTisquallies and Puyallups as tha kwusptl or slcwuss-puttl. Mr. Gibbs obtained at Skagit Eiver Eapids July 29, 1858, a small salmon or trout which the Indians said did not go to salt-water, called hj them tsee-f sell ; white beneath; back, grayish-olive. Its length does not exceed 10 inches. 31. SALMO GIBBSII, Suckley. COLUMBIA SALMON TROUT; GIBBS' SALMON. Syn. — Fario tsuppiicli, Grd., in Proc. Acad. N. Sc, Pliil.. viii, p. 218, 1856; — Grd., Eep. ou Fishes, U. S. P. K. R. Surveys, p. 318, 1858, [jVoa salmo tsiippitch, Richardson.] S. f/ibhsii, Suckley, Annals N. Y. Lyceum, 1858 ; — Ibid., Nat. Hist. Wash. Te.r., p. 332 ;— Ibid., P. R. R. Repts., xii, 332. Black-spotted Salmon-trout, Lewis and Clarke ; — Shooshincs of the Walla -Wall a. Figures. — The typical specimen of the present species is figured as F. tsuppiteh, in. P. E. R. Rept. Fishes, vol. xii, PI. Ixix. Sp. Ch. — Body elongated, compressed, fusiform in profile ; dorsal out- line but slightly arched; snout rounded, the jaws sub-equal; maxillary greatly curs^ed,- dilated posteriorly, and extending in a vertical line passing slightly behind the orbit; anterior margin of dorsal nearer the extremity of the snout than to the insertion of caudal fin ; colors of the head and back, in the fresh specimen, rich, dark olive-green, pro- fusely dotted with roundish black spots, the scales in certain lights showing bright silvery retlections; sides below the lateral line are usually unicolor, of a yellowish- white; inferior fins unspotted; tail and upper fins yellowish olive, profusely spotted with round and oval spots of black, each spot being from one to two lines in diameter, and completely isolated from the others, not confluent, as in some other species; caudal fin moderately lunated, not forked; head, small; teeth, small and very numerous, especially on the labials; length of the full grown adult rarely exceeds'two feet. Hab. — The Columbia River and its larger affluents. The species is not anailromous, but remains in fresh water throughout the year — so say the Indians. In the tji^ical specimen of this species (Smithson. Cat., 940) the length of the head, taking the extreme distance from the tip of the snout to the farther margin of the operculum, enters six times in the total length of the fish. Its length from snout to nape is contained nine times in the same. In its affinities this salmon appears in structure nearly related 142 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. to the anadromoiis, S. tmincatus, and 8. gairdneri, but its head, compared to the total length, is comparatively larger. It has, also, a persistently varied plan of coloration — its spot-markings being more numerous. The body, also, more compressed laterally. No additional specimens of this fish have been obtained since the original description appeared. We may, therefore, be i^ardoned for re- producing a few remarks then made — more especially, perhaps, because it is desired to embody herein all the useful information concerning this group of fishes that will tend to assist the field naturalist, who neces- sarily can carry about with him but a limited library. "The typical specimen upon which the foregoing description is based is a single skin contained in the Smithsonian collection, Catalogue, No. 940, that of a female, obtained by the present describer at Fort Dallas, Oregon, April 5, 1S55." The species is known to the Walla- Walla Indians as the shooshines ; and to the Wascos by the name of te-lcivan-eelc. Mr. Girard, taking the specimen for the S. Uuppitch of Richardson, figured and described it as belonging to that species. Upon his atten- tion being caUed to several marked discrepancies between the account given by Sir John Richardson of the 8. tsuppUch and certain character- istics of the specimen from Fort Dallas, he at once coincided with me in considering the two species distinct. According to Richardson, the 8. tsnppltch has the dorsal, anal, and caudal fins destitute of spots and the tail finked. The present fish on the contrary, has the tail but mod- erately lunated at its extremit^-j and the dorsal tins and tail are pro- fusely spotted with black. These prominent differences, besides many others less striking, have been deemed sufficient to settle the question of non-identity of the two species; and as no recorded description seems to refer to the present salmon, it is now presented as a new species, un- der the name 8almo gibbsii, in honor of my valued friend George Gibbs, esq., geologist to the Northwestern Boundary Commission, and for many years a resident of Washington Territory. To Mr. Gibbs, more than any other indi\ idual, am I indebted for rare specimens in all branches of natural iiistory, and especially for inforination, aid, advice, and encour- agement while endeavoring to elucidate the history of the Salmonidse of the northwest coast. • This salmon is obtained, during the winter and early spring months, at Fort Dallas, Oregon. It is also found, during the summer, in the Yakima, Joim Day's, and other rivers emptying into the Columbia. In the fall of 1855 I obtained a fine specimen of a fish resembling this species from Bois^ River, one of the tributaries of Lewis's Fork. Its flesh is good for the table, and the size renders it convenient for culinary purposes, as it rarely exceeds five or six pounds. Most individuals have a broad reddish or blush along the sides, com- mencing at the middle of the opercula, and extending to near the base of the tail. This baud is apparently subcutaneous, and may exist only in individuals not in prime condition. SUCKLEY MONOGEAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 143 Nathan Olney, esq., long a resident at tlie Dalles, Oregon, writes that this species does not go down to the sea, but that the Indians take it all the year round, except during the coklest weather in winter, and then, perhaps, because they do not fish for it. He adds that he has eaten them as late as December and as early as February, and thinks tbat if they do go to the sea, they "run" all the year. 32. SALMO SEBAGO, Girard. THE SEBAGO TROUT. Syn. — Salmo scbago, Grd. Proc. Acad. Sc. Phil., 1853, p. 380. Salmo gloveri, GuD. Proc. Acad. Sc. Pliil., vol. vii, p. 85, May, 1854. [De- scriptiou of S. gloveri based on the yomig of S. sebago.'\ Salmo gloveri, Harris, Proc. Phil. Acad. Sc, 1S58, p. 136. Sp.Ch.—^[ Based on three specimens in the Smithsonian collection.] ilfftfe. — Head contained nearly four and a half times in the total length of the fish. Pectorals quite long, reaching to a line perpendicular to a point about half an inch anterior to first ray of the dorsal. Gape line of mouth much arched. Point of lower jaw armed with a conical tlesh knob, projecting upward. Sides of the body, principally above the lateral line, covered profusely with large black spots, of roundish and irregular shapes, and occupying from three to five scales. The largest black spots on the fish are those on the oi^erculum and pre-operculum. Lower fins and tail unspotted, and of a bright color, bordered with dark, (as seen in alcoliolic specimens.) Free margin of tail handsomely (Tesceutic. Scales very large and adherent. A row^ of teeth on the tongue, and another on the vomer. Female. — (SiJeeimen about 17 inches long.) Spotted much as on the male. Caudal more furcate. No flesh}^ projection from the chin. Young, {8. gloveri, Grd). — According to Dr. Girard, have a few small, reddish orange dots in the middle of the black spots. These seem to be wanting in the adult. The color in the fem^ile is uniform silvery-gray, darker on the back and head. Subquadrangular or subcircular black spots are observed upon the sides of the head, behind the eyes, along the back and half of the flanks, also on the dorsal and caudal fins, to near the edge. In the male the same colors exist, but spread all over with a reddish tint, more intense on the flanks and beneath than on the head, back, and dorsal, and caudal fins where the red is sometimes but faintly indicated. Hab. — Lakes in the "southern part of the State of Maiin\." Union River, Maine, Saint Croix River, Passamaquoddy Bay. Diagnosis. — From the young of >S^. namaycush and 8. sislxOivet, by the presence of its black "spots ; also by the cresy3)itic-shaped extremity of the tail — that of both of the other species being strongly furcate. This species, however, when not full grown, has a forked tail; th.it of the female is more so than that of the male. The 3'oung S. scbcujo may 144 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. be distinguisbed from the young of any other salmon and trout on the Atlantic slope, by its strongly-marked black spots and coarse scales. The adult male in the collection was 19 inches long. The young of this fish was described as a distinct species, by Mr. Girard, in 1854, and named the Salmo gloveri. 'Upon comparing the types of both, their manifest identity is so apparent, that I have not the least hesitation in making 8. gloveri a mere synonym of Salmo sehago, Grd. Three speci- mens of the si)ecies are in the Smithsonian collection — male, female, and young. Mr. Edward Harris, in a letter to the Phil. Acad. Sc, (accompanying specimens of what he called the S. gloveri,) read June 23, 18.j8, gives the following information concerning the species, of which he had taken specimens at the outlet of Grand Lake, on the western branch of Saint Croix Kiver: "These fish are taken also in moderate quantities lower down the stream. But on the waters below Lewey's Island, which are of a darker color and constantly filled with saw-dust from the mills, the fish lose their silvery brightness, and have the appearance of having been immersed in a yellowish dye ; these fish, too, are always in a poor con- dition. * * * * " It has heretofore been considered by those who are acquainted with this fish, that they were entirely confined to the waters of the Saint Croix, including its two branches and their lakes, in fact confined almost entirely to the lakes and their outlets; and it is only on this trip that I have heard of specimens having beeu taken as a variety in three small lakes which empty into the lower Saint Croix and into Passamaquoddy Bay. The fish described by Mr. Girard, as found in Union Kiver, would have but a short distance farther to travel in the salt-water before enter- ing that river. It is, therefore, pretty certain that they are, as far as yet known, confined to the waters of the Saint Croix, and streams of easy access therefrom by sea. They appear nob to be known in Kew Bruns- wick, except in one of the small lakes alluded to, which empties its waters on that side of the river. Mr. Perley is said to be unacquainted with the tish, except from report. * * * * '•These fish, as taken, may be said to run from one to five pounds in weight, as it is very rare to take fish of a size intermediate between the small fish with the red spots, and those of the size of these specimens," * * * * "As a game-fish, affording fine sport to the fly-fisher, I doubt whether it has its equal on this continent, with the exception of the true salmon. Its strength and agility are surprising; when hooked it will frequently make a succession of leaps, two or three feet clear of the water. It is most readily taken with the fly in more rapid waters above the dam, at the foot of Grand Lake, which has beeu made for the jjurpose of rnnning logs. Tiiey are reaerior, p. 333, Bost., 1850. PL i, fig. 3. Sahno slskmcitz, Herbert, Fist and Fisting, Snpi>l., p. 17. Sp. Ch. — (Condensed from Agassiz's description.) Form stout, broad, thick. At the anterior ray of dorsal the height is equal to one-fifth the total length of the body. Middle part of the body rather cylindrical. Peduncle of tail dilated and subquadrangular. Head large, forming nearly one-fourth of the total length, excluding lobe§ of the caudal. Snout obtuse and rounded ; several teeth on the anterior part of the vomer, then a row on the middle of its shaft. Two rows of very curved teeth on the tongue. Fins strong; dorsal higher than it is long. Scales small ; larger on the lower region of body, behind the veutrals. Accord- ing to Agassiz, the young are barred with dark, vertical patches, as is the case with the young of nearly all salmon and trout. Br. 13 : D. 12 : A. 12-14 : C. 6, 1, 9, 8, 1, 5 : Y. 9: P. 14. Colors. — These vary according to their feediu g-grouud, and are brighter during the breeding season. Diagnosis. — From ^S*. namai/cusli it can be recognized by its different opercular apparatus. (See Agassiz's description in his "Lake Superior," &c.) Also by the dorsal fin, which is higher than it is long, occupying the middle of the back. Caudal much less furcate. Muzzle more round. Ventral fins not placed so far posteriorly. Hab. — Lake Superior, especially along the north shore. Professor Agassiz says that the siscowet is a rich, highly-flavored fish, but too fat. This renders its ijreservation in alcohol very difficult. He obtained his specimens from Michipicoten, the same place from whence Mr. George Baruston sent the only specimens that are con- tained in the Smithsonian collection — four in number. The heads of these fish are smaller than those described by Professor Agassiz, but in other respects tliey agree with his description. Mr. Barnston, in a letter, speaks of the existence there of another kind SUCKLEY MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 157 of lake trout, differing from this species, which he calls the " hear-trout.^'' He says that the distiiictuess of the species is recognized by the Indians, and that they spawn at a different season. He mentions having sent a specimen. After careful examination I can detect no differences of value between the different individuals sent by him. Herbert, in his ^'Sui)plemeut," aiiirms that, as a sporting fish, the "«is- hawitz" is of no value ; but, in the following quotation which I have made, acknowledges its high gastronomic excellence: " This fish, like the former species, came frequently under my eye dur- ing my late uortherii tour 5 and I rejoice in the possession of a barrel of him in his pickled state, which I procured at the Sault Ste. Marie, on the strength of which I can recommend him to all lovers of good eating as the very best salt-fish that exists in the world. He is so fat and rich that when eaten fresh he is insufferably rank and oily ; but when salted and bra)iled, after being steeped for forty-eight hours in cold water, he is not surpassed or equaled by any fish with which I am acquainted. Since my return he has been tasted by very many gentleman of my ac- quaintance, and by no one of them has he been pronounced anything less than superlative. His habits closely resemble those of the namai/ciish, and, like him, I cannot learn that he ever takes the fly or is ever taken by trolling. I do not, however, believe that either of these methods are often resorted to for his capture, although there are many scientific fly- fishers about the Sau and the brook-trout of those waters are i^rinci- pally taken with large and gaudy lake-flies. The average weight of the siskawitz does not exceed four or five i^ounds, though he is taken up to seventeen. His excellence is so perfectly understood and acknowledged in the lake-country that he fetches double the price per barrel of his coarser big brother, the namaycush ; and he is so greedily sought for th^re that it is difticult to procure him, even at Detroit, and almost im- possible at Buffalo." 41. SALMO SYMMETRICA, Prescott. WINNIPISEOGEE TROUT. Syn. — Sahno symmeMca, Prescott, Silliman's Jour., 2d series, xi, p, 340, May 1851. Read before Asso. of Am. Geologists and Naturalists, Boston, Sept. 1847, Sp. Ch. — (Condensed from Dr. Prescott's description and from the examination of specimens.) Form, slender, vsymmetricalj a single row of teeth on the vomer and palatines. Head contained about four and a half times in the total length ; position of dorsal fin considerably anterior to the middle point of total length 5 tip of anal fin extends some dis- tance behind tip of adipose dorsal. Scales small. Lateral line waving for the first inch or inch and a half, commencing a little below the su- perior posterior angle of the operculum and gently descending for a short distance, and then ascending as much, when it proceeds in a straight line to the middle of the tail. Head slightly flattened between 158 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. the eyes. Jaws nearly equal and pointed ; the extremity of the lower received into a cavity above. Jaws, tongue, palatine, and pharyngeals armed with a single row of small, pointed, recurved teeth. Teeth of lower jaw larger and less numerous than of upper. Pupils, black ; irides golden. Tail deeply forked. (Prescott.) Integument covering the under surface of the arms of the lower maxillaries is pierced with several small pores or holes. DiAGrNOSis. — The only .species which this fish is likely to be con- founded with are 8. confims^ DeKay, and the young of ^S^. 7iamaycush, Penu. It will be recognized by its very slender form, by lacking teeth on the central furrow of the tongue, and those of other parts of the mouth being disposed in single rows ; by the more anterior position of the dor- sal tin. Scales very small, but much larger than in 8.fontinaUs. Hab. — V/innipiseogee Lake. ? Lake George. Dr. Prescott gives the following descrii^tiou of a specimen 20 inches long ; weight 30 ounces : " Distance from the extremity of the jaws to the eye, li inches ; to the dorsal fin, 9 inches; to second dorsal, 14i ; to ventrals, 9i inches." * * * "Length of base of dorsal tin equal to one-tenth of the length of the fish; height of the same, (longest rays,) 2.} inches." * * * "Cau- dal fin deeply forked ; the distance between extremities of bifurcation being 4i inches, or equal to length of the head." Colors. — In a foot-note Dr. Prescott says: " It is worthy of remark that the color of this fish, in common with many others, is very much influenced by the nature of the bottom upon which it feeds, being uniforndy much darker when frequenting muddy than gravelly bottoms, or rapid streams. The color varies with age, and in many instances there is a marked dif- ference between the color of the male and the female." The colors of the specimen whose measurements are above given were as follows : " Light to dark brown on the back and upper part of the head ; sides dark-gray above lateral line, lighter below, in some approaching to light salmon ; lower jaw, chin, and abdomen white, mottled with fuliginous ; pectorals and ventrals gray, their anterior part being shaded faintly with pink. Dorsal and caudal fins dark-gray. Tiie whole fish, including the dorsal and caudal fins, thickly sprinkled with small cir- cular spots of a drab color on the sides, olive on the back, approaching to light salmon below. These spots become elongated and variously curved on the top of the head, and of an olive color, giving to the part a marbled appearance." He adds: "This trout during winter is taken in great abundance by the hook, through holes cut in the ice, but not in such numbers as formerly. They are not unfrequently taken weighing 12 to 15 pounds. The largest reported to have been taken \veighed 25 pounds. By most persons it is highly esteemed, and it is generally con- sidered an excellent fish for the table." Two specimens from Lake Winnipiseogee are in the Smithsonian collec- tion. From a careful examination we are led to believe that the species SUCKLEY — MONOGRAPH OF THP] GENUS SALMO. 159 is distinct from any desoribed previous to Dr. Prescott's paper. There is also in the Saiithsoniau collection a jar, numbered 3588, on the fish catalogue, a lot of trout from Avhat is su[>po8ed to be Lake George, Xew York, but the locality is somewhat uncertain, owing to the obliteratiou * of the writing on the first label. They, however, resemble the S. sym metrica so closely that I have had no hesitation in labeling them as such. The light markings, common to the fish when fresh caught, ap- l^arently fade out in alcohol. Note. — Since writing the foregoing, a reference to S. hoodii has caused regret that no indisputable specimens of that fish could be obtained for comijarisou. 42. SALMO HOODII, Eichardson. hood's salmon ; THE MASAMACUSH. S\"S.—Sahno hoodii, Rich. F, B. A. iii, p. 173; PL 82, fig. 2; PI. 83, fig. 2; PL 87, fig. 1 ; DeKay's Report, p. 242 ; Stoker's Synop. ^ Salmo car^jio, Fab., (Rich.) A Greenland species. • Sp. Ch. — [Condensed from Sir John Eichardson's original description.] Head a little more than one-sixth of total length. Lower jaw, when the mouth is closed, projects beyond the upper by the depth of the chin ; its length applied to upper surface of head, passes about a quarter of an inch beyond the nape, in a fish about 18 or 20 inches long. A single row of teeth on each side of the tongue, a few scattered teeth also about its middle. Operculum half as wide as high. Caudal (in the adult) even at the end. Average weight of a full-grown adult, 8 pounds. Colors. — [Taken from a female 21 isches long ; season, August.] Back and sides intermediate between olive-green and clove-brown, studded with yellowish gray spots, as big as a pea, a few of which are on the gill covers. Belly and under-jaw white, the latter thinly dotted with bluish- gray. Dorsal and upper lobe of caudal marked with smaller spots. • Hab. — Fresh-water lakes on the Atlantic slope of America, from (Canada northward. 43. SALMO NEWBEEEYI, Girard. Syx. — Fario gairdneri, Grd. Proc. Pliil. Acad. Sc, viii, 18.56, p. 219 ; Grd. Pacific R. R. Repts., X, p. 313 [not Sahno gairdiuri, Rich.] Salino newben-yi, Grd. Proc. A. N. Phil., p. 225, 1858, (referring to Plate Ixsi, figs. 1-4. P. R. R. Reports, vol. x. • Sp. Ch. — [Copied from Dr. Girard's report, P. E. E. Eepts., vol. x, p. 313.] " Body subfusiform in profile, very compressed head, comprised four times in the length, the caudal flu excluded. Upper jaw longest ; maxillary ciuwed, extending to a vertical line intersecting the posterior rim of the orbit. Anterior margin of dorsal equidistant between the extremity of the snout and the base of the caudal. Ciuidal fin furcate. 160 EEPOKT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Back, silvery-gray; sides silvery, and belly yellowish- white. Body ob- soletely spotted with black; siniihir black spots on the dorsal and caudal fins." The figure given by Dr. Girard was taken from a single specimen con- tained in the Smithsonian museum, and said to be of the size of life. The specimen has disappeared from the collection, so that we are unable to judge whether it is the young of an anadromous salmon, or, what I suspect, simply a variety of the Salmo iridca, Gibbons. It was procured by Dr. ISTewberry from the Klamath Eiver. IV -THE SALMON OF THE DANUBE, OR THE HUCHO, (SALMO HUCHO,) AND ITS INTRODUCTION INTO AMERICAN WATERS. By Rudolph Hessel. [N'OTE. — The following commimicatiou upon the Huclw was prepared l)y Mr. Rudolph Hessel, at my request, and embodies some facts of much interest in reference to this fish. The propriety of introducing so vora- cious a species, and one that remains and feeds entirely in fresh ^Yaters, where the sea-salmon oecnrs, or can be introduced, may jierhaps be questioned, but whether it might not be phinted to advantage in tlie more southern waters of the United States, or even in the Mississippi Biver, is well worthy of consideration. S. F. BATED. The Danube salmon differs from the other SaJmonidce by its more cylin- drical and elongated body. The back is of a dark brownish-green ; the belly, silver-white, and on its sides are black, round, and half-moon- shaped spots, which are more crowded along the upper part of the back : in this exhibiting a resemblance in marking to the sea-trout. AVith increasing age (fish of 12 to 20 pounds and more) the sides ex- hibit a reddish tint, which becomes of a beautifid rose-color during tlie breeding season, and gives rise in some places to the name of " red- fish," not to be mistaken, however, tor the " Eothel,''^ fSalmo umbla, or salvcUnns.J The Danube salmon surpasses all other SaJmonidce in size, and attains a weight of 40 to 60 and 100 [)ounds. In rare cases, specimens even of 120 pounds have been cauglit. Its flesh is almost like that of the sal- mon of the Ehine in quality, but is white, while that of all the other German Salmonidce is red. A special peculiarity of this fish is its limited geographical distribution, occurring only in the streams emptying into the Black Sea, especially the Danube and its tributaries. When young (weighing from 12 to 18 ])ounds) it has its abode in the deep, rapid, mountain branches of the Danube, and afterward descends into the river itself, in the lower por- tion of which, near Galacz, Semlin, &c., it is fonnd of fully developed size. The rivers Drave, Save, and Theiss, the principal southern tributaries of the Danube, also abound in full-grown fish. It is also frequently caught in the northwesterly tributaries, above Vienna — the Inn, Lech, Isar, Sal- rach, Altmiihl, Eegen, Iller, and even the small Brenz; indeed, generally, everywhere in the Upper Danube of AYUrtemberg. Except as indicated S. Mis. 74 11 162 REPOET OF COMMISSIONEE OF FISH AND FISHERIES. above it is to be met with nowhere else in Europe. It also occurs in the Black Sea, but .only near its shores, and also in the Dnieper, which dis- charges its water into the Black Sea near Odessa 5 likewise in the Volga and Ural Elvers of the Caspian Sea. The Danube salmon has not the peculiar habit of migration from the seaof the true salmon [Salmo salar) though it also ascends the rivers to spawn, like most other tialmonida\ Differing from the other European salmon, however, which breed in autumn or winter, it deposits its eggs in March, April, and May, the female making large cavities in the middle of the river for the purpose, called by the fishermen of the Dan ube ' bruch,^ (break.) Accompanied by several males the female fish deposits its eggs at the bottom of these excavations, and while thus engaged are easily caught with the ' trident,' or fish -spear, and even after one of the males has been takenont the othersleave theplaceonlyforashort while to return and meet the same fate. Many fish are thus cai)tiired during the breeding season, greatly to the injury of the fisheries ; and although laws prohibit- ing this mode of fishing during the breeding season have beeu enacted in all the littoial states of the Danube they are mostly evaded. The eggs of the Danube salmon have a diameter of about .20 of an inch, and their yolk is not a connected mass, as in the eggs of the other Sal- monida;, but is distributed in oily drops upon the entire inner surface. A period of forty to fifty days in cold weather, even more, is necessary for hatching. The eggs are rather sensitive and suffer greatly from the rapacity of the grayling, ThyrimUus ve.riUifer Agassiz, which exist in great luimbers in the tributaries of the Danube. They follow the female liucho in shoals, and voraciously consume the eggs. Hence this beauti- ful fish is never so abundant us is the /Sdhno saJar in the Rhine, where the TldjmaUus is far less numerous than in the Danube. In addition to this, the season for deposituig their eggs is far more favorable to the 8. salar, since then the ThijmaUus are full of milt and eggs and less hungry than at spring-time, when they have just done spawning. The young fishes lose their yolk-bag after ten to eighteen days. Th<^y have a length of .SO of an inch when hatched, 0 to G.30 inches when six months old, and 24 to 32 inches after two years. This rate of growth is quite favorable, when compared with that of the European brook-trout, but is less than with the other SaJmonidw, which, migrating to the sea, there find richer nourishment than the hucho,v:hich generally remains in the river; Since the hucho does not enter the sea, for this reason it appears especially adapted to the large lakes of America, as well as to the Mississippi and its tributaries. . In its third year the Salmo hucho attains its maturity for propagation. Before that period it prefers to remain in the small rivulets; but Avhen sufficiently grown prefers the most rapid places of the larger tributaries, where rocks, trunks of trees, &c., otter shelter. Like the 8. salar, it ascends obstructions several feet in height, sometimes six to eight. Like the other large SalmonidcE it is a rapacious fish, neither more nor HESSEL ON THE SALMOX OF THE DANUBE. 163 less so than its congeners of equal size, but is, I believe, decidedly sur- passed in voracity by Silnnis ghoiis, the slieat-fisli, a kind of cat-flsb, and the pike, Esox lucins. The daily consutuption of food of the last- mentioned species, according to my own observations, amounts to one- third of its own weight. The 8. hucho has a bad name for voracity, because it is not at all dainty; it preys on its own kind, catches frogs and water-fowl, and even do^'s not refuse water-rats. But, after all, it consumes, in proportion to its size, far less than the smallest trout; and the most reliable lishermeu of the Danube agree with me iii the opinion that it is not as bad as reputed. True, it shows great energy in i>ursuit of food, but this occurs principally in winter-time when most of the other fishes remain in their hiding-places and the river is covered with ice. In such cases it frequently jumps high up the banks, where it is easily killed. I have often examined the stomachs of these fish of different sizes, and mostly found white-fish and frogs, sometimes salamanders {Triton cristatus,) and once even a ring-snake {Troijidonotus natrix). I believe that in the sluggish southern rivers of Xorth America the numerous salamanders would servis as food, as the huclio loves to hunt in bends of the river overgrown with cane, and shows great skill in catching his prey. Several years ago some ichthyologist maintained that the Imclio is subject to a peculiar disease of the skin, of which he gave a description. This is, however, a mistake, as I have ascertained by consulting many of the fishermen of the Danube, and to my certain knowledge may occur in any fish very frequently on the carp. It is a spongy excres- cence originating where the skin had been injured or the scales^ibbed oft', and of fungus origin, the same mould, viz, Leptomitris clavaUis, which sometimes covers the eggs in breeding establishments, especially in winter-time, especially when dead animal matter had been allowed to contaminate the water. The mode of catching the hucho differs greatly along the extended banks of the Danube, and is influenced by the situation, depth, &c., of the river. In summer-time they are taken in nets, and smaller ones, up to 6 pounds, with the fly, which, however, is refused by the older fish. From October to their spawning-time, even during the coldest winter, and under the ice, they are also to be taken with minnow-bait on ground- hooks. Ko other fish of the Danube besides the pike wiU take the hook. i?^o fish of the salmon tribe, the true salmon, Scdmo saJar, not excepted, affords more sport to the angler than the hucho, especially before the river becomes covered with ice, or when it breaks up in spring, and whether small or large, from 1 pound up to CO, none takes the hook at this season more readily. In rapids or other places, provided they are free from ice, the fishing is always successful. I have frequently practiced this mode of fishing in the Danube, from Linz to Galacz, and in its tribu- 164 EEPORT OP COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. taries, Lech, Inn, Salzacli,Theiss, Drave, Save, Marosz, even in the severe ■winter of 1852, and always to my satisfaction. I am entirely satisfied that the >S'. huelio will be admirably adapted for the Mississipi)i Eiver and its nnmerons tributaries. The large, deep iiidentatious, overgrown with cane, as well as the numerous ra[)id moun- tain aftluents, offer favorable abodes. The large lakes of the United States appear also to be equally appropriate for this fisli. This, of course, is nothing- more than m^^ individual opinion, but that its acclimatation is possible is beyond doubt. For the introduction of this fish two ways seem to be indicated : 1, the direct importation ot a number of live fishes, about one year old, to be nursed in a suitable small lake until mature for propagation ; or, 2, the importation of a large number of impjegnated eggs to be artificially hatched. The former has great difliculties, as the hncho, like all salmon, constantly requires fresh water 5 still 1 should be willing to try it with about twenty-five to fifty specimens of the age of six to twelve months. It would, however, take almost three years before the fishes would be fit for propagation, and this is a great loss of time. The latter method ofiers no less ditficulties, viz, the collection and transportation of the eggs, which are very sensitive, especially as the temperature of the sea- s )n is rapidly increasing, when they are spawning. It is scarcely cred- ible that their artificial impregnation is entirely unknown to the fisher- men of the Danube, although they believe it possible with the tiout. It would therefore be necessary to engage the most intelligent of the fishermen; to instruct them, and, if they are willing to do the collecting, to assign a centrally-situated place, where the hatching can be carried to the^'St stage, viz, the development of the eyes. Immediately after the impregnation eggs woidd not endure transportation for more than two days. I have consulted several fishermen of the Danube, in person as well as by letter, and believe I could obtain 000,000 to 700,000 eggs in the first year. This is a considerable quantity, under these circumstances. The eggs are very sensitive, and -s^ill need to be managed by an expert; as the fishermen are entirely ignorant, and even require to be informed the mode of packing, &c. Huningen, in 1872, secured 10,000 eggs, for which a man was sent to the Bavarian Danube. Mr. Schuster also received a]>out 2,000, which were hatched. Those at Hiiningen perished. It was the first time Messrs. Schuster and Haack had tried the hatching of hucho. In Germany preference is given to the salmon of the Ehine over the huchoj and even over the salmon of the Elbe, though the latter is the same fish. I believe, however, that the hucho will improve in the Rhine, as does every other fish, though it is already a splendid table- fish and desirable uot alone on account of size. In reference to the dif. ficulties of transportation, I need not direct your attention to the fact that they become so much greater in a journey to America. But as I reported in one of my last letters to Washington, I hope to meet all HESSEL— ON THE SALMON OF THE DANUBE. 165 these difficulties l\v the adoption of a little apparatus, by means of which I may safely carry 400,000 to 500,000 eggs. I think I have overcome the difficulties of construction. Ice for cooling, as you suggested, will be applied ^^^thout allowing direct contact of the eggs with the melting water. Of this apparatus I hope to exhilnt drawings and models in America when I see you. In conclusion, I have to say, that it will be necessary for the lishermen to ask permission for the collection of eggs, which, however, could be readily obtained. I believe that now I have told you all, the good and bad, of this fish; it is, however, far from my purpose to unconditionally recommend its introduction into your country. I believe the ^(dmo salar ought io be tried in the Mississippi at the same time, as the Gulf of Mexico would afford rich feeding-ground. The Ohio and Missouri, with their many tributaries, may also be found suitable. P. S. — Of late years there is, everywhere in Europe, manifested the desire to destroj^ the pike in lakes and ponds. Although our laws are quite stringent and are strictly executed, the catching of Usox is allowed even in spawning-time, as rational fish-breeding has proved them inju- rious. Sal mo hucho and the other Salmoiildw are protected by law during the spawning-season. I consider the omul or Salmo omul of Baikal Lake as one of the most excellent of the Sahnonidce. It is, however, at present scarcely to be had in Europe. According to my information, it surpasses the Salmon of the Ehiue in quality, and is extremely prolific. About 20,000 hundred- weight are said to be caught in the lake, and preserved by smoking, every year. Salmo omul, as far as I know, has never been described satisfactorily in anj- work of natural history. Yery respectfully, yours, EUDOtlPH HESSEL. Professor S. F. Baird, United States Commissioner. V -IMPROVEMENT IN THE SALMON FISHERIES OF SWEDEN. Extract from the Eeport of the Royal Swedish Intendant of Fisheries. 1868. lu 1855, tlie state of the fisheries ia iSTorway was taken into consider- ation, and establishments for lish-breeding were introduced. At the same time i^rotecting laws were enacted, which, in 1863 and 1865, were further amended, in accordance with the experience acquired. The most important rivers and kikes were subdivided into fishery districts, and supervisors were appointed to insure the observation of the laws, one-half of their salaries being- paid by the government, the other by the owners of the fisheries. By these means the same practical advan- tages have been obtained as in England. As early as 1865 the inspector of fisheries was able to present testimonials from Dramself, Langenself, aud Mandalself in proof that the protecting laws and the fish-breeding establishments thus introdnced had steadily increased the yield of the fisheries during the last five years; in 1868, testimonials of twelve more rivers and lakes were added. With every year the satisfaction with these regulations becomes greater and greater in Korway. If we com- pare the results obtained in France, where they endeavored to improve the fresh-water fisheries solely by artificial breeding, we find them quite different. From 1853 to 1865 great sums of money were expended; the central fish-breeding institution of the state at Hiiningen, Avhich in 1862 had already cost 600,000 francs, had distributed nearly thirty millions of young salmonidie every year, and still the fresh-water fish- eries were found in the same bad condition as before. It is maintained by some that by the establishment at Hiiningen the stock of fish had not augmented in the Seine, the Loire, the Garonne, and the Ehine by more than a very few trout aud other Salmonidcc. Consequently finding that breeding alone would not produce the desired improvement in fresh- water fisheries, it was decided to be necessary, even in 1805, to enact protecting laws in order to get a firmer basis and better results for the work done. From this brief statement it is evident that, from fish-breeding estab- lishments only and solely, a considerable increase of fish is uot to be expected, aud, at the same time, that fish-breeding, in connection with suitable protection and rational management, will produce equally favor- able results as is the case with other industrial enterprises. It will also be seen how important a position protection and proper system occupy in the several transactions, in co-operation j^roduciugthe above-nientioned favorable results. IJence the conclusion is justified IMPROVEMENT IN THE SALMON FISHERIES OF SV^'^EDEN. 167 that lirotectiou and rational mauagement of fisheries will give satis- factory results, even vritliout the labor and expense of artificial breeding ; nevertheless, that artificial breeding, without any doubt, acts a very important part in promoting the improvement of fislieries. For every- where in nature we find that in some years or seasons the propagation of certain plants or animals suffers from unfavorable accidental cir- cumstances. The same is the case with the fishes; and it may be, at least in part, counteracted by artificial breeding-establishments, which ofter some protection against destructive changes in temperature, against floods of muddy water, or the attacks of numberless enemies. Furthermore, in many even extensive systems of waters, some species of valuable fish have disappeared almost entirelj^, and it would require many years to increase the stock from the few individuals left. In such cases artificial propagation will offer effective and useful means for obtaining more rapid and certain results from protection, &c., which will be always required for improving extensive fisheries. I'he great importance of artificial fish-breeding undoubtedly consists in the facility of introducing new varieties, by means of artificial impreg- nation, transportation, and hatching of the eggs. It is, of course, neces- sary to success to select the water, nourishment, location, »S:c., so as to be adapted to the habits of the species to be transplanted. Isorway, and more recently Sweden also, have thus obtained the most valuable results. In Norway salmon are now frequently caught, v. here they were introduced only a few years ago. Schnepel ( Ooregonas oxyrhynchus) of G pounds' weight are found in Jemtland, and i-ed salmon SaJtno aJpinus of 13 pounds in the North Sea, Black Sea, Orange, where before 1800- '04 (/. e., the time of their introduction) noue were to be met with. In the river between the Lakes Hunn and Tisnaren great numbers of young salmon are now to be seen, having been transplanted in 1800 and 1867. The interest in raising valuable fish is constantly increasing. Oestanbiick and Gullspang cannot supply the yearlj^ demand of eggs. Three hundred and twenty-five thousand sclinepel eggs were sent from Gullspang in 1808. At present five new fish-breeding establishments are about to be started. As a lucky and, in its kind, peculiar transfer may here be mentioned, that smelt were, in 1860 and 1807, introduced into the Lake Walloxen, near Stockholm, and in the succeeding spring were found to have greatly increased in number. Since the occurrence of smelt in any Avater is so far of importance as it shows the water adapted for breeding ^ahnonidce^ &c., this experience of the Swedish fish-propagatiug estab- lishment is in many respects remarkable. VI.-REPORT OF OPERATIONS DURING 1872 AT THE UNITED STATES SALMON-HATCHING ESTABLISHMENT ON THE M'CLOUD RIVER, AND ON THE CALIFORNIA SALMONIDiE GENERALLY; WITH A LIST OF SPECIMENS COLLECTED. By Livingston Stone. A— INTRODUCTOEY REMARKS. 1. — THE SALMON-HATCHING ESTABLISHMENT ON THE M'CLOUD EIVER. San Francisco, California, December 9, 1872. Sir : I heg leave to report as follows : lu pursiiauce of your instnictious received in July last, to proceed without delay to the Pacific coast, and make arrangements for obtaining a supply of salmon eggs, I left Boston on the 1st day of August, for San Francisco, with this object. As I was directed in your subsequent letters to obtain , if possible, the eggs of the Sacramen to River salmon , I set myself at work at once to ascertain the time and place of the spawning of these lish, but, singular as it seems, I could find no one in San Francisco who was able to say either where or when the salmon of the Sacramento spawned. Those best informed in regard to fishing matters, advised me to locate at Rio Vista, the chief salmon-fishing ground of the Sacramento. This seemed practicable at first, but, on examination, the water at Rio Vista was found to be wholly unsuitable, and this place was given up. For- tunately, a short time after, I was introduced, through the kindness of Hon. B. B. Redding, a member of the board of California commission- ers of fisheries, to Mr. Montague, the chief engineer of the Pacific Rail- road, who showed me the Pacific Railroad surveys of the upper waters of the Sacramento, and pointed out a place on the map, near the junc- tion of the McCloud and Pit Rivers, where he assured me he had seen Indians spearing salmon in the fall on their spawning-beds. This point is one hundred and eighty-five miles north of Sacramento City. Fol- lowing this clew, I proceeded to Red Bluff, the northernmost railway sta- tion of the California and Oregon Railroad, situated fifty miles from the McCloud River. From inquiries made here, I became so well convinced that the salmon were then spawning on the McCloud River, that as soon as supplies and men could be got ready I took the California and Oregon stage for Pit River ferry, two miles from the mouth of the McCloud. We arrived here at daylight on the 30th of August. Leaving the stage at this point we followed up the left bank of Pit River on foot, to the mouth of the McCloud, aiul continued thence up the McCloud RiVer. At a distance of about two miles above the mouth of the river, we came upon several camps of Indians with hundreds of freshly caught salmon drying on the bushes. Salmon could also be seen in the river in such STONE ON THE SACRAMENTO SALMON. 169 numbers that we counted sixty in one spot, as we stood at the waters' edge. It was evident that this was the phice to get the breeding lish, and the next thiug was to find water to mature the eggs for shipment. Tliis was not so easy a task as finding the salmon, but we at last discovered a spring stream, flowing a thousand gallons an hour, which I decided to use, this season at least, and on the morning of September 1, 1872, the hatching-Avorks of the first salmon-breeding station of the United States were located on this stream. The location is about three miles up the McCloud River, on its left or western bank. It is one hundred and eighty-five miles from Sacramento City; three hundred and twenty- three miles fiom San Francisco via Pacific Eailroad; four hundred and fifty-three miles from Portland, Oreg.; two hundred and seventy -two miles from Oakland, Oreg. ; fifty miles from Red Bluff, Cal.; twenty-two miles from Redding, Cal. The point selected is on the California and Or- egon stage-road, which, at the time of our arrival, connected with the railroad at Red Bluff. The raib^oad has now been continued to Red- ding, and it is thought that next year it will run within ten miles of the salmon-breeding station. The spawn found in the fish that the Indians were spearing on our arrival indicated that there was no time to spare iu getting ready for the hatching- work. We were twenty-five miles from the nearest town or village, fifty miles from a railwaj" station, over fifty miles from an available saw-mill, and in the Sierra ISTevada Mtnintains, where the mule-teams barely made twenty miles a day with supplies ; but we went to work, and in fifteen days we had a house built, filtering tanks, hatching apparatus, and flume in perfect running order, and on the 16tU of September were catching and corralHng the salmon. There were but three of us, and every day for a "week the mercury ran from 105° to 112° F. in the shade. But although we worked so expeditiously through the broiUng sun of those days, we were too late. The first few hauls of the net showed that the salmon had spawned. In fact, the salmon begin to spawn in the McCloud River some time in August, and are through spawning, or nearly through, by the 12th of September. We cauglit plenty of salmon in the seine, but only rarely a female with ova. By hard fishing, and hauling the seine every night and sometimes all night, we succeeded in capturing twenty-six salmon, includ- ing both sexes, in spawning condition, by the 28th of September. On the night of the 28th, at midnight, as the returns did not seem to war- rant the expense of handling the seine, I stopped fishing. Of the twenty-six breeding salmon caught, twelve were females and yielded about 50,000 eggs. Of this number 20,000 were destroyed by the terri- ble heat of the last of September; the mercury on some days reaching as high as 112° in the shade. The remaining 30,000 did well, in spite of many dangers from sediment, and from a fungoid growth which seemed to permeate the brook water on hot days, and which rendered constant vigilance necessary; and on the 12th day of October, the most advanced eggs showed the eye-spots. By Friday, October 18, all the 170 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. eggs were ready to pack for shipment, but owing- to miscarriage of a letter the moss which was to be delivered on the previous Tuesday did not arrive until the evening of the following Tuesday. On the next day, October 23, the eggs were packed and shipped to Sacramento, where I placed them in charge of Wells, Fargo & Co., by whom they were forwarded East on the 25th of October, 1872. 2. — the location of the salmon-breeding station on the m'cloud river. The location which has been selected for this station seems to be the best, all things considered, that could be found for obtaining and matur- ing for shipment the eggs of the Sacramento River salmon. Although I made a careful exploration of the whole course of the Sacramento River, I found no place wliich seemed to me to possess equal advantages- The mill-brook at Tehama came the nearest to it, but at Tehama the sal- mon spawn so late as to throw the transportation of the eggs into De- cember, when there is danger of snow-blockades on the Pacific Rail- road ; the rainy season commences at Tehama while the eggs are maturing, and renders the brook liable to become roiled by the rains ; there is a mill on the stream, the operations of which would interfere with the water-supply of the hatching-troughs; and the fact that Indians, Chinese, and whites congregate there in great numbers to kill the sal- mon, makes the neighborhood anything but favorable for the delicate work of maturing salmon-eggs. Ou the other hand, at the McCloud, the spawning jieriod is such as to place the transportation of the eggs at the best time, viz, in Oo(;tober or November; the egs<^ will be shipped before the rainy season sets in, and if it did rain, it would not disturb the water of the McCloud river, which it is proposed to use in future. There is no mill nor anything else on the McCloud River to interfere with the water-supply, and, lastl;> , this river is wholly free from the rough neighborhoods which are found on the outskirts of a town like Tehama. The Tehama brook has the one advantage of being half a day's travel nearer Sacramento, but I do not think this a sufficient otfset to the other advantages of the present location. ' 3. — CHANGES proposed FOR ANOTHER SEASON. I would recommend that next year the house and all the hatching appa- ratus be moved down close to the edge of the high- water mark of the river, where the seine is hauled for catching the parent salmon, and that the water for hatching be taken from the river itself. This can all be done at a very inconsiderable expense, and the whole thing will then be very com- pact. The fishing-ground, the dwelling-house, the corral for the parent salmon, and the hatching-works will all be close together, and a vast deal of labor and risk arising from these departments being separated, as they STONE ON THE SACRAMENTO SALMON. 171 •were this year, will thus be saved. Last fall, when the works were put up, I did not know enough about the McCloud Kiver to risk the proposed ar- raugeuient of the works, but I am satisfied now that it is both safe and very desirable. By this arrangement other advantages are gained be- sides compactuess and convenience, for water will be obtained in unlim- ited quantities, of an even temperature, not varying over live degrees for two months. The water is as clear as crystal, and is 7iever roiled from any cause whatever so as to deposit dangerous sediment; and lastly, this cold water of the McCloud, with a temperature of 48° to 53° F., will not grow the insidious fungus which continually showed itself in the warm water of the hatching-works of this last .seasons With these changes nine-tenths of the trouble and dangers of the past season will be avoided, and I see no obstacles in the way of very large success in obtaining salmon-eggs at this station in the future. 4. — WHY MORE SALMON-EGGS WERE NOT OBTAINED IN 1872. The simple reason why more eggs were not obtained this season was because the salmon had spawned at the head-waters of the Sacramento before it was possible to get ready for the eggs. A subsequent effort might have been made at Tehama, but the lateness of the season, the uncertainty of the results, and the reduced condition of the appropria- tions, were sufficient to discourage it. Although so small a return in the actual number of salmon obtained has been derived from the outlay attending this enterprise, the money can hardly be considered as unprofitably spent, for another and very adequate return is to be found in the actual preparations made for future operations and in the information and experience which have been ob- tained, and which, in the writer's opinion, are worth all they cost as a guide to future labors. 5. — CONDITIONS OF HATCHING SALMON IN CALIFORNIA COMPARED WITH SIMILAR OPERATIONS AT THE EAST. The conditions of hatching salmon-eggs in California are wholly dif- ferent from those vrhich present themselves in similar work at the Ease. At the East you have to gnard against cold ; in California you have to guard against heat; at the East you can usually find a good spring in a favorable locality ; here it is out of the question ; at the East a brook will usually answer the purposes of hatching- water in the absence of a spring; in California the brooks, as a rule, are wholly unsuitable for hatching ; at the Eastthe*eggs are hatching in the winter; in California the salmon spawn in the summer; and, finally, most of the hatching work is done in California before the Atlantic fish begin to spawn. 6.— CATCHING THE SALMON IN THE M'CLOUD. I tried three ways of capturing the parent salmon ; first, by the In- dian trap ; second, by a stake-net and pound ; third, by a sweep-seine. 172 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. The Indian trap consists of a fence of stakes or bnslies, built out into the river, at a fall or rapid, in the form of a letter Y, having the angle down stream, and a basket-trap at the augle. This method proved perfectly worthless, as of course it must, for catching healthy fish, as this con- trivance catches onl}^ the exhausted fish that are going down the river, and none of the good fish that ure coming up. The second method of usiug a stake-net did not work on account of the volume and force of the river-current. I set the stake-net so as to just reverse tlie form of the Indian trap, that is, so that it formed a letter V with the angle up stream, and a trap or pound in the angle. As it happened, it \Vas too late for such a net to be eflective. because the salmon were all going down at that time, and none, or at most a very few, were coming up ; but even if the salmon had been coming up, this contrivance would not have answered here as a permanency, because the velocit^^ and volume of water in the McCloud are such as would ultimately tear any such net away, in any place where it could otherwise be set to advantage. The third method, of sweeping with a seine, worked to perfection. In some of the holes, and especially in one large hole near which it is pro- posed to place the hatching-works next year, any number of parent salmon can be caught in the proper season. The only objection to haul- ing a seine in these places is, that as the boat taking out the seine turns to come ashore again, it is drawn near the brink of the rapids, over which it would be dangerous to go in the night. This is an objection, however, which skill and nerve can always overcome. 7. — TAKING THE EGGS. When we fished where the corral or inclosnre for the breeding salmon was situated, the salmon were taken carefully from the net as soon as it was hauled ashore, and placed in the corral, and kept there till the last haul was made, just before daylight. The eggsw^ere then taken from tiie fish and impregnated, so that by the time the last haul was finished, and the net hung up to dry, the eggs were ready to be washed and placed in the hatching-troughs. This was all very simple, but when we hauled the seine at other points, where there was no place to confine the salmon, it vras quite difierent. At these places, as soon as a spawning-fish was hauled to the shore, I took and impregnated the eggs at once, on the beach where we were, and kept the eggs in pails of water during the night, till we had got through seining. It took four men to strip a fish on these occasions; one to hold the head, one to hold the tail of the fish, and a third to take the eggs, while afourth held a pitch-pine torch for light. On the darkest nights the scene on the river bank was ex- ceedingly wild and picturesque. Behind us was the tall, deep shadow of Persephone Mountain, and before us at our feet ran the gleaming, rapid current of the McCloud, while the camp-fii^e threw an unsteady light upon the forest, mountain, and river, suddenly cut oil' by the dense STOXE ON THE SACRAMENTO SALMON. 173 darkness beyond. The flaming- pitcli-pine torches, stuck into tlie sandy beach at intervals of 20 feet, to guide the boatman, the dusky forms of a half-dozen Indians coiled around the fire, or stoically watchiug the fishing, the net, the fishing-boat, and the struggling fish, added to the effect, and made a picture which, especially when the woods were set on fire to attract the salmon, was one of surpassing interest. It was quite impressive, in the midst of these surroundings, to reflect that we were beyond the white mau's boundary, iu the home of the Indians, where the bear, tlie panther, the deer, and the Indian had lived for centuries undisturbed. The i^gg^ were all taken iu a drj'^ pan, according to the new or Russian method of impregnation, and the milt of the male added immediately. Contrary to rule, I took a half a panful at a time instead of one layer, and stirred the eggs up with my haiul, as you would stir up a pan of flour. After they were well mixed and had stood a minute or two, I filled up the pan with water, gave them another stirring, and left them from half an hoiu' to an hour, at the end of which time I washed them, and l^oured them into a pail of water, to be taken to the hatching-troughs. When the eye-spots appeared, three weeks a^fterward, almost every egg- was seen to have a fish iu it, which proves two things : one is, that the dry method will impregnate almost, if not wholly, a hundi-ed per cent., of the eggs ; and the other is, that the old i^recaution, not to take over one layer of eggs in the pan at a time, is wholly needless. In fact, I believe I could take a ten-quart water-bucket half full of salmon-eggs ata*time, without losing any more than by the one-layer method. I found that the Sacramento River salmon {i. e., the McCloud River salmon) yield their eggs much more readily than the Eastern salmon. It is not half the work to strip the fish, and they are in general more easily haudled than the salmon of the Atlantic rivers. S. — THE EGGS OF THE SACKAMENTO RIVER SALMON. The eggs of the salmon of the Sacramento are larger and have a more reddish tinge than those of the Atlantic salmon. There are less eggs to the same weight of fish than with the eastern salmon, seven hundred eggs to each pound of the parent fish being a large average. We cannot yet tell how the period of incubation of these eggs compares with those of the Atlantic rivers, as it was impossible, with the varying temperature of the hatching-brook, to get at the exact average tempera- ture of the water. I may say, however, that the eggs first showed the eye-spots in nineteen days, and that they hatched in forty-t\vo days, and the estimated average temperature of the water was 5S°-60o F. 9. — THE HATCHING- APPARATUS. Our hatching-apparatus was all that could be wished. It consisted of twenty-four troughs of sugar-pine, IG feet long, 12 inches wide, and 4i inches deep, the inside surfoce of Avhich was converted to a coal by 174 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. cliarriiig. These troughs furnished ahnost 400 square feet of hatching space. There were three sets or tiers of troughs, one set below the other, with eight troughs arranged parallel to each other in each tier. There was a fall of three inches from one tier to another. The troughs were covered. The filtering arrangement was quite perfect. It consisted of what the miners call a sand-box, which is merely an empty box to catch the heav- iest of the sediment, and of two filtering-tanks proper. The water, after leaving the sand-box, passed through ten filters of sand and gravel and eight common filters of flannel. All this provision for cleansing the water did not, however, prevent a fine fungoid growth from coming down with the water on to the eggs, which, when it was first discovered, had got such a start that its results must have been veryjdisastrous had it not been for the ingenuity 'of ^my first assistant, Mr. John G. Woodbury, of San Francisco. Mr. Woodbury, on having his attention called to the condition of the eggs, suggested the very bohl course of washing ofl^' the fungus with sand and water. The plan adopted was to put a few hundred eggs in a pail partly fall of water, aud having a handful of fine river-sand at the bottom. Upon holding this pail of eggs and sand under a stream of water, the whirling sand w^as brought into contact with the whirling eggs so constantly and rap- idly, and yet so gently, that in a few minutes the fungus was entirely cleansed from the eggs, while the eggs were not injured in the least. It would be a long and tedious jol) to go through this operation with many hundred thousaiul eggs, but with the few thousands which we 'had then laid dowuthisingeniouscontrivauceansweredits purpose admirably. It is proper to say that this plan was not tried till the spinal column of the fish had appeared; otherwise, even the gentle contact of the sand aud water would probably have injured the less-matured embryo. 10. — packinCt and shipping the eggs. The only moss that I could find or hear of was nearly seventy miles to the north^ at the sources of the Sacramento, and the best of this moss grew just where one of the tributaries of the Sacramento bursts from the earth, at the base of Shasta Butte. This was the moss which I used for packing, and it was admirable. I packed the eggs in two com- mon wooden boxes, holding about a cubic foot eacli. A soft but dense layer of moss, just as it grows, was first placed at the bottom of the box. A layer of eggs was then spread over the moss carpet, then a thin layer of moss, and so on, alternating to the top, as is the usual manner of packing ova, except that half way up the box a thin wooden lack or partition was put in to break the pressure of the upper layers. These two boxes being filled, and the covers being fastened on with screws, to avoid the concussion of driving nails, a dozen or twenty holes were bored in them to admit the air, and they were packed in an open wooden crate large enough to admit a layer of hay and straw four inches through STONE ON THE SACRAMENTO SALMON. 175 on all sides. This open space was filled with hay to weaken the force of coucassious and to equalize the temperature inside. The cover of the crate was then put on, and I took thejn twenty-two miles down the stage-road to Eedding, and thence one hundred and seventy miles by rail to Sacramento City, wliere, after unpacking tlie boxes and moisten- ing the moss very thoroughly with cold water, I repacked the boxes in the crate, and ship])ed them East, in care of Wells, Fargo & Co., by way of the Pacific Ivailroad. I packed two tin boxes of eggs, also, and inclosed them in pails of saAvdust, with the expectation of hanging up the pails in the car, and so avoid in some degree the jolting of the trains ; bnt on examining the car, and considering the number of changes of car between here and the Athintic, I concluded that it was more dangerous to hang them np than to have thou rest on the floor of the car. Aecordingly, all the packages of eggs were carried like anj* other merchandise, on the floor of the express-car. Permit me to add that, during the fall, I traveled the whole length of the Sacramento Eiver, from its sources around Mount Shasta to its outlet at the bay of San Francisco, and also ascended the McCloud Piver as far as it is accessible, which is about twenty miles, and col- lected quite a complete series of specimens of the Salmomdce of the Sac- ramento and McCloud Eivers, a catalogue of which I transmit here- with. The specimens and accompanying drawings have been forwarded to you, at the Smithsonian Institution. B— THE SALMONIDJ]] OF THE SACEAMBNTO ElYEE. 11. — THE SACRAMENTO RIVER. In order to make what follows more clear, permit me to describe briefly the conrse of the Sacramento Eiver. The Sacramento Eiver proper has its sources in Mount Shasta, and in the Siskiyou Mountains to the west of Mount Shasta, about four hundred miles by the river channel from its outlet into the ocean at San Francisco. A few miles below Mount Shasta, on Shasta Butte, as it is called in California, the smaller sonrces form a clear, rocky, and swift-running stream, about a hnndred or a hundred and fifty feet across, and so deep that it can just be waded with high rubber boots at its shallowest parts. Its temperature is here very low, and probably does not average over 50^ F. the year round. From this point, for nearly eighty miles, it falls at the rate of thirty-seven feet to the mile, running nearly due south, and retains its character of a clear and cold stream all the way. Down to this point it is known as the " Little Sac- ramento," and receives the waters of many small streams, but no large ones till it reaches its junction with Pitt Eiver. At this stage of its course it has swollen to three times its original volume, and with the addition of the contents of Pitt Eiver makes a stream six times the bulk 176 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. which it possessed just below Mount Shasta. It is still a clear river; but soou after passing this point it becomes roily, and continues to grow more and more so to its mouth. Above the mouth of Pit River it flows through a deep canon, with high hills or mountains on both banks ; but a short distance below the mouth of Pit River it enters a more level country, and from thence to the bay of San Francisco it moves slowly, widening every league, through a level country with broad sweeps of prairie on either side, now famous all over the world as the wonderfully productive region of the Sacramento Valley. About a hundred and fifty miles below the mouth of Pit River it receives the muddy waters of the Feather Riv^er, and twenty miles far- ther down, at Sacramento City, the still muddier waters of the Ameri- can Fork. From here to San Francisco the Sacramento River is navi- gable for large vessels and steamers; but receives no other extensive tributaries except the San Joaquin, which empties into it at Rio Vista, forty miles below Sacramento. It will be seen by the above description that the Sacramento River has bnt four large tributaries, the San Joaquin, the American Fork, the Feather River, and Pit River. AVith the San Joaquin we have nothing to do in this report, as it may be regarded as almost an independent river, and has not come Avithin the scope of the present investigation. I will only say in regard to this river that it is much warmer than the Sacramento, but is frequented some\vhat by salmon, especially in the fall, which are killed in considerable quantities on some of its tributaries. The American Fork was formerly a prolific salmon river, but the min- ing operations on its banks have rendered it so mnddy that the salmon have abandoned it altogether, and none ascend it now. Precisely the same thing is to be said of Feather River. The salmon come up in some numbers to spawn in the smallel' streams between the American and Pit Rivers, bnt the retnrns from these s[)awning-gronnds are probably small. The salmon come np Pit River in great numbers in the spring, but I am informed that they all leave Pit River for the colder waters of the McCh)ud River in the latter part of June or the first part of July. It is probable that they ascend the upper waters of the Pit Kiver also to a limited extent at this time, bnt I could obtain no positive information on tins point. Above the mouth of Pit River the salmon ascend the Sacramento, now called the Little Sacramento, in great numbers, and make the clear waters of this stream the priucii)al spawnijig-ground of the salmon of the Great Sacramento River, with one exception. This exception is the McClond River. 12. — THE M'CLOUD river. This river, wliich is the great spawning rendezvous of the Sacramento salmo]), deserves special notice both on this account, and because it is on this river that the United States salmon breeding station has been located. The McCloud River heads in Mount Shasta and in the southern STONE ON THE SACEAMENTO SALMON. 177 slopes of the moantaius, stretcliing away from Shasta Butte easterly and southeasterly toward the sources of Pit River. Its priucipal source is an immense spring, which bursts out from the southeastern flank of Mount Shasta, and at once forms a river from its own supply. This spring is fed by the melting snows of Shasta, and accounts for the unusual cold- ness and clearness of the McOloud River. The McOloud receives, near its source, a tributary about fifteen miles in length, coming from the northeast, but there are no other considerable streams emptying into it below, and it is said to have this peculiarity, that it is almost as large near its source as it is at its mouth. Through all its course it flows rapidly through a deep rocky canon of the wildest scenery. The rocks and mountains rise up abruptly from its banks, in many places to the height of several thousand feet, and for ten or twenty miles near the middle of the river's course are inaccessible. On this account the river has never been surveyed throughout its whole course, and the river chan- nel, as laid down on the maps, is wholly conjectural, for a considerable extent. The McCloud Eiver, near its mouth, where the salmon-breeding works are placed, averages about 60 yards in width, although in places it flows through gadches not over 30 feet wide, and in other places spreads out to a width of nearly a hundred yards. The temperature of the water is here, in September, 480-49° at sunrise, and 530-54° at sunset. It is sin- gularly uniform in its temperature, and does not vary two degrees from these figures throughout October and November. The bed of the river is here rocky, gravelly and sandy, as it is throughout its whole course. The water is as clear as crystal and always rapid. The river begins to rise in December, and swells to a maximum height of 15 feet above the midsummer level. It is another peculiarity of this river, (and it can hardly be said of any other river in California,) that it has been aban- doned to the Indians. The miner's pick and shovel have upturned the banks of other rivers, or the farms of white men have stretched along tl>eir waters, but, for some reason or other, the civilized races have very singularly left the McCloud River to its aboriginal inhabitants. The consequence is, that the McCloud River presents an instance of what is becoming extremely rare, at least in the more accessible portions of the country, namely, a region which is just as it was before the white man found it, and a race of aborigines, w^hose simple habits have not been corrupted- by the aggressive influence of communication with the whites. 13. — THE M'CLOUD river INDIANS. The Indians themselves are a good-featured, hardy, but indolent race. 1 found them always pleasant, genial, and sociable, though, like other Indi- ans, very sensitive when their pride was wounded. They at first adopted the plan of ordering all white men out of their country, and were the last of the California Indians to yield to the encroachments of civiliza- tion. Even now they are not slow to say to the white stranger, "These S. Mis. 74 12 178 REPORT 'of commissioner OF FISH AND FISHERIES. are my lands," and "Tliese are my salmon; " bnttbe stein consequences of conflict with the whites have taught them to abstain from any vio- lent vindication of their rights. They will still always revenge a wrong- inflicted on them by their own iieople, and deem it a dnty to avenge a miu'der of one of their kindred, but I think they are a well-disposed race by nature, and have no malice naturally in their hearts toward any one, and will not iujiu'e any one who does not first injiu^e them. Every one told me, before my arrival and during my stay on the McClond, that the Indians would steal everything that they could lay their hands on. I am glad that this opportunity is afforded me of bearing testimony to the contrary, which I wish to do very emphatically. I would trust the Mc- Cloud Indians with anything. We used to leave our things every day around the house, and even down on the river-bank, for weeks together, where the Indians could have stolen them with perfect safety, and where they would not have remained ten minutes in a icMte mmi's settlement, and yet I do not know of a single instance of theft of the smallest thing on their part, during all oiu" stay of two months among them. On the contrary, in one instance, an Indian traveled six miles one hot day to return me a watch-guard, which he found in the pocket of a garment v.'hich I sold him, and which he might have kept with perfect impunity. And on another occasion, on the arrival of some gold coin, when I had reason to expect an attack from ivhite men, I gave the gold to one of my Indians, and told him that I depended on him to protect that and me till morning. I slept soundly; and the next morning the faithful Indian handed me the gold just as I gave it to him. I wish on these accounts to be very emphatic in saying that the charges against these Indians of being a race of thieves, are untrue and unjust. With all their good traits, however, murder did not seem to have the obnoxious character that it has among more enlightened people. Almost every McCloud Indian we met had killed one or more men, white or red, in the course of his life, but it was usually because they were goaded to it by ungovernable jealousy or revenge. It was not from motives of gain or causeless malice. The McCloud Indians live and sleep in the open air in the summer. In the rainy season they build wigwams or huts of drift-wood and dry Jogs, which they inhabit pretty comfortably through the winter. In the summer and fall they live mainly on the salmon and trout which they spear. In the winter they live on the salmon which they catch and dry in the fall, and oh acorns, which they gather in great quantities in the woods. They hunt with bows and arrows, with which they occasionally kill a bear, though a few of the more enterprising have rifles. They trap a very little, but the salmon of the river are so abundant that they are not obliged to resort to hunting and trapping at all, and do not do much of either. I have made this long digression about the McCloud Eiver Indians partly because their presence here is so singularly connected with the STONE ON THE SACRAMENTO SALMON. 179 abundance of ttie salmon in the Sacramento River. Had white men come here, and required the salmon for food, this main artery of the supply system of the river would have been stopjied; or had white men come and engaged in mining, as they have done on the Yuba and on the Feather and American Rivers, the spawnmg-beds would have been coA^ered with mud and ruined, as in those rivers, and in less than three years the salmon supply of the Sacramento would have shown a vast decrease. The presence of the Indians, therefore, as far as it implies the absence of the whites, is the great jirotection of the supply of the Sacramento salmon. 14. — THE CLIMATE OF THE M'CLOUD E1\^E. The rains come on a little earlier here among the mountains than lower down in the valleys, and continue a little later in the spring. It is wet, therefore, from If^ovember to May, and dry from May to iSTovember. The winters are mild, a very little snow falling occasionally with the rains. The summer and fall days are extremely hot, but the nights are cool, and in the fiill are very cold compared with the days. In consequence of this the variations of temperature in the fall during the twenty-four hours are extreme. For many days together in September the mercury ranged from 55° Fabr. at sunrise to 105° in the shade at 11 a. ra., mak- ing a variation of 50<^ in five hours. On some days the variation was 60°^ and on one occasion nearly 70° in the same length of time. I have seen ice formed in our fishing-boat at night within ninety-six hours of a noon temperature of 110°. The hot daj-s continue till November, and even extend into a!^ovember. There were many successive days in Octo- ber when it was over 100° in the shade. The hot hours of the day were usually from 11 a. m. till 4 j). m. From 8 a. m. to 11 a. m. the rise of temperature was very rapid, and ti"om 4 p. m. to 7 p. m. the fall was equallj^ rapid. I have been speaking of the climate of the McCloud at our salmon station, near its mouth. As you ascend the McCloud the weather grows cooler, the rains last longer, and at its headwaters, in winter, there are deep snows. IS.^THE SACRA3IENT0 SALMON IN GENERAL. Tii€ Sacramento salmon in its prime is a large, handsome, silvery fish, averaging about 20 pounds in weight, as they are caught at Rio Vista, the main fishing ground of the river. * These salmon have a darker shade and deeper bodies, and are less delicate in form, and slightly coarser in appearance than the Atlantic salmon. They are also heavier looking, less silvery, and probably less vigorous than the eastern salmon. It is so difficult to determine whether they differ from the eastern salmon in quality, as food, that it is quite safe to say that if they are not * Salmon weighing from 40 to 50 pounds are not uncommon; and once in a great wMle one is caught exceeding 50 pounds in weight. 180 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. fully equal to their eastern kindred, as a table luxury, they are so near it, that the difference, if any, is not an important one. Their flesh in their prime is firm, sweet, rich, and juicy, and is certainly good enough to make thera a desirable fish in any river in the world. (See question 70, J). 195.) As a game-fish they are active and powerful fighters, and are only conquered after a hard struggle. They are caught with a hook and line in salt and brackish waters, and also in the fresh waters of the upper tributaries. Salmon roe is the best bait in fresh water ; but they will also take the artificial fly. Last July hundreds of salmon, averaging 15 pounds apiece, were caught in the Little Sacramento with a hook and line, near Frye's Hotel, at Upper Soda Springs, in Siskiyou County, Cal- ifornia. It is not an uncommon but a common thing to catch salmon here wi'hbait, which settles the question beyond dispute as to the Sac- ramento salmon biting at a hook in fresh water. The Sacramento salmon, like all other salmon, fall off in size, weight, quality, and beauty from the time they enter fresh water. A week or two before they spawn they become very black, then smooth and slimy, their scales being absorbed into the skin. Soon after this they become foal, diseased, and very much emaciated, and in the McOloud Kiver, at least, they die a short time after spawning. 16. — GENERAL MOVEMENTS OF THE SACRAMENTO SALMON IN THE LOWER PARTS OF THE RIVER.* The prime salmon first make their appearance in the tide-water of the Sacramento, the early part of November. They are then very scarce, only three or four a day being at first caught at the great fisheries. They are at this time 18 cents a pound at wholesale, and 25 cents a pound at retail. They increase gradually in numbers, through Novem- ber and December, and the retail price falls to 20 cents. By the middle of January they are somewhat more abundant in the bay, but few con- tinue to be caught up the river. They remain scarce, or, rather, not abundant — more all the time being caught in the bay than up the river — until the 1st of March, when they begin to pour up the river in vast qtiantities. This flood of salmon lasts through March, April, and May, making these months the harvest mouths of the river fishermen, f both because the salmon are plentiful and because they are in good condition. The run culminates the last of April, or first of May. They are then the most abundant. They fall off from this time gradually in numbers and condition through May, and become comparatively scarce in June and July, and the first part ot August. Before the end of August a ** It should be understood that the account given here and elscAvhere in this report of the salmon of the main Sacramento river applies only to the salmon above tide-water. t Eleven thousand three hundred and ninety-four salmon were sent down the river to San Francisco last March (1872) by one line of river-boats. It is estimated that five thousand more were salted on the river. Tliis makes a yield of sixteen thousand three hundred and ninety-four fish, or about three hundred thousand X)Ounds, in the month of March, makitjg no allowance for other sources of outlet, which were cousiderable. STONE ON THE SACRAMENTO SALMON. 181 new run commences, and, to quote the fishermen's words, "the river is full of them." The quality of this fish is very poor compared with the winter and spring runs, which circumstance, connected with their great abuudance, makes them a drug in the market at this time. They can now be bought at 3 ceuts a pound, and even for less, as tons of them are thrown back into the river for want of purchasers. This abundance continues through September, the quality of the fish remaining very poor. In October the numbers fall off agaiu and continue to lessen, till the new winter run begins again in November. The following table, according to months, shows the condition of the Sacramento River, in regard to the salmon, at Sacramento : Moutli. Numbers. Quality. January . . . February. . March /. . . April May June July August . . . . September. October ... November . December* Increasing, but not abundant. Increasing, but not abundant. Very abundant Very abundant Falling off, but still abundant Some^vhat scarce Somewhat scarce Very abundant indeed Abundant Falling off. New run begins . Very scarce Scarce Prime. Prime. Prime. Nearly prime. NtMirly })rime. Inferior. Inferior. Very poor. Very poor. Very poor. Very fine. Very hue. 17. — GENERAL MOVEMENTS, ETC., OF THE SACRAMENTO SALMON IN THE M'CLOUD river. It will be seen by the previous notes that there are salmon in the Lower Sacramento every mouth in the year. It is not so in the upper tributa- ries of the river, as for instance, in the Little Sacramento, or in the Mc- Cloud. The salmon have stated times for arriving in the upper tribu- taries and for remaining in them, aud at other i^eriods of the year there are no salmon in these streams. The salmon arrive in the mouth of the McCloud in March, but are scarce in that month. In April and May they become plentiful but are not large, the average weight not exceeding ten or twelve pounds. They remain plentiful through June and July, during the latter part of which months they receive an accession from Pit River, the lower part of which river now becomes nearly deserted by the salmon. In August, there is a large rim of salmon up the McCloud, composed of larger fish. The salmon are now, in August, the largest and most abundant of any time in the year m the McCloud. They begin to spawn in the lower portions of the McCloud during the last half of August. By the middle of Sep- tember the salmon begin here to die, aud from this till the end of the month they die very rapidly, and there are thousands of dead salmon floating down the stream and being washed up to the banks. The bears * In December, January, and February, the salmon are,more abundant in the lower parts of the river than further up. 182 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. now come down to tlie river in great numbers to eat the salmon, and the ludiaus stop spearing and go bear-liuntiug. About this time — the hitter half of September — a new run of salmon makes its appearance in the McClond, called the " fall run." They were not by any means plentiful this year, (1872,) but kept the river from beiug actually deserted by sal- mon for a month or more. During October there are no salmon iu the McCIoud, except the few new-comers of the "fall run," and by the 1st of November all the salmon are gone from the river except one or two individual stragglers here and there. By this time the Indians have all their salmon dried and packed away for winter. Some of the Indians have moved back into the woods, while those that remain on the river have built little wigwams of drift wood, to protect them from tfbe winter rains, and have gone into winter quarters. From November till March there are no salmon in the McCloud Eiver. All I could learn about the young salmon in the river was that in May the young fry, about two inches long, are very abundant. Soon after this they wholly disappear, and their destination is unknown. During my stay on the McOloud through August, September, and Octo- ber, I saw no small lish which I recognized as young salmon, nor could I learn from any source where the young salmon were. Their where- abouts at this season still remains a mystery. 18. — CONDITION OF THE SALMON DURING THEIR STAY IN THE M'CLOUD RIVER. In March, when the salmon first arrive in the McCloud, they are in fine condition. They are now bright and silvery, with shining scales. They are fat aud excellent for the table, but not large. The spawn in the females is very small. Their flesh is of a deep-red color. The males and females are almost indistinguishable at this time. This state of things remains till August, except that the salmon gradually deteriorate in quality, and the eggs increase in size. The first marked change in the fish takes place a little before the middle of August. The salmon then become very black. The males grow deep and thin, and the dog- teeth begin to show themselves, and to increase rapidly in size. The females are now big with spawn, and the sexes are easily distinguish- able. From this time they rapidly deteriorate. Their flesh shades off to a light, dirty pink. They become foul and diseased, aud very much emaciated. Their scales are wholly absorbed into the skin, which is of a dark olive hue, or black. Blotches of fungus appear on their heads and bodies, and in various places are long, white patches where the skin is partly worn off. Their fins and tails become badly mutilated, and in a short time they die exhausted. By the 1st of October most of the fish that were in the river in August are dead. The height of the spawn- ing-season in 1872 was about the 8th of September. The salmon had begun to spawn when»I arrived on the McCloud, the 30th of August. By the middle of September nearly all the salmon had spawned, except the " fall run." STONE ON THE SACEAMENTO SALMON. 183 Table slwwing the movements, condition, etc., of tlie Sacramento salmon in the 2IcCloud river in each month of the year : Mouths. January.. February. March ... April May Juue July August .. September October . . November December Numbers. None Noue Very few . Abundant Abundant Abundant Abundant Very abundant Very abundant but dying rapidly. All dead except fall run. None but one or two stragglers. None Quality. Prime Prime Falling off slightly.. Falling off slightly.. Considerably deteri- orated. Large fish, but black and poor. Foul, emaciated, and nmtilated. Fall run, considered not bad. Eemarks. Trout BOW spawning. River A-ery high. Do. Trout have scarlet bauds. Young salmon fry abun- dant. First appearance of salmou at head-waters of Little Sacramento. Begin to spawn at head- wa- ters. Begin to spawn on lower ]McCloutli day of August, I saw (WO pounds of spoiled salmon at one fish-market at Sacramento City, wliieli Avere about to be tliroAvn into the river. 196 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. salmon are only sent to market in June, July, and August, wlien tliey are in their very best condition. The average, therefore, is of a very fine quality. On the contrary, the Sacramento salmon are in the market every mouth in the year, whether prime or not, and are the cheapest and most common when they are the poorest, in consequence of which the average Sacramento salmon of the markets the year round is a very ordinary fish, Kow, people generally, unless their attention is specially called to the subject, when forming their opinion of the comparative merits of the two kinds of salmon, involuntarilj" compare the average Sacramento salmon with the average Penobscot salmon, and are com- pelled to decide in favor of the latter. I think this is the reason why the Sacramento salmon is held to be an inferior fish. I was myself, before my arrival here, much prejudiced in favor of the Atlantic fish, and the Sacramento salmon, which I ate in August, confirmed my prejudice; but now, having eaten and carefully judged of the quality of the winter run or prime salmon of the Sacramento River, I resign my prejudice against these salmon, and state with confidence that I do not consider them in any respect inferior in quality to their Atlantic kindred. The same remarks apply in general to the salted salmon of the Sac- ramento. Question 60. How long does it retain its excellence as a fresh fish ? Answer. These salmon do not differ from other salmon in respect to the length of time that they will remain fresh and sweet. They can be kept fresh two weeks, and even more, on ice, especially when prime. Question 81. To what extent is it eaten ? Answer. The Sacramento salmon are universally eaten, and the extent of their consumption is very great.* One line of steamboats brought 400,000 pounds of Sacramento salmon into San Francisco in March, 1872. Question 82. Is it salted down, and to what extent ? Answer. It is estimated that 25,000 salmon were salted down on the Sacramento River last spring, (1872,) and 9,000 last fall. This, however, includes all that were salted, both from the catch above tide-water and below it. Question 83. Is it used, and to what extent, as manure, for oil, or for other purposes, and what ? Answer. It is not used to any extent as manure, for oil, or other pur- poses than for food. Question 84. What were the highest and lowest prices of the fish, per pound, duringthe past season, wholesale and retail, and whatthe average, and how do these compare with former prices ! Answer. The highest price during the last year for Sacramento salmon was 25 cents per pound, wholesale, and 18, cents, retail. The lowest price? wholesale and retail, ran from 5 cents to nothing. The average price * See uote at bottom of page 197. STONE OX THE SA*CKAMENTO SALMON. 197 throug'li the year has been about 10 cents. These are gokl figures. The price has not varied nnicli the last few years. Question 85. Are these tish exported ; and if so, to what extent ? Answer. The Sacramento salmon are not exported at all, or only in a fcM' exceptional instances, the home demand being sui^cient to exhaust them. Question 86. Where is the principal market of these fish "? Answer. The principal market for them is the City of San Francisco. 20. — OTHER SALMONID^ OF THE SACRAMENTO RIVER. The other Salomonidw of the Sacramento (main) Eiver are confined to one variety, which some call a salmon, but which the fishermen think is a mountain- trout, which has dropped down the river farther than usnal. It is described in my catalogue of Smithsonian specimens under Xos. 12 and 13. It is quite rare in the Lower Sacramento. The common mountain-trout is found in abnndance in all the cold tributaries of the main river, and probably other varieties which have not been reported. 21. — OTHER sal^ionid.t: of the m'cloud river. Besides the salmou, there are, in the McClond, three other varieties of Salmon id(C : 1, the common mountain-trout; 2, the wyc-dar-deel'et ; and, 3, the "silver-trout." A full series of specimens of the first variety has been collected and sent to the Smithsonian Institution. (See cata- logue of specimens.) This fish is delicious eating, when prime, and is quite abundant in the river, and ascends the small tributaries of the river in vast quantities, to spawn, in the winter. The second variety is very rare in the Lower McClond, but abundant at its head- waters, and being a very handsome and delicious fish, is the favorite fish for fifty miles around. (See No. 27 and Ko. 68 of Catalogue of Smithsonian^Specimens.) The third variety I only heard of as being at the sources of the McClond, It was described to me as a round, plump, silvery trout, and not rare. I will here add that the other fish of the Sacramento (main) Eiver are the white-perch, Sacramento pike or white-fish, (a cypriuoid,) sturgeon, chub, hard-heads, split-tails, (herrings,) suckers, mud-fish. Of these the white-fish, sucker, and mud-fish are found in the IMcCloud Eiver. (See Catalogue of Specimens.) 22.— list of INDIAN WORDS OF THE m'CLOLD DIALECT. Although it does not properly come within the scope of this report, I take the liberty to append a few words of the dialect of the McClond * I am iuformed by the fish-dealers in San Francisco that 10,000 fresh salmon a week are sent into that city from the San Joaqnin and the Sacramento Rivers in August, when salmon are the cheapest and most abniulant. 198 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Indians, for the sake of preserving something of a langnage which will soon become extinct. Withont expecting to save them, I picked up these words casually from the Indians lastfall, (1872,) while getting the salmon- eggs, and, meager as the list is, I believe it is the only collection of words of the McCloud Indians that has been made: LIST OF WORDS. Indian Wiutoon. White man Yi-patoo. No fillo. Yes Ho. Yes, (emphatic) Urmano. Very B6o-ya. A great many. , B6o-ya. Large Bo-ha-ma. Small Koo-oo-tett. Cold Tedm-ma AVarm Pee-lar-ma. Live MooriTch-h^er. Dead Miii-nal. I, me, mine, my Nett. Yon, yonr, him, her, his, hers (Non ego) mutt. North Wy-ee. East' P6u-ey. South Norrh. West Niim. Day Sannie. Morning Horn-hecma. Evening , N6-monnie. Night Ken-wahnie. Dark Chdepy. Sleep Keen-na. Sleepy Keen-ka. Breakfast Hinimiir-bar. Dinner Sannie-har. Supper Keuwannie-har. To-morrow Himmar. Yesterday Lender. Head Pill-yoak. Eye Toohio. Mouth Oo-ool. Face Toom. Hair Tom-moi. One Ket-tett. Two Parr-la. Three Pahn-oulh. Foiu- C16w-ett. Five Sansigh. Six Set-panoulh. Seven L6-lochett. Eight S6t-clow-ett. Nine , K6tett-611ess. Ten Tickalouss. Fish Deek-et. Salmon Noo-oohl. Trout Syee-oolott. Salmon-trout Wye-dar-deeket. Salmon-»eggs Poo-oop. Sacramento white Ch(5o-sus. fish. Male salmon Charrk. Female salmon Ko-raisch. Black salmon Choo-loo-loonoo-oolh White, (emaciated) Aee-teppem. salmon. Late-fall-salnion Eee-par-tepi)ett. McCJoud salmon Winny-mame h o o - oolli. Grilse K6o-rilsh. Salmon-fry K6o-ootett noo-oolli. Dorsal-fin Kho-rohl. Adipose-fin Tooh w-keeh. Pectoral All-s'ile-i-kobol. Anal '. Ken-tec-kobol. Caudal P war-tolh. Gills Khar-nee. Man Wintoon. Woman Mo-halee. Boy Weetah. Girl #.. Pochtilah. Infant Pickaninny. Wife Poich-ta. Sweetheart Poich-ta. Hand Semm. Foot Semm. Arm Khde-dett. Horse Horse. Cow Cow. Bear Cheelkh. Grizzly bear Wee-mar. Hog Hor-ruichta. Deer Nopji. Beaver So-chett. Otter Mrime-t6olich. Mink Bies-syooss. Coon Ca-raillett. Fisher, ( cat ) Yupokos. Water-dog, (lizard) .Hee-sollett. Water-ouzel Soiir-sinny. Gun Ko-lool. STONE OX THE SA'CRAMENTO SALMON. 199 Bow Ko-lool. Arrow Nott. To slioot Yoopcha . Will slioot, (future) -Yoopcha. Have shot, (past) ..Yoopcha. Spear K^y-ell. To spear Dult-ley. To spear a salmon ..Noo-oolh didt-ley. To shoot a deer Nopp yoop-cha. To catch Perri-mahn. To catch a trout Sy ee - oolott p e r r i - mahn. House , Boss. Elver Meiiie. Water Meme. Salt Welchc. Oceau ..Welche meme, or hohama meme. Sacrameuto River. . . Bohaima meme. Fii-e Pohn-. Bread Ch6 w-trass. Flour Chdw-triiss. Acorus Klich-ly. Wood Chvlsse. Tree Mee. Tobacco Lo-ole. Kuif e Kelly-kelly. Acorns, growing Peurmalh. Blanket .-. . Jackloss. Looking-glass Ken-wiunas. Shirt Winnem-coddie. Eain Loo-hay. To rain, (verb) Loo-hay. Sand Pomm. Country Pomm. • Flowers Loo-lich. Buckskin, tanned. ..Tay-ruch. Buck-eye, (nut) You-nott. Money Pess-sus. Mountain Bo-haima pil-yokh. Long Charrua. Short Wor-ohter. Good Cluilla. Bad Chip-kalla. New, (clean) Ilia. Dirty B6o-koolali. To see Wiun-neh. To come Widder. To go Han'a. Have gone Harra. Will go Harra. Stay Booha. Rest Booha. Sunday, (rest day).. Sannie booha. A week Ketett sannie booha . To bring Werrell. To pay Doo-ya. To give Doo-ya. To stand Hick-i-yah. To give Koot-eh. To want Squdea. To eat Bar. To be hungiy Bar-squeea. To diink Boolah. Intoxicated Whisky-Boolah. To drink spirits Whisky-bar. To strike Koopah. To chop Koopah. To steal Khi-yah. To remain Pomadilly. To reside Pomadilly. To sit down to rest..K(Sltnah. To buy Poolah. To work K16et-ich. To be tired Klee-tich-et. To sew Hooray. To skin In-iticha. To skin a deer Nopp irritcha. To be afiaid Khee-lup. To like Hi-hina. To love Hi-hina. To kiss Ell-choopcha. To swim Meme-tulich. To row (a boat) Meme-tulich. To understand Tipna. To know Tipna. To know (Spanish) sitp-beh. To talk Teen. All Komm. Same Pde-yanny. Other side Poo-yelty. Opposite bank of Poo-yelty mam e. river. This side Nnm-ilty. Chief Wee-ee. Stars Kloo-yook. Straight Kdllar. Bye and bye Pop-ham. Black Choo-loo-loo. White Ki-yah. To have Bemeu. How Hen-nonie. How many Hissart. When Hfesan. How long Hassan. Where H^cky. Here fih-weh. What Pay-ee. Say, (tell me) Ilad-die. I don't know •- O-oo. 200 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. I dou't care Hfeter. Deer-skiu Nopp-uickol. Deer-steAV Nopp-cluinmiss. Nortli star Wye-dar-werris. Sick, (attliestomacli)T6cklicli-k6olali. Thi-ead Tliee-piit. McCloud River Winuie-mumc. My laud Net Pomm. When you come Hessau mut Avidder. Atlautic Oceau, (far K^U-ale-poo-ay east salt "water.) welkk mame. Come again. Way-ai-worr-ry. Good bye, (tlie idea Harra-dar. of goiug, simijly.) Let us go ; come ou . . Harra-dar. Moou Sass. One moutli; uext month. Thank yon — (simply "good.") Bring a salmon to my house. Good Indian Bad white mau Do you want to see my gun ? Coming Come in and sit down, San Franciseo, New York, or any dis- tant place, (far-off land.) Ketett sass. Chillla. Mut widder net boss noo-oolh. Challa wiutoou. Chipkalla yi-patoo. Mut winner sfieea net kolool. Well-^rbo. fill-ponah k^ltuah. K(Sll-ale pomm. ^S2'>anish icords itscd hy McCloud River Indians. These words are spelt as tlie ludians pronoimce them. Much Moocha. Small Chik6eta. To know Sah-beh. Man Moochaclia. Cluster of Indian.. .Rauchery, lodges. Money PCs-sons. C--CATALOGUE OF NATUEAL HISTORY SPECIMENS, COL- LECTED ON" THE PACIFIC SLOPE, IX 1872, BY LIYINGSTOX STONE, FOR THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. No. 1. Skin and head of fish, caught m Green River, near Greeii River Station, (Pacific Raih-oad,) August 6, 1872. Weight about three- quarters of a pound. Common name, "Buffalo-fish," "White-fish,'' " Green River Sucker." (See note.) (See drawing.) No. 1. Green River, at this station, has an elevation of G,140 feet. The surrounding country has a very barren and desolate ajipearance, as if nothing could live there. Fortunately for the few inhabitants of the jilace, this fish, together with suckers, abound in the waters of Green River, and are here caught in considerable quantities with a small sweep-seine. No. 2. Common California hrook-trout; San Pedro brook, twenty miles south of San Francisco. Yearling. August 17,^1872. These fish spawn in the San Pedro brook in March and April. Abundant. (See note.) Contributed by California Acclimatizing Society. No. 2. The California Acclimatizing Society has its hcadfiuartors at San Francisco, and its iionds at San Pedro Point, in San Mateo County, twenty miles south of San Francisco. Its officers for 1872-73 are : Dr. W. A. Newell, 632 Mission street, president ; John Williamson, 632 Mission street, secretary. This society has successfully intro- duced from the East the black Itass (Grystes fasciatus) and the brook trout, {Salmo fon- iinaJis.) They have also succeeded in hatching and raising artificially a large number STOXE OX THE SACRAMENTO SALMON. 201 of Lake Talioe tront and California hrook-tront, (Salmo iriclca.) The society has re- ceived several orders recently from Australia and New Zealand for a large nnmher of the eggs of the California Salmonida;. No. 3. Same as No. 2. No. 4. Lake Talioe trout. Commou name, (Talioe) "shore-trout." Yearling-. August 16, 1872. Very abundant at Lake Talioe. This one was hatclied artificially at the ponds of the California Acclimatizing Society in April or May, 1871. Contributed by California Acclimatiz- ing Society. No. 5. Same as No. 4. No. 6. Six specimens of young fry, hatched iu April, from parents taken from San Andrea's reservoir, and reared at California Acclimatizing So- ciety ponds. August 17, 1872. Contributed by California Acclimatizing Society. No. 7. Six specimens of Califoruia brook-trout. San Pedro brook. Young fry, August 17, 1S72. (See draAviug.) (See note.) No. S. Skin and head. Commou name, San Andrea's lo^ver reservoir trout. Weight, 8 pounds. Length, 2G inches. Girth, (just in front of dorsal.) 17 iuches. Peculiar to the lower reservoir of the San Andrea's (" Spring Valley") water-works. (See note.) The fattest and heaviest trout of its length that I ever saw. Easily lauded, and died very quickl}'. There were about 500 separated and fully-develoi)ed eggs of last spring's roe lying loosely in the abdomen. The natural spawn of the next sea- son were quite small — iierhaps the size of pin-heads. This fish is rare, and is the only large tro&t caught in the lake. Silvery. No colored spots. Caught with chub bait. August 20, 1872. No. 8. This vras a fine specimen of its kind, and one of the largest ever taken. The "reservoir" in which it was caught is an artificial hpdy of water, several miles long, formed by building a dam across the San Andrea's brook, and used to supply the city of San Francisco with water. The appearance of this fish in the reservoir was a sur- prise, as no fish of that size had ever been known about there before. It is thought by some to be a salmon, accidentally shut iu from the sea by the dam, and by others to be a trout, which favorable circumstances bring to this unusual size. The reser- voir absolutely swarms with chilis, about six or eight inches long, which form the food of these large fishes. It is a singular fact that the upper reservoir, a short dis- tance above on the same stream, contains only the common trout of the usual size. No. 9. Silver trout. San Andrea's lower reservoir. Eather rare. Very much resembles salmon smolt. Never caught large. Beautiful form. No. 10. Viscera of No. 8. No. 11. Two specimens. Utah mountain-trout. Young fry. Salt Lake City trout-ponds. Hatched artificially. Parents taken in Bear Eiver. Abundant in Bear Eiver and Bear Lake, and other cold mount- ain waters in Utah. Hatched in April, May. Period of incubation, very short. August 9, 1872. (See note.) Contributed by A. P. Eock- woocl, superintendent fisheries Salt Lake City. 202 REPOET OF COxMMISSIONi;R OF FISH AND FISHERIES. No. 11. The Salt Lake City trout-ponds are fed by springs and spi'ing streams, which contain the clearest and purest water that I have ever seen. Indeed, in these respects, the water is very extraordinary. It will run for sis months without depositing sedi- ment or growmg fungus. Water-cress and other Avater-plants grow in this water with a rankness and luxuriance that is wonderful. Although the water must contain alkali, it is vastly superior to any water that I have ever seen on the Atlantic or Pacific slopes for breeding and rearing trout. There is a fine lot of the native Utah trout at this establishment, which ^s confined at present to the hatching and rearing of the native varieties, viz, Utah mountain- trout and Utah Lake trout. The place is carried by the city government, and is in charge of the Mormon superintendent of fisheries, Mr. A. P. Rockwood. No. 12. Sacramento Eiver trout. Sacramento Eiver at Sacramento City. Hare. Female. August 26, 1872. (See drawing.) This varietj^ sometimes attains a large size, being occasionally aslarge as the smaller salmon. * They are called salmon by some. Mr. S. E. Jones, of the Sac- ramento fish-market, and a good authority, thinks that they are mount- ain-trout which have accidentally dropped down the river to this point. They are caught here chiefly in the fall, and when the winter rains come 'on they disappear again. No. 13. Sacramento Eiver trout. Male. August 2G, 1872. See No. 12. (See drawing.) No. 14. Pharyngeal teeth of " Sacramento pike." August 20, 1872. No. 15. Yiscera of No. 12. No. 10. Yiscera of No. l.j. No. 17. Salmon grilse. September 3, 1872. McCloud Eiver. Very deep and thin. Head, tail, back, and fins bjack. Very black all over when dry, except on belly. Dmensions. , Inches. From snout to fork in tail 18 From snout to end of tail 19 Girtli 8^ Head 4 Abundant. Scales absorbed into skin, and skm very slimy. Flesh soft, but eatable. Many parasites in gills. (See drawing.) (See note.) No. 17. Tlie word "girth" in the catalogue, when used without explanation, means the measurement taken just in front of the dorsal fin. No. 18. Viscera of No. 17. Testes, or milt glands, were not saved ; but they were A'ery large and full, with milt flowing copiously from them. No. 19. Sahnon grilse. Male. Body deei) and thin. McCloud Eiver, California, September 5, 1872. Very black and slimy. Gills full of parasites. Looked foul. Greenish yellow sores in flesh, under the skin. Weight, 4 pounds. (See drawing.) STONE ON THE SACRAMENTO SALMON. 203 Dimetisions. luclies. Leiigtli, snout to ti}) of tail 24 Length of head 4 Girth.....-,-., 11 Girth of head 10 Girth of tail, (at smallest part) 4 Weight, 4 pounds. 1^0. 20. Viscera of No. 19. Milt well developed and i)rime. No. 21. Trout. Indian name, syoolotf. McGloud River. Female. September 7, 1872. Small head and beautiful form. Capital eating. Quit€ coumion. Dimensions.' Inches. Length, from snout to tip of tail 15^ Length of head 1 J Girth si Girth of head 5^ Girth of tail 3 Spawn considerably developed. There were nearly one-half , pint of salmon eggs in this trout's stomach when caught. This was the best iish for eating that we found while on the McCloud. (See drawing.) No. 22. Trout, syoolotf, McCloud Eiver, September 7, 1872. In poor condition compared with Ko. 21 ; but in better condition than No. 23. Stomach one-quarter full of salmon-eggs, which is the bait used by the Indians for catching them. Eggs less developed than those of No. 21. On the whole a lank-looking fish, with comparatively large head, but not bad eating. This one, I believe, was speared by the Indians. (See drawing.) No. 23. Trout. (Indian) syoolott. Said by the Indians to be the common mountain-trout, like the previous specimens. McCloud River, September 7, 1872. Thin, emaciated, and in very bad condition. Very large head, compared with body. Dorsal fin mutilated. Flesh looked unhealthy. Eggs very small and diseased. Organs of exit ulcerated and swollen. Note. — Fish (trout) similarly diseased are occasionally found at artificial trout-breeding jjonds. The Indians said that Nos. 21, 22, and 23 were the same fish, though found in such difierent condition. (See drawing.) No. 24. Viscera to No. 21. No. 25. Viscera to No. 22. No. 2G. Viscera to No. 23. No. 27. Common name, salmon trout ; Indian name, icye-dar-dceJcit. McCloud Eiver, September 7, 1872. Also called at Soda Springs the " Varden " trout. (See No. 08.) 204 REPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Dime7isio7is. Inclies. Length, snout to tip of tail 17^ Girth 9 Meat firm and hard, bnt rather dry ; tasted very much like No. 8. The handsomest trout, and, on the wliole, having the most perfect form of all the trout we saw on the McCloud. Also, the only fish that had colored spots. This one was profusely spotted over most of the body with red- dish golden spots. (See drawing.) Possibly the Salmo spectahiliSj Pa- cific Eailroad Keports, vol. xii, p. 342-3. (See note.) Only a medium table-fish, at this season. Eare. No. 27. This trout is rare in tlie lower waters of the McCloiid, but commou at its head-waters. Fishermeu say that this trout is caught uowhere else in California. It is considered a great luxury at Soda Springs, on the Little Sacramento, from which place parties often travel the fifteen-mile trail to the Upper McCloud to catch it. Mr. I. F. Frye, of Soda Springs, once caught a mountain-trout of two pounds on his hook, and as he was just in the act of j)ulling it out of the water, it was seized by a monstrous wye-dar-deelit, which Mr. Frye says could not have weighed less than 20 pounds. The latter fish was lost, but the mountain-trout showed the marks of his teeth on both sides. No. 28. Viscera to No. 27. No. 29. Male salmon. McCloud river, California, September 23, 1872. A clean, healthy, nice-looking fish, but not silvery. This fish belongs to a class which are just beginning to come up the river, in limited num- bers, called the fall run. Their flesh is quite palatable and good, and there is considerable fat on them still. Their scales have usually been absorbed, and the surface of the skin is smooth and slimy. These are the only salmon now coming' up the river. All the others are floating down the river, dead or dying. The milt of tliis fish was well developed and flowing. Girth, 15 inches. (See drawing.) No. 30. Large, full-grown male salmon. September 25, 1872, McCloud Eiver, California. Weight, 20 i)ounds ; girth, 21 inches ; girth at anus, 16^ inches; length, 38 inches. (Consult Sahno canis, W. Pacific Eailroad Eeport, vol. xii, i). 311.) (See drawing.) (See note.) No. 30. This fish was owe of the Jargest, if not the largest, which we saw on the McCloud. He was thin and worn, but Avould have weighed nearly 40 pounds when in good condition. No. 31. Viscera to No. 30. No. 32. Male salmon. McCloud Eiver, September 25, 1872. Girth, in front of dorsal, IG inches ; at anus, 13 inches. No drawing was taken of this fish. No. 33. Viscera to No. 32. There is no No. 34. No. 35. Grilse. The skin was accidentally scraped somewhat witli a knife. September 25, 1872, McCloud Eiver, California. STONE ON THE SACRAMENTO SALMON. 205 Xo. 36. Grilse. McCloud Eiver, September 25, 1872. 'So. 36. Head of male salmon. McCloud Kiver, September 25, 1872. Ko. 37. Head of male salmon. McCloud Eiver, September 25, 1872. No. 38. Head of male salmon. McCloud Eiver, September, 25, 1872. Probably an old fish. IsTo. 39. Head of female salmon. September 25, 1872. No. 40. Trout. The common mountain-trout of California. Indian name syoolott McClyud Eiver, September 27, 1872. This is a beau- tiful specimen of the species. No. 41. Mountain-trout. McCloud Eiver, September 26, 1872. (See note.) No. 41. The commou mountain-trout is easily eauglit at most seasons of the year, with almost any seasonable liait, and also, and quite as successfully, with the artificial tly. The Indians also spear them. It is, however, hard to catch them on the Lower McCloud after the 1st of October. (Sec report on salmon-breeding.) No. 42. Same as 41. No. 43. Female salmon. McCloud Eiver, September 28, 1872. This fish had spawned; was foul, emaciated, and with tail almost worn off. A fair specimen of the fish which are now floating down the river, dead or exhausted. Weight 10 i^ounds. (See drawing.) No. 44. Female salmon. McCloud Eiver, September 27, 1872. Weight, 7 pounds. This fish had not spawned when caught. The drawing was taken after spawning the fish. She had 4,500 eggs. (See note.) (See drawing.) No. 44. The less number of ova in the McCloud salmon, compared with the eastern salmon, was very noticeable. I never found over 700 eggs to the pound in the McCloud salmon. On the other hand, the eggs were larger than those of the Atlantic salmon. No. 45. Male grilse. McCloud Eiver, September 27, 1872. Foul, but a fair specimen. Abundant, though not so much so as the full-grown salmon. (See note.) No. 45. I did not find a single female grilse among the great numbers of grilse which I examined and saw on the McCloud ; nor have I ever seen a female grilse elsewhere, although I have seen x^ersons who said they had seen them. No. 46. Young trout. Indian \i2hViQ Icooootet syo-lott='-'- tiuxall trout." McCloud Eiver, September 29, 1872. No. 47. Yellow sucker. McCloud Eiver, September 29, 1872. Abund- ant. (See note.) No. 47. The other fish of the McCloud Eiver besides the (1) salmon are the (2) com- mon mountain-trout, (3) wye-dar-deeJcet, (see No. 48,) (4) white-fish, (cypriuoid?) (5) common sucker, (6) yellow sucker, (see No. 72,) (7) mud-fish, (8) silver-trout? Head- waters of McCloud. The above are all the fish that are found in the McCloud River in September, Octo- ber, and November. 206 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. No. 48. Common uame on tbe McCloucl, " wliite-fisli ; " common name on the Sacramento, " Sacramento pike." McClond Eiver, September 29, 1872. Abmidant. ISTo. 49. Viscera to Xo. 48. No. 50. Same as No. 48. These fish are canght with salmon roe, and are very abundant at this season. (See drawing.) Thev grow here to an average weight of one or two pounds; but in the warmer waters of the Lower Sacramento, say at Sacramento City, they attain a very hirge size. Their flesh is sweet and good, but soft and b*bny. No. 51. Viscera to No. 50. No. 52. Female salmon. Indian names, mohalic no-oolh = sJie or woman-salmon, and MraiscJi McCloud Elver, September 30. Weight, 18 pounds. Girth, 18| inches. This is a "fall run" fish, and is larger than the average of the " fall run," but not larger than the average of the summer-salmon. No. 53. Eed-headed woodpecker. IMcCloud Eiver, California, Octo- ber 8, 1872. Contributed by Hon. B. B. Eedding. No. 54. Snake. Head- waters of Sacramento, Octoljer 10, 1872. Con- tributed by B. B. Eedding. No. 55. Trout. Indian name, syoo-lott. Sometimes called the red- banded trout. Little Sacramento Eiver at Upper Soda Springs, Oc- ' tober 10, 1872. This trout has an almost scarlet band, extending the whole length of the body, and about as wide as one-fourth the depth of tliefish. The band overlies the lateral line, and is about evenly divided by it. The Indians say that it is^the common mountain-tr-out, and that the scarlet band is found on some, but not on others. (See note.) No. 55. The scarlet-bauded trovit appears to be the same as the common mouutain- troiit, the scarlet band being an accidental feature, dependent upon seasons and locali- ties. For instance, on the coast it is rarely seen in its full brightness; in the Lower McClond, th^ troiit liave it in June, and it continues to grow more vivid and deeper- colored till the middle of August, when it leaves them altogether, and does not show itself at all in September and October. Again, at the head-waters of the Sacramento, the golden band is on the trout all the year round, and it is probably the same with the trout at the head-waters of the McCloud. The bright scarlet band is so rare on the coast that the trout fishermen call it a dift'erent variety, and esteem it an unusual prize. (See No. 64, catalogue.) No. 50. Eed-banded trout. Head-waters of Sacramento, near Mount Shasta. Temi)erature of water, 46° F. The trout caught in these cold waters are very fine. October 10, 1872. No. 57. Eed-banded trout. Head-waters Sacramento, near Mount Shasta, October 10, 1872. No. 58. Same as No. 57. No. 59. Eed-banded trout. Little Sacramento. Upper Soda Springs, October 10, 1872. No. GO. Same as No. 59. STONE ON THE SACRAMENTO SALMON. 207 No. (31. Same as ^S'o. 59. No. 62. Same as No. 59. No. 63. Same as No. 59. Among these specimens of rctl-banded trout, is one skin and. head not designated, of which there is a drawing. No. 04. Eed-banded trout. Little Sacramento, at Frye's Upper Soda Springs, October 9, 1872. Abundant. Caught all the months in the year. All the trout at this part of the Sacramento have the red band at all seasons of the year. These trout are caught with artificial fly, and the ordinary trout-fishing bait ; salmon roe being found the most effective of the natural bait. Mr. Sisson says that the flesh of these fish is sometimes white and sometimes red. Mr. Frye says that this is the same trout that he has caught all the way up and down the Califor- nia coast. No. 65. Eed-banded trout. October 9, 1372. Little Sacramento Eiver, near the hotel kept by Mr. Isaac F. Frye, at Upper Soda Springs. No. 06. Same as No. 65. No. 67. Same as No. 65. No. 68. Common name, salmon-trout. McCloud. Indian name, wye-dar-deelc-if, which means the fish from the North, this variety being caught only in the head or northern Vaters of the McCloud. The local name at Soda Springs is the " Dolly Yarden " trout. Head- waters of the McCloud Eiver, September 1, 1872. This specimen is salted, and is the same as No. 27, but in the lower waters of the McCloud, where No. 27 was caught, it is rare and exceptional, while at the head- waters of the river it is common. (See note.) The spawn in this fish were large and almost ripe. These fish are thought to some- times attain a size of 20 pounds. One was caught which weighed 5 pounds ; another which weighed 11 pounds. They are considered very fine eating at Soda Springs. The salted one which I ate was certainly very fine. (See No. 27.) No. 68. I waa told tliat at the head- waters of the McCloud, there is a beautif iit silvery trout beside the " Dolly Vardeu," called the " silver-trout." (Sec uote to No. 47.) No. 69. There is no number 69. No. 70. Trout. October 10, 1872. Head-waters of the Sacramento. No. 71. Water-ouzel. October 10, 1872. Indian name sours-sinny. Head-waters Sacramento, October 10, 1872. At a distance the water- ouzels seemed to be almost the color of the rocks on which they stand and look for food. They have a peculiar note like a child's rattle, but at times sing beautifully. No. 72. Mud-fish. ^ McCloud Eiver, October 31, 1872. No. 73. Small mud-fish. McCloud Eiver, October 31, 1872. No. 74. Young trout. McCloud Eiver, October 31, 1872. No. 75. Same as No. 74. No. 76. Trout. Wentworth's brook. This brook empties into the 208 REPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. McCloud on its east side, about tliirteen miles above its moutli. There are a ranch and cabin here, occupied by the only white. resident of the McCloud Eiver, Mr, Frank Wentworth. November 1, 1872. No. .77. Same as No. 76. No. 78. There is no No. 78. No. 79. Salmon. Female. Mill-brook, near Tehama, on the Sacra- mento Kiver, November, 7, 1872. Abundant. This is a small stream, where the salmon rush up to spawn in great numbers, in October and November. They also come up this brook in April, May, and June. They resemble in many particulars, in outward appearance, the " fall run" of the McCloud Eiver. This point is fourteen miles below the head of navigation of the Sacramento Eiver, which is here quite deep and broad. The water of the main river is roily here. (See note.) (See drawing.) Girth, 20 inches. Weight IGJ pounds. No. 79. At Teliama, iu the fall, the salmon are speared and trapped in great uumbers and many are sent to tlie San Francisco and Sacramento markets, salmon from other sources being very scarce at this time. These spawuing-tish, however, are seldom offered for sale in the first-class markets, and are not eaten by the initiated. They are in demand, however, at the more common restaurants and eating-saloons. No. 80. Salmon. Male. Mill-brook, near Tehama, on the Sacramento Eiver. Abundant. November 7, 1872. These fish were in their prime for spawning the last week in October. At this date many had spawned, but many, also, of this run, had spawn and milt in them. Weight, 5f pounds ; girth, 13f inches. (See drawing.) No. 81. Same as No. 80. Male, weight 13 pounds; girth 18;^ inches. (See drawing.) No. 82. Salmon. Female. Mill-brook, near Tehama. Weight, lOf pounds; girth, IGJ inches. November 7, 1872. (See drawing.) No. 83. Salmon grilse. Male. Mill-brook, near Tehama, November 7, 1872. Weight, U pounds ; girth, 12| inches. (See note.) (See draw- ing.) No. 84. Salmon. Female. Mill-brook near Tehama, on Sacramento Eiver, November 7, 1872. AVeight, 10| pounds; girth, 10 inches. This fish had perfect or nearly perfect scales, and a somewhat silvery appear- ance. The eye will be seen iu this specimen to be larger than that of the other specimens. Salmon with unabsorbed scales are very rare at this season, and at this distance from the sea. I did not find one on the McCloud from September 1 to November 1 that had scales like those on this specimen. (See drawing.) No. So, Tom-cods. San Francisco Bay, November 10, 1872. No. 80. Common name on Pacific coast is smelts. San Frajicisec - Bay, November 10, 1872. No. 87. Shrimps. San Francisco Bay, November 16, 1872. (These creatures lived longer iu the alcohol than anything I have seen except lizards.) No. 88. Octopus. Common name among the fishermen is squid, h STONE— ON THE SACRAMENTO SALMON. 209 suppose this is the pieuvre of Hugo's " Les Travailleurs de la Mer,'^ or poulps. Farallone Islands, ISTovember 15, 1872. Occasionally caught on this coast. The tishemieu speak of it with dread, and evidently con- sider it very formidable. This specimen was not considered a very large one; yet it must have been much larger than the one Hugo describes, as this one has over 1,200 suckers to 400 of his specimen. Adams speaks of one caught near the Meia-cashimah Islands as a very large one, be- cause it could cover an area of 12 feet in circumference. The arms of this one were about 4i feet long, and could cover an area at least 28 feet in circumference. The Italian fishermen consider them good to eat, and very good, too. The ink-bag was quite full, and had, I should say, ever a half a pint of fluid in it. Ko. 89. Trout. McCloud River, November 2, 1872. j^o. 90. Rock-perch. Near Goat Island, San Francisco Bay, Xovem- ber 18, 1872. No. 91. Porgee. Near Goat Island, San Francisco Bay, November 18, 1872. No. 92. Salt-water trout. San Francisco Bay, November IS, 1872. No. 93. Rock-perch. San Francisco Bay, November 18, 1872. No. 91. Rock-i)erch. San Francisco Bay, November 18, 1872. No. 95. Salt-water trout. San Francisco Bay, November 19, 1872. No. 96. Salt-water trout. San Francisco Bay, November 19, 1872. No. 97. Spider. Near Mount Shasta, October 10, 1872. No. 98, No. 99. There are no Nos. 98 and 99. No. 100. Three specimens. White-fish, Russian River, Mendocino County, California, September, 1872. Contributed by J. Williamson. No. 101. Herring. Five specimens. San Francisco Bay, November 22, 1872. Males very full of milt. No. 102. Rock-fish, rock-cod. Three specimens. San Francisco Bay, November 22, 1872. No. 103. Rock-fish, rock-cod; Yellow. San Francisco Bay, Novem- ber 22, 1872. » No. 101. Water-dog. Tributary of McCloud River, California, Oc- tober 21, 1872. No. 105. Salmon head. A fresh-run fish. Caught at Rio Yista, Sacra- mento River, November 21, 1872. Female. Rare at this season. Prime condition. Fat, silvery, and fine eating. Eggs very small. A true Sacl-a- mento River salmon. (See drawing.) The Sacramento salmon command this month the highest price in the market — 25 cents, retail ; wholesale, 18 cents — being more rare this month than at any time. There is another salmon (see No. 106) which is sold in the San Francisco market at this time, much inferior, and not commanding so high a price. No. 106. Salmon head. November 21, 1872. Male. Point Arena, Mendocino County, California. The fish referred to un- der the last number. It resembled in form the "fall run" of the McCloud males, in their best condition. It was, however, bright and silvery, with S. Mis. 71 11 210 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. scales very much as in a prime fish. The scales were smaller than those of the Sacramento sahnon, and brushed off easily, as with a smolt. Both jaws had large teeth, but, as will be observed in the specimen, they are smaller than in the McCloud River males and are fitted loosely and flexi- bly into the jaw, as if set loosely in a piece of rubber lining. The teeth are, also, unlike the McCloud Eiver fall run male, dark and dirty-look- ing. The teeth seemed to be in a transition state, and raised the ques- tion whether they were coming or (jolng. A female of the same variety being found the next day with nearly ripe eggs, the inference seemed to be that the teeth of the fish must be coming. The milt of this fish was copious and prime. The eye, it will be observed, is larger than that of the Sacramento salmon. It also has a less forked tail. The fishef- men say that it will not compare in table qualities with the true Sacra- mento salmon at this season. There were less fin-rays in the dorsal, pectoral, and anal fins than in the respective fins of Sacramento salmon. (See drawing.) There were grilse of this variety caught at the same lilace, in the San Francisco market to-day, bright silvery, and of very graceful form. These commanded a high price. (See drawiug of No. 128.) 'So.. 107. Young cod-fishes. November 24, 1872. San Francisco Bay. No. 108. Spawn of Point Arena salmon, showing stage of de- velopment. (See No. 106.) I learned from parties living at Eel Kiver, north of Point Arena, that the salmon of that river come up to spawn in December and January, and if the rains are early, that the sal- mon spawn in those mouths in Eel River. It is possible that No. 106 was on his way to Eel River to spawn, as was also the female, having the eggs (No. 108). It is obvious from the advanced stage of the milt and eggs of these fish, that they were on their way to their spawning- grounds. If it is true that the Eel River salmon deposit their eggs h\ December and January, we have then seven months of the year now known to be salmon-spawning months, namely, July, August, Septem- ber, October, November, December, and January. • No. 109. Pelican. (Pelicanm fuscus.) San Pedro brook. November 22, 1872. Contributed by J. Williamson. No. 110. Dried salmon. This is a fiiir specimen of the dried salmon, which the McCloud River Indians live on chiefly through the winter- Most of the salmon used for drying are taken in August and September, when they are spawning or falling down the river exhausted, after spawning. They are then easily captured by spearing, or by traps. The spears are very long, and carefully made. The traps are merely baskets of bushes, placed at a fall or rapid, and winged on each side by a fence of stakes or bushes running at a slight angle u]) the river, so that the exhausted fish coming down the river, finally find their way into the basket and are there trapped. The McCloud Indians do not try to trap the fish coming up the river, but only those going down, which is just the contrary of the principle of the white man's trap and nets. The In- STONE OX THE SACRAMENTO SALMON. 211 diaus, veiy sing-iilarly, j)refer the exbansted and dying salmon for dry- ing to the fresli and prime cues. As soon as a salmon is speared or taken from the trap it is opened — the spawn always being saved as a luxury — and split and limig on a bush or fence made for the purpose, in. the open air. In the dry air of California, the drying i)rocess is suffi- cient to preserve them without salt. The Indians never use salt in pre- serving their salmon, and will not eat salt meat of any description. When the salmon are sufliciently dried, they are tied together in bun- dles, and packed away around the sides of the lodges. These specimens were presented by one of the McCloud chiefs, and, repulsive as they seem, they represent the main support of the Indians during the winter, and are highly valued by them. No. 111. A deer-skin, tanned and dressed by the McCloud Indians. Used for making moccasins, and sometimes for clothes. Some of the deer-skins dressed by the McClouds are very white and soft. October, 1872. ]Sro. 112. Deer-skin blanket. Prepared and sewed by the McCloud In- dians. This is the common blanket of these Indians. October, 1872. No 113. Heavy buck-skin blanket. Tanned by the McCloud Indians. Large and heavy skins like this are used alone, as blankets. This one is nearly as large as the two sewed together of the last specimen. No. 114. Seeds, stalk, and leaf of plant used and highly valued by the Sacramento Eiver Indians, for making thread and nets. It will be observed that it has a good fiber. Near Mount Shasta, October 10, 1872. No. 115. White-perch. San Francisco Bay, December 2, 1872. No. 116. Nuts of the "Digger"' pine. Highly valued by the Indians as food. October, 1872. No. 117. Soap-root. McCloud River, November, 1872. Used by In- dians for making brushes. No. 118. Stones of which arrow-heads are made by the McCloud In- dians. McCloud Eiver, October, 1872. No. 119. Acorns and leaves of mountain live-oak. These acorns, togeth - er with the acorns of other oaks, form the next important staple of food to the dried salmon, among the McCloud Indians.* The squaws gather them in great quantities, and make a kind of paste or soup 'of them, in which foi'm they are eaten, almost exclusively. McCloud River, Octo- ber 7, 1872. Contributed by B. B. Redding. No. 120. Parasite on pine-tree. McCloud River, October 31, 1872. Con- tributed by J. G. Woodbury. No. 121. Skate. San Francisco Bay, December 2, 1872. No. 122, Skate. Bay of San Francisco, December 2, 1872. No. 123. Young smelts. {Atherinopsis calif orniensis f) Bay of San Fran- cisco, December 3, 1872. These are universally sold in California for smelts, and the people generally suppose that they are smelts. Three specimens. 212 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Xo. 12 J:. Flounders. Three specimens. Bay of San Francisco, Decem- ber 4, 1872. iS'o. 125. Soles. Three specimens. Bay of San Francisco, Decem- ber 4, 1872. No. 126. Draiving. A fine specimen of a Sacramento Eiver salmon, in prime condition. This was a fresh-run fisli, bright, plump, and silvery. Spawn very small. Caught at Eio Vista. Weight, 14 pounds. JS'o- yember 11, 1872. Winter run. These fish have just begun to ascend the Sacramento, this one being among the first that were caught this season, of the " winter run." Only a very few are taken as early as this ; they are consequently rare in the markets and command a high i)rice, (for California,) viz, 25 cents a pound, retail, and 18 cents a pound, whole- sale. This is the beginning of a run of prime fish which does not slacken, nor much depreciate in quality, till June. (See Eeport on Sacramento Salmon.) No. 127. Draioing. Male salmon. McCloud Eiver, October, 1872. Foul, emaciated, and tail partly worn off. Compare with last drawing, No. 12G. No. 128. Dm wind of grilse frequently seen in San Francisco market in November. This fish is taken at Point Arena, (a point on the coast of California, in Mendocino County,) and is sent to the San Francisco market when the Sacramento salmon are scarce. It is a beautiful fish, in form and general appearance, and commands a high price. They are all about the size of this specimen. They are bright and silvery. The scales are small and brush off" very easily, as in salmon smolt. November 20, 1872. No. 129. Draiviug. Sacramento salmon, in prime condition. Female. Eio Vista, November 11, 1872. Weight, 18 pounds. "Winter run." Compare No. 12G. No. 130. Snake. MenloPark station. Southern Pacific Eailroad, San Mateo County. October, 1872. Contributed by Mr. Williamson. No. 131. Salmon eggs. Dried by Indians for. food. Esteemed a luxury. Presented by Indian chief. McCloud Eiver, California, Octo- ber, 1872. No. 132. Arrows without points. Six specimens. McCloud Indians, McCloud Eiver, California, October, 1872. No. 133. Arrows, with stone points. McCloud Indians, McCloud Eiver, California. Six specimens. October, 1872. No. 134. Arrows, with steel points. Two specimens. Sacramento Eiver Indians, (Upper Sacramento,) October, 1872. No. 135. Arrows, with glass points. McCloud Indians, McCloud Eiver, California, October, 1872. Six specimens. N&. 136. Arrows. Pitt Eiver Indians. Pitt Eiver, California, Octo- ber, 1872. No. 137. Indian bow, made by Con-choo-loo-la, chief of McCloud Indi- ans, McCloud Eiver, California. The bow is made of yew, and is cov- STONE ON THE SACRAMENTO SALMON. 213 ered on the back with sahuon skin, which is prepared by a secret which the Indians will not disclose. The salmon skin imparts a Monderfnl elasticity to the bow, which will bend back, w^hen it is unstrung, several years after it is made. Gon-choo-loo-la is probably the last of the great chiefs of the McCloud Indians. No. 138. Sprig of yew, from the wood of w^hich the Indians make their bows. October 12, 1872. Upper Sacramento Eiver. ISTo. 139. Sahnon-eggs. McCloud River, California, September, 1873. JSCo. 140. Salmon-eggs, showing eye-spots. McCloud Eiver, California, October, 1872. No. 111. Young salmon, just hatched and hatching. McCloud Eiver, California, October, 1872. No. 142. Shapanlle, (Indian name.) Clear Lake, Lake County, Cali- fornia, February 5, 1873. Four specimens. No. 143. Trout. Clear Lake, Lake County, California, February 5, 1873. Twenty-one specimens. No. 144. Chyf (Indian name.) Clear Lake, Lake County, California, February 7, 1873. No. 145. Male trout. Supposed to be two yep.rs old. Milt flowing. Cold Creek, Clear Lake, Lake County, California, February 8, 1873. No. 146. Perch. Soda Bay, Clear Lake, California, January 25, 1873 • No. 147. ? Clear Lake, California, February 8, 1873. No. 148. Shy, (Indian name.) Clear Lake, California, Februarj' 10, 1873. No. 149. Indian cake, made of the nuts of the iieij;per4rec. Used as food by the Clear Lake Indians. February 10, i873. No. 150. Spawn of mountain-trout, showing its stage of develop- ment in this variet3\ Cold Creek, Clear Lake, California, February 10, 1873. No. 151 Salmon-trout. Kelsey Creek, Clear Lake, California. Girth, just in front of dorsal fin, 9 inches. Milt ripe. Formerlj^ abundant, now becoming scarce. Color. — Dark gray on back, shading off to lighter gray and pink, to- ward the lateral line. Gill-covers bright vermilion-red. Band of same color, about f iucli wide from gills to tail ; brightest and broadest near the middle. Grayish-j^ink below red band. Abdomen white underneath, with blotches of grajish-pink. The fishermen say that this is the only variety of trout caught in or about the lake, besides the common moun- tain-trout. The body of the fish was deep and thin ; and very thickly dotted above the lateral line and on the caudal, dorsal, and adipose fins with black spots. There were a very few black spots below the lateral line, chiefly near the head and tail. The pectoral, ventral, and anal fins were of a dark-gray color, and without spots. No. 152. Sucker. Male. Clear Lake, California. Milt ripe. February 10, 1873. Mem. — Suckers and trout in this locality spawn at the same 214 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. time, while in New England they spawn at exactly opposite seasons of the year ; the suckers in May and the trout in October. No. 153. Skin of mud-hen. Clear Lake, Cali1x)ruia, February 13, 1873. Very abundant and very tame. No. 154. Skin of white heron. Clear Lake, California, February 2, 1873. Not abundant. No. 155. Water-lizard. February 10, 1873. Kelsey Creek, Lake County, California. No. 156. Spawn of salmon-trout. Kelsey Creek, near Clear Lake, Cali- fornia, February 11, 1873. No. 157. Pyloric appendages and milt-glands of No. 158. No. 158. Murcwiia. (Italian name.) Farallone Indians, December 14, 1872. Spawn nearly ripe, and about the size of trout-spawn. No. 159. Lake-trout or salmon-trout. Burtnett's mills, Kelsey Creek, Lake County, California, March, 1873. Contributed by J. G. Woodbury. No. 160. ^hy or chy. (Indian name.) Five specimens, (tag says six.) Cold Creek, Lake County, California, March 8, 1873. Contributed by J. G. Woodbur3\ No. 101. Nic-coosh, ov mul-h-i(sh. Cold Creek, Lake County, Califor- nia, March 8, 1873. By J. G. Woodbury. Numbers 161 to 167 omitted. No. 167. Shcqyaulle. Burtnett's mills, Kelsey Creek, Lake County, Cali- fornia, March 9, 1873. By J. G. Woodbury. Nos. 108 to 208 omitted here ; resumed further on. No. 208. Trout. Independence Lake, on Sierra Nevadas, California^ February 24, 1873. . No. 209. Same as No. 208. Nos. 210 to 216. Chubs. Sacramento Eiver, near mouth of San Joa- quin, February 25, 1873. Nos. 217 to 231. Perch. Sacramento River, Rio Vista, February 25, 1873. Nos. 232 to 236. Hardheads. Sacramento River, near mouth of San Joaquin, February 25, 1873. Nos. 237 to 243. Sacramento pike. Sacramento River, Rio Vista, February 25, 1873. Nos. 244. to 250. Viviparous perch. Local name "sun-flsh." Sacra- mento River, Rio Vista, February 26, 1873. Nos. 251 to 262. Split-tails. Sacramento River, near Courtland^ February 20, 1873. Nos. 263, 264. Suckers. Sacramento River, Rio Vista, February 26, 1873. Nos. 265 to 270. Herrings. Sacramento River, Rio Vista, Febraary 26, 1873. Nos. 271 to 273. Sturgeons. Sacramento River, Rio Vista, February 26, 1873. Saw one, February 27, at Rio Vista that weighed 200 pounds, STONE ON THE SACRAMENTO SALMON. 215 and was 9 feet long. Was told of one eauglit liere that weighed 600 pounds. No. 274. Herring. Sacramento Eiver, Eio Vista, February 20, 1873. No. 275. Lobster, (local name.) Sacramento river, Eio Yista, Califor- nia, February 20, 1873. No. 108. Small fish. Cold Creek, Lake County, California, February^ 1873. No. 100. Small fish. Cold Creek, Lake County, California, February^ 1873. No. 170. Two specimens from Chinese fish-market at Sau Francisco,. February, 1873. No. 171. Heads of male salmon ; two specimens. Point Arena, Cali- fornia, December 1872. No. 172. Yellow rock-fish. Bay of San Francisco, November 22, 1872. No. 173. Small 21 ur aena. (See No. 158.) Farallone Islands, March 12, 1873. No. 171. Eed-headed woodpecker. McCloud Eiver, California, No- vember 1873. No. 175. Blue jay. McCloud Eiver, November, 1873. No. 170. Salmon-spawn, showing stage of development. Eio Yista, February 20, 1873. No. 177. Salmon-spawn. Sacramento Eiver, near Eio Yista, March 10, 1873. No. 178. One bottle containing seven small fish, from Clear Lake, Lake County, California, February, 1873. No. 179, Salmon-spawn. Near Eio Yista, December, 1873. No. 180. Salmon-spawn. Near Eio Yista, January 25, 1873. No. 181. Spawn of lake-trout. Clear Lake, February, 1873. No. 182. Young trout. Spawned and bred artificially from parents caught in the San Andreas reservoir, near Sau Francisco. (See No. 8 of first catalogue.) Three specimens. No. 183. Small water-dogs. McCloud Eiver, California, November, 1872. The bottle also contains two 1000-legged worms, and an unknown insect. No. 184. Supposed to be the " steamboat-bug." Sereno Lake, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, altitude 7,000 feet, November 9, 1872. This insect was found swimming in the water, under ice an inch thick or more. It seemed, says Mr. Eedding, to gather water within its body by some process, and to propel itself along by ejecting it agaiu fi'om behind. It was observed some time in order that the pumping process of the in- sect might be well ascertained. Contributed by Hon. B. B. Eedding. No. 185. Twig of pepper-tree. See No. 149. Clear Lake, Lake County, California, February, 1873. YII.-NOTES ON THE SALMON OF THE MIRAMICHI RIVER. By Livixgstox Stone. The saluiou begin to arrive iu the Miramichi BWev about the 10th of June. There is, I believe, only one or two days difference be- tween the time of their arrival at the mouth of the river and at the head of tide- water, about sixty miles above. The salmon continue to run from the 10th of June to the spawning-season, (the middle of October,) and there is said to be one run after that, called by the fishermen the November run. The flesh of the June ruTis of tish is very much the best ; very fat, rich, and delicious. The quality of their flesh deteriorates steadily from this month till they spawn ; but the size of the later runs of flsh seem to be about the same, except in the November salmon, which are smaller. This November run does not, I think, make its appearance every year, but usually. These fish seem to be in a great hurry, and make a rush for the spawning-beds without any of the delays on the way up which are noticed in the earlier runs. In June the salmon are all, males and females, bright and silvery,with small, gentle-looking heads, and plump and gracefully-formed bodies. At this time males and females look alike, and ' can hardlj' be distin- guished. As the spawning-season approaches, both sexes, but especially the males, change their silvery coat and put on gorgeous colors ; the spots varying from a pale blue and straw color in some fish to a deep red, purple, aud gold in others. Their colors are mingled with all the other tints of the rainbow. Nothing can exceed the beauty of coloring of some of the handsomest male fish at the height of the spawning-season. The head of the male, however, has changed for the worse. It has grown long and low: the ugly-looking tush of the lower jaw has protruded its full length, and the whole expression of his head and eye is malicious and savage in the extreme. We found a few exceptional salmon of both sexes, of a dark silvery hue, without spots. They were usually the most difiicult to handle ; next to these in this respect came the deeply-colored males. The milder-colored fish were the easiest to manage. The dis- tinction of the sexes was very marked at this time. The ugly head of the male aud the swollen ovaries of the female furnished unmistakable indications of the respective sexes. The salmon in the Miramichi begin to spawn about the 15th of Octo- ber, or, according to the Indians' almanac, when the juniper turns red. The spawning-season seems to be quite short, as the fish were all through spawning in the river in 18G8, (except the November ones,) on the 20th of October. On that day and the three succeeding days I swept the STONE THE SALMON OF THE MIRAMICHI KIVER. 217 river thoroughly, over nine miles of spawuing-gTOuud, with a very long sweep-seine, and of all the salmon we caught, which were a great many? there were only two which had not spawned, and one of these had been injured by a spear- wound. The juniper having now faded, the Indian chief pointed to it again, and said, " Salmon all spawned ; no more salmon spawn this year." This was not true, however, of our captured salmon in the ponds, two of which continued to hold their eggs till the 15th of November. Floating ice made its appearance in the river in large quan- tities as early as the 20th of October, and by the first week in i^ovem- ber the river was entirely closed, and fishing through the ice began. The salmon of the Miramichi average about nine or ten pounds in weight. The largest two which we caught weighed 30 i)ounds each. One was a male, the other a female. As a rule the males were the largest. There are no spring runs of salmon in the Miramichi that I am aware of ; but in the Saint John a variety of salmon comes up the river in the spring, and spawns in the spring. They are always expected and regularly ^shed for at this time. They are a little smaller than the fall fish of the Saint John, and weigh, I believe, eight or nine pounds each. The num- ber of these fish is quite limited. The salmon of the Eestigouche are larger than those of the Miramichi, averaging perhaps twelve pounds. Very large salmon, weighing fifty or sixty pounds, are caught in the Eestigouche. Opinion is very much divided among the fishermen as to the migra- tory movements of the Miramichi salmon. Some say that there are salmon that go to the sea twice a year 5 others that they come from the sea but once in two years. It is certain that some remain through the winter in the river, and that there are salmon going down the river in the spring. It is generally agreed that, as a rule, they spawn in October ; that the young are hatched in the spring; that they remain in the river until the next spring or succeeding summer, when they put on the smolt-coat and go to the sea. They are then about six inches long. It is thought that they return to the river the same fall as grilse, weighing from three to eight pounds. This, I think, is the common opinion, but I do not consider that the belief is by any means faliy established. I saw thousands of smolts going down the river in July, which I cannot believe were the grilse that we caught the following fall. Is it not possible that some of the smolts remain in the ocean till the next year ? One-half the parrs of each year, without doubt, remain two years as parrs in fresh water before going to the sea. FRAGMENTARY NOTES. Salmon are very abundant in the Miramichi and in all the rivers east of it. Messrs. Stone and Goodfellow shipped 60,000 pounds of fresh salmon from this river to Boston and 'New York from June 10 to July 10, 18G9. I never saw a fisherman who had found food in the stomachs of the salmon taken in the river. Oar salmon in the artificial breeding- 218 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. pond liad no food while in confinement, which, in some instances, lasted from the 1st of September to the middle of November, two months and a half. Of the fall runs of fish from tide-water to the spawning-beds the most numerous were between September 27 and October 4. We twice caught a hundred salmon a night at this time in our stake-net set across the river. The eggs of these salmon vary very much in size, some not being larger than small trout-eggs, others being a third larger than the aver- age size of salmon-eggs. The fishermen claim that they can distinguish a Restigouche salmon from a Mii'amichi salmon, when one of the former straysinte the Miramichi. In September large numbers of salmon lie in the holes a few miles below the spawning-beds, waiting for a rise of water. When the rain comes and the water rises, they rush up over the rapids to their spawn- ing-grounds in great numbers. The salmon on the Miramichi were caught in 1868 by the whites, mostly in stake-nets running out from the shore about 250 feet. The Indians speared them. We found good • and abundant milt in the male grilse. I never saw a female grilse in the Miramichi. If I recollect rightly, I have seen milt in a salmon-parr. The habits of these salmon about spawning, and in general, resemble those of eastern salmon elsewhere. The number of eggs in a fish is about 1,000 to the pound. See Canadian fishery reports for information about modes of capture, &c, &c. VIII.-THE SALMONID.E OF EASTERN MAINE, NEW BRUNSWICK, AND NOVA SCOTIA. By Charles Laxmax. Note. — I am indebted to Mr. Charles Laiiman, the well-knowu artist, traveler, and sportsman, for accounts of the babits of the salmon, trout, togue, white-fish, capeton, smelt, shad, and gaspereau, or alewife, of Eastern Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, based partly on the inquiries of Mr. Moses H. Perley, but supplemented and verified by his own experience. Having spent many summers in the region referred to, and always with his attention directed to the habits of the species, the present article, hitherto unpublished, will be found to embody some interestiug additions to our knowledge. It is proper to state that it was written many -years ago, and therefore cannot include the more recent additions to our knowledge of the same species. Notices by Mr. Lanman of the white-fish and the shad will be found in their appropriate places. S. F. BAIRD. 1. — THE BEOOK-TROITT, {Salmo fonfiuaJis.) Nearly every lake and stream in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia is fiu'nished with a greater or less number of this species of the salmon family. It is taken of all sizes, from six to twenty inches, and is so well known as scarcely to need a description. Its principal character- istics are the vermilion dots and larger yellow spots in the vicinity of the lateral line, and the tri-colored fins, these being blackish on their edges, broadly bordered with white, and the rest scarlet. The brook-trout is a migratory fish ; when in its power, it invariably descends to the sea, and returns to perpetuate its species by depositing-^ its spawn in the clearest, coolest, and most limpid waters it can -find. During the last thirty years, the writer has caught many thousands of these trout, in numerous rivers, lakes, streams and estuaries, in the lower provinces and in Maine, and can safely say, after close and atten- tive examination, that he has never seen but one species of the brook, trout, whatever naturalists may say to the contrary. Various causes have been assigned for the great variety in the color of the brook-trout. One great cause is the difference of food ; such as live upon fresh-water shrimps and other Crustacea, are the brightest j those which feed upon May-flies and other common aquatic insects are the next; and those which feed upon worms are the dullest and darkest of all. 220 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. The color and brilliancy of the water has, also, a very material effect upon the color and appearance of Salmo fontinaUs. Professor Agassiz has made some very curious experiments with respect to the colors of fishes, especially the Salmonidw ; and he has ascertained beyond a doubt not only that trout of different neighboring waters are affected by the color and quality of the water, but that trout of the same river vary in color, accordingly as they haunt the shady or sunny side of the stream. The fish of streams rushing rapidly over pebbly beds are superior, both in appearance and quality, to those of ponds, or semi-stagnant brooks. But this may arise, not so much from any particular compo- nents of the waters themselves, as from the fact that rapidly running and falling water is more highly aerated, the atmosphere being more freely intermingled with it, and therefore more conducive to the health and condition of all that inhabit it. There is no sportsman actuated by the true animus of the pursuit, who would not prefer basketing a few brace of good trout, to taking a cart-load of the coarser and less game denizens of the water. His wa- riness, his timidity, his extreme cunning, the impossibility of taking him in clear and much-fished waters, except with the slenderest and most delicate tackle; his boldness and vigor after being hooked, and his excellence on the table, place him, without dispute, next to the salmon alone, as the first of fresh-water fishes. The pursuit of him leads into the loveliest scenery of the land ; and the season at which he is fished for is the most delightful portion of the year. The brook-trout rarely exceeds three pounds in weight, and no well- authenticated case is on record of one of the species having reached the weight of six i^ouuds, in these lower provinces. 2. — THE GREAT GRAY-TROUT OR TOGUE, {ScUmo tomci.) This fish is found in all the large lakes of New Brunswick, and in very many of those in Maine, but it is believed not to exist in the lakes of Nova Scotia. It is called by the lumbermen the togue ; the Indians designate it by a name equivalent to " fresh-water cod." It is found in great numbers and of large size in the Eagle Lakes, at the head of Fish Eiver ; in the St. Francis Lakes, from which flows the river of that name ; and in the Matapediac Lake, which discharges itself into the Bestigouche, and in the Mirimichi Lake, at the head of that river. In Lake Temiscouata, this fish has been taken of the weight of 21 pounds. It is there called the tuladi. It is often taken of the weight of 12 pounds, and upward, in the Cheputnecticook Lakes, at the head of the eastern branch of the Saint Croix. One sporting friend informs the writer that he caught two of these fish on the Saint Croix Grand Lake, one of which weighed 8 pounds, and the other 13 pounds, but that he saw one taken by a night-line which weighed 25 pounds. Another sporting friend, a resident of New York, informs the writer that he has visited the lakes on the western branch of the Saint Croix, LANMAN SALMONID.E OF EASTERN AMERICA. 221 where he caught several togiie, weighiDii' from 4 pounds upward. The largest hecaught measured 29 inches in length, but weighed 8 jiounds only, not being in good condition. It has been found of late years that this species of fish exists in con- siderable numbers in Loch Lomond, twelve miles from the city of Saint John; and thej- have, in consequence, been sought after by sportsmen, who take them from a boat, by trolling over the deepest portions of the loch. A specimen of this fish, taken in Loch Lomond in 18J:8, was said to correspond exactly with the iish described by Mr. Yarrell as Salmo ferox, the great gray- trout of Loch Awe. This fish is taken from a boat rowed gently through the water ; the bait, a small fish guarded by several good-sized hooks. They are ex- tremely voracious, and having seized the bait, will allow themselves to be dragged by the teeth for forty or fifty yards, and when accidentally freed, will again immediately seize it. The young fish, up to 3 pounds weight, rise freely at the usual trout-flies ; the writer has often taken them up to that weight by fly-fishing, but never larger. When in perfect season and full-grown, it is a handsome fish, though the head is too large and long to be in accordance with perfect ideas of symmetry in a trout. The colors are deep purplish-brown on the up- per parts, changing into reddish-gray, and thence into fine orange-yel- low on the breast and belly. The body is covered with markings of different sizes, varying in number in different individuals. Each spot is surrounded by a pale ring, which sometimes assumes a reddish hue ; the spots become more distsint from each other as they descend below the lateral line, and the lower parts of the fish are spotless. The fins are of a rich yellowish-green color, darker toward their extremities. The tail is remarkable for it breadth and consequent power. The flavor of this fish is coarse and indifferent ; the flesh is of an orange-yellow, not the rich salmon-color of the common-trout, in good condition. The stomach is very capacious, and generally found gorged with fish ; it is very voracious. 3. — THE WHITE SEA-TEOUT, {tSalmo immacuhitus.) This beautiful trout abounds in the Gulf of St. Lawrence ; it is found on the northern shores of New Brunswick and in the estuaries of those rivers of New Brunswick and Kova Scotia which flov\' into the gulf and the Strait of Canso, early in June. It is caught in nets at the Magdalen Islands in summer, and salted for export. Many sportsmen resort annually to river Philip in Nova Scotia, during the month of June, to fish for these sea-trout, which enter the estuary of the river at that season. No specimen of this fish has yet been seen in the Bay of Fund}', which it is supposed not to frequent. The flesh of the salmon-trout is of a brilliant pink-color, and most excellent ; its exceeding fatness early in the season, when it first enters 222 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. the inixod water of the estuaries, is such, that it can be preserved fresh but a very short time. The body of the fish is rather deep for its length 5 the lateral line is very nearly straight, i^assing along the mid- dle of the body, the scales adhering closely. The upper part of the head aud body, a rich sea-green color ; the lower part of the sides and belly, a brilliant sil very- white ; the fins white, except the dorsal, which is nearly the color of the back. Sir William Jardiue, in speaking of this fish, accurately describes its habits, as observed in New Brunswick. He. says : "In approaching the entrance of rivers, or in seeking out as it were some one they preferred, shoals of these fish may be seen coasting the bays and harbors, leaj^ing and sporting in great nnmbers, from about one pound to three or four pounds in weight ; and in some of the smaller bays, the shoal could be traced several times circling it, aud apparently feeding." Mr. H. Robinson Storer, during his visit to Labrador in 1849, met with a single specimen of the salmon-trout of the gulf at Ked Bay, in the Straits of Belle Isle, and designated it Salmo immaculatus. The scientific description he gives is accurately that of the present, and is as fol- lows : " CqIot. — Silvery on sides and abdomen ; darker on back ; no spots. ^^ Bescripiion. — Length of head about one-sixth length of body ; depth of head, two-thirds its length ; greatest depth of body directly in front of dorsal fin, equal to length of head. Upper jaw the longer. Jaws with numerous sharp incurved teeth. Eyes laterally elongated; their diameter one-third the distance between them. Opercles rounded pos- teriorly ; lower portion of operculum naked, marked with concentric striip,; preopercle larger than in the font inalis ; scales larger than those of the fontinalis. Lateral line commences back of superior angle of opercle, and, assuming the curve of the body, is lost at the commencement of the caudal rays. The first dorsal fin commences just anterior to median line ; is nearly quadrangular. Adipose fin situated at a distance back of the first dorsal, little less than one-half the length of the fish. Pectorals just l)eneath iiosterior angle of operculum; their length three-fifths that of the head. Ventrals just beneath posterior i^ortion of first dor- sal ; the plates at their base very large. The anal is situated at a distance back of the ventrals just equal to length of head, and terminates directly beneath the adipose fin ; of the form of first dorsal. Caudal deeply forked ; its length equal to greater depth of body. Dorsal, 9 ; pectorals, 13 ; ventrals, 9 ; anal, 11 ; caudal, 30 ; length, 13|^ inches." To the epicure a fresh-caught salmon-trout of the Gulf of Saint Law- rence, especially early in the season, will always afford a rich treat. The sportsman will find it a thoroughly game-fish, rising well at a bril- liant fly of scarlet ibis and gold, and affording sport second only to salmon-fishing. The writer has caught this fish with the scarlet ibis fly in the break of the surf, at the entrance of Saint Peter's Bay, on the north side of Prince Edward Island, of the weight of 5 pounds ; but LANMAN SALMONID.E OF EASTERN AMERICA. 223 the most sporting fisliiug is from a boat, imder easy sail, with a " mackerel breeze," and oftentimes a heavy " ground-swell." The fly skips from wave to wave, at the end of thirty yards of line, and there should be at least seventy yards more on the reel. It is truly splendid sport, as strong fish will oftentimes make a long run, and give a sharp chase down the wind. At Gaysboro' and Crow Harbor, in the Strait of Causo, there is excellent sea-trout fishing at the end of June, as also in the great Bras d'Or Lake, within the island of Cape Breton. The largest sea-trout rarely exceed seven pounds' Aveight ; these are taken around the Mag- dalen Islands, and in the estuaries of all the rivers of the Labrador coast, frcm Mingan to the northern end of the Straits of Belle Isle. 4. — THE SALMON, {Scilmo satctr.) The noble salmon, which honest Isaac Walton justly calls " the king of fre^-water fish," is so well known in the Xorth American colonies as to need no description. As in Western Europe, so in Eastern America, it is generally believed that there is but one species — Salino salar — the salmon ; and that they are the same in both countries. The salmon enters the rivers of Xova Scotia during the latter part of April. Those rivers of ifew Brunswick which fall into the Bay of Fundy, the salmon enters at the latter part of May, while it seldom enters those falling into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence until the month of June. The female salmon first enters the rivers; the male fish follows about a month later than the female; and lastly, come the grilse, or young salmon, which continue to ascend the rivers during July and August. Salmon swim with great rapidity — shoot up the most oblique and glancing rapids with the velocity of an arrow, and frequently leap falls ten and twelve feet in height. It is believed that the utmost limit of perpendicular height which* a salmon can attain in leaping is fourteen feet; but their perseverance is remarkable, for, although they may fail, time after time, yet, after remaining (juiescent for a few moments to re- cruit their strength, they renew their eftbrts and generally succeed ; but, it is said, they sometimes kill themselves by the violence of those efforts. In New Brunswick the salmon seldom deposits its spawn until the middle of October. The fish that have spawned generally return to the sea before the rivers become ice-bound in December, but many remain in the fresh water all winter, and go down to the sea at the breaking up of the ice in spring. Before entering the rivers, they live awhile in the brackish water of the tide-ways, as they do also when they descend to the sea, to render the change from one to the other less abrupt, and to rid themselves of 224 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. certain parasitical animals which attach to them when they remain long either in fresh water or in salt, as the case may be. The spawn is not deposited until the water is greatly below its sum- mer temperature. Professor Agassiz stated personally to the writer, that 42° of Fahrenheit's thermometer, or 10° above the freezing-point, was the temperature at which salmon usually cast their ova. It is abso- lutely necessary that the water should be aerated, or highly supplied with oxygen; hence the salmon resort to shallow, pure water, andswdftly- running streams, the rapidity and frequent falls in which impart purity and vitalitj", by mingling their waters with the atmosphere. The food of the salmon, previous to its quitting the salt water, con- sists of the eggs of Ecliinodermata and Crustacea^ this rich aliment giving the color and flavor for which its flesh is so highly i)rized. This is sustained by the observations of Professor Agassiz, ^yho states that the most beautiful salmon-trout are found in waters which abound in Crus- tacea^ direct experiments having shown to his satisfaction that the in- tensity of the red colors of their flesh depends upon the quantity of Gammaridw which they have devoured. Fly-fishing for salmon in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick increases annually, as the various rivers become known, and the proper localities and seasons are ascertained. The two most noted rivers in Nova Scotia are the Gold Eiver, which flows into the Atlantic west of Halifax, and Saint Mary's Eiver, to the eastward of that port. In New Brunswick the best rivers are the Southwest Miramichi, from Boiestown upward, and the Nepisiguit Eiver, w^hich flows into the Bay of Chaleur, at Bath- urst. It is known, however, that there is good salmon-fishing in several other rivers of both provinces, while it is believed that there are many rivers, especially in the northern part of New Brunswick, yet untried, which, if visited by experienced sportsmen, not afraid of rough work at the outset,' would aflbrd good sport and heavy fisli during the whole of every season. 5. — THE AMERICAN SMELT, {Osmerus mordax.) This beautiful and savory fish abounds in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia ; it is sometimes taken a foot in length, but its average size is about 5 or G inches. Very soon after the rivers are freed in spring from their icy fetters, the smelts rush in to the smaller streams, in countless thousands, and are then taken with the most wasteful profusion. The popular name of smelt is given to this fish from its peculiar smell, which resembles that of cucumbers ; this is strongest when the fish is first taken, but it may be perceived by raising the gill-covers, after the fish has been some time out of the water. On the gulf coast of New Brunswick large quantities of the smelt are used every season as manure. At Miscou and other fishing stations in the Bay of Chaleur it is taken in great numbers, with the seine, and LANMAN SALMONID.^ OF EASTERN AMERICA. 225 used as bait for cod. The endless alMindance of the smelt causes it to be less valued as food thnn it really deserves. The smelt feed largely on the sluiinj). They bite readily at the hook, baited with a piece of any of the crnstaceous animals, and affords end- less sport to young anglers. They are also caught in thousands by fish- ing through holes cut in the ice, during winter, and are then greatly prized. The writer has frequently taken the smelt with a small scarlet fly, while fishing for sea-tront in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and they would undoubtedly fnrnish very pretty light sport, if other and nobler game did not exi.st in the same locality. G. — THE CAPELIN, {MaUotus vUlosus.) This, the smallest species of the salmon family, inhabits the northern seas only, never ranging farther south than the shores of New Bruns. wick. It is very nearly allied to the genus Osmenis. The capelin is from 4 to 7 inches in length, the back and top of the head a dull leek- green, with bright green and yellow reiiections, when moved in the light; sides and belly covered with delicate and very bright silvery scales, which are dotted on the margins with black specks; the back covered with small, smooth grains, like shagreen. The manner in which the capelin deposits its spawn is one of the most curious circumstances attending its natural history. The male fishes are somewhat larger than the female, and are [trovided with a sjrt of ridge projecting on each side of their back-bones, similar to the eaves of a house, in which the female capelin is deficient. The latter, on approaching the beach to deposit its spawn, is attended by two male fishes, who huddle the female between them, until the whole b.)dy is concealed under the pro- jecting ridges, and her head only is visible. In this position all three ran together, with great swiftness, upon the sands, wlien the males, by some inherent imperceptible poAver, compress the body of the female, between their own, so as to expel the spawn ti-om tbe orifice and the tail. Having thus accomplished its delivery, the three capelins separate, and paddling with their whole force through the shalloNv water of the beach, generally succeed in regaining once more the bosom of the deep ; although many fail to do so, and are cast upon the shore, especially if the surf be at all heavy. Like the common smelt, the capelin possesses the cucumber smell ; but it differs from the smelt in never entering fresh- water streams. As an article of bait for cod, and other fish of that class, the capelin is of much importance; wherever abundant, the cod-fishing is excellent. It has been found as far north in the Arctic regions as man has yet penetrated ; and it forms so important an article of food in Clreenland, that it has been termed the daily bread of the natives. In Xew Found- land, it is dried in large quantities, and exported to London, where it is sold princi[)ally in the oyster-shops. S. Mis. 74 15 ^ IX.-ON THE SALMON OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA, AND ITS ARTIFICAL CULTURE. By Charles G. Atkins. A.— SALMON-CULTURE FEOM IMPOETED SPAWN. 1. — THE APP0INT3IENT OF COMMISSIONERS, AND THEIR PRELIMINARY WORK. The extended efforts now making in the United States to restore and imj)r6ve the river and inland fisheries had their origin in New Hanipsliire la 1S64. The late Hon. Henry A. Bellows, of Concord, secured the adoption, by the legislature of that year, of resolutions pro- viding for the appointment of commissioners to investigate the question of restoring the migratory fishes to the Merrimac and Connecticut Rivers, and requesting the States bordering on those rivers to pursue the same investigation. New Hampshire appointed H. A. Bellows and W. A. Sanborn. The other States responded favorably ; Mas>^achusetts ap- pointing, in 1865, Theodore Lyman and Alfred A. Reed; Vermont, in the fall of the same year, appointing Albert D. Hager and. Charles Barrett; Connecticut, in 1800, appointing F. W. Russell and Henry C. Robinson. The principal impediments in the way of the ascent of the rivers in question by fish lying in Massachusetts, the burden of the investiga- tion naturally fell upon her commissioners, who thoroughly examined the subject in all its bearings, and in their report discussed in a lucid manner the habits and wants of the fish, the character of the impediments, and the means of overcoming them ; and pronounced the project feasible. The commissioners of the other States made similar reports, and the several legislatures continued the commissions, giving them authority to institute measures for the realization of the project. A year later the State of Maine appointed commissioners for a similar purpose, and more recently the same action was taken in New York, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Michigan. The powers and duties of the commissioners in the States that led the movement have been some, what enlarged, but the main purpose of their first appointment, the restoration of migratory fishes, such as shad, salmon and alewives, to the rivers they formerly frequented has been steadily kept in view. From the beginning the commissioners found serious difficulties in the way ; not only were lofty dams to be furnished with ways whereby great shoals of fish could and would surmount them, but in many cases, ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 227 and as regards salmon in most cases, the fislies^ themselves were want- ing, having been ntterl^^ exterminated, and not to be had again without bringing a new stock from abroad. Nor would it do to bring adult salmon and place them in the rivers to be restocked, for they could not be relied upon to remain and breed there. If, however, the salmon should be reared there from infancy they would return when grown to lay their eggs in the same streams. To get the young fish the most feasible mode was to bring the spawn and hatch them. One of the very first things the commissioners did, therefore, w'as to cast about them for a supply of spawn. 2. — OPERATIONS IN 1866. In the fall of 1866 the commissioners of fisheries of the State of New Hampshire dispatched Dr. W. W. Fletcher, of Concord, to New Bruns- wick, to obtain salmon-spawn for use in stocking the Merrimac River. He obtained permission Irom the government of the province to take salmon for his purpovse at the spawning season on the Miramichi River, and succeeded in taking with the spear salmon enough to yield about 70,000 eggs. Great uucertaiuty existing as to the best mode of packing eggs for transportation, Dr. Fletcher packed his in several modes. Some fifteen or twenty thousand were packed in moss in champagne-baskets, and these alone were transported to New Hampshire in safety. A small part of them, two or three hundred, were hatched in a spring near Con. cord, w here their development could be observed, and 90 per cent, of them hatched. The remainder of the lot was planted at once in arti- flcially.-i)repared beds in suitable gravelly rapids in the Pemigewassetfc River, a tributary of the Merrimac, where they were left to take their chancfes of hatching. The following autumn Dr. Fletcher discovered several young salmon (parrs) in that vicinity, a satisfactory proof that a certain degree of success attended the hatching of the eggs. 3. — OPERATIONS IN 1867. This year Dr. Fletcher was again dispatched by the New Hampshire commissioners to the Miramichi River, and obtained again about 70,000 salmon-eggs, nearly all of which were transported in safety to New Hampshire. About half of these were i)laced in charge of Livingston Stone, of Charlestown, N. H., to be hatched out for the benefit of the Connecticut River; the other half were sent to Robinson and Hoyt, at Meredith, N. H., to be hatched out for the Merrimac. About 5,000 were hatched in each place,* t the remainder failing bj" reason of non-fecunda- tion.* Of the fry hatched at Charlestown nearly all were lost during the hot days of July, 1868.* Of those hatched at Meredith but very few were lost, and the following spring they were turned into the Pemige- wassett, a few miles above Livermore Falls.! 'Report of the [Massachusetts] Commissioners of Fisheries for the year endiag January 1, 1869. t Letter of Robiusoii &, Hoyt. 228 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 4. — OPERATIONS IN 1868. This year Mr. Liviugston Stone, under the patronage of the States of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, established a salmon-breeding estab- lishment on the northwest branch of the Miramichi River, eight miles above Newcastle, on the farm of Mr. Joseph Goodfellow. A hatcfiing- house, 100 feet b^' 27, was built, and a pond with an area of about an acre. A large spring and a spring-brook supplied them with water. The Canadian department of marine and fisheries granted a permit to carry on the enterprise, including the privilege of taking the fish and spawn at the breeding season, under certain conditions, the main one being that half of the eggs obtained should be hatched out on the Miramichi and the young fish turned into its waters at the proper time. In Sep- tember Mr. Stone, through his employes, began the work of catching the parent fish. A stake-net was set in the river, and the salmon caught in it each day were placed in the pond. Owing to a misunderstanding of some sort, this work was interrnpted b^' the local fishery officers, who seized successively seven or eight nets. For this reason a sufficient number of salmon were not caught, although it apj)ears that on two occasions, between September 27 and October 4, one hundred salmon were taken in the nets- in a single night. The collection of salmon con- tinued until October 15. At this date the taking of spawn from fish in the pond began. On the 15th, 16th, and 17th twenty-eight females were stripped, yielding 226,500 eggs. After this there were stripped, from among the salmon already' impounded, eighteen females, and from the river two more were taken, ripe and fall, after the 20th of October. Thus the whole number of females stripped was forty-eight, and the yield of eggs was 443,900.* These were all deposited in the hatching-house, and there remained until the appearance of the eye-spots. The loss meanwhile, from all causes, amounted to 87,900. The remainder, 356,000 eggs, were divided into two equal portions ; one was left in the troughs to hatch, and the other packed up and transported to New Hampshire. After Mr. Stone's departure with the transported eggs, the establishment was left in charge of Mr. Joseph R. Goodfellow, the owner of the farm on which it was situated. According to Mr. Stone's figures, there were 178,000 eggs left there. From the best information at my command it appears that they all came to naught. Late in July, 1869, the establishment was visited by Mr. Samuel Wilmot, the superintendent of the salmon- breeding establishment at Newcastle, Ontario, who found the young fry still in the troughs. He states that they did not exceed 10,000 in number, and that they were in a very unhealthy condition. t I " infer that this was all that remained out of the whole lot of eggs. A few days later Mr. Goodfellow turned out all the young salmon remain- * Domesticated Tiont, by Livingston Stone, A. M., p. 300. t Annual Report of the Depaitnieut of Marine and Fisheries, [Canada,] for the year ending 30tb June, 1869, p, 107. ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 229 ing into the tidal part of the Miramichi River, where it is possible that they all perished.* Mr. Stone's share of the eggs was packed up in moss and successfully transported to his breeding-works at Charlestowu, X. H. The Massa- chu^^etts and New Hampshire commissioners, jointly, purchased 100,000 of them, to be devoted to the restocking of the Merriraac Eiver, and these were sent to the hatching-works of Kobinson & Hoyt, of Mere- dith, N. H. ; 7,600 were sent to the Massachusetts State hatching-house at East Wareham : small lots to Winchester and West Barnstable, Mass. ; to the Poquonnoc Fish Company of Connecticut, and the South Side Club of New York. The exact number delivered to Messrs. Robinson & Hoyt was, ac- cording to Mr. Stone's estimate, 99,4:00. From these were picked out 53,123 eggs that showed no sign of fecundatiou.t The rate of fecunda- tion was therefore about 40 per cent, of those transported. Of the fe- cundated eggs only 339 died during incubation, leaving 45,918 that hatched. The first fish came out January 6 ; the hatching culminated on the 20th, and was concluded February 1. The incubation was con- ducted in a graveled trough with a gentle current of water an inch deep. After hatching, they were placed, at the suggestion of the com- missioners owning them, in a wooden tank 60 'feet long, 4 feet wide, and from 1 to 2 feet deep, and were fed by placing finely-chopped food in a stream of water which was led into a spout with a perforated bot- tom that ran the whole length of the tank, the food being thus very evenly distributed. The conditions, however, failed to meet the wants of the fish, and during the summer fully three-quarters of them died.t In October a freshet carried the greater portion of those alive into a trout-pond, from which, probably, few^ ever escaped. The reniaiuder were kept until the following summer, when they were set at liberty in the Pemigewassett^iver, having meanwhile become reduced in number to about 1,000*1 Among the eggs carried to Massachusetts there was about the same ratio of fecundation. Of the 7,600 sent to the State hatching-house 4,280 proved, defective, the most of them being iufecuud ; and the number hatched out was 3,320. During the season these got mixed with a lot of Schoodic salmon of the same age, and it was found im- practicable to sort them out. They were left together until the close of the season. Until the 1st of September they were kept in a hatching- trough, where the water was only 4 inches deep. During this time, though perfectly healthy and feeding lieartily, they grew very slowly, attaining a length of only an inch and a half. Most of them were then transferred to a long trench, with a foot of water and plenty of room, * Aiiunal Report of the [Canadian] Department of Marine and Fisheries for the year ending 30th June, 1H69, p. 107. t Letter of Robinson & Hoyt. t Fifth Annnal Report of the [Massachusetts] Commissioners on Inland Fisheries, January, IciTl, p. 11. 230 KEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. and here, by the end of October, a large part of them attained a length of 3 inches. They were now about nine months old, and only 8 per cent, of them had been lost since hatching. At West Barnstable Messrs. Dexter, Coolidge & Bacon hatched out, for the State, 1,700 salmon, and kept them through the season, losing, between the middle of May and the last of November, only 4 per cent, of this number. The largest of them were then 5 inches long, a remarkable growth, which is attributed in part to their having occupied during the summer and fall a pond 2 feet deep. About an equal number of salmon (1,700) was hatched by Mr. E. A. Brackett, of Winchester.* The final distri- bution of the several lots of young salmon hatched in Massachusetts from this stock of eggs is, as far as I have been able to trace it, as fol- lows : 700, raised at Winchester, in the Mystic River ; 1,500, raised at West Barnstable, in one of the streams of Cape Cod ; the brood at East Wareham, " in suitable waters."t Of the salmon hatched by Mr. Stone himself, 2,000 were sold in the spring of 18G9 to the Poquonuoc Fish Company of Connecticut. A 'few of them were kept in the trout-ponds until the spring of 1870, and the rest were turned into Great Brook, a small stream tributary to Long Island Sound, about three miles east of New London.* Of those re- tained in the ponds a' few became smolts in 1870, and all were turned into the same brook to take their chances. Ninety yearling salmon from the same stock of eggs were this year purchased of Mr. Stone and placed in the same waters.1: Another lot of fry from Mr. Stone's hatching- works were sold to Ver- mont in 1869, and placed by her commissioners in small tributaries of the Winooski River, near Montpelier, and in West River, at Weston. Some observations made on the fortunes that atteuded these fish gave results that are worth recording as illustrating the dangers to which young fish are exposed. Care was taken to selecf streams in which there were no fish but very small ones ; yet it was but a short time be- fore quite a number of small dace were discovered in the midst of the young salmon ; the former were very active, the latter sluggish and bewildered, and making no effort to escape. Within half an honr after placing some salmon in a stream near Montpelier, a dace only 2 or 3 inches long was caught, aud found to have swallowed four young salmon. Some of this brood escaped destruction, however, and were seen late in the summer and fall of the same year.§ Of the disposition made of the remainder of Mr, Stone's stock of eggs, I have no definite information ; but for the sake of an approximate estimate of the total number of young salmon turned into the rivers as * Report of the [Massachusetts] Commissiouers of Fisheries for the year eiuliug January 1, 1870, pp. 31, o2. t Fifth Annual Report of the [Massachusetts] Commissiouers ou Inlaud Fisheries, Januai'y, 1871, pp. 11, 15. t W. Clift, MSS. § Letter of Prof. A. D. Hager. ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 231 the result of tlie expedition, I will assume that all of tlie 78,000 eggs reuiaiuing- after the deposit of 100,000 at Meredith did as well as those sent to Massachusetts, of which not far from 40 per cent, reached the end of their artificial nurture and were set free. In this way we obtain 31,200 as the number of free young salmon. Adding- to this the number that came from the Meredith lot of eggs, 1,000, we have a total of 32,200 young salmon as the net result of the expedition. 5. — OPERATIONS IN 1869. Owing to causes that it is unnecessary for me to discuss, Mr. Stone was obliged to abandon his enterprise on the Miramichi. Mr. Joseph E. Goodfellow, however, collected in October, 1809, a lot of eggs, and sold them to the commissioners of Vermont. They were deposited in the hatching-troughs between the 20th and 24th of October, and remained there until the first week in December. They were then packed up in moss, in baskets, and sent to Vermont. After a series of mishaps, which prolonged the period occupied in transportation to three weeks and four days, they reached Chester, Vt., and were placed in Professor Hager's hatching-troughs. The whole number of eggs was 50,000, and the loss in transportation and incubation was es- timated at 20 per cent., leaving 40,000 young fry, all of which hatched between the 1st and 15th of February. The water had a temperature of 45° F., and was so pure that no. filtering was necessary. Not over 100 died during the absorption of the yolk-sack. From the 10th of May till the 1st of July they were fed regularly, and but few died. The whole lot was in Jul}' placed in Williams and West Rivers.* The num- ber set at liberty is put down at 30,000. 6. — OPERATIONS IN 1870. The spring bf 1870 witnessed the first introduction of salmon from Lake Ontario. The establishment of Mr. Samuel Wilmot, at New- castle, Ontario, started originally in 1866 as a private experiment, had attained such importance as to attract the attention of the Canadian government, and induce the department of marine and fisheries to assume the responsibility of carrying it on, for the general purpose of improving the fisheries of the Dominion. The difficulties in the way of getting spawn from the maritime prov- inces induced the commissioner of fisheries of the State of Maine to apply to the superintendent of the Newcastle establishment for a small number of salmon-eggs. The application was referred to the depart- ment and was granted ; and henceforth the sale of eggs became one o^ the objects of the establishment. The price of salmou-eggs was fixed at $40, in gold, per thousand. As compared with all previous rates, this was high. The price paid Mr. Stone by the States of New Hampshire * Letter of Prof. A. D. Hager. 232 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. and Massachusetts in 1868 was $16 per thousand, and none of the par- ties offering- jS^ew Brunswick eggs for sale had asked more than $20 per thousand. Eight thousand were purchased by Maine, and as the ratio of unfer- tilized eggs appeared to be about 2| per cent., 8,200 eggs were packed up. After a journey of three days they arrived at Alna, Me., and were un])acked April 3. The number dead was 870. By immersing them in a solution of common salt the opacity which is the regular attendant on death disappeared, and it was easy to distinguish the fecund eg'gs from the infecund : the latter counted 640, the former 230 ; which shows that the ratio of infecund eggs was about 8 per cent. The deficiency was made up, and, of the 8,000 good eggs, 7,400 were hatched. These were kept in an artificial pond one year, l)eiug reduiied in number meanwhile, from unknown causes, to 1,500. These were set at liberty in May, 1871, in the Sheepscot River. The introduction of these Ontario salmon is mentioned in connection with those from New Brunswick because the purpose of their introduc- tion was the same, namely, the restocking of the rivers where they were l)laced with sea-going sabnon. To the first purchasers of these eggs it did not occur that there was any doubt about the Ontario salmon taking readily to sea-water and the food to be found there ; although it was the expressed opinion of Mr. Wilmot that, while the Ontario salmon were true tSahno salar, they nevertheless, in general, passed their whole lives in the fresh waters of the lake, finding there a congenial food, it appears probable that Mr. Wilmot is right in both particulars, but at the present time it must be regardeu as an undecided poiut whether the Ontario salmon do migrate to and from the sea ; and, if their residence in the lake becomes established, it will still be an open question whether they can, on being placed in our rivers, assuuie the migratory habits of the salmon of the coast. A small lot of eggs from the Newcastle establishment found its way by another channel into the hands of W. S. Peavey, esq., of Whiting, Me. He had them hatched out, and the young fish, numbering 225, were placed in the Cobscook Eiver in May, 1870. Mr. Gooclfellow again undertook the bollection of salmon-spawn on the Miramichi in the fall of 1870. A considerable quantity was engaged? but only 8,000 eggs obtained. These were divided between the States of Maine and Connecticut, and the Poquonnoc Fish Company. The share of Maine amounted to only 800. They were hatched out near Augusta, and soon after the absorption of the sack disappeared ; it is supposed that they escaped into a tributary of the Kennebec. Connec- ticut received 2,000 eggs, and had them hatched at Poquonnoc. They produced 1,876 young, and these, without- accident or loss in transpor- tation, were, in April, 187], placed in the waters and tributaries of Broad Brook, a branch of the Quiunebaug River. * * Fifth Report of the Commissioners of Fisheries of the State of Connecticut, 1871, p. 20. ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 233 7. — OPERATIONS IN 1871-'72. In IMarcli, 1871, the Conuecticut commissioners bought 10,000 eggs of Ontario salmon at Newcastle. They reached the hatching-house of the Poquounoc Company March 11, and on opening them 7,000 were found to be spoiled through defective packing. Another lot was immediately sent to make up the deficiency, and from both shipments 0,000 fish were hatched, and placed in the Housatonic, Farmiugtou, Shet.ucket, and Quinuebaug Eivers. The first attempt to stock with salmon any of the rivers south of the Connecticut was made in 1871, by Mr. Tliadoii preparations were made to catch them in the brook should they chose to enter it in their search for a spawning-bed. About the 9th of November it was discov- ered that on a gravelly bottom under two feet of water, close by the shore, and within a dozen rods of the outlet of the pond, salmon had been spawning. A net was set here on the 10th, and on the morning of the 11th it caught two male salmon. Another was taken on the 12th, but, though the net was kept in place until the 23d, it took no more males and not a single female. The males taken were thinner than those from our pound in Allamoosook, had less red and more blue in their color, and bore large scars on their sides ; otherwise they appeared to be in good health. This experiment at Craig's Pond showed that salmon can- not be relied upon to enter a small brook in search of a spawning ground when the water of the pond in which they are confined is pure and the bottom is gravelly and clean. In such cases they will laj^ their eggs in still water. A third brood of vsalmon, eighteen in number, were placed in Dead Brook, a tributary of Eastern River, entering it several miles lower than Craig's Pond Brook, and accessible from the salmon weirs by pass- ing through only one lock instead of three, as in the former case. Dead Brook is larger than Craig's Pond Brook — barely large enough to drive a saw-mill under a moderate head in spring and fall. In midsummer its head is very small, but it never completely dries up. Its water is less pure and more highl^^ colored than that of Craig's Pond, but not darker than that of common brooks. Where the brook traverses a meadow two barriers were placed across it, making an inclosure about 200 feet long and 30 feet wide, with water 5 feet deep at the time the salmon were pat in, (June 26 and 28,) but falling to less than 3 feet in Septem- ber. Two of the fish died in June, but, so far as could be known, the remaining sixteen lived in good health until October. There were oc- casional freshets that brought down a great deal of mud, but this did no harm. On the 12th of October an extraordinary freshet 'carried away the barriers and let the salmon free. The most of them must have remained in the brook, for quite a number of spawning-nests were discovered after the water subsided in November, but only a single pair of salmon were seen ; these were a mile further up the brook, above some diflBcult falls, lying side by side in the deepest part of a pool, while just below them, on a rapid, was a partially formed nest. The female fish was caught, killed, and carried several miles to the hatching-house, where her eggs were taken and milted. They were not so well fecun- dated as the other lots. I am uncertain what was the reason. The fish was afitiicted with sores and very weak. A fourth brood, numbering eleven salmon, were placed in Spofford's Pond, in Bucksport. These were caught in a weir near Bucksport vil- lage, and hauled in a tank of water on a dray one mile to the pond. There was no great expectation of catching many of them, but it was 238 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. desirable to test the efi'ect of confinement in a pond of this character. It is a [)iece of water abont sixty acres in area ; is very deeply colored by the exudations of extensive meadows that drain into it, and its bot- tom, except a narrow belt along part of the shores, is composed of soft, peaty mud. The brook by which it discharges into the Penobscot is of saflicienl volume to drive a grist-mill during the greater part of the year. Three of these fish were found in this brook at the breeding sea- son, and, as several nests were seen, it was supposed that others had descended from the pond unobserved. But a single one was caught. This one was a male, in excellent condition, and in color much richer than any caught elsewhere. Thus the various mishaps of the season left us for a breeding stock only the eighteen fish in the pound at Craig's Pond Brook. As the breeding season approached, ijreparations for the development of the eggs were made by fitting up a room in the basement of an old mill at the mouth of Craig's Pond Brook. Water taken from the open brook, which, though of small volume, is impetuous in character, dashing down over a ledgy bed, was led through several wooden troughs, each 18 feet long, 15 inches wide, and 8 inches deep. Grilles, made by setting narrow strips of window-glass on edge in wooden frames, were placed in these troughs, about an inch from the bottom. The eggs, when de- posited on the grilles, arranged themselves in rows across the trough, each row lying on the edge of a glass rod, and between two other rods. The space underneath the grilles allowed the constant jyassage of a cur- rent of water, preventing stagnation, and a like current passed over the grilles. No attempt was made to filter the water, it being already un- commonly clean for brook water. On the 2d of jSTovember the breeding fish were for the first time seined out from the pound and examined. There was no indication that any of them had begun to spawn, although if kept there many days longer it is not unlikely that they would have deposited a part of their eggs on* the clciai, saiidy bottom. All of the males were found rij)e ; several of the females partially so, an 14, 250 1 9 2 2 10 J 72, 300 96 1,531 70, 500 The temperature of the water was, at the beginning of incubation, 46° F., but from November 23 to December 18 the average was about 41°. The eggs came forward sufficiently to be transported on the 18th tozoids retain the faculty of setting themselves in motion whenever they find them selves in contact with water. Inclosed iu a dry tube, and well corked, the uiilt i^re. serves its fertilizing properties for six days. Taking into consideration these observations, and the fact that both eggs and milt are slowly obtained, their entire mass not coming at once, Vrasski reached the conclu- sion that, when in water, the greater part of the eggs tilled themselves with water, and the spermatozoids ceased to move before it was possible for the pisciculturist to mingle the eggs with the diluted milt ; he therefore adopted the system of dry dishes, aud turned the milt upon the eggs as soon as he had diluted it. His success was complete; the eggs were fecundated without a single exception. * These eggs came from the single fish caught iu Dead Brook. The fish was killed when caught, carried about three miles, aud, alter it had been dead perhaps two hours, the eggs were taken and fecundated. On packing up they were found to be so defective that tliey were turned out into the brook. t These were purposely left uufecundated. ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 241 of December, the circulation being at that time established in all the fecund eggs. They were packed for transportation in tin boxes in layers between wet moss. Each layer of eggs was placed between disks of mosquito-nettiug stretched on rings of brass wire to facilitate the work of packiug and unpacking. The cans were inclosed in sawdust in the usual way. The eggs were divided as follows : To Maine 21, 750 To Massachusetts 21, 750 To Connecticut 21, 750 To William Clift 5, 250 Total shipped 70, 500 The portion belonging to the Scate of Maine was placed for hatching in the care of Crocket & Holmes, of Norway. They hatched out with a trifling loss, and in the spring were turned into a small brook tributary to the Little Androscoggin JJiver, which enters the main Androscoggin just below Lewiston Falls. As the brook had been cleared of its trout to supply the breeding-works of Messrs. Crockett & Holmes, it is prob- able that an unusually large proportion of the young salmon survived the dangers that ordinarily attend them when turned out into open waters. The eggs belonging to Massachuset>ts were hatched at the State hatciiing-house in Winchester, and turned out remarkably Avell, as exhibited by the following statement : Whole number sent , 21, 750 Died during transportation 289 Died during incubation 141 _ 430 Number hatched 21, 320 Very few of these were lost, at least 21,000 good, healthy fish remain- ing on hand when ready to turn out into the stream. The number of deformed fish was small. Of the healthy fish 5,000 were put into a small river on Cape Cod, and the remainder into the Pemigewassett River, a tributary of the Merrimac* Of the eggs belonging to Connecticut, 4,579 were lost in transporta- tion, hatching, and nurturing. The remainder, about 17,000, were dis- triljuted in various rivers, mostly tributaries of the Quiunebaug. f Of the 5,000 belonging to Mr. Clift, nearly all were hatched, and in May were turned into Great Brook, the first large mill-stream tributary to Long Island Sound east of the Thames River. | * Letter of E. A. Brackett. t Sixth Report of the Couimissiouers of Fisheries of the State of Counecticut, 1S72, pp. 26, 27,28. t Letter of Rev. W. Clift. S. Mis. 74 19 242 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Notwitlistaiiding- the great mortality among tlie parent fisli, which seriously reduced the stock of eggs Obtained, the experiment must be considered successful. There was no longer any doubt that salmon could be kept in cdnfinement in a small inclosure, in fresh water, from June until Xovember, without any injury to their health, or any interference with the development of their eggs and milt, and the conditions of suc- cess were now sufSciently plain. Spring brooks, newly-built ponds, and very clear lakes must be avoided, and dependence x)laced on ordi- nary pond or brook water with a muddy bottom. The cost of collecting and developing these eggs, up to the shipping- point, was at the rate of $18.09 per thousand, and it was evident that, with the benefl-t of the first season's experience to guide in the care of the pstrent fish, this would become the most economical mode of collect- ug- salmon-eggs available to the Kew England States. 3,-^OPERATIONS IN 1872. The parties interested in the experiment in 1871, together with the State of Rhode Island and the United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, united in operations on a larger scale in 1872. The disadvantages connected with the site at Craig's Pond Brook, as detailed above, were such as to render a change very desirable, and a small pond in Bucksport, variously denominated " Great Pond," "Spoft'ord's Pond," and "Salmon Pond," was selected as the new site of operations. This body of water, about sixty acres in area in the sum- mer season, receives the drainage of a small tract in the interior of the town, through very small tributaries, that are completely dry in sum- mers of ordinary dryness. There are a few springs near the shores, but the volume of water they discharge into the pond is very small, and in a very dry season the overflow nearly ceases, sometimes entirely. Around the pond are extensive meadows, that are overflowed the most of the time between October and June, and whose drainage imparts a dark, peaty color to the water, and deposits at the bottom a thick stratum of soft mud. The shores, except adjoining the meadows, are stony, and the adjacent bottom, down to a depth of from 3 to 6 feet below the sur- face, at summer level, is stony, gravelly, or sandy, for the most part hard, partially overlaid by a dark, peaty sediment. The bottom ad- joining the meadow is peaty, and supports an abundant growth of aquatic vegetation, such as Nuphar^ Nymphaea, Brazenia, Potamoge- ton, &c. The same vegetation grows to a less extent along nearly all the shores. The fishes inhabiting the pond are perch, {Perca;) sun-fish, {Pomotis ;) pickerel, {Psox ;) hornpout, {Pimelodus ;) trout, (Salmo fontinalis,) very rare; eels, [AnguUln ;) suckers, {Catosfomus ;) and a few other species of cyprinoids. The water is, in general, about 9 feet deep in midsummer, and 13 or 14 in the fall and spring, when the pond is full. The outlet of the pond is commanded by a dam and gate, which regulate the flow of water for the use of the mills at the mouth o^f the brook. The brook is nearly a mile in length, for the greater part of its ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 243 course desceadiiig gentl^', but, as it approaches the Penobscot, rushing down over ledges at a grade that probably prevented any kind of mi- gratory fish ascending, even before the erection of dams. Were it not for the natural impediments, the stream and pond would doubtless have been frequented by alewives. The volume of water is sufficient to roductive instincts. But in the pond at Bucksport the range was so great that, as far as could be judged from the actions of the fish, they felt after the first few weeks quite at home ; and I have seen nothing in their behavior which, indicates that the degree of such interference is otlier than trifling. It is, therefore, presumed that the maturity of the eggs was nearly the same as it would have been in a state of nature. In the case of the salmon manipulated, nearly every one yielded at once all of her eggs, except such as were packed in the anterior part of * See table 9. 254 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. the abdominal cavity, so far forward that they could uot be forced out by ordinary external pressure. The number of the eggs that Ave failed to get from this cause rarely exceeded five hundred, and averaged not more than three hundred. The rest, constituting 97 per cent, of the whole litter of egg»f came freely, with a uniform appearance of health and maturity, and, in a majority of cases, not one in a liuudred failed of fecundation.* There were, however, during the early days of the spawn- ing season, several females mauipuhited that appeared to be unripe, and such, after a trial which sometimes resulted in the tiow of a few eggs and sometimes not, were placed in a pen to be tried again another day. In some of these cases the eggs may have been quite ripe, but volun- tarily withheld by the flsh ; in the most of them, however, the evidence of immaturity was conclusive. From one of these was obtained at first trial three hundred eggs, of which 95 per cent, were fecundated; from another, one thousand eggs, and 22 per cent, fecundated. On being returned to the water tliese unripe fish made rapid progress in the development of the eggs, and very soon the whole litter was ready to be laid. It would naturally be supposed that if all the eggs of each fish attain maturity nearly at the same time, the fish will, when left to follow her instincts, be but a short time in depositing them ; and the phenomena thus far observed seem to support that view, although from the i)eculiar circumstances of the case they cannot be regarded as conclusive. The observations on this point were not many. The salmon that came into the brook, at the outlet, while waiting to be driven into the pens, found themselves in water running over a gravelly bottom, had the range of a. portion of the brook about ten rods long, the current being moderately strong, and the bottom gravelly. Here they began promptly to lay their eggs, in spite of the crowded condition of the place, and when any of them were left there over night, as was sometimes necessary, both the condition of the females and that of the bed of the brook attested in the morning their industry at egg-laying. A few full females escaped from our pens and lurked in the artificial pond below, coming up iu dull weather, and of nights, into the running water just below the pens, and laying their eggs on a fine gravelly bottom; when discovered here they were [)romptly pursued, so that they were not long left undisturbed ; but they managed to make quite large nests, and did it in a very short space of time. The tributaries of the pond, as has been previously explained, were guarded by hedges and traps, with the design of catching in the latter any salmon that should attempt the ascent of the brooks. With the exception of a single male caught near one of the hedges, about the 1st of November, no salmon tried to ascend the brooks until after the 7th of that month. On the 7th and Sth occurred a heavy fall of rain, so that on the latter day the water flowed quite over the tops of the hedges, let- " See table 9. ATKIKS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 255 ting M large iiiiinber of salmon pass np the main brook. On the morn- ing of the 10th I was apprised of their presence in a trout brook, to which they had ascended over rapids that would have been quite inac- cessible had it not been for the freshet. Repairing immediately to the spot, with an assistant, I found the bottom of the brook, in every avail- able spot, completely filled with their ridds, and salmon of both sexes, spent or full, occupying all the pools. We caught and examined nine- teen female tisli, of which six were whollj^, and nine partly*, spent. If these fish had begun to spawn in this spot, six of them had completed the whole process within forty-eight hours, or sixty at most. Tliere is nothing conclusive about it, since it is by no means impossible that the females found spent on the lOtli had begun their spawning before the storm of the 7th at some point on the shore of the pond, and feeling the sudden rise of water, had left the ground where they had already laid a portion of their eggs, and had traveled a mile or two up a snuiil brook in search of a place to deposit the remainder. The ratio of fecundation was ascertained in from twentj^ to thirty-five days after the eggs were taken. The germ begins, some days before that, to spread over the surface of the yolk, which it in the end com- pletely envelops. During this process its advancing margin appears to carry along with it a row of colored oil globules, which form a distinct ring on the surface of the yolk. At first it enlarges as it advances, until it has passed half way round the yolk, when it is at its largest size ; from that moment it grows smaller, until it finally closes up. In spring- water this phase of development begins at the tenth or twelfth day, and is completed in eight or ten days. During its progress the plainly marked ring of oil globules affords an easy means of distinguishing a fecund from an unfecund egg, since in the latter no such expansion of the germ occurs. A very strong light should be thrown through the eggs to see their condition clearly. This is best accomplished by plac- ing them in a shallow metal box whose bottom is perforated with round holes almost, but not quite, as large as the eggs, placing the latter over the holes, and holding them so that the light shines througli them from beneath. The box commonly used at Bucksport contains forty eggs, and if one of them proves infecund, it is held to indicate a rate of fecundation equal to 97^ per cent. If all of the forty are fecund, the rate is 100 per cent. A sample of forty from each lot is thus tested, and as there were in 1872 two hundred and fifty-seven lots, the average result is believed to be very accurate. The eggs taken from full fish at the time qf first handling them, and treated in the ordinary way, were, in the majority of cases, fully fecundated, and the average rate of fecundation obtained by the ordinary way was 98 per cent. There were, however, thirty eight lots of this sort, in which the test applied gave a proportion of infecundated eggs. In the most of these cases the rate of fecundation indicated was 97i per cent. ; in only three of them did it fall below 90 per cent., being 87^ in two 256 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. cases and G7-^ iu another, the record affording no explanation of either of them. It is probable that few, even of the lots indicated by the trial to be fully fecundated, were quite so, since they had to be judged by samples, a method that does not admit of strict accuracy. In the thirty-eight lots alluded to, the presence of a small percentage of infe- cundated eggs is certain. The inquiry naturally arises, what was the cause of their failure? It cannot be traced to an insuiScient supply of milt; for in two lots that were milted heavier than usual, only 97| per cent, of the eggs were fecundated, while in another lot, taken on the same day and scantily milted, the percentage was 100. After being once manipulated, the females were placed in the watei to recover from their exhaustion, and await a second manipulation a few days later, when they would yield about three hundred eggs each. The rate of fecundation in these eggs was unequal. On the 1st day of No- vembe: all the females used before, sixty in number, yielded at a second trial 16,300 eggs, and only 77^ per cent, were fecundated, while in some of the subsequent lots of this kind the fecundation was complete. The eggs taken from those spent fish that had spawned naturally ex- hibited the same inequality in their susceptibility to fecundation. I think it is to be explained, not by an original defect in the egg, but by the action of the water that frequently obtains access to the abdominal cavity after it has been emptied of most of the eggs, and when present in great quantities might be expected to exert an influence similar to that which it would exert on the eggs after they had left the fish. It would incite them to expansion, and they would then lose their susceptibility to fecundation. A small quantity of water might remain near the vent or be insufficient to overcome the viscid fluid in which the eggs swim, and which, while it surrounds them, prevents their absorbing water. From all this it would appear, first, that there are, as a general rule? no defective eggs in the ovaries of a salmon ; and, second, that when she first begins to spawn, the eggs are all ripe and ready to be laid and fecundated. There are exceptions to the first proposition. One of Ihe salmon manipulated at Orland in 1871 yielded no eggs until December, when it was found by dissection that," though her ovaries contained some full- sized eggs, the majority of them were only partially grown, being of a great variety of sizes, from nearly a quarter of an incli down to the fifti- eth of an inch iu diameter. These were all adherent to the ovary. Unfortunately the lack of milt prevented the testing of the susceptibil. ity of the full-grown eggs to fecundation. There are occasionally found iu a lot of healthy eggs a few that are white and opaque on issuing from the fish ; and I have found them iu the abdominal cavity. I can assign no cause. I have also seen eggs that at the moment of leaving the fish bore to the eye distinct evidence of being in an abnormal state, appa- rently a stage in the process of disorganization. In some cases, although the egg was of full size, the yolk and the oil-globules only appeared as •ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 257 a small body of colored matter floating iu tlie transparent fluid that filled the outer shell. This was the case with eggs found in salmon late in the winter and iu the spring, and 1 thought it proceeded from a rup- ture or shrinking of the yolk membrane of an egg originally healthy. Some eggs of this character were taken with healthy ones from a living fish at the spawning season, and I have found them to abound iu fish that had been a short time dead. This, in liict, appears to be the ordi- nary course of an egg that remains too long iu the fish. It is not unlikely that there are imperfections o^' other kinds than those mentioned, that render the affected eggs incapable of fecundation under the most favor- able circumstances. On the other hand, eggs that are iu perfect condi- tion on issuing from the fish may fail from a variety of causes. Water may reach them and lie in contact with them too long before the milt is applied ; the milt itself may have lost its power through the influence of water or air. Further, it is possible that iu some cases the milt is originally inert, or becomes so while yet in the spermaries of the salmon. The latter might easily occur through the influence of water entering by the vent. In manipulating males that have been used once or ofteuer before, a good deal of water is sometimes pressed out first, but the milt that follows it appears to be efficient. Without continuing these spec- ulations further, I will state the result of several experiments on the fecundation of the eggs. 4. — THE FECUNDATION OF EGGS IN LARGE OR SMALL MASSES, AND WITH OR WITHOUT STIRRING. JExperimentl. — Lot 25, containing 3,800 eggs, was milted as usual, was then watered and allowed to stand during absorption in one pan without any stirring; (the pans used in all cases were circular in shape, and 11^ inches iu diameter ; these eggs, therefore, lay about two deep on the bottom of the pan;) fecundation 40 per cent. Lot 26, containing 7,000 eggs, was stirred five minutes and underwent absorption in three pans ; (being 2,533 per pan ;) fecundation 100 per cent. Lot 30, containing 7,000 eggs, stirred and set in one pan ; fecundation 97i per cent. Lot 31, 13,000 eggs, milt scanty, stirred two minutes and a half, then watered heavily and set iu three pans; fecundation 100 per cent. Lot 33, con- taing 7,000 eggs, set iu one pan; fecundation 100 per cent. The conclu- sion drawn from these results is that it makes little or no difference whether the eggs are treated iu large or small masses, but that it is important that they should be stirred. I suppose that \vheu the eggs lie quietly in a mass just as they were taken from the fish, even though they be covered with water, the viscid fluid that envelops f-hem wards off, not only the water, but also the spermatozoids of the milt, until the latter have become inert. I have observed with certainty that the fluid referred to seriously hinders thip. absorption of water, and prolongs the process for sometimes an hour beyond the usual time, which is twenty minutes. Stirring assists both the water and milt to penetrate to the egg. S. Mis. 74 17 258 REPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 5. — THE SUSCEPTIBILITY OP THE EGGS TO FECUNDATION IN WATER. Experiment 2, October 29. — Lot 34 treated in the usual way; fecunda- tion 100 per cent. Lot 30, from same female, allowed to stand in water two minutes, before the milt was applied, which was done without pouring off the water f fecundation 20 per cent. Water, 44° F. Experiment 3, October 31. — Lot 49 treated with water four minutes before the application of milt ; fecundation 7^ per cent. Water, 43° F. Experiment 4, November 4. — TemperatiM'e of the water 40° F. Lot 119, treated as usual, was completely fecundated. Lot 120, from the same fish, stood in water several minutes before the milt was applied; fecundation, none. Experiment 5, November 5. — Temperature of the water 40° F. Lots 136, 137, 138, 139 and 140. The milt for these eggs was taken first in a dish, dry ; then the eggs were taken, divided and watered ; then, after the lapse of one, two, three, and six minutes, respect- ively, the milt was applied ami the eggs stirred ; all then stand until free. Eesults : after one, two, and three minutes, fecundation 100 per cent; after four minutes, 92 J per cent; after six minutes, 65 per cent. Experiment 6, November 11. — Temperature of the water 40° F. Lots ISO to 1S9, inclusive, were milted successively' ; the first immediately, and the rest at intervals of from half a minute to ten minutes after they were placed in water. The result was as follows, viz, in the lot milted immediately, 97J per cent, fecundated ; at the end of half a minute after application of water 92J per cent, fecundated; at the end of one minute 95 per cent. ; at the end of two minutes, 77^ i)er cent. ; at the end of three minutes, 80 per cent.; at the end of four minutes, 85 per cent. ; at the end of five minutes, 87^ per cent. ; at the end of six minutes, 85 per cent.; at the end of eight minutes none fecundated ; at the end of ten minutes 2J i)er cent, fecundated. The inequality of these results may be attributed to minor differences in the mode of manipulation ; for instance, the difference in the shape of the dishes used, in the quantity of water applied, and in the amount of agitation given to the eggs. In experiments 2, 3, and 4, the dishes were broad and shallow, and the quantity of water liberal. In experi- ment 6 the dishes were small mugs, and the quantity of water propor- tionably small. In the case of lot 189, perhaps the stirring given before the milt was applied was insufficient to give the water access to those eggs which lay in the bottom of the mug, and that they, therefore, retained the susceptibility of fecundation for some minutes longer than they would have done if pure water had had free access to them. ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 259 6. — TUE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF EGGS TO FECUNDATION OUT OF WATER; Experiment 7. — Lot G7 stood long before milting or watering; rate of fecundation, 100 per cent. Experiment 8. — Lot 92 stood without milt, while lot 93 was taken and milted ; rate of fecundation, 100 per cent. Experiment 9. — Lots 133 and 134 were kept in a pan half an hour before milt was applied, and the rates of fecundation were 90 and 80 per cent, respectively. In the former case water was applied as soon as usual ; in the latter case the eg,g^, with the milt, were carried without water to the hatching-house, and turned directly into the troughs. This circumstance is not, however, believed to have been influential, for in other cases it was found to make no difference. (See lots 129 to 132, in table9.) That the eggs themselves were healthy is proved by the successful fecundation of the remainder of the eggs from the same fish, by the ordinary method, the rate in all being 100 per cent. Experiment 10. — The eggs were taken from a healthy hsh, and part of them (lot 210, containing 4,400 eggs) milted at once with complete success. The remainder were kept in the hatching-house in a pan covered over, but not secluded from the air. At the end of twelve hours, thirty hours, two days, and four days, successive lots (225, 229, 234, 250) were taken from this pan, and milted with fresh milt. The rate of fecundation was as follows: at the end of twelve hours, 90 per cent. ; thirty hours, 87^ per cent. ; two days, 75 per cent. ; four days, 12-J per cent. The results above stated show that the egg retains the susceptibility to fecundation for several days, under favorable circumstances, but that in some cases a considerable percentage loses it in half an hour. 7. — DURATION, IN AIR, OF THE FECUNDATING POWER OF THE MILT.. Experiment 11. — Lot 76 : milt taken ten minutes before its ai^plieationi to the eggs ; fecundation, 92^ per cent. Experiment 12. — Lot 85 : milt taken from the fish several hours in advance, and kept in an open dish ; fecundation, 100 per cent. Experiment 13. — Lot 249 : milt kept four days before application ;; fecundation, none. This total failure is supposed to have been the fault of the milt, since some of the same eggs treated with freshly-taken milt were fecundated. (See lot 250.) 8. — DURATION, IN WATER, OF THE FECUNDATING POWER OF THE MILT., Several extensive experiments were undertaken for the purpose of determining this poiut, but accident frustrated them, and they are not reported. But it may be stated, in general, that milt was found to pre- serve its efficiency for several minutes after being placed in water. 260 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Doubtless it makes a great difference whetber tlie Diilt is mixed thoroughly with the water, or is permitted to settle in a body to the bottom, as it will when dropped gently into water. In the latter case the water may not gain access to the 'main mass of the milt for some time. 9. — DURATION OF CONTACT NECESSARY TO INSURE FECUNDATION. In the ordinary course of procedure the milt was in contact with the eggs not far from a minute before the application of water, and from twenty minutes to an hour, or even longer, thereafter. In two instances, immediately after the application of the milt and the stirring of the eggs enough to diffuse it among them, it was washed off by rinsing the eggs several times with clean water, the whole being done with the utmost possible dispatch. Experiment 14. — Lot 125, containing 3,300 eggs ; the eggs were rinsed with clean water immediately after milting; fecundation, 100 per cent* Experiment 15. — Lot 127, containing 2,700 eggs; rinsed immediately after milting; fecundation, 100 per cent. From this it appears that fecundation is effected so quickly that, for practical purposes, it may be considered instantaneous. 10. — TEMPERATURE OF WATER AND DEVELOPMENT OF EGGS. The temperature of the water in the hatching-house when the first eggs wera deposited, was 44^ F., and they developed rapidly. On the 3d day of November it had fallen to 42°, and from that time till the 16th it vibrated between 42^° and 39°. On the 20th it sunk to 37°, and on the 21st to 35°. -About this point it remained until the last week in December, when it sunk to 33°, the temperature of the air outside being — 19°. During the rest of the winter it generally stood at 33i° or 34°, occasionally rising to 3(>°. In the spring it sunk instead of rising, the water being colder during the first half of April than at any other time during the season. This I attribute to the abundance of snow and ice- water running into the brook at that time. No difficulty was experi- enced in keeping the building warm enough to avoid any iujurious freez- ing, although on several occasions, when the night was extremely cold and the fires dull, ice formed in some of the troughs. In this extremely cold water, of course the development of the eggs was very slow. In the first lot the heart of the embryo was beating De.cember 10, but the eyes were not black until January 9, seventy- three days from fecundation. In spring-water the same stage would be reached in about thirty days. On the 7th day of February the circula- tion was barely established in the embryos taken November 21. In those taken November 14 it was distinct and the embryos active ; in those of November 9 the circulation was stronger and the embryos larger, but there was still no sign of color in the eyes, although ninety days had passed since fecundation. The only disadvantage in this slow ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 2G1 develoi)ment is the aflditioual expense attending it, and I tliink this is fairly counterbahiuced by the longer time afforded for packing np and distributing the eggs, and by having the hatching delayed until the natural period, when all the conditions existing in the water may be supposed to be best adapted to the healthy growth of the young fish. The water in the streams where salmon naturally spawn is quite as cold as that used in this hatching-house, and the incubation of eggs there goes ou quite as slowly. During incubation one man can, under ordinary circumstances, take care of several millions of eggs. There is little to be done except to pick out those that die and turn white, before they decay and contaminate the water. In water of 34° F. decay begins so tardily that once a week is often enough to take out the dead eggs. This was done in the present case with wire-poiuted wooden pliers, without removing the trays from the trough. Some fish culturists remove the trays to a table, where the work can be done easier, but my own experience leads me to believe that at certain stages of develop- ment the eggs will not endure the disturbance involved without injury. The number of dead eggs taken from the troughs was not larger than ordinary until about the 1st of January. At that time the number dying from day to day suddenly increased, and was very large during the rest of the season. The percentage lost in this way at Orland the previous season was but a little over 2 per cent, of the number of eggs taken. At the same rate the number this year should have been only about 32,000. Actually it reached the large total of about 31^,000 or 20 l^er cent, of the whole. This extraordinary mortality requires explana- tion. It was due to a variety' of causes. First, the windows had been curtained only with cotton cloth, and this admitted an amount of light that encouraged the rank growth of a species of confervoid vegetation which spread over the eggs like a blanket, shutting them out from a due supply of water from tlie current flowing above them, and exposing them to the influence of the water beneath the trays. Second, the space underneath the trays was too narrow for so long troughs as 60 feet; there was little or no current through it, and the conferva prevented a cir- culation through the trays. Thus this space was occupied by stagnant water, which soon became surcharged with noxious substances, the exu- dations from the wooden troughs and the decay of eggs that accident- ally slipped down beneath the trays, playing an important part. With a suitable current of water all these injurious substances would have passed off before they had accumulated sufQcientl}^ to do harm. But in the stagnant water they rapidly accumulated, and, coming in contact with the eggs above them, destroyed them by thousands. Third, a long stovepipe ran above cue of the troughs ; the liquid condensed within it in cold weather was carried away in a gutter, but on several occa- sions considerable quantities of this poisonous liquid found its way into the troughs.* * The cause's second and third might have been avoided by the use of covers to the troughs, aud these have siuce been uiade. 262 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Tbe first difficulty was remedied by darkeuing the windows, which was soon followed by the entire disappearance of the conferva ^ the sec- ond by raising the trays so as to establish a current underneath them. By prompt action the eggs that had not yet been affected were saved, but a large proportion of those that retained life long enough to be packed up and sent away bad been so seriously injured as to perish, either during incubation or soon after hatching. 11. — rACKING AND SHirMENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF EGGS. During the early part of the season of incubation, with the co-opera- tion of Mr. B. A. Brackett of the Massachusetts commission, I tried a 'series of experiments designed to determine the period when salmon eggs can be transported with Stifety. Ten successive i)ackages, each containing eggs from five separate lots of widely different ages and stages of development, were sent by express to Winchester, Mass., where Mr. Brackett unpacked them and noted the result. The first package was sent on the 14th of iSTovember, and the last on the 7th of January. The results observed were very uneven, almost total loss at- tending some shipments, while in others the average ratio of loss was quite small. In the first two packages, the germ of the oldest eggs was in process of expansion over the surface of the yolk, while in the young- est eggs that process had not begun; in the former the loss was several fold greater than in the latter. In the second package the percentage of loss in'the several lots, beginning with the oldest and running down to the youngest, was as follows : 62, 45, 36, 21, zero. In the third lot it was 20, 8, 8, 2, 8. In the fourth lot, the development was but little advanced over the former ones, and the percentage of loss in the several lots remained substantially the same, being, in the order o-f the age of the lots, 88, 84, 10, 8, zero. The next two packages were badly frozen, and the result therefore indecisive. On the 17th of December, another package was sent, in which the oldest eggs were so far advanced that the heart of the embryo could be seen beating, while the younger eggs had arrived at the same stage as the older ones had in the earlier pack- ages. Tbe relative losses were now reversed, the percentage being from oldest to youngest, zero, zero, 2, 42, 2. A week later another package resulted as follows : percentage, zero, zero, 36, 8. The general conclusion drawn from the result of these experiments was this : that the critical period, during which salmon-eggs cannot be trans- ported without danger of great loss, begins with the first expansive movement of the germ, and ends with the establishment of the circulation. In our earliest eggs this period was, approximately, from the fifteenth day after fecundation to the thirty-fifth day, ending thirty-seven days before the appearance of black eyes. In the later lots, owing to the lower temperature of tbe water, it was long deferred. In water having a uniform temperature of 44° F. I should think the critical period would begiu as early as the tenth day from fecundation, and last two weeks. ATKIXS THE SALMON AND ITS AETIFICIAL CULTURE. 263 Either before or after this period, eggs can be transported with much greater safety, although I do not think it yet established that any time is quite so favorable as that succeeding the first appearance of dark color in the eyes. Tlie general shipment of eggs began February 3d, and continued weekly until late in the spring, the last lot being sent away in April- The whole number distributed was 1,291,800. There were retained and hatched at Bucksport about 150,000 eggs, being part of the share fall- ing to the lot of Maine. The remainder, 1,001,800, were packed up in moss and sent away; 152,000 going on a sled to Bangor and thence by rail to Dixfield, Me.; the rest all going from Bucksport to Boston by steamer, and from that point bj rail to their several destinations. Several modes of packing were adopted. The first was the use of trays similar to the hatching trays in use at Bucksport, made of iron wire cloth with wooden frames around the edges. One or two layers of eggs were placed on each tray, with layers of sphagnum-moss below, above, and between them. In most cases pieces of mosquito-netting were spread beneath and above each layer of eggs, between them and the moss, for convenience in unpacking, the trouble of separating the eggs from the moss when nothing intervenes being very great. After packing, the trays are set. one on another, in a box large enough to re- ceive them ; the frames, coming in contact, sustain all the weight, en- tirely relieving the eggs from any pressure except such as the packer may choose to give them ; this box is then inclosed in a larger one, with saw-dust, tow, or some other uon-condnctor of heat, to protect against extremes of temperature. This mode of packing is very econom- ical of space, and thus far appears to be safe, unless the eggs and moss be placed in the tra^' so loosely as to slide down together to one side if the box be placed in any other than an upright position. The second method is the use of cylindrical tin boxes about five inches deep and six inches in diameter, in which the eggs are placed in layers alternating with layers of moss. Each layer of eggs lies between two disks of mos- quito-netting sewed to brass rings of just the right size to go into the box easily. Six or eight layers of eggs, numbering from 1,000 to 3,000 eggs, are placed in each box. The tins are then placed, as in the other method, in a large box, with a protective packing. I prefer this mode to any other for long distances, and all the eggs sent to the Middle and Western States were so packed. Some^of the parties receiving the eggs objected to the size of the boxes and the pressure that the eggs sus- tained in them ; but I think that the loss which they attributed to this cause was really the result of the general injury of the eggs, in the troughs at Bucksport, as explained above. In all cases sphagnum-moss, gathered from bogs, without any special care to keep out dirt, was used, and excess of moisture, more than the moss could hold without drip- ping, avoided. The eggs hatched out for the State of Maine, in the Bucksport hatch- 264 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. ing house, numbering about 150,000, suffered a loss of 62,500 during in- cubation, being 41.66 per cent. A very few of them hatched in March, but the fall of temperature in April retarded the others, so that but a small number of tish came out until the last week in April. The tem- l^erature then rose from 34° to 40°. On the thirteenth day the hatching was at its height, and before the 10th of May all the eggs were hatched. The distribution of the young fish took place the 1st of June, the ab- sorption of the yolk-sack being then complete. In the preliminary trials at transportation 10,500 salmon were lost. The remaining 77,000 were turned alive into the Penobscot and Saint Croix Eivers, the former receiv- ing 67,000 and the latter 10,000. The remainder of the eggs allotted to Maine, to the nuaiber of 152,000, were transported to Dixfield, Oxford County, and hatched by Mr. Stanley, of the board of commissioners, in spring-water. The fish came out early, with a loss of about 22,000, or about 15 per cent., leaving 130,000. These, after a loss not reported, were all set free in the Audroscoggin River and its tributaries.* The eggs sent to New Hampshire numbered 21,400, the loss in incu- bation was between 30 and 40 per cent., and the young fish were placed in the headwaters of the Merrimac, about the time the sack was ab- sorbed.t To Vermont were allotted 10,000 eggs. They were hatched by Seth Green, at Rochester, New York, with a loss of 30 per cent., and the fish placed in the Winooski and Lamoille Rivers, tributaries of Lake Champlaiu.| Massachusetts received 232,800. They were hatched out by Mr. E. A. Brackett, of the board of commissioners, at Winchester, in spring- water. The loss in incubation was about 24 per cent., amounting to 55,800. The young fish were healthy and vigorous ; 165,000 of them were placed in the head-waters of the Merrimac, soon after the absorp- tion of the yolk-sack ; and into the Mystic River and Red Brook, about 11,000 each.§ The share of Rhode Island numbered 100,000 eggs. They were hatched at Poneganset, by Mr. J. H. Barden, of the board of commis- sioners, in water of 46° F. The total loss was 36,000, being 30 percent. Tlie 64,000 young fish obtained were distributed in the Blackstoue, Paw tuxet and Pawkatuck Rivers. They appeared strong and healthy. || To Connecticut were sent 264,000 eggs ; 204,000 of them were hatched at Poquonnoc, by Mr. Clift; 50,000 at North Branford, under the auspices of the Waltonian Society, of Ne*w Haven, and 12,000 at Westport. The eggs sent to Poquonnoc suffered a loss of 20,200 in transportatfon and unpacking, and a further loss during incubation of 33,175, leaving * Distribution in detail as follows : into Swift River, 30,000 ; into Ranoely Lake, a few thousand ; into the Androscoggin aud^tributaries, near Dixfield, the remainder . Letter of H. O. Stanley.) t Letter of W. W. Fletcher. § Letter of E. A. Brackett. I Letter of M. C. Edmunds. 1| Letter of J. H. Barden. ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS AETIFICIAL CULTUEE. 265 151,625, which hatched out. The rate of mortality was very uneven among these eggs, in some lots being as high as 75 per cent., and in others as low as 6 per cent. The eggs sent to Westport and North Branford suffered an equal loss with the above. The young fish, num- bering in the aggregate, at all the establishments, 198,000, were set free as soon as the absorption of the j^olk-sack was complete, in various streams in Connecticut.* William Clift, of Mystic BriTlge, Conn., agent for the Poquonnoc Fish- breeding Comj)any, received 04,000 eggs. A small number of them were sold, and the remainder hatched at Poquonnoc, with a loss of 33 per cent. The young fish w^ere turned into Great Brook, which the com})any is try- ing to stock with migratory fishes as a j)rivate venture. The foreman of this establishment, Mr. A. A. Anderson, reported the young fish from these and the eggs belonging to the State, under his charge, as uniformly weaker on first coming out than any salmon fry he had ever seen. After- ward, however, they looked better. To New York there were allotted, from the share belonging to the United States, 80,000 eggs. They were sent to Seth Green, Eochesterj and hatched at the State establishment. The loss was 26,000, t being 32^ j)er cent. ; 25 jier cent, of this occurred during incubation, and the rest soon after. As soon as the yolk-sack was absorbed the young fish were set free ; 24,000 of them were placed in tributaries of the Hudson ; 15,000 in tributaries of Salmon Eiver; and 15,000 in a tributary of the Oswego. New Jersey received 40,000 eggs, which turned out to be in a condi- tion much better than average. They were hatched out at Dr. J. H. Slack's establishment at Bloomsburg. Only 10 per ceut. were lost in incubation. Of the 36,000 young fish, the Delaware River received 18,000, the Raritan 15,000, and 3,000 were sent to Long Island.i: Pennsylvania was awarded 40,000 eggs. They were received by Mr- Thaddeus Norris, of Philadelphia, who had made arrangements to have them hatched at private expense, at Heitzman's Springs two miles above Easton, on the New Jersey side of the Delaware. On unpacking these eggs they appeared in remarkably fine condition, but the average mor- tality attended them before they hatched, 37^ per cent, or 15,000 eggs perishing.§ The remainder, 25,000, produced fish, which were turned into the Delaware River. There were sent to Dr. E. Sterling, of Cleveland, Ohio, a small package of eggs, numbering 5,200. They were hatched by Mr. John Hoyt, at the Castalia Springs, near Sandusky. The loss in incubation was 2,700) * For further details of distribution see Table 11. tMr. Green attributed the loss in great part to the large size of the tins in which the eggs were packed, which caused too great pressure on the lower layers. tDr. Slack reports 18,000 put into the Delaware, 13,000 put into the Raritan, and 3,000 sent to Long Island, making 39,000 in all, which exceeds the number of fry com- puted above by 3,000. This discrepancy might come from an error in counting either eggs or fry. $ Letter of T. Norris. 266 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. or 52 per cent. The remaining eggs prodnced 2,500 young salmon, and they were turned into the Castalia Ponds, which discharge by a stream? three or four miles long, into Sandusky Bay. The water of these ponds' and of the springs which supply them, is very warm, between 50 and GO degrees,* is of remarkable transparency, and highly charged with min- eral matter in solution. The eggs sent to Michigan numbered 43,200, They were received by i^. W. Clark, who hatched them oat ITir the Commissioners of Fish" eries, at Clarkstou. The eggs were pacli;ed up March 10, and despatched on the 11th, but did not reach their destination until the 17th. Not over 5 per cent, of them were found dead on unpacking, t The temperature of the water was 34° F. at the time the eggs were placed in the boxes, and it continued about the same until March 25, after which it grew gradually warmer until it attained the ordinary summer temperature of 600 p^ tijq figii were all out about the middle of April, to the number of 30,000, there having been a loss of 30 per cent, in hatching. The dis- tribution of the young commenced May 14, the number having mean' while become reduced to 19,500, making a total loss of 23,700, or 55 per cent. The 19,500 fish distributed were put into the Kalamazoo, Saint Joseph, Grand, Muskegon, and Manistee Eivei's, tributary to Lake Mich- igan, and the Au Sauble Kiver, tributary to Lake Huron, also into Or- chard, Walled, Whittemore, Diamond, and a few smaller lakes. Some of them are reported to have been since seen in Diamond Lake in good condition. The eggs awarded to Wisconsin, 40,724, were sent by express in three packages, that were dispatched as follows, viz : 9,324 February 24 ; 18,400 March 3; and 13,000 March 10. In the first package 100 eggs died on the way ; in the second 350 ; and in the third 1,000 ; in all 1, 450- The subsequent loss in eggs and newly-hatched fry was about 19,500. There were hatched and saved about 19,000 fish. The first of them came out on the 13th of March, and all were out the first week in April. The hatching was conducted by Mr. H. F. Dousman, at Waterville, Waukseha County, in spring-water having a temperature of 48° F. Early in the spring the young salmon were distributed ; 7,000 were put into Meno- monee River, tributary to Green Bay ; 1,000 into Oconomowoc Lake ; and 11,000 into Milwaukee River. The latter were intended for the Kewaunee River, which lies one hundred miles farther north, but an ice blockade compelled the change.| * Letter of John Hoyt. t Letter of N. W. Clark. Mr. Clark remarked that the largo caus contained more dead eggs than the small ones, and concluded that the pressure on the under layers, consequent on the large size of the boxes, caused the injury. t Letter of H. F. Dousman. Mr. Dousman reports that one of these fish is supposed to have been caught late in August, on the Menoraonee River, one hundred and fifty miles above its mouth, by one Cruicksliank, a native of Nova Scotia, who was ac- quainted with the .species and pronounced the fish a salmon, on the strength of its appearance and taste, ignorant of the fact that young salmon had been distributed there. The specimen was estimated to weigh G ounces. ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 267 Tims it appears that the yoiin 2.7 it Rain. Do. Rain and snow. Clear. Do. Cloudy; rain Rain Cloudy , Cloudy. Clear. Do. Cloudj' ; rain. Clear. Rain. Clear. Do. Do. Cloudy. Clear. Snow in mornin Clear. Snow. Cloudy. Do. Do. Do. Do. Snow. Do. Clear. Cloudy ; rain and snow. Slight Buow. Snow. Clear. Do. Snow and rain. Snow. Do. Clear. Clear in morning, clouds in evening. Clear. Rain in morning, clear in evening. Snow. Do. Do. Clear. Snow. Clear. Snow 10 inches. Snow. Clear. Do. Snow. Do. Clear. Do. Do. Snow. 33.5 33.5 34.5 34 34.5 34 34.5 34.5 33.5 34 34.5 34.5 33.8 33.8 34.5 34.3 Northwest . . . Variable ....do Westerly Clear. Rain. Clear. ATKINS TPIE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 275 Table III. — Eccord oftcmyerature at hatcliing-house, tj-c. — Continued. Date. Temperature of air. Temperature of water. Wind. "Weather. 1873. Jan. 5 6 7 8 9 10 H 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Means . Feb. Means . March 1 2 3 4 5 6 22.3 25 2.6 22.6 28.6 10.6 0.6 1 12 31.6 15.3 37 38.3 21.3 27.6 23 33.3 30.3 12.6 7.3 17 13.3 25.3 22 -4 36 19.6 18.4 17 1 10 28 18.7 19 34.3 31.3 20 3.7 7 11.3 3.7 4.7 5.7 20 30.7 18 2S.3 23.7 14.3 '*4 15 5.0 15 26 24.3 32 17.6 32 27.3 27.3 19.7 11 13.7 34 33.5 33.5 34 33.5 33 33.5 33 33 33.5 33 33.5 33.5 33 33. 5 33.5 34 34 33.5 33 33.5 33 33 33 33 33 33.5 33.5 33.5 33.5 33.5 33.5 33.5 34 34 34 34 33.5 34 34 34 33 .33.5 33.5 34 34 34 33 33 33.5 33.5 33 33.5 33.5 33.5 33.5 33.5 33 32.5 33 33 34 35 33.5 35 33.5 34 34 33.5 33. 5 33.0 33.5 33.5 33.5 33.5 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 33.5 33.5 33.5 33.5 33.5 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34.5 34.5 34.5 34.5 34 34.5 34.5 34.5 34 33.5 34 31.5 34.5 35 34.5 34 34 34 34.5 34.5 34 34 34 36 33.5 33.5 33.5 33.5 33.5 33 33.5 33 33.5 33.5 33 33.5 33.5 34 34 34 33.5 33.5 33 33 33 33 33 33.5 33.5 34 33.5 33.5 33.5 33.5 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 33.5 33.5 34 33.5 34 33.5 34 .33.5 33.5 33.5 34 33.5 33.5 33.5 .33.5 33 32.5 33 33 33 34 34.8 33.5 34.1 33.5 33.5 33.0 33.1 33.3 33.3 33.3 33.5 33.3 33.3 33.6 33.8 34 34 33.6 33.5 33.5 33.1 33.1 33.1 33.1 33.3 33.6 34.6 33.9 33.7 33.7 33.7 33.7 33.8 34.2 34. 2 34.2 34.2 33.8 34.2 34.2 34.2 33.5 33.5 33.8 34 34.2 34.2 33.8 33.5 33.7 33.7 33.8 33.8 33.7 33.7 33.5 33.7 33.7 32.8 33.2 33.2 33.2 Easterly ... Westerly... Northwest . Variable ... .-..do Southwest. . Westerly... Northwest . Southeast . . Variable ... Northwest Southeily ... do..^ Northea.st ... Westerly Southerly Northwest ... Westerly Northwest . . . Northeast Northwest Easterly , Variable ...do Northwest ... Variable Northerly Northerly Northwest Northerly Southerly Northerly Southerly South-southe'st Northeast and westerly. Northerly do ..'. , Northeast Northerly Northwest ... Northerly Southerly Northerly and southerly. "Northerly Northwest Southeast Northwest Northeast Westerly and southerly. Southwest Southerly and westerly. Northwesterly Northerly ....do.... Northerly Northwest Northerly and southerly. Snow and rain. Clear. Do. Cloudy. Rain. Clear. Do. Do. Snow. Cloudy. Clear." Cloudy. Rain. Sleet. Rain. Clear. Snow. Do. Clear. Snow. Clear. Do. Cloudy. Do. Clear. Do. Do. A little snow. Pleasant. Do. Foggy. Plea.sant. Do. Pleasant in morning, cloudy in evening. Snow in morning, pleas- ant in evening^ Plea.'sant. Wind strong ; clear. Snow. Cloudy in morning, clear in evening. Clear ; wind strong. Clear. Cloudy and pleasant. Cloudy ; wind variable. Clear. Do. Snow. Clear. Cloudy ; wind variable. Heavj' snow. Clear. Do. Do. Do. Cloudy ; wind strong. Cloudy. Cloudy. Clear. Snow ; wind strong Clear ; wind stronj Clear, calm. Clear. 276 REPORT OP COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Table III. — Record of temperature at liatcMng-liouse, ^c. — Continued. Date. 1873. March Temperature of air. Temperature of water. Means . April 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1-2 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Meaus . . . May 33 34 37 32 33 34 34 34 35 32 34 34 32 32 35 36 37 34 41 35 40 36 43 44.5 41.5 40 42 39 38 32 42 48 49 42 40 37 40 43 46 45 39 38 45 45 48 49 36 50 38 50 47.5 57 59 49 55 58 00 61 36.3 46.5 28. 7 33 34. 7 33 32 33 21.3 22.7 31.3 25 32 3.5.7 36 29.7 29.7 .32.7 25.3 .33.3 30.3 31 22.3 20.3 32.7 27 20.7 37.3 32 37 34 33. 3 33 32.5 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 32.5 33 33 33 32.5 33 33 33 33 33 34.5 35 34 32. 5 34 35 35 35 35 34 35 35.5 35 35 34 35.5 35.5 35.5 35 35.5 3.5.5 35 35 34 32.5 32.5 32. 5 32. 5 32.5 32.5 32.5 32.5 32.5 32.5 32.5 32.5 3:^,5 32.5 32.5 33 33 33 33 34 33 33 33 34.5 34.5 36 38 38 38 39 33.7 34 34 34 33. 5 33.5 33.5 33 33 33 33 33 33 33.5 33.5 34 34 34 34 33 35 33.5 34 35 36 3.5. 5 37 39 42 43 43 33 33 33 32.5 32.5 33.5 33.5 33 33 33 .33.5 33.5 33.5 33 33.5 33.5 33.5 33.5 33 33.5 33.5 33.5 33.5 33 34.6 33.2 33.7 33.3 32.7 33 33.8 33.8 33.7 33.7 33.3 33.8 34 33.8 33.7 3.3.3 34 34 34 33.5 34 34 33.8 33.8 33.3 Wind. Soiitliwe.sterly Southeast Westerly Northeast Easterly ...do. Northerly and westerly. Northerly Sontlieasterly . Southwest Northerly Southerly and easterly. Northeast ...do Northeast to southwest. Northwest Remarks. Northwesterly Northerly Northeast Northwest Southeast Southerly and easteily. Easterly and northerly. Northeast Northerly . Easterly , Southerly Westerly Easterly Southerly do . . '. ...do Southerly and northerly. Northeast . .do .do ...do .... Westerly Easterly ... Northeast . . Westerly . . . Nortlieast., West Northwest Northeast . ....do Northwest Westerly . . . ....do .'... Southerly . Clear. Do. Snow-squall in morning, clear in evening. Heavy snow. In evening .snow. Clear. Do. Do. Cloudy, snow in evening. Clear and cloudy. Clear. Clear morning, cloudy evening. Cloudy. Cloudy, snowin evening. Heavy .snow last night. snow in evening. Clear. Cloudy. Clear. Do. Rain in evening. Snow in morning. Clear. Cloudy and rain. Rain. Snow. Clear in morning, cloudy in evening. Rain and sleet. Cloudy. Clear. Cloudy and rain. Do. Rain, Cloudy and rain. Rain in morning, clear in evening. Clear. Partly clear ; rain in evening. Clovidy and rainy. Suow in morning, then rain. Rain. Clear. Do. Rain. Snow. Clear. Rain. Clear. Do. Cloudy. Do. Mostly clear. Clear. Do. Clear and some cloudy. Clear. Northerly Clear. Southerly Cloudy. Northea.4t Snow. . North Clear. ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 277 Table III. — Record of temperaiure at hafahing-liouse, <^'C. — Contiuued. Temperature of air. Temperature of water. Wind. Date. a S 6, 9 p. m. Mean. a a p Remarks. 1873. May 5 c 46 42 44 44 48 49 53 52 45 42 42 45 48 45 50 48 43 45 51 52 58 56 57 52 69 57 47 50 55 58 59 64 51 55 60 66 55 58 60 52 60 56 64 61 48 71 69 72 74 72 76 79 59 62 45 45 47 47 48 51 51 50 52 51 50 52 52 53 53 53 53 53 54 54 56 f8 59 58 63 64 61 47 52 54 55 54 .52 53 55 56 55 56 56 56 58 57 59 58 54 58 58 64 64 61 64 68 68 66 Northerly Westerly do Showery. 7 Do. 8 Southwest ....do Do. 9 10 Southeast ....do Cloudy; evening rainy. Cloudy; some rain, in evening thunder. Cloudy; showery. 11 12 Sonthwe.sterly Westerly Northwest ....do 13 14 1 Cloudy; little rainy in morniujj. Clear and cloudy. Cloudy. Clear and cloudy; show- ery. 15 16 Northerly Northwest Westerly Northerly 17 18 19 20 Do. 21 Southwest Southerly Southwest do Do. 22 Eainv. 23 Cloudy. 24 Clear evening; thunder- shower. Clear. 25 ' Northwest Southerly ....do -.1 26 Do. 27 Kain in morning, clear 28 Southwest Northerly do . .'. in evening. ^Mostly clear. Clear. 29 30 Do. 31 Northwest Do. 48.1 60.5 51.4 56.3 ! . T.\BLE IV. — Observations on temperature of Penobscot Hirer, at and near Buchsport. [Station 1 i.s in the entrance of the " Thoroughfare " that separates Buck.sport from Orphan Island, and receives, with the Hood-tide, a great deal of water from over extensive muddy tlats, which warm it up in sunny weather, and on cool nights may have the opposite etfect. Being on the east side of the river, the morning sun has less etfect than it would on the western shore. Depth, about 30 feet. Station 2 is iu the main channel, opposite Fort Kuox, and the tide was so strong that no satisfactory observations of bottom-temperature were secured. Station 3 is at the southern end of Orphan Island, (town of Verona.) in close proximity to a good salmon-weir in the current, that sets up and down the western or main channel of the Penobscot. Depth, about 30 feet at low water. Observations here made at or a little before low water, each day.] Date. Hour. 1872. June 17 3i p. m. 17 5i p. m. 18 5J p. m. 13 10 a. m. 18 4 p. m. 18 8 p. m. 19 a. m. 19 5 a. m. 19 8J a. m. State of tide. Low .slack . . Flood ...do Ebb Flood High slack . Low water . Low slack . . High slack . Mrs. 8i lOi 9i 2 8 12 Weather. Clear ... ...do ... Shower ...do ... ...do .. ...do ... Clear... ...do ... ...do ... Temperature of water. Station 1. 46 Station 3. 278 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Tablk IV. — Observations on temperature of Fenohscot Eiver, cj-c. — Continued. Hour. State of tide. o H "Weather. Temperature of water. Date. Station 1. Station 2. Station 3. 1 o o 3 6 o a S o c 6 1872. JuuelO 10 a. m. a. m. a. m. 7 p. m. a. m. 8 a. m. 1 p. m. a. 111. 9 a. m. lip. m, p. Ul. a. m. Up. m. 8k a. in. l| p. m. 8 p. m. 10 a. m. 10 a. m. 4 p. m. 5 p.m. 1 p. m. G p.m. 6i a. m. 8 a.m. 2 p.m. 11 a. m. 3 p.m. 9J a. m. p. 111. 11 a. m. p.m. Koon. p. m. Noon, p. m. 7 a. m. p.m. 6 a. m. 1 p. m. 1i p. lu. a. m. 9J a. 111. 2 p.m. Ebb 1 Clear 40 53 5G 20 ....do 44 57 20 ....do 49 64 21 . ..do 54 58 21 Flood 8i do 50 66 65 22 ....do 57 64 22 8 1 ....do 62 51 67 58 67 22 ....do 2'; ....do 46 58 2.'? 8<- i ....do do 63 52 69 59 23 Early ebb 23 do 46 47 60 24 ...do Cloudy 55 24 0 G 12 5i 6i 6 0 52 61 53 51 61 57 50 55 51 59 GG fiG 58 68 64 60 63 59 25 ....do 46 57 25 ....do 25 ....do 26 Low water past Misty and showers Clear 27 49 61 27 Early ebb ... .'do 28 Cloudy 50 60 28 Early ebb 0 do 29 Clear 48 59 29 Low water pa.st Just turned high water Early ebb 7 0 0 ....do 49 50 49 65 c.-. 59 29 ....do 30 ....do 30 ....do 47 57 July 1 1 High water i Gi Hi Cloudy 50 50 48 49 50 53 50 60 65 60 65 Gl 6i 60 Low water'. . .'. do 2 Higli ^yater ....do o Low water do 3 High water Hazv '. 3 Low slack ....do 4 E.irly ebb 0 ....do 4 Low water (;iear, with thunder- .shower. 48 57 5 Early ebb U 51 62 5 Low water ....do 50 58 C Early ebb 2i ....do 52 60 G Low water do 46 5G 7 Between low water and low slack. n ...do 50 64 7 ....do 4G 46 56 8 ....do G 0 (ii ....do 50 51 50 Gl 61 65 8 Early ebb ....do 8 do 9 Low water 4G 54 9 Low .slack 8i do 50 51 G7 62 9 do 10 45 50 47 46 47 49 57 11 ....do 60 12 ....do 57 13 ....do ..do 57 14 ....do . ..do 56 15 ....do 5G Mean duri Meau duri General m ig June 51.4 50.3 51.0 62.3 62. 5 62.4 60.9 "60." it' 48.1 47.2 47.7 58.3 ug July 56 6 ean 57. 6 ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 279 Tarlp: V. -Obscrvaiions on iemperature of timtcr Orland, Mc. in Eastern Eiver and Dead Brook, [Depth of water in Eastern River, 16 feet ; in Dead Brook, 5i feet. Dead Brook is a long, shallow stream, and the observations were taken at the point where salmon were kept in 1871. Eastern River conies from large ponds, and the temperature was observed within one-half mile of the outlet of one of them.] Water in Eastern River. Water in Dead Brook. Date. .aar. Bottom. Surface. Bottom. Surface. 5 o a ft a to 01 B n u a •0 p. 0 3 B a 0 g n e S to s p, o» a 1872. Aug. 27 28 29 30 31 Sept. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "52' 44 56 51 54 52 52 44 43 46 45 68 81 76 56 68 69 6a 62 61 70 77 70 - 75.5 73 74 67 69 69 68 66 65 67 67 67 75 74 73 68 68 68 69 66 65 68 68 68 68.5 71 63 61 62 62 61 62 61 63 64 fiO 66.5 60 56 59.5 62.5 60 57 52.5 56.5 62.5 57.5 72 70 70 67 61 67 66 64 63 64 63 72.5 72 68.5 68 68 67.5 66 64.5 65 65.5 65 70 71 70 66 67 66 66 64 63 64 63 72 72 69 67 67.5 67.5 66 64.5 65. 5 66 65.5 62 63 63 57 57 60 59 59 53 55 55 66.5 63 62 59.5 59.5 60.5 60.5 60 58 59.5 57.5 61 62 63 57 57 60 59 59 53 56 .55 68 68 60 62 62 62 62 61 63 61 60 64.5 66 60.5 59.5 59.5 61 60.5 60 58 58.5 57.5 ileans.. 49 68 59.1 66.6 68.9 67.5 66. 3 69 67.5 58.4 63.2 66.6 58.3 62.6 66.5 Table VI. — Observations on temperature in Sandy River, at New Sharon, made hy J. F. Pratt, M. D. [Station 1 is above the dam one-half of a mile ; depth of water, 15 feet. Station 2 is below the dam four rods ; depth of water, 10 feet. J TEMPEUATUHE OF WATER, (FAHH.) TEMl'EKATUEE OF THE AlK, Station No. 1. Station JJo. 2. Date. (FAHR.) Bottom. Surface. Bottom. Surface. 8 a.m. 2 p.m. 7 a.m. 2 p.m. 7 a.m. 2 p. m. 7 a.m. 2 p.m. 7 a.m. 2 p. m. 1872 64 52 77 66 63 62 62 62 61 63 62 September 2 3 62 49 48 50 78 62 61 61 60 62 63 4 C2 65 61 66 5 51 73 62 62 62 65 61 64 62 65 6 65 70 64 65 64 65 63 64 64 64 7 79 88 65 G6 68 70 65 68 66 68 8 61 70 67 68 68 70 G6 68 67 70 9 52 74 68 69 68 71 67 68 70 10 57 60 67 68 69 67 67 68 69 11 64 74 66 66 68 69 68 68 12 65 71 66 69 68 66 66 66 68 13 Sums 707 851 707 654 596 610 632 715 522 608 Means 58.9 70.9 64.2 65.4 66.2 67.7 63.2 65 65. 2 67. 5 280 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Table VII. — Ohservations on temperature of water in the west hranch of the Little Andros- cogyin Eiver, at ]s:orway, Me., made by A. B. Crockett. [The place where the observations were niarto was about one-pighth of a niilo from the falls, in water eiglit to ton feet deep, being the deepest to be found. The bottomteniperature was obtained by sinkinjj a can and raising it by a line attached, as in tlio other cases. This stream drains I'ennesseewassee Lake, a body of water of about 200 acres in area, deep and pure, and the place of observation was some distance below the outlet, but before reaching that point the water passed through numerous mill- wheels.] Date. TEMPEUATURE OP TEMl'EKATUUE OF WATEK, (FAHR.) THE Allt, (KAHU.) Bottom. Surface. 6 a.m. 2 p.m. 6 a. m. 2 p.m. 6 a. m. 2 p.m. August 23 1872. 75 77 76 76 76 74 72 68 67 77 " 24 65 71 72 76 70 66 68 61 70 72 76 70 66 69 62 78 25 78 26 . . 78 27 .... 76 28 48 55 70 72 74 29 55 51 70 72 .JO 68 31 65 76 25.3 245 61.2 549 68.6 661 73.4 557 69.6 616 68.4 Taijle VIII. — Statement of snhnon bought alive at Bucksport in 1872. [The weights recorded in this statement were obtained, not hy actual measurement, but by judgment at sight, a method which is liable to error, but when passed by an experienced per.son generally comes very near the true weight. In the tliird column are given the initials of the persons wlio riiinished the salmon. The number of weirs controlled by each person varied largcOy, J. A. W. having the salmon from only two, J. W". from four or five times as many. .J. A. W.'s salmon were brought only from the northern part of Orphan Island, a distance of less than half a mile; A.'s from three miles down the river; J. W.'s from points still farther down, distant about four miles; still farther, about live miles from Bucksport, aiouinl tlic south end of Orphan Island, were the weirs that furnished A. H. W.'s salm- on. The number broi\ght each time generally included the ciitch of all the tides that had intervened since the last delivery rccoided — commonly two tides, sometimes one, sometimes three or more.] 1872. June p. m. p. m. p. m. 30 p. m. a. m. a. m. a. m. a. lu. a. m. a. m. 30 p. m. a. m. 30 a. m. p. m. p. m. 30 p. m. 30 a. m. p. m. p. m. a. m. p. ra. p.m. p. m. 30 a. m. p. m. p. m. 3 p. m. 1 1. 30 a. m. 4 p.m. 4 p. m. 4 p.m. ■^ o a o o •^ c .=i -a ^ 1^ J. A. W. 1 J. A. W. 2 J. A. W. 7 A. 8 J. A. W. 1 A. H. vr. 3 J.W. 3 J. A. W. 5 J.W. 11 A. 6 J. A. W. 1 J. A. W. 2 A. 16 A. H. W. 15 J.W. 11 J. A. W. 4 A. 9 A. H. W. 10 J.W. 10 J. A. W. 11 A. 7 A. H. W. 8 J.W. 14 J. A. W. 4 A. H. W. 7 J.W. 12 J.W. 9 J. A. W. 5 A. H. W. 12 J.W. 10 A. 7 11 10,11 10, 10, 11, 12, 14, 14, 2ai ... 16,12,26,20".'.!!!!!!!!"". io, i6, io, ii!ii, i2!i2, 12, 20. 20,21 iiie, i6!2i !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 9,10,10,10,12,18,24 10, 10, 10, 11, 11, 12, 14, 18, 19,22, 24, 28. 10, 10, 10, 10, 11, 12, 12, 12, 20 . . . 21, io, 9!2, 18, 15, 16, 9','l2,'(3'='49) 12,11,10^,11, llj, 9, 12, 11, lU, 12A. 20, ll, 10,9,9,9,7 ^ ^ .a ja sc ,a ■s .£.»>, .a & (O 0 u ^-zj -2 0 .a 0 M ^ ^- 0 tc < < H < Lbs. Lbs. 11 11 1 11 21 IC. .^. 2 10. 5 91J 13.1 7 13.1 96 12 8 12 19 19 ) 32 10.6 i 7 11.0 30 10 S 5U 10.3 1 ll6i 70 10.6 11.7 10.8 12 12 24 12 200 12.5 173 n. 5 ■> 48 12 114 10.4 62 1.5.5 125 13.9 ) 117 11.7 S 29 13.6 121 12.1 s 149 13.5 l« 85 87i 12.1 10.9 11.9 156 11.1 I 65 16.2 1 93 13.3 189 15.4 ^ 32 14.2 107 11.9 65 13 ] 161 13.4 1 112 11.2 j-29 11.6 75 10.7 1 } $0 30 28 2U 20 20 ATKINS — THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 281 Table VIII. — Statement of salmon hought, r,Wh,n,U, \ 11,11,11, lli,"lli, 12, 12. j 9i, 10, lOi, 14, 16 9, lOi, lOi, 11, Hi, llj, 20 Hi, 12^ 9,9,11,12,12,19,22 10. 12, 13 Oj; 10,10, lO.t, lOJ, 11,11,11,11, IH, Hi, 18,20. 9,9, 10,12 8i. 9, 9, 10,10,10,11, 14 9i, 10, lOJ, 12 9,14 9,10,11,22 9,9^^,10, 11.12,16,18, 20 13, 13, 13, 22, 22, 22*, 22.t, 23i, 23i, 8i, 9*, 11, 12, 18, 20,"21 .'. 8, 9, lO, 10, 10, 10^, 11, 12, 12, 12, 12, 13, 18, 18. 9, 9, 10, lOi, 20, 22, 23, 23 9, 9, 10, 10, 10, 12, 12, 20, 24 10, 10, 11, 11, 12, 12, 12i, 13, 18, 22. 9, 10, 10, lOi, lOJ, lOi, 11, lU, Hi, 12i,12.i, 13,20,20, 22. 9i, 10. 10, 11, 12, 12.i 8J, lOi, lOi, 11, 12i lU, 10,lli 9, lO.V, lOJ, 11, Hi, 11 J, 14, 14i, lli, 18. 9,10, 10,10,11,12 9, 10, 10, 11, 11, 12, 14, 14.V, 15, 17. 9i, 94, lOi, 11, 11, 11, lU, 14,15,19. 10,10,12, 12,12 9, 10, 10, lOJ, 13,14 8, 10, 10.^. 11, 11, 12, 13, 13, 13i, 14i, 16i, 18, 20. 9,9i, 10, 10, lOi, 15 3i 10, ll,12i,22 11,11, 15, 16, 21,22 10, 10, lOi, Hi, 12, 12, 12i, 13, 16. lO.V, lOi, 11, 11, 11, Hi, 12, 12, 12, 12, 14, 14, 14, 15, 15. 9,9i, 13 J >> ^ .a ai .a rs .'J -A 0 '3 £:'= a 0 SB M =2 ttiOJ ^ 0 5 s-tS be >■ 0 < < H •< Lbs. Lbs. 191 12.7 1 176 14.6 30 13.9 85 17 48 12 139 12.6 197 11.5 l^ 38 11.9 95 11.8 24 12 62 10.3 ■\ 54 10.8 i 1^ 10.8 57 11.4 J 76 15.2 .,. 35 85 11.6 12.1 13.4 60 15 107 10.7 1 123 12.3 r 11.7 16 16 85 12.1 125 13.8 ^ 41 261* 13.1 13.1 65 13 152 15. 2 ^ 176J 11.3 1 f" 12.4 60 12 35 11.6 1 84 12 1 24 94 12 13.4 i-" 12.4 35 11.6 1 15Di 11.9 ) i 17 11.5 40 10 S 81i 10.2 ) 42 10.5 i i-i 13.3 23 11. 5i s .'.9 14.7 1 52 105* 107" 'i3.'2' H.8 i- 12.9 100 143 1 184 i 13.2 |- 29 1.3.4 103i 12.9 116 12.9 1" 131i 194i 13.1 12.9 13 65 53 10.8 10.6 10.7 31* 10.5 1 123^ 12.3 i" 11.4 62 10.3 123i 12.3 ) 122 12.2 i 25 12.1 56 11.2 S 66i 11.1 ] 171 13.1 > 25 12.1 64 10.7 1 59i 96 11.8 16 !- 14.1 107i 11.9 ] 185i 12.3 |. 12 3U 10.5 282 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONEE OP FISH AND FISHERIES. SUMMARY. Date. Salmon bought. Aggregate ■weight. Average ■weigbt. June 1 to 15, 1872, inchisive . June 1.^ to 30, 1872, iucliLsive July 1 to 8, 1872, inclusive ... Total Number. 231 309 152 Pounds. 2, 830i 3, 880i 1, 8593 Ponnds. 12.2 12.5 12.2 692 8, 570J General average weight, 12.3 pounds. Table IX. — Statement of operations in the spawning season of 1872 at Bitcksport. 35 37 1872. Oot. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. J28 Oct. 2H Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Ort. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 28 Oct. 2r- Oct. 2i3 Oct. 28 Oct. 29 Oct. 29 Oct 29 Oct. 29 33 I Oct. 28 Mother salmon. Eggs. 7,600 8,700 10, 300 12, 400 9,200 7,600 7,600 9, 809 12, 400 10, 300 300 700 10, 900 10, 300 11, 400 7,600 13, 000 6, 500 1,000 6,500 6,500 8,200 8,700 8,200 3,800 7, 600 13, 100 7,000 7,600 7,000 13, 000 13, 000 7,000 f 2, 700 1,600 1,100 81, 700 3,300 §5 100 97t 100" 97i 97* 97| 100 100 100 100 95 100 100 100 87i 100 100 97i 22 i 97i 100 97i 97i 95 40 100 100 97i 97i 97| 100 100 100 100 Kemarks. Female very large ; one or both eyes lost. Heavily milted from one male. Large female. Do. Eggs caine hard; female supposed unripe, and reserved. Female small. Abundantly milted. Female large and yielded eggs easily. Milt not very plenty. Milted heavily. Female appeared unripe, and reserved. Turned into troughs while adhering hard together. Kept in one pan and not stirred. Stirred 5 minutes ; set iu three pans. Milt scanty ; stood in three pans. Stirred in one pan. Stirred in three pans. Female large ; male small ; milt scanty ; stirred 2i"minutes, then watered heavily, and let stand in three pans. Stood in one pan. Usual way. The two following lot of eggs are from same fish. "Watered first, then stood 2 minutes, then milted by pouring in water and milt from pan containing lot 34. Watered first, stood 2 minutes, then milted direct from male. Usual way. Female tliat was thought unripe yesterday. Eggs came hard, with some blood, and some eggs left iu fish ; milt abundant. ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 283 Table IX. — Statement of operations in the spawning season of 1872, 64 J 65 5 66 67 Stood long before milting or watering. This lot comes from a second stripping or all the females used before. 68 69 70 36t 28* 31 27 28i 28^ .30 30 30i 35 36 29i 30' 29J 30J r30 131 |36 130 i:ni I29i 35i f28 !29 |34 [30 71 73 74 75 76 Milt- 10 minutes; eggs; then as usual. ' 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 Milt taken from fish several hours in ad- vance and kept in open dish. Five males used. 85 86 87 After standing 1 hour, in two pans, these eggs were still adherent, and were car- ried to hatching-Jiouso in that condition. 6S I J 284 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. T ABLE IX . — Statement of opefation s in the spawning season of 1872, 3, 800 100 As usual. 129 r 1, 100 100 Milted and watered as usual and carried to hatching-house in J hour. 130 900 100 Milted but not watered until poured into troughs after standing dry ^ hour. 131 1,100 100 Milt ; 5 minutes ; eggs carried to hatching- J. Nov 5 1 30 8 6 2 4 ' house without water. 132 1,100 100 Milt ; 5 minutes ; eggs carried to hatching- house with water. 133 1,600 90 Eggs ; i hour ; milt ; water ; 1 hour ; car- ried to hatching-house. 134 { 1, 600 80 Eggs ; k hour ; milt ; 1 hour ; carried to hatching-house without water. ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 285 Table IX. — Statement of operations tn the spaicning season of 1872, ^-c. — Continued. Mother salmon. Eggs. .s tbZ Kemarks. - 0 ^ o 6 Numbei Length iuche If CO ^1 '3 .a a S a Pi =2 1672. 135* 1 ( 1, 600 97J Eggs ; milt, &c. 136> 1, 600 100 Eggs : water ; 1 minute ; milt, (fee. 137* Nov. 5 1 31 ) 1, 100 100 Eggs; water; 2miuut('8; milt, (tc. 136' 1,600 100 Eggs; water; 3 minutes ; milt, &c. 139* 1,600 m Eggs ; water ; 4 minutes ; milt, 163 95" 77i Eggs ; water ; 1 minute ; milt. Eggs ; water ; 2 minutes ; milt. 184 151 80 Eggs ; water ; 3 minutes ; milt. 185 175 85 Eggs ; water ; 4 minutes ; milt. 186 202 87i Eggs ; water ; 5 minutes ; milt 187 170 85 Eggs ; water ; 6 minutes ; milt. 188 435 0 Eggs ; water ; 8 minutes ; milt. 189 J [ 413 2^ Eggs; water; 10 minutes; milt. 190 Nov. 11 1 36i 16 10 4 10 11, 400 95 Usual way ; was poured into pail a little harder "than usual ; poured from four to five inches. 191 192 Nov. 11 Nov. 11 !■ 33 11 9 1 9 4,000 95 * In these lots, which were taken at the same time, taken, divided, and watered. Then, after the lapse and eggs stirred. All then stand till free. the milt was first taken in a dish dry. Eggs then of time specified in each case, the milt poured in 286 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Table IX.-j-Statcment of operations in the spawning season of 1872, ij-c. — Cou tinned. P Mother salmon. Eggs. o 1 a .S M .a u baa 'So ^1 'S i a 12; Kemarks. 1P1 187i STov. Nov. >fov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. 11 11 11 11 13 13 13 13 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 15 15 15 15 15 15 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 18 18 18 18 19 19 19 21 21 21 13 h 1 \^ 2 "i 1 ^ 3 1 1 48, 900 2,200 2,400 4,000 1,100 13, 000 4,400 3,500 2,700 300 200 9, .500 200 200 400 100 200 500 10, 500 250 200 300 7,000 i 1, 000 700 1,000 80 50 100 300 100 150 200 200 3,300 500 100 0 52i 97;^ 35 100 100 100 92J 0 90 99 0 0 0 87i 92i 95 91 "75" 100 90 0 0 0 12i 30 521 0 0 72i 0 194 Taken from specimeng killed on 9th inst. Brought from Kich's Brook. 195 1% 197 to 207 908 209 910 From Rich's Brook. 911 Usual way. 212 to Experiments. From three spent fish. 221 990 fO-^ 9->4 005 Eggs kept in a pan without water 12 hours ^•'•fi before milting. 227 228 .... From a fish that has been dead 15 hours. Eggs kept in a pan without water 30 hours before milting ; milt from male that has been dead two days. Eggs kept in a pan without water 30 hours ooq 9?0 before milting ; milt fresh. 931 93-'> Picked from bottom of Kich's Brook. 913 Picked up troni brook near hatching-honse. 934 Eggs kept two days without water, and 235 1- ( then milted with fresh milt. Usual way. 230 1 to •> Experiments. "4=1 1 '>4fi From Rich's Brook. "47 Do. "4R Eggs kept four days without water, then 940 milted with milt from dead fl.sh. Egcs kept four days without water, then ^i0 milted with milt kept four days. Eggs kept foui- days without water, then 9fS1 milted with new inilt. Eggs from dead fish. 959 9fN3 Eggs taken from dead fish yesterday ; tnilt 054 new. Not milted. 955 ' 950 1 Eggs came with more water than usual. 957 Not milted. 1, 560, 044 ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 287 Table X. — Experiments in transportation of salmon-eggs, from Bncksport, Mc, to Winches- ter, Mass. [These oggs were sent in small lots, by express, and received the common treatment of article trans, ported in that way, the battered condition of the boxes often attesting the rough wfiy in which they had been handled! All except the last lot were packed on disks of mosquito-netting, sewed on to brass i-ings, in alternate layers, with wet bog-moss, in tin boxes, and the latter were inclosed in larger tins, the space between, J inch to 1 inch, being tilled with sawdust. In some cases, coarse paper was wrapped in several layers around the whole parcel. The packages left Bucksport on the steamer Katahdin, and generally reached their destination the following day. Being exposed to a severe teniporaturo on sev- eral occasions, while in the delivery -wagon at Winchester, some of the parcels were penetrated bj- frost.] 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 50 50 50 50 30 50 50 50 50 50 1,500 1,500 500 500 500 50 50 50 50 50 Date. 1872. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. 17 Dec. 17 Dec. 17 Dec. 17 Dec. 17 Dec. 24 Dec. 24 Dec. 24 Dec. 24 Dec. 24 Nov. 14 Nov. 14 38 day.s. 34 days. 30 days. 26 days. 21 days. 42 days. 38 days. 34 days. 30 days. 25 days. 50 days. 46 days. 42 davs. 38 days. 33 days. 57 days. 53 days. 49 days. 45 days. 40 days. 17 days. 13 days. Nov. 14 9 days. Nov. 14 2 days. Nov. 14 I i hour. Nov. 20 j 23 days. Nov. 20 I 19 days. Nov. 20 I 15 days. Nov. 20 j 11 days. Nov. 20 Nov. 21 Nov. 21 No^-; 21 Nov. 21 Nov. 21 Nov. 25 Nov. 25 Nov. 25 Nov. 25 Nov. 25 1873. Jan. 7 Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. 6 days. 24 days. 20 days. 16 days. 12 days. 7 days- 28 days. 24 days . 20 days. 16 days. 11 days. 71 days. 71 days. 67 days. 63 days. 59 days. 71 days. 67 days. 63 days. 59 days. 54 days. Lot. 1 80 125 175 210 1 80 125 175 210 1 80 125 175 210 1 80 125 175 210 1 125 196 210 1 80 125 175 210 I 80 125 175 a'lo 1 80 126 175 210 1 1 80 125 175 1 80 125 *175 210 State of development. Embryo covers yolk do Embryo covers i of yolk. Embryo not expanded. . . Heart beating Embryo covers yolk do Em bryo covers 4-5 of yolk Embryo covers | of yolk. Embryo covers yolk do ' Embryo expanding Embryo beginning to ex- pand. Embryo covers 4.5 of j'olk Embryo covers i of yolk Embryo just beginning to expand. Embryo covers whole yolk. Embryo covers ^ yolk. . Embryo slightly expand- ed. ' Eyes black. do Died on way. £ tx fcl !zi P^ 9 18 16 32 36 72 49 98 45 90 35 70 3 6 17 34 35 70 38 76 0 0 0 0 1 2 21 42 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 18 36 4 8 100 100 100 100 97 97 96 96 41 41 62 62 45 45 36 36 91 91 0 10 0 20 4 8 4 8 1 2 4 8 44 88 42 84 5 10 4 a 0 0 12 31 5 1 23 4i 42 211 0 0 o 4 0 0 35 70 5 10 Eemarks. 1 } Package frozen badly. Frozen so that the moss was all stifl". J Package inclosed in paper, [^ which protected against [ cold, and against the jar of rough handling. > Some frost in the box. Nearly all died afterwards. Packed with mo.ss on wire • trays, and inclosed in saw- dust, j Packed in tin.s a.s nsual, in- )■ closed in sawdust and pa- per. * The excessive mortality in the eg healthy state. ;s belonging to lot 175 I attribute in part to their being in an un- 288 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. C 3 ^ -2 ml Sh'S h t^. P^ "St * J « « ,--= o ^- o Sr o > o (- > I^ ^ ;-i <^ ^ '^ S S => o ^ cS <=■ " >5 ti B <' in-r '^.o-. -So S rz ^ i- •^"^^ s •- §o£| bc-a" h^ s 5 c S'^.S go ! 5 "P5 ■- ^?lllai§ ;2i ^1 'z: m 3 s -<. '^ cs 5 3 a P Ph ho So 2 O M -.-^ - O &- § "If « '^ '^- li'lli "^ 2 -S i a S o o o o o o o o o o c o o o o o o o ■V t- t- "^ 00 «o in a ^ (M rH « o o o o o o o o o o t^ C^ lO ^ o j C> ro -« 1-1 in o C5 to lo n '^ o o = o o o o o o o o C* 1-1 « O CO o o o o o = O CI CI o" irf r^" o o o o o o o o o o 00 — H o o o o o o o o o o O C* CI f= £ I = a * c- i;-a o 1^ t 3 0-3 u a rtl u ■o H CS tc"3 « u « If '■n in M a o A 3 o '.^ bC .c tn a o .a g o ■^ a V i= •S ens that salmon are taken on the hooks of pollack-fishermen. These hooks are "baited with herring, and kept near the surface of the water. 5. — LITTLE FALLS RIVEE. This is a very small river near the Denny's. It lies wholly" in the town of Edmunds, rises in a small sheet of water called Edmund's Lake, and is not over ten miles in length. Salmon ascend it every year. It has been observed that they enter it from the salt water of Cobscook Eiver in the fall, and competent observers think that this is their ordinary course, very few of them entering the stream in early summer at the ordinary season for the ascent of rivers. That they breed in it is at- tested by the common occurrence of salmon-parr. They appear to be increasing in numbers. 6. — ORA]N"GE EIVER.. Salmon once frequented this river, but it does not appear that they were ever very numerous. Three dams near the mouth of the river cut them off from all breeding-grounds, and they were exterminated. In 1870 several hundred young salmon, hatched from eggs obtained from the Canadian establishment at Newcastle, Ontario, were placed in this river. In October, 1873, a single salmon was caught at the lower dam and placed in the river above. This is the only specimen seen for many years. The dams are all provided with fish-ways for alewives, and through them it is probable that salmon would ascend at the proper season. 7. — EAST MACniAS EIVER. Though better adapted, by its extensive lakes and gentle current, to the production of alewives, this river has always afforded salmon, and * Captain Treat formerly carried on the salmon fishery at Cape Jellison, Penobscot Bay, lut never found fish in their stomachs, nor anything else that he recognized. 298 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES.- formerly til ey are said to have abounded. Owing to the exertions of the late N. W. Foster, of East Machias, both alewives and salmon were preserved from destruction which almost overtook them about 25 years ago. Several dams had been built on the river, and the fish- ways allowed to fall out of repair. Mr. Foster introduced some improvements in the fish-ways, and prevailed upon his fellow-townsmeu to have them kept in order and the laws protecting the fish enforced. A gratifying increase rewarded these efforts, but Mr. Foster was never able to carry out fully his plans of improvement. Some of the fish-ways remained defective, and the greed of the fishermen took too great a share of the ascending fish. There was never, therefore, a complete recovery of the fishery from its depletion. Salmon-parr are frequently caught with the hook in Chase's stream near the outlet of Gardiner's Lake, and it is inferred that in this stream the adults are accustomed to spawn. No information has been received as to" the number of salmon taken in the river recently. Several years since it was estimated at 50 adult salmon annually. Sinolts are occar sionally taken in the winter by dip-nets, along withtom-cods and smelts. 8. — 3IACHIAS RIVEll. This river, unlike the East Machias, has a small extent of lake surface, and is not so well adapted to the growth of alewives. For salmon, however, it appears to be much the better stream of the two, and this species is described as having been in old times extremely abundant. There was no market for the surplus, and a ten-pound salmon could be had for fifty cents. Even as late as forty years ago, they are said to have been as plenty as that. A man with a dip-net could take 60 salmon in a day at the lower falls. As in other cases, insurmountable dams were built, and salmon disappeared from the river. For twenty years or more, not one was seen. A weir built for alewives in 1870 and several preceding years never caught a salmon. In 1873, however, they re- appeared in considerable n umbers. They were first observed in the sum- mer at the ordinary season, below the dams, in the tide- water. Not many were seen at that time, and it is not known that any passed up into fresh water. In September and October they appeared in larger numbers, and made great efforts to pass the lower falls. Many of them succeeded, and some were taken with a dip-net below the dam, and placed above it. The fish-warden observed that part of these salmon were "hook-bills," and part were "round-nosed," from which it may be inferred that the sexes put on their distinguishing marks even when kept in salt or brackish water.* There are three dams on the Machias Riv^er. The first, at Machias vil- lage, at the head of tide-water, is not impassable. The second, also at Machias, is a high dam, and completely stops the ascent of fish. It was provided with a Foster fish-way some years ago, but there being * Letters of M. H. Wilder, esq. ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS AETIFICIAL CULTURE. 299 very few alewives iu tbe river aud no attempt liaviug been made to in- troduce salmon, the fisli-way was neglected, aud went to decay. The third dam is at Whitueyville, five miles above the first This is also too high for salmon to pass. It was provided with a fish-way at the. same time as the second dam, and as in that case the structure became useless by neglect. 9. — WESCONGUS, OB PLEASANT KlYER. About seventy-five salmon are, it is estimated, caught in this river yearly. In 1872 the high state of the water enabled a greater j)ropor- tion than usual to pass the lower fiills at Columbia, where they are usually caught, and reach their breeding-grounds. The catch of that year was consequently light. They are taken altogether with dip-nets, the use of other nets being forbidden by law. One is now and then caught six or seven miles below Columbia Falls, in some one of the weirs built for herring in the estuary into which the river flows. The fishing at Columbia Falls begins about the middle of June and lasts un- til September ; by this time their quality here has deteriorated so that the inhabitants do not consider them edible, and take more i)ains to give them a passage up the river. They are not supposed to ascend the river more than six miles, where all, or nearly all, of them are stopi)ed by difficult falls. In the spawning season they are frequently seen in a small branch that enters the main river about three miles above Columbia Falls. In size the salmon of this river appear to be not far from the average of other rivers — perhaps a little smaller — " averag- ing," says my informant,* " from seven to twelve pounds." Occasion- ally one of five pounds is taken, very rarely one of three pounds, and one smaller than this is hardly ever seen or heard of. There are sis dams across the main river, in height varying from five to seven feet; one of them is out of use. Two of them are in close prox- imity to each other at Columbia Falls; one of these is provided with a fish-way, and salmon find means to pass them both. 10. — NAERAGUAGUS EIVER. This river once yielded great numbers of salmon and alewives. They were plenty until forty or fifty years ago. One old gentleman testifies to having once, with the assistance of two others, taken at Cherryfield forty salmon one morning between daylight and sunrise. Other simi- lar feats are told. Small vessels came here to load with fish. Salmon were caught with drift-nets, spears, aud dip-nets. They were mostly taken between May first and the middle of July, in the lower part of the river, within a mile of the head of the tide, but they were frequently caught at Beddington Lake, sixteen miles farther up. At the spawn- ing season a great many used to be seen at the mouths of Salmon and Schoodic Brooks, which appear to have been favorite spawning-grounds. Dams were built in the river at an early day, but until within about fifty years there was none that seriously hindered the ascent of salmon. X " Mr. Gowin Wilsou, of Columbia Falls. 300 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER .OF FISH AND FISHERIES. A better dam was then built. For a time a fish-way was maintained in it, but it was by and by neglected, and the fish left to their fate. They rap- idly diminished, and were in a few years almost utterly extinct. For twenty-five or thirty years, say from 1840 to 1871, but few were seen each season and none taken. For two or three years past more have come, and during the summer of 1873 perhaps two or three dozen were seen try- ing to pass the lower dam, and four or five of them clubbed to death. An equal number has not been killed in any season for many years. The nnmber of dams now in existence on the river and branches is eleven, of which four are out of use and falling into decay. Five of the remainder are within a mile of tide- water.* 11. — UNION EIYEE. This was formerly a very j)roductive salmon river, but has not yielded a single specimen for sixteen years, t The fishery used to be carried on- with nets. No weirs were ever built in the river ; i: and in the absence of both weirs and nets at the present day it is quite probable that sal- mon occasionally enter the river in very small numbers without attract- ing attention. It would be remarkable, indeed, if not a single individ- ual should stray from the Penobscot, which lies so near. Their ascent to their ancient breeding-grounds is, however, effectually prevented by the formidable dams at Ellsworth. Of these there are six, all located within three miles of tide-water. Above them the main river is open to its head- waters. 12. — PENOBSCOT RIVER. The Penobscot Eiver, besides being the largest between the Saint John and the Connecticut, is distinguished from nearly all others within those limits by the manner in which it discharges its waters into the sea, namely, through a large bay or estuary, narrow at its head, where it receives the waters of the river, but widening gradually to its junction with the open sea. This feature is also characteristic with the Saint Croix, Union, Pawtuxet, and some other smaller rivers, but all the large rivers within the specified limits, with the exception of the Penobscot, discharge their waters abru])tly into the sea. This fact may or may not be of importance in its bearing on the distribution and hab- its of the migratory fishes frequenting the several rivers, but at any rate is not to be neglected. The estuarj' of the Penobscot, called Penobscot Bay, has on the sea- ward side natural limits tolerably well marked, not only by the numer- ous islands embracing some of large size, that guard its entrance, but by two prominent capes of the main land. Owl's Head on the west, and Waskeag Point on the east. The width of the bay here is nearly thirty *■ Letter of C. J. Milliken, esq. t Letter of S. Dutton. t Letter of K. K. Tbomijsou. ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 301 miles, but it narrows rapidly as Ave proceed upward, aud at Cape Rosier, thirteen miles above, it is only seven miles wide. Above this point it wjdeus a little at Belfast, and then contracts at Fort Point to a width of between two and three miles. Three miles above this is the mouth of the river, which enters the bay by two channels, one on either side of Wetmore Island, sometimes known as Orphan Island, and constitut- iug the town of Verona. The total length of the bay is about thirty miles, being but little more than its greatest breadth. Its area may be roughly estimated at 400 square miles, exclusive of islands. Into this broad bay the Penobscot Eiver discharges about 320 billions of cubic feet of water per year,* or about 873 millions per day. Assuming the mean depth of the bay to be 60 feet, its capacity is 400 millions of cubic feet, and it follows that the volume of fresh water discharged into it is sufficient to renew the whole volume of the bay in a little more than a year. Probably the actual depth is greater than that assumed, and the time required to replace the salt water with fresh would be con- siderably longer. That part of the bay above Castiue, which first re- ceives the water of the river, has an area of perhaps 60 square miles, and, if we assume the average depth to be 8 fathoms, the river could not fill it in less than three months. These figures are nearly all rough approximations, but tliey serve to show, in a general way, the small comparative volume of the inflow- ing fresh water, aud prepare us to believe that what with the tides, cur- rents, winds, and other forces tending to bring in fresh supplies of sea- water, the river can exert little influence in changing the constituents of the water, except in the extreme upper end of the bay. The flow of the tide turns the current of the river as far as Bangor in the summer, and above Bucksport always. The water is quite salt at the latter place, aud in the summer it is brackish at the former. The result of the action of the river-water in displacing or altering marine forms of life in the bay, cannot be told with precision without more extensive observations than I have been able to make ; but the statement of a few facts will illustrate the degree of its influence. In several points of the bay are good hake grounds. Off Castiue is a good ground for haddock, aud cod are also caught in that part of the bay, both of them with their stomachs well filled with marine mollusks and other animals. JS'ear Brigadier's Island is a favorite place for catch- ing menhaden, and this species is common enough in' its season about Bucksport. In the smelt-nets set from October to March, on the Bucks- port aud Verona bridge, there are caught not only smelts and tom-cods but great numbers of flounders, sculpins, skates, &c., and at times, es- pecially in the early part of the season, shrimps and other small Crusta- cea. Jelly fishes are not rare at the same point. The shores, even as far up as this, are covered with a growth of fucus, and species of litto- rina abound. On the other hand, I cannot recollect of ever seeing a * Wells's Water-power of Maine, p. 105. proper fresli-water fisli caught iu this part of the river or any part of the bay, except a single specimen, caught in Yerona, of tront, {8almo fontinaUs,) which is known to often run into salt water. The works of man have interfered less with the migration of salmon in the Penobscot than in any other large river south of the Saint John. Owing to its great volume and other favorable circumstances, dams, quite impassable by salmon, have never been in existence many years at a time. The four points on the lower part of the river at w^hich dams have beeubuilt are Veazie, Ayer's Falls, Great Works, and Oldtown. At Oldtown the center of the river has never been closed, and salmon ascend there with considerable ease. At Great Works two long wing-dams, running from the mills on either side up the river nearly parallel with the banks, are joined at their upper ends by a low cross-dam, which is not a serious obstacle at the season of the year when the main body of the salmon are ascending the riv^er. At Ayer's Falls the dam that crosses t^he river is low, and at its eastern end abuts upon a ledge, over which the water runs down an irregular inclined plane to the level of the main channel below. This assisted the salmon in surmounting the dam, and w^as, to a certain extent, an abatement of the evil, but at best the structure was so serious an impediment that it was necessary to con- struct a fish-way, an inexpensive affair, made by merely enlarging a crevice in the ledge at the east end of the dam. The dam at Yeazie, built in 1834 or 1835, was at first quite impassable, and so remained for several years. Since then, however, the water has wasted away the bank at the east end of the dam, and disclosed a large crevice in the ledge, through which so large an amount of water is generally flowing that salmon have little difficulty in passing the dam. Above Oldtown the main Penobscot is entirely free from artificial ob- structions for 70 miles ;, the Mattagamon, or East Branch, for nearly 109 miles ; theMattawamkeag, for 45 miles ; the Piscataquis, for 50 miles. Of the tributaries, the lower ones are nearly all effectually closed against salmon by dams, and have been iu that condition for many years; in few of them, however, if iu any, was the species ever abundant. In the upper tributaries there are comparatively few obstructions, and there the salmon have access to their original spawning-grounds. The dams built therefor service in floating timber, or, in the vernacular, "driving" it to the mills below, are generally of such a character that they do not prevent the i^asSage of salmon, and hinder it only for short periods in the spring and early summer. The dam at the outlet of North Twin Lake is of this character. It serves to raise the surface of Am- bojegis, Pamedumcook, and the Twin Lakes to a point some thirteen feet above their ordinary level, both for the purpose of facilitating the passage of the " drives " of logs across the lakes, and to store water, to be let out when wanted to float them over the shallow rapids below. The gates of the dam are closed in June, and kept shut for several weeks, while the lakes are filling up. During this time no salmon can ATKIXS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 303 pass. Ill July they are opened again, and for several weeks more they are pouring out a flood of water, in wliicii salmon can ascend. At tlie outlet of Cliesuncook Lake there is a similar dam, but it is opened much earlier in the season. Such is the case with nearly all driving dams. Besides the building of dams there is one other artificial change in the condition of the river worth mentioniug. For half a century past the principal occupation of the population along the Penobscot Elver has been the cutting and manufacturing of timber. For this purpose, indeed, most of the dams were built. The refuse from the saw-mills, consisting of slabs, edgings, shavings, and saw-dust, was, until very recently, all thrown into the river, as the easiest way of getting rid of it. Lately the throwing of the coarser sorts of refuse into the river has been forbidden by law ; but saw-dust may still legally be disposed of in that way, and the throwing in of refuse of the coarser kinds is not en- tirely stopped. This practice has not affected the upper part of the river materially, since there are no extensive lumber-mills above Old- town ; but from the latter place to the sea the refuse has accumulated to such an extent as to encroach alarmingly on the channel, and fill up extensive coves and bays with a deposit of decaying saw-dust, mixed with earthy sediment, while great quantities of the former are, through the greater part of the year, to be constantly seen floating on the tide, or swimming at all depths beneath the surface. The extensive deposits have in some instances so altered the configuration of the bottom as to interfere with the success of certain fishing-stations 5 but beyond that I see no evidence that the discharge of the mill refuse into the river has had any injurious effect on the salmon. It does not seem to deter them from ascending, and, being thrown in below all the spawning grounds, it cannot afl'ect the latter. The Main Penobscot, above Oldtown, with the exception of two " dead-waters," so called, has, throughout its entire length, a strong current, broken at intervals by falls. The two dead-waters are the Sunkhaze Dead- Water, which commences some two miles above Old- town and extends from six to eight miles, and a similar one occupying a space between Piscataquis Falls, near the mouth of the Piscataquis Eiver, and Lincoln. The last has a stronger current than the Sunkhaze Dead-Vv"ater, and has a gravelly bottom for the most part. The princi- pal falls between Oldtown and Nickerton, at the mouth of the Mattaga- mon, or East Branch, are the Cook, Olamon, Passadumkeag, Piscata- quis, and Five Island Falls. The bottom for the whole distance above Sunkhaze Dead- Water, is rocky or gravelly, though not in many places ledgy. From Mattawamkeag to Nickerton is a beautiful, gravelly bot. torn, with a uniformly strong current, well adapted, it is supposed, to form spawning-beds for salmon, although it is not positively known that they ever spawn there. Of the lower tributaries the finest and most extensive breeding- grounds lie in the Piscataquis and its branches, to many of which sal- 304 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHEEIES. mou .have access now, visiting tlieui yearly and often showing them- selves at Brownville on the Pleasant River. The Passadumkeag proba- bly contains good breediug-gounds, but to a less extent than the Pis- cataquis. They find suitable ground in some of the tributaries of the Mattawamkeag, and in several small streams directly tributary to the Penobscot. Three of the latter have received the name of " Salmon Stream." In one of them which j6ius the Penobscot, a few miles above Mattawamkeag, I have, myself, found the nests of salmon. Above the entrance of the Mattagamon the Main Penobscot, com- monly called the West Branch, gradually changes its character, has less gravel, larger bowlders and more ledge in its bottom, and the uniformity of its current is interrupted by numerous falls and extensive lakes ; but there is no serious natural obstacle to the ascent of salmon throughout its entire length ; and the dams at iSTorth Twin and -Chesuncook do not wholly prevent salmon reaching the upper waters. At both these dams they are frequently seen and sometimes caught. One informant has known of two instances, in a single spring, of salmon throwing them- selves upon the piers at Chesuncook Dam, and being taken by the river- men.* Of the tributaries of this part of the Penobscot, the Miliinocket, Nahmakanta, Souadnehunk, Caribou, and Caucomgomoc Streams are particularly well fitted to be the breeding-grounds of salmon. It is believed that the Mattagamon or East Branch is a better salmou- river than the Main Penobscot, and that a much greater number of salmon resort to it. They can ascend it as far as Grand Falls, thirty- five miles from its mouth, and find extensive spawning-grounds not only in the Mattagamon itself, but in the Wassaticook and Seboois Streams and their tributaries. The Wassaticook is an impetuous mountain- stream, draining the northern and eastern, sides of Mount Katahdiu. The Seboois traverses a more level district, and is a very fine, gentle, gravelly stream, with numerous rapids of suflicieut force to form ad- mirable spawning-beds. In this stream and in the Mattagamon I have, myself, seen many salmon-nests. The industrial modes of fishing employed in the Penobscot Bay and river are three: first, drift-nets 5 second, pound-nets ; third, weirs. With very few exceptions the use of each mode is confined to a particular dis- trict. Drift-nets are used only in the swift water of the" river above the flow of the tide ; pound-nets in the more open parts of the -bay ; weirs in the tidal part of the river and the upper part of the bay. The drift-net is a simple straight net, buoyed on the upper, and and weighted on the lower edge, which is thrown out from a boat and allowed to float down the current, intercepting any upward-bound salmon tliat may come in the way, and which are caught by thrusting their *Mr. Manly Hardy, of Brewer, is authority for this statement, as well as for nu- merous others in relation to the Upper Penobscot. Mr. Hardy says that he knows of a salmon, weighing half a pound, being taken on a fly-hook more than thirty miles above Chesuncook in Sei^tember, 187L'. ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 305 heads into the meshes in the endeavor to break through the net. A considerable number of these nets are every summer in use on the shal- low rapids below the Great Works, Basin Mills, and Yeazie dams. Oc- casionall3' one of them is used at some point above Oldtovrn. The Mat- tagamon, near the mouth of the Wassaticook, is one of these points ; the Korth Twin dam is another. The pound-net, in use on the Penobscot, consists of the " run,'' the " in- ner ijound," and the "■ outer pound." The run is a straight net, running out into the water at right angles to the shore. It is 11 or 12 feet deep, and its length depends somewhat on the character of the site ; 25 fath- oms is the common length, but in very "bold" water 18 or 20 fathoms will answer. At the extremity of the run is the inner pound, which is shaped like an obtuse arrow-head, the two barbs being styled "hooks.'' The entrance of this inner i)ound, 6 feet wide, is between the barbs or " hooks," and at its tip is an opening 1 foot wide, which leads into the outer pound, an inclosure about 18 feet square. Both pounds have bottoms, and are of the same depth as the run, 11 or 12 feet. The whole is sup- ported by wooden floats, so that it rises and falls with the tide, and is held in place by anchors planted at the extremities "of long " warps.' A pole placed perpendicularly at the point of each hook, and another at the outer angle of the outer pound, brace the bottom dpwn. The latter is called the "spring-pole," and, in "springing" the net, it is cast loose at the upper end and allowed to swing loose while the bottom of the pound is drawn up. The mesh employed is 6 or 6^ inches long, being 3 or 3J inches square. The 6i-inch mesh is too small to mesh a 22-pound salmon and too large to catch one of 6 pounds. It is sup- posed that if small salmon ever enter these nets, they pass out through the meshes. The majority of the medium-sized and large salmon do not mesh but remain free in the pound, being too wary to strike the meshes. The bottom of the net is commonly several fathoms above the ground; and were not the salmon that encounter its run persistent surface-swimmers, they would dive under it, and escape without enter- ing the pounds. The three parts first described constitute what the fishermen call a "hook of nets." Sometimes from the outer extremity another "run " is set, with pounds at the end of it, constituting another "hook of nets," and this combination is termed a " gang of nets." Sometimes as many as four hooks are set in a single gang.* The invention of this style of net is ascribed by the fishermen to one Halliday, an Englishman. The net in use before it had only one pound, corresponding to the inner pound. It was much inferior to the modern style, as a great many salmon escaped by the entrance, which had to be wide to induce them to enter at all, and in this way the very largest salmon were lost, being too large to mesh. A Penobscot fish-weir generally consists of a leader and three pounds. * Illustratious of these nets are given iu the appended plates. S. Mis. 74 20 306 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. The "leader" corresponds with the rim of the poiiud-uet described above. It is built of stakes and brush loosely driven. Its length is governed by the shape of the river-bed and some other circumstances, such as the character and direction of the currents. Most fishermen aim to have their pounds located entirely beyond low-water mark, and frequently the water where they are situated is 15 or 20 feet deep when the tide is out. The leader extends thence to the shore. The first or great pound is a heart-shaped inclosure, about 60 feet wide, having an entrance 22 feet wide, nearly in the middle of which is the outer end of the leader. Stakes and brush compose the walls of the great pound. At the apes of this inclosure is an entrance 3 or 4 feet wide to the second pound, which resembles the first in shape, but is couimonly provided with a board floor near low-water level, and has walls of netting instead of brush. An openiugonly a foot wide leads into the fish-j)ound, which is. also provided with a floor.* Fish swimming along the shore, whether ascending or descending the river, encounter the leader, and in trying to get around it are led into the great pound, and the shape of this is such that they rarely escape out by the way they came in, but readily find the entrance to the next pound, from which, in like manner, they pass on to the fish-pound, where they are left by the retreating tide on the bare floor. * Both weirs and pound-nets depend for their success on tlie disposition of fish to move in straight lines when there is no obstacle in the way. On being turned from their course by the leader, they swim, in the direc- tion it gives them, straight into the great pound, whose entrance is so wide that they see only one side of it at once. Were the opposite side of the entrance or of the pound in sight, the fish might be deterred from entering and turn back. Once within the great pouud, they swim straight to the opposite side, meeting which, they turn and follow it. If fright- ened at the narrowness of the passage into the second pound, they turn back and follow the side of the great pound back toward the entrance, but by the time they reach that point the curve of the pound has given tliem a new direction, which carries them directly ijast the entrance. Thus they rarely find their way out, and, becoming soon familiar with the walls of their inclosure, venture through the gap that leads them into the second pound. The weirs of the Penobscot are not very expensive. It is estimated that one can be maintained at a cost of $60 a year. They generally occupy the same site year after year. The site is fixed b}' experience in each individual case, and hardly any rule can be given that will guide in the selection of one on an untried shore. There are long stretches of shore where no one attempts nowadays to build weirs, but in most cases these sites have been tried in former times and found unprofitable. Weirs are built in the river as early in the spring as the state of the water will permit, and are for the most part in operation before the close * See illustratiou in tbe appended plates. ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 307 of April. On the shore of the bay they are built a little later, the salmon not making their appearance so early as in the river. The district within ^Yhich these weirs are aliyost the sole mode of taking salmon extends from Orrington, on the river, to Belfast, on the west side of the bay, and Castine on the east side ; and with a very few exceptions no weirs have ever been built outside those limits. The number built within this district in 1873 was 114, of which all but one canght salmon. In 1870 there were IGO weirs, of which five or six caught no salmon, depending for their profits on the capture of meahaden and alewives. The last season having been a profitable one, a greater num- ber of weirs will be built in 1874:. Thus the number varies from year to year.* In some parts of the river as many weirs are built now as ever, while in other localities there has been a marked falling-off. The limits within which salmoufishing is regularly carried on as an industry in the Penobscot River and Bay at the present day, may be fixed at Oldtown above, and at Rockport, Long Island, and Castine below. Many years ago there were fisheries on the eastern side of the bay as far out as the upper or northwest end of Eggemoggin Reach and at the extreme lower end of Long Island. But these outer stations were not profitable, and were abandoned after a few years' trial. On.e at Buck's Harbor yielded about fifty salmon a year. One near Cape Rosier was more productive, and the last year it was in operation yielded 102 salmon. For the last two years (1872 and 1873) a weir for the capture of her- ring has been maintained on Western Pond Island, about two miles below Cape Rosier. It caugkt 30 salmon in 1872 and only 8 in 1873. It is probable that, were similar weirs maintained in favorable places still farther down the bay, salmon would be taken in them in small numbers . i have learned of the existence of only one weir in any part of the bay outside of Long Island and Rockport. This is a weir built for the capture of alewives at the outlet of Fresh Pond in ]Srorth Haven. In former times there have been weirs maintained at five or six different points on the same island for the capture of herring and mackerel ;t but I cannot learn that a'salmon was ever caught there. This fact, however, is not a fair test of the presence of salmon in those waters, since the structure and location of the weir are not favorable for their capture Probably the salmon caught was a native of the Penobscot ; for all the breeding-grounds of the Union River, to which we should naturally re fer it, have for many years been inaccessible. The capture of salmon in the Lower Penobscot Bay and in the open sea adjoining, with nets and hooks, is of rare occurrence ; but there are several instances worthy of record. Oft" the northeast breaker of Seal * On the appended map of Peuobscot Bay and River are represented all the weirs of which I have obtained information, both those built recently and many that were abandoned years ago. t Statement of A. Waterman. 308 REPOET OP COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Eock, a certain Captaiu Eldridge, of Bucksport, caught a salmon on a hook while "drailing" for pollack; that is, dragging a seven or eight fathom line with a baited hook after a schooner under sail. This was over fiftj' years ago, when salmon were plenty in the Penobscot, yet it was considered a great wonder; and the old gentleman who told the story,* though he was seventy-six years of age, and had been all his life engaged in fishing, had never heard of another instance of the kind. There are several stories of salmon being taken on trolling- lines, but no exact statements in regard to those occurrences have been obtained. Inhabitants of the island of Matinicus, fifteen miles seaward from Owl's Head, report that salmon are sometimes taken in seiuelfe drawn for mackerel in that vicinity. About eight years ago, in the month of July, a small salmon, (grilse,) weighing two or three j)ounds, was caught by Mr. William L. Howe, of Liucoluville, in a net set for menhaden at Wooden Ball Island, f which lies between Matinicus and Seal Rock, and is therefore but a few miles from the locality where the salmon was caught on the pollack-hook, as stated above. On the western shore of the bay, salmon-fishing begins about seven miles above Owl's Head, at Rockport, where it has been regularly car- ried on for more than sixty years. For many years past, four nets have been set there. For the past five years the fishery of 1873 was the best ; that of 1871 and 1872 the poorest. The average of late has been about 150 salmon a season in all of the nets ; this is pronounced a small catch in cojnparison with that of years ago.t Above Rockport there are no salmou-fisjieries up to a point below the harbor of Camden, where two nets are set. From this point northward, within ten miles, there were, in 1873, twenty-one gangs of nets, compris- ing thirty-seven hooks. The greater part of these are in the town c^ Lincolnville, and a large number of them are crowded into the small bight into which empties Duck Trap Stream. The most northerly net-berth is in the town of Northport. In all, there were set along the western shore of the bay forty-three hooks, in twenty-seven separate gangs. The whole number' of salmon caught in them in 1873 was 1,561, | being an average of 3C.3 a hook, and of 58 a gang. The best catch was 175 salmon in three hooks, and the poorest 12 salmon in two hooks. In the vicinity of French's Beach, Lincolnville, the nets are generally set about May 10, and taken up early in July. It is within these dates only that fishing is generally profitable. Some fishermen catch consid- *Jaines S. Collies, of Castine. t Letter of H. H. Page. t The most of the data of this statement were furnished me by Ayres & Miller, fish- dealers of Camden. Mr. Job Pendleton, of Lincolnville, from entirely separate but less comijlete data, estimated the catch at a little over 1,583. ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS . ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 309 erable numbers of salmon both earlier aud later; but whether their suc- cess IS owing to exceptional situations or to lack of competition is a matter of doubt. It is believed that salmon can be raught each year earlier near the mouth of Duck Trap Stream than at any other point in the western bay, and this alleged fact is attributed to the attraction of the fresh water. In the middle of the bay the capture of salmon is followed every year on Long Island at twelve or fifteen stations scattered along its western side. Nets alone are now used. A single weir was built at the southern extremity of the island, for about ten years, ending in 18G8. About thirty salmon a year were caught in it. Like ordinary salmon- weirs, it was made of netting fine enough to catch herring, and besides these it took also menhaden and mackerel. On the western side of the island no salmon-nets are set. The reason for their absence I have not investigated, but the land slopes down the shore more gradually on that side than on the other, and it may be inferred that there is a corre- sponding difference in the inclination of the bottom, which may aifect either the course of the salmon in their migrations or the facilities for setting and working sets. In Belfast Bay no salmon are caught within four miles of the port of Belfast on the north shore, and 14 miles on the south shore; so that from the upper limit of the net- fishery there is a reach of 18 miles where no salmon-fisheries are carried on. The fishery begins again near the harbor of Searsport. Here, and at all points above, it is carried on with weirs instead of nets. The yield is much better than it is in the net-fishing below. This may in part be attributed to the greater efft- ciency of the weirs, but I think, after making all allowances on that score, there 'is still a difference that can only be attributed to the presence of a greater number of salmon -near shore. The weirs on Sear's Island and on Cape Jellisou are among the most productive in the whole bay and river. In 1873 there were fewer weirs built here than usual ; on Sear's Island only one instead of six, and on the south side of Cape Jellisou only seven instead of ten. It may be mentioned, as illustrating the vicissitudes of the business as well as the occasion^ irregularities of the movements of the salmon, that while some of the weirs on the south side of Cape Jellisou caught fewer salmon than ordinary, one on the west side, in Stockton Harbor, (No. 61,) caught twice as many.* The average catch of the former in 1873 was 91 salmon a weir. It is worthy of remark that the weir that had such exceptional luck was built on a gently-declining bottom, with a long leader, aud was in a somewhat sheltered position, while the others were built on a steeply- inclined shore at the base of a precipitous bank, with short leaders, and exposed to the force of southerly and easterly storms, which sometimes render these weirs almost inaccessible. The bottom is, for the most * Letter of James M. Treat. 310 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. part, so bard that considerable parts of tbe weirs are supported by stakes, not, as in ordinary cases, driven in the ground, but pUiuted like masts in great wooden frames, which are sunk and kept in place by a heavy ballasting of stone. On the east side of the bay, opposite Cape Jellison, is a shore much better adapted to the construction of weirs in the ordinary way, having a gentle slope and a bottom of only moderate hardness. This is known in the vicinity as the " Dashen shore," and includes all the shore in. the town of Penobscot and all in Oastine except those' in the harbor. Its salmon-fishery has not so high a reputation as that of Cape Jellison. In 1873 the catch was larger than usual, averaging 83 a weir. At the same time the three weirs in Castine Harbor, which are generally among the best in the whole bay or river, caught far fewer tUan usual, averag- ing only 69 a weir. Thus the experience of the Cape Jellison fisher- men is repeated. Weirs on a gently-sloping shore with a western ex- posure have a successful season, while those on a steep shore with an easterly exposure are unsuccessful. The number of weirs built on the Dashen shore in 1873 was 23. In two cases two weirs were built on the same hedge; all of the others were on separat(i hedges. Thus there were 21 hedges. In 1870 there were 24 hedges and 33 weirs. The de- crease in number was doubtless owing to the poor success of the fishery in that and the two following years. With the salmon are taken, in these weirs, herring, menhaden, shad, and alewives. The herring and menhaden are quite irregular in their occurrence ; alewives have been decreasing in numbers for many years; and shad' have almost disap- peared. Penobscot Eiver enters the bay by two mouths, on either side of Wetmore Island. The western is the main channel, and the route by which by far the greater portion of the salmon enter the river. Its shores are tor the most part bold, and at the " Narrows" the water in mid- channel is about ten fathoms deep, which exceeds by two fathoms the general depth of that part of the bay west and north of Long Island. This increased depth is doubtless owing to the strength of the tides, wJaich sweep'with great force through a narrow channel. The approach to the Narrows is a tunnel-shaped estuary two miles wide at its entrance opposite the southern extremity of Wetmore Island. On both sides of this estuary, salmon-fishing is carried on extensively. As the width of the river decreases the number of weirs increases, and just below the narrowest point there have been eight or ten built within a single mile on the west shore. These weirs have short leaders, and in many cases the entrance to the second pound is on the upper instead of the outer side of the first pound.* In general, the season of 1873 was a very successful one with the fish- ermen of this district ; yet several weirs, most of them in the Narrows? had exceptionally bad luck. * This is tbe second style of Penobscot salmon-weirs, represented in tbe apx)ended illustrations. ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS AETIFICIAL CULTURE. 311 The eastern mouth of the river is of a differeut character, discharf^jiug a much smaller volume of water, which is maiuly received from the maiu Penobscot by the Thoroughfare, a broad, shallow passage around the north end of Wetwore Island, but is considerably augmented in the early part of the season by the water of Eastern River. The latter is not a salmon- stream, but is the principal nursery of the alewife, which finds in its many ponds admirable breeding-grounds. It flows to its junction with the Thoroughfare through a broad estuary, in which its scanty waters are insufficient to delay long the setting-in of the upward current that accompanies the flood-tide ; while in the Penobscot and in the Thoroughfare the current sets down near two hours after low water. Hence we have the phenomenon of a down-current in the Thoroughfare at the same time that there is an up-current in the estuary of East- ern River, and the water from the former fills the latter for some distance above the point of junction. This is a sufiicient explanation of the fact that while the salmon rarely attempt to ascend Eastern River, those that come in by the eastern mouth passing into the main Penobscot through the Thoroughfare, yet they frequently pass the mouth of the latter and are caught in weirs some distance up the estuary of Eastern River. Thus, in 1873, ISTo. 185 (see appended map of fisheries of Penob- scot Bay and River) caught 60 salmon, and Xo. 168 caught 30. This ex- planation accords well with the theory that salmon find their way back into their native rivers, not through any knowledge of topography but by recognizing in some way the qualities of the water. In the weirs of Eastern River farthest up salmon are seldom caught; and indeed neither in any portion of it, nor in the Thoroughfare, nor in the common river below, is the catch at all to be compared with that in the western channel of the Penobscot. Above the port of Bucksport but few weirs have been built for many years, and the number has of late diminished. In 1870 there were 15 ; in 1873, only 9. The latter year was quite profitable, the increase in the number of salmon being remarkable. Three weirs in Marsh Bay caught 250 salmon, 5 shad, and 6 barrels of alewives. Weir-fishing has never been practiced in the Penobscot above Orrington. It is, however, known that as early as 1780 there was a rude half-tide weir in the town of Hampden. Within this district, on the eastern side of the expansion of the river called Marsh Bay, are Dram Point Flats, the history of whose fisheries is very interesting. In 1812 there was a single half-tide weir built on these flats ; it was of triangular shape, one side being formed by the shore and the other two being built of stakes and brnsh. On the up- river side the brush-work was built higher than high-water mark- The down-river side, which, however, was exposed to an eddy-current on the ebb-tide, was, for the outer half of its length, built to an equal height with the upper side, while the part next the shore rose only to half-tide mark. Over this low part of the inclosure the fish swam at 312 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. high water. Left inside by ebbing of the tide, they would gather in a small compartment at the outer corner, whence they were dipped by the fishermen. This was the highest style of contrivance for the cap- ture of fish then in use on the Penobscot. It took immense quantities of shad and alewives. The first trap-weir was built in 1815 at Treat's Point, on the west side of Marsh Bay, built by one Hollis Emerson, from the Kennebec. It worked on the same principle as those now in use, but had only one pound. In 1816 a similar one was built on Dram Point Flats. The new weirs were so successful that large numbers of them were built all along the river immediately. In 1820, howev^er, and for several years there- after, fish were scarce. In 1822 only two weirs were built on Marsh Bay, one on Dram Point Flats and one on the opposite side. That year was a very poor one with the fisheries in this part of the river, but was bet- ter in the bay and as far up the river as the northern end of Wetmore Island, there being an extraordinary catch of salmon about the 1st of July. From 1822 to 183G there was an improvement in the river-fish- eries, especially in the salmon-fishery. The year 1836 was marked by a great run of salmon. In the appended illustrations are two plans of Dram Point Flats,* representing the fish- weirs built on it; the one in 1832, the other in 1873. In 1832 there were, on this short stretch of shore less than a mile long, five fishing-stations, maintaining 17 weirs, each with several pounds. ISTo exact statistics in relation to their yield can be obtained, but it is described as being enormous. Alewives were sometimes so plenty as to be given away by the cart-load. The most of the fish were shipped on small vessels that came from Portland and Southern New England to buy. One of the men in this business t states that he remembers of six vessels beiug there at one time loading ; they would probably carry away fish to the value of $37,000, and this but part of the season's catch. The prices of those ladings were, for salmon, 5 to 7 cents a pound; for shad, $6 fo $7 a barrel ; and for alewives, $2J a barrel. In 1873, instead of the seventeen weirs, there were only three, and these probably were less productive than the same number of weirs in 1832. It should be remarked that the abandonment of these fisheries was due more to the loss of the shad and alewife fishery than to the decrease of the salmon. It is not, therefore, to be inferred that a similar falling off in the fishing-industry has occurred in districts where the salmon-fishery was relatively of greater importance. Another source of injury to the fisheries is the deposit of sawdust and mud on the flats. It will be observed that in 1873 the flats extended considerably farther into the * These plaus aud accompanying facts were furnished by Mr. John Arey, of Bucks- port. The preceding statements about the fluctuations of the fisheries are on the au- thority of Mr. Amos Treat, of Frankfort. t Mr. Frederick Twombly, of Portland. ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 313 bay than iu 1832. This is caused mainly by the accumulation of saw- dust, which has not only moved the low- water line farther out, but has greatly lessened the depth of the water for a long distance outside of this line, 13.-fc_TABULAR STATEMENT OF THE CAPTURE OF SALMON ON THE PENOBSCOT RIVER. The following statement of the number of salmon caught in 1873 is based, for the most part, on the statements of the fishermen themselves f the number caught in each weir and net having been reported in nearly every case : Table XII. — Statement of salmon caught in Penobscot Bay and Biver in 1873. District. Implements. No. of salmon. Pound-nets ; 27 gangs, comprising 43 hooks Ponud-nets ; 14 gangs, comprising 17 hooks and I weir. 1,561 Long Island and Western Pond Island 1,008 2,143 378 3,377 Verona, (Wetmore Island) Bncksport, Prospect, and Winterport 2,468 771 1,984 Totals 13, 690 Kothing is known of the number of salmon caught above Oldtown. A due allowance for this omission, and for certain fishing-stations where it was impossible to obtain correct statements, would probably swell the total to 15,000 salmon. In comparison with the yield of many preceding years, this is a very large increase; though unfortunately, in the absence of data for an exact estimate, no very precise statement can be made as to the degree of in- crease. At Eockport, the past season was the best since 1868, the catch of four nets being 300 salmon in 1868, 130 in 1870, and 190 in 1873.* In Camden and Lincolnville it was better than usual. On Long Island the catch was one-third above the average.t The two weirs in Searsport were comi3aratively unsuccessful, while the single one on the western side of Sear's Island did much better than usual. On the west side of Cape Jellison, as has been already stated, salmon were caught in greater numbers than usual, while some of the weirs on the south side caught fewer, t In Castine Harbor the catch was far below the average, while from this point up the east shore of the bay it was considerably above average. In all parts of the river, except here and there a weir, the in- crease was very marked. In the vicinity of Bucksport it is commonly * statement of J. Mclutire. t Statement of Benjamin Ryder. t Statement of James M. Treat. 314 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. thoaglit to have beeu tlie most saccessfiil season for twenty years. Au inspection of the reco];d of weirs Nos. 161 and 1G2, at the south end of Wet- more Island, (given below,) shows that it was the most successful season during all the time (eighteen years) covered by the record. In some localities, where in ordinary years very few salmon are caught, they appeared in large numbers. The drift-nets above Bangor were unusiMilly successful ; and after all the decimation the ranks of the salmon suffered on the way, an uncommonly large number was observed on the upj)er waters and near the breeding-grounds. The following statement exhibits the yield, for thirteen years, of two of the best weirs on the Penobscot, the owner of which (Hon. A. H. Whit- more, of Verona) has with commendable public spirit offered it for pub - lication. Each entry is made at the time of sale, and includes all the salmon caught since the previous sale : Table XIII. — Record of salmon sold * from iveirs Xos. 161 and 162, south end of JVetmore Island. Date. 1860. April 21 April 30 Mavl May 9 May 12 May 14 May 17 May 18 May22 May 24 May 26 May 30 May 31 June 4 June 7 June 8 June 9 June 11 June 14 , June 15 June 18 1862. May 5 May 13 May 19 May 22 May 24 May 25 May 26 May 29 Julie 2 June 9 June 12 June 14 , June 19 June 23 , June 26 June 30 July 1 K o 1 1= fcJD ^ "S O fe W) -c ^ a be g ^ < <1 1 18i 18.5 1 16i 16.7 1 25J 25.7 1 21J 21.5 2 33 16.5 2 18* 9.2 1 I'J'J 17.5 3 33 11.0 2 29J 14.7 2 2U 10.7 9 109 12.1 7 120 17.1 7 87 12.4 1 11 11.0 10 122 12.2 2 20 10.0 11 146 13.2 9 105 11.6 12 145 12.0 6 72 12.0 12 172 14.3 Date. June 19 . June 21 . June 23 . June 25 . June 26 . June 27 . June 30 . Julyl... July 2... July 5... July 11.. 31 79* 71" 229 17 47 98J- 39* 56* 43| 15.5 19.8 14.2 12.0 8.5 11.7 12.3 9.8 11.3 10.8 2 38 19.0 1 19J 19.5 3 59 19.6 1 19f 19.7 6 77 12.8 1 9 9.0 2 21 10.5 2 28 14.0 4 38 9.5 7 102i 14.6 12 156 13.0 4 34| 8.6 7 116 16.5 19 239* 12.6 14 159J 11.4 30 329 10.9 8 88f 11.0 July 3 .... July 13 . . . Jvily 20... July 25 ... August 5 12 150 24 244 1 llj 3 32* 2 25i 12.5 10.2 11.5 10.8 12.6 May June July Aug Total 18 27U 97 1,175 48 526i 2 25i 165 1, 9684 15.0 12.1 10.3 12.6 12.1 * These salmon were sold -within a few days after catching, commonly within three days. ATKINS THE SALMON AND ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 611 Record of salmon sold from weirs 2fos. 161 and 162, south end of Wetmore Island — Cont'd. Date. 1863. May 14 MaV2.T .May -.28 May 30 Juue 1 Juue 4 June 6 June 11 June 13 Juue 15 June IS June 29 Juue 25 June i!7 June 29 July 2 July 3 July 4 July 5 1864. May9 May 10 May 11 May 18 May21 May 26 May 30 June 2 June 4 Jane 6 Juue 9 Jane 11 June 13 June 16 June 18 June 20 June 23 June 24 June 27 1865. April 17 May 6 Mav 18 May 22 May 24 May 29 June 1 June 5 June 8 June 10 Juue 11 Juno 12 Jun,e 15 June 19 June 22 June 26 June 28 June 29 July 1 July 3 73 fr -2 c ^ 'S o " ^ a o M SB ce tl) > < < 1 8i 8.7 2 29 14.5 9 103 11.4 6 75 12.5 9 lUJ 12.4 4 43 10.7 9 102 11.3 5 44 8.8 10 106 10.6 5 56 11.2 8 77 9.0 14 137i 9.1 12 124i 10.3 10 107J 10.7 10 82 8.2 24 250 10.4 6 55 9.1 1 8 8.0 2 22 11.0 Date. 1863. July 7 July 9 JulVl3 July 15 Julyl7 July 18 July22 July 24 July 27 O CO s it iC &; o *^ o ,o c s tc s M ^ ^ < < 5 661 13.3 5 70 14.0 1 3 33i 11.2 4 42 10.5 4 49i 12.3 2 16 8.0 6 4 6U 31i 10.2 7.8 13 147i 11.3 8 83i 10.4 i 5 10 75J 105i 15.0 1 10.5 i 17 213 12.5 8 103J 12.9 19 205 10.7 7 02i 8.9 6 62 10.3 1 8i 8.7 Date. 1866, July 2 July 3 July 5 July 10 July 12 Jnly 15 to 25. a m ^ o » C3 eared in the same waters during the spawning-season, the admeasurement being no less than four feet five inches. The average weight of the Togue is seemingly about nine pounds, but this may not be altogether correct. I have seen individuals weigh- ing fifteen pounds, and fishermen and Indians speak of having captured Togues from twenty-five pounds to thirty pounds, and even forty pounds in weight. Probably the largest seldom leave the deep bottoms of the great lakes. A noble specimen of this uncouth-looking denizen of these forest-shaded lochs is now before me. If ever bull-trout deserved the name, those i^rominent eyes, huge muscitlar jaws, broad back, deep sides, with the force of the frame centered in front, might well win that appellation for the Togue, The Indian indulges his love of the marvel- ous when talking of him ; and although often imj^romptu stories are got up to amuse and impress you with the learning and knowledge of the speaker, still, even in the absence of unwritten history, one may detect figments of their wild legends and mythology strangely mingled even with the traditions of their earliest Christian instructors, of monster Togues and Sturgeons that appeared on the surface of the lakes at night, striking such terror among the tribe that they were forced to abandon their hunting-grounds ; indeed, such, with the pigmy fairies, 362 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. giauts, and other offspring of their ever-fruitful imaginations, rendered famous whatever localities the apparitions were said to frequent. Eaftsmeu accustomed to pass along Grand Lake assured me that they had often seen a shoal of Togues depositing their spawn, and surrounded by thousands of eels, horupouts, dace, &c., which assemble to feed on the ova ; moreover, that neither the males nor the females remain beyond a few days on the ground. Sometimes the roe is deposited between stones, where the males may be observed fertilizing it. At this season the Indian plies his spear unmercifully, killing hundreds and wounding more. The flesh varies in color, from orange to cream color — according, I imagine, to the season of the year. As an article of food it is very fat, with little flavor, unless in the shape of " fish-cake well seasoned by Harvey's sauce," when the fisherman's appetite will pro- nounce it a delicacy, only surpassed a hundredfold by a broiled or fried brook-trout, or its congener the silvery salmon-trout. XIL-ON THE SPECKLED TROUT OF UTAH LAKE. . Salmo VirginaJis, Girard. By Dr. H. C. Yarrow, U. S. A., surgeon and naturaUst of the expedition for explorations and surveys west of the 100th meridian, in charge of Lieut. G. M. Wheeler, United States Engineers. • The lake trout, or, as it is sometimes called, tHe brook and speckled trout, by the inhabitants of Utah, is one of the most characteristic and numerous fish of the Territory, affording a valuable, healthy, and cheap article of diet. This fish has existed for years in immense num- bers, and for this reason it is rather singular that its occurrence was not noticed until the party under Lieutenant Wheeler, of the Engineers, visited Utah Lake in 1872. This fish is found in Utah and Pang witch Lakes (the latter in Southern Utah) throughout the year, being most abundant during July and August, at which time these notes were hastily made. In comparison wifeh the other fishes of Utah, the lake trout is un- doubtedly the most numerous and most easily captured ; how long; however, this condition of affairs will last it is impossible to say, the supply having greatly diminished during the past few years, owing to reckless methods of fishing and increase in the number of fishermen ; moreover a larger demand is now made for this fish, owing to increase in the number of settlers. The decrease in the yield may be roughly estimated at about one-third, but this percentage is slowly but surely increasing. The greatest size this fish attains, as far as could be learned on inquiry and from personal observation, is three feet ; weight about fifteen and a half pounds. The average length, however, is about four- teen inches, and average weight one and a half pounds. The rate of growth is not known, although it is stated by the fishermen to be per- haps an inch per annum, but according to my own belief the rate is greater. The fish is supposed to attain its full size in about five years. In shape there is very little difference between the male and female ; though near the breeding season the female is the larger and more brilliant in color. This increased brilliancy of color affects both sexes, but is noticeable in a more marked degree in the female. About breed- ing-time the eyes are brighter, scales more brilliant, and the superficial blood-vessels more fully engorged than ordinarily ; the movements are more rapid, a celerity being displayed quite at variance with its usual somewhat sluggish habits. This fish winters in the deepest waters of the lakes, as most of the mountain streams to which it resorts in spring and summer are shallow and very cold. The male and female, large and small, run indiscriminately together, the presence of this fish in any 364 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. particular locality being indicated by the presence of flocks of birds hovering over the water. Except in the month of July, when unusually sluggish, the lake trout may be taken at any time with the hook and line, and, being high-spirited and particularly gamy, affords excellent sport for the angler. In summer it swims low in the water, in order, I think, to avoid the extreme heat of the sun. In winter it prefers the deepest water. As far as could be ascertained the spawn has not been observed to run from this fish when captured, either by the line or net, for the reason, most likely, that the gravid female is seldom taken just prior to or during the time of spawning. It first enters the mouths of mountain streams and rivers to* spawn about the middle of March, remaining until the middle of May, by which time the majority have fulfilled their reproductive functions. It is at such times that the fishermen, lying in wait at the mouths of the rivers, are able to capture such enormous quantities. In coming on to the breeding-grounds all sizes are found together, young and old, little and big. The favorite localities for feed- ing in summer are close to the mouths of rivers, the water of which from the mountains is ice-cold, from ten to twelve feet deep, and the current very swift. As already stated, the cold water is preferred in summer and warm in winter. After spawning the trout invariably swim in schools, from one part of the lake to the other, in search of food, a solitary fish at such time being seldom seen; in traveling the trout is nearly always accompanied by its friendly companions the mullet, sucker, &c., which share with it the danger of attack by man and birds. Notwithstanding the apparent affection existing between the different species of fish in Utah Lake, the trout does not hesitate to prey to a large extent upon the young of other kinds, suffering itself, in return, in the same way, but in a much less degree. The trout is very vora- cious, devouring other fish smaller than itself, particularly'a species lo- cally known as " silver-sides," of from two to six inches in length ; on dissection, I have found the stomach of the trout crammed with these little fish. Grasshoppers, too, are a source of diet to the trout, with flies and other insects, while they do not disdain even snakes and frogs of tolerably large size. With regard to the methods of feeding I have not been able to perceive or otherwise learn of any jieculiarities of the trout unless it be the great eagerness with which they seek their food, and the rapidity of devouring the same, especially with reference to bait on the hook. The quantity of food it consumes, judging from personal observations and accounts of experienced fishermen, must be enormous. During the spawning season no very observable changes take place in the trout except those mentioned above, and also, that the under part of the cheek of the female becomes very bright. As a rule, it may be stated that in general appearance the male is much brighter than the female at this sfeason, and that the former is the smaller. • YARROW ON THE SPECKLED TROUT OF UTAH LAKE. 365 Before spawning tile nest is made in the sand or gravel by a rotatory motion of the tail of the male. Into this cavity the eggs are exuded b}'^ the female, which is sedulously guarded by the male until the process is completed, when the latter deposits the milt which is to impregnate the eggs. No further care is taken by either after the deposition of the impregnating substance. Most of the spawning is done in the rivers, but the process takes place in the lakes also to some extent. Spawning is greatly interfered with by the nets used by the fishermen ; knowing the time when the fish begin to run up the rivers, the nets are drawn near the mouths of the waters, and large numbers of fish taken. It is not known at what age this fish begins to breed, nor what period of time the process continues, although both these points might be defi- nitely ascertained by careful observation of captives under favorable circumstances. The act of spawning exerts an injurious eifect on the flesh of the fish, rendering it poor and insipid. In addition, many of the fish seeking the upper parts of the rivers, to fulfill their reproductive duties, do not survive the severe bruises and otber injuries thej meet with in the journej" past the rocks and through the rapid currents of the mountain streams. The water in the locality in which the trout spawns has never been noticed to be whitened by the milt, but it does present a translucent pinkish appearance after the event. The temperature of water most favorable for hatching appears to be the coldest obtainable, the eggs, in many cases, being laid directly on the bottom of ice-cold mountain springs. The color of the spawn is whitish pink, each egg, just previous to spawning, being of the size of No. 4 shot. In July the ieggs are not larger than No. 12, or dust-shot. The eggs, when spawned, always sink to the bottom, where they remain unless eaten or carried away by the swift current. As already stated, the nest is made from gravel and stones entirely, no other materials being used as far as has been observed. The eggs are hatched in March, April, and May, but the number of days required by the process is not known. The spawn and young fish suffer greatly froni the attacks of other fish, aquatic reptiles, and even from the large fish of their own species, these seeming to have no affection for their young. It is rather a singular fact that the very young trout is seldom seen or taken either by the hook or net, and I am unable to account for the same unless it is that it resorts to unknown localities until a larger growth is obtained. Its food, so far as known, consists principally of small insects. No steps have as yet been taken to increase the supply of this valuable fish by artificial means, the yield still being large enough to meet the wants of the settlers and miners ; but in the course of a few years artificial propagation must be resorted to, for although certain laws have been passed regulating the size of the meshes of nets, no attention is paid to them by some greedy individuals, who think only of filling their own pockets at the expense of future generations. 366 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. It may be mentioned in this connection that a letter, prepared at the request of the Hon. G. Q. Gannon, and bearing on this subject, has been presented to the legislature of Utah. It suggests the enacting of cer- tain laws with reference to the preserv^ation of fish, &c., and that the same be rigidly enforced when passed. No epidemic causing sickness or destruction of life among the trout of Utah and Pangwitch Lakes has ever keen kuovrn, nor is this fish ever affected with parasites, as are many of the marine species. I must state, however, that I have been informed by a trustworthy friend that the same fish of the lakes in the Yellowstone region is uneatable in the summer, its flesh being riddled and filled with parasitic tape-worms of considerable size, many, according to Dr. Leidy, being five indies in length. Mr. Carrington, whose notes accompanied the specimens exam- ined by Dr. Leidy, states that the smaller worms were contained in cysts adherent to the exterior of the intestines, while the larger ones up to six inches in length were found imbedded in the flesh. From five to fifty of the parasites were found in a single fish. When numerous they appeared to affect the health of their host, and the fishes most infested could generally be told by their duller color, meagreuess and less activity. Dr. Leidy states that this worm belongs to the geinis Bothrioee2)kalus, or rather to that section of it now named Dlbothrium. Two species have long been known as parasites of the salmon and other members of the same genus of fishes in Europe ; but the tape-worm of the Yellow- stone trout appears to be a different one, and may, from the shape of its head, be named with propriety Dlbothrium cordiceps. The trout of Utah Lake may be taken at nearly all seasons by both hook and net at all times, but in Pangwitch Lake by hook only, since fishing in any other way is prohibited by common consent. This, how- ever, is no hardship, since large captures are easily made with the hook, I myself having taken from thirty to forty pounds weight in a single hour's fishing. The hooks used are simply large steel ones, with a snood, or snell, ot piano- wire, which is strong and flexible. The best bait is minnow and grasshopper, although this trout will bite at almost anything. In Pangwitch Lake a fish's eye is considered a very tempt- ing bait. The nets used in Utah Lake are made of jSTos. 9, 12, and 18 cotton twine, are generally four hundred yards long, eight to ten feet deep, and are furnished with brails at either end ; when employed they are reeled into the boats by means of a wooden windlass in the stern. JDhe average daily catch of one person with hook and line would perhaps be twenty pounds, or about thirty-six hundred pounds the entire season ; for a net of the dimensions above specified, one hundred and fifty pounds daily in summer and thirty or forty in winter. This trout is highly prized by the settlers and miners of Utah, and quite a large proportion of those taken are consumed in the immediate •neighborhood ; the remainder is sent to the different mining camps, set- tlements, and the Salt Lake City market. As an article of food its YARROW ON, THE SPECKLED TROUT OF UTAH LAKE. 367 excellence is uot surpassed by any fish, either fresh or salted. The deli- cacy and firmness of its flesh commeiiid it to all who have a preference for fish-diet. Furthermore, it retains for a longer period than most fish its unequaled and unique flavor. All that are captured are readily disposed of, mostly in a fresh state, though a few are salted and smoked. In no case is it used for manure, nor is it ever exported. The retail price of the fish in its fresh state varies from twenty to thirty cents per pound ; wholesale, from ten to fifteen cents ; salted ones bring from ten to fifteen cents. These prices are about those formerly obtained, and are now current in the Salt Lake market. The foregoing observations, as already stated, are the result of notes taken in Utah in July, 1872, by my assistant, Mr. Henshaw, and myself, though in some instances valuable aid and information were obtained from Mr. Peter Madseu, an intelligent Danish fisherman of Utah Lake, who kindly placed at our disposal data obtained during many years' experience acquired in this locality. In conclusion, it m'ay be stated that the Utah Lake trout is of vast economic importance to the settlers of the Great Salt Lake Valley, sup- plying as it does a comparatively cheap and most excellent article of sustenance, and one to the preservation of which special attention should be speedily given, since, if means are not shortly taken to prevent the destructive methods of fishing now employed, the species must become extinct after a few years. A number of fishermen, having no fear of the law, which is virtually a dead letter, are in the habit of visiting Utah Lake from Salt Lake City and other localities, and make use of nets of very small mesh for the express purpose of taking in the small fish, which readily sell for ten cents per pound in the Salt Lake market. As already mentioned, this reckless and destructive mode of fishing is in no wise tolerated by the people of Pangwitch, nor should it be by the residents of Provo City, near Utah Lake. Mr. Madsen, who lives on the lake, and who has been engaged in fishing for the past eighteen years, complains bitterly of these interlopers and law-breakers, as he finds his profits are gradually decreasing with the number of fish from year to year. He mentions that, in 1864, such was the abundance of this fish, that in one haul of the seine, discarding all other kinds, he secured between thirty-five and thirty-seven hundred-weight of trout, while at the present time five hundred pounds is considered an enormous haul. In September and October the trout are somewhat scattering and do not approach the shore ; consequently large hauls are seldom made at this period. Mr. Madsen states it as his opinion that the female in spawning ejects only a portion of her eggs, as he has found on dissect- ing the trout after the spawning season eggs of various sizes, some very small and others full grown. The manner of seine-fishing in the locality mentioned is quite similar to that pursued in the East, except- ing that two boats are used instead of one, the seine being paid out from one of the boats, which generally takes position to the southward 368 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AJSTD FISHERIES. of Provo River, while the other, with a line attached, makes a semicir- cle. As there is a perceptible current setting from the southern arm of the lake, increased by the southwest wind, the net is gradually drifted to near the mouth of the river ; the boats then approach each other, the brails are seized, and the lead-line is held down by the feet of the fishermen, who jump into the shallow water into which the net is drawn, the fish being secured as the net is gradually hauled in. In winter fishing is carried on under the ice, holes being cut at certain distances and the net introduced by means of spars ; it is then dragged to a favor- able open space, and the fish collected. The hauls in winter, however, scarcely repay the labor bestowed ; the net is sometimes seriously dam- aged, and the trout are shy and run into deep water; but the so-called suckers are very numerous, and meet with a ready sale. The accompanying maps will afford a better idea of the lakes in ques- tion and their tributaries than any descrijition I could possibly give. They are copied from the maps of Lieutenant Wheeler's report of the Territory, and are reliable. To this gentleman I*am indebted for per- mission to publish these observations, which form jjart of his Eeport on the Ichthyology of the West. XIIL-MISCELLAXEOUS XOTES x\XD CORRESrOXDEXCE RELATIVE TO SALMON AND TROUT. A— ON THE SALMON IN MAINE. Dennysville, Me., August 3; 1872. Dear Sir : Wheu you vrere here, I did not have time to give any intelligent information concerning the salmon, its habits, &c. I am sorry I do not have the positive knowledge which would be of most ser- vice to you, but, in place of that, will give you some indirect, some circumstantial evidence which may serve some purpose. I have been surprised at seeing how late the deposition of the spawn is now considered to take place, and I am not ready to believe that under normal conditions, at least on this river, it is anywhere near so late. I myself have never seen their operations. My notion has been that the large early salmon deposited their spawn as soon as they reached the proper places. Certainly, many of them seem to be as forward as the alewives, who hardly get above the dam before commencing, the most forward of them, to letlve their eggs ; for small alewives are ready to return at so early a period that they must have begun growing in May. These get to be about as long as one's finger when they come down the river, and schools of them, probably from later and later deposits, keep coming down till after the river freezes, and two years ago masses of them got entrapped in the " anchor-ice" in Meddybemps Lake, and were then washed ashore and perished in wind- rows on the beach. Now, some few things as to the salmon. Years ago they could be caught by the boat-load. Tliey were too numerous to escape the same observation which the alewives attracted. I never heard of anybody who knew, or supposed, or suspected anything to the contrary of their coming down the river and going right off' to sea as quick as they be- came large enough to swarm, there to remain and get their living, where alone a living was to be had, till they became large enough to return (some two or three years) and leave their own frj^, which would corre- spond, perhaps, to the later alewife-fry. If young salmon (other than the little fry hurrying off to sea) were caught, or were in the river — that is, if they hung around aud went up stream the next season, and the next, I cannot but think we should have found it out, some of us. My eyes were certainly sharj) enough to know a trout when I saw it — and I caught any amount of them — and to be safe from confounding it with a young salmon ; and if blind, I should have found out the difference by the taste. S. Mis. 7i 2^ 370 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER "OF FISH AND FISHERIES. As I tbiuk I told you, from earliest spring till late iu the summer there were always (more formerly than now) weirs up and down the river from just below my house to the falls, in which salmon, alewives, lierring, frostfish, smelts, sturgeons, &c., were caught, as well as a few nice but unmistakable trout; but iu all this period I never knew of but two young salmon, children, to be caught. These were caught in one tide in one weir down the bay, some fifteen or twenty years ago, and we had them cooked, and ate them. Of course, if two have been caught, others may, and probably have been; but in that time hundreds of shad, and bass, and mackerel have strayed away from their fellows, and been caught also ; so that it is hard to regard the coming of these young salmon as otherwise than excep- tional in this little river. In large rivers, where there is more to eat, it may be different. In late years, now that there are legions of little boys fishing iu the fall of the year in the pond at the mills, it is reported that they have occasionally drawn out, with the chubs and trout, a very small specimen of a salmon, about as long as a smelt or a very small trout ; and I ])re- sume that always, when the gates of the water-wheels were shut down, and little alewives were stranded in the puddles underneath, that sal- mon-fry were with them. The men. sawing would have expected nothing less ; and it would probably have been only the uniform absence of salmon-fry that would have excited any attention or remark. This is the way it seems to me. Of late years, the number offish has been too small to give much of a chance of stranding a little one, even if the old rocky puddles had been left in condition. More than this, it does not seem probable that a year-old fish would ever trust himself up the river, unless he were a candidate for starvation. There are flies enough to support a few chubs and trout, and that seems to be all. The salmon and alewives seem to deteriorate rapidly in con- dition with every step they take from the sea to the highest point they reach. Those taken much above the mills we think of little account. Coming iu from the sea, at the mouths of the bays, salmon are occasion- ally caught with a codfish-hook and a piece of pork, perhaps, and when they are leaving the river, black, and eel-shaped, and ravenous, they have been caught in that way also; but between these two periods, they seem to subsist upon and consume their own substance laid up at sea, together with what few insects they pick up. The young of the ale- wives are grown in the large shoal lakes, where there seems to be some little chance of subsistence for a small fish, while the salmon is confined to the little stream itself, with its scanty supply of food. I hope I have not tired you with these details, which possibly you understand' very much better than I. Yours, truly, THOMAS Lli^COLN. Professor S. F, Baird. NOTES AND CORKESPONDENCE ON THE SALMON AND TROUT. 371 B— Oi^ STOMACHS OF SALMON AXD THEIR CONTENTS. 1. — ON THE CiECAL APPENDAGES OF THE STOMACH. New Haven, February 22, 1873. Dear Sir: I looked, over some salinon-stomaclis last November. I told Mr. Smith the result, and supposed that he put this item in with his report to yoii. I learned the other daj- from him that this was not the case. The fact was, that there was no regnlaritj' in the number or arrange- ment of the ctecal appendages. They ran all the way from 44 to 70, gradually, continuously, and without grouping. Very respectfully, JAMES K. THACHER. Professor S. F. Baird. 2. — ON THE CONTENTS OF THE STOMACH. New Haven, November 11, 1872. Dear Sir : I have carefully examined the salmon-stomachs, sent on a few days ago, but find nothing in them which could have served as food. The stomachs themselves were entirely empty, except one, which con- tained a single specimen of the external, Caligus-like, parasite, sent by Mr. Atkins as from the salmon. This may have been accidental. The intestines usually contained, especially in the pyloric region, consider- able mucus, which revealed nothing under the microscope. In several specimens, the intestines contained a few fish-scales, which, I presume, are those of the salmon, as they were also frequently found upon the outside of intestines, and loose in the i^ackages. In one specimen, there were two small bits of wood in the intestine These specimens, with a few intestinal worms, which were found, I have preserved to return with the stomachs as soon as you wish. Very truly, yours, SIDNEY I. SMITH. Professor S. F. Baird, ' Washington. D. C. [According to Dr. A. C. Hamlin, the examination of many hundred salmon in the Bangor market revealed no kind of food, exceptiug in a single instance, where two small fishes were discovered. — S. F. B.J 372 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES, 0— ON THE SILVER-TROUT OF MONADNOCK LAKE, NEW HAMPSHIRE. Keene, N. H., October 30, 1872. Dear Sir: I send you by express to-day a few specimens of the "silver- trout," or " Dublin trout," as they are called here. They were caught in Center Pond, in Dublin, yesterdaj^, and are fair specimens of the variety found there. The pond lies at the foot of Monadnock Mountain, and is sometimes called Monadnock Lake. The shores and bottom are covered with a fine white sand. The water is always much colder than that in the neighboring j)onds, as it is fed only by deep springs, there being no stream running into the pond. The water is also very clear. In the pond are a few dace, perch, and eels, which are not in any way peculiar. I believe the flesh of these trout is a fine salmon-color, and they have a great local reputation for the angler and for the table since the settle- ment of the country. They are caught only in Mayor June and in October, Avheu they seek their spawning-beds in the shallows of the pond. Great numbers were formerly taken from the spawning-beds, but they are now protected by law at that season. They are thought by our anglers to be a different species from the brook-trout of our New Hampshire streams, and by some are claimed to be "land-locked sal- mon." I hope these specimens may enable you to decide these (luestions. As the colors will be damaged by the alcohol in which I send them, I give you the notes of the coloring of a female, measuring nine inches in length and weighing four ounces : iris, dark-brown ; upper part of head, black ; gill-covers, silvery white, with iirismatic reflections ; lower jaw, white, with a dark line near the mouth ; back, light olive-green j sides, light-green to lateral line, and then much lighter, shading rapidly to white of belly, the whole gleaming like silver in the sun-light, even under water ; belly, white, tinged with bright vermilion. Sides covered with golden spots, rather faint in color, from one-eighth to three-six- teenths of an inch in diameter; lateral Hue very distinct; the pectoral, ventral, anal, and caudal fins bright vermilion, with the larger rays in each white; the dorsal and adipose fins olive-green, mottled with brown ; the scales are small, but very distinct. The male is darker colored, with much more red upon the belly, and has small red spots in many of the yellow spots, resembling much more some of our brook- trout. I may add that no other pond, as far as I have learned, has trout marked like these. Hoping these specimens may arrive safely and in a satisfactory con- dition, I remain, yours, truly, THOS. E. HATCH, Com. on Fisheries for New Hampshire. Professor S. F. Baird, [These fish proved to belong to the group of lake-trout, probably closely related to what Dr. Prescott called Salmo symmetrica. — S. F. B.] NOTES AND COERESPONDENCE ON THE SALMON AND TEOUT. 373 D— OX THE EDIBLE QUALITIES OF THE SACEAMENTO SAL- MON. San Francisco, August 1, 1872. Dear Sir: Your esteemed aud very iuterestiug fiivor of the 12tli ultimo reached me not until yesterday, owing j)robably to some irregu- larity of the mail. It is quite encouragiug to us out liere to learn that the commissioners of the Eastern States are taking an interest in the fishes of this coast. Born and raised on the Atlantic seaboard and accustomed from my boyhood to fishing in its waters, I have found much to interest one in the marked difference of the fishes of the Pacific coast from those of the Atlantic. As a rule (with the exception of the salmon) the fish of this coast are not so good in quality not so reliable in quantity, neither are there lai»ge runs of migratory fish, as is the case on your coast. The herring comes into the harbors in schools, but not in quantities. The mackerel is rarely seen, and the few that frequent our bays are small, and, as a general rule, applying to all our fish, saving the salmon, there is a want of both fatness and flavor. The halibut we also have somewhat plentiful on the northern coast, and sometimes in small numbers as low down as the harbor of San Francisco. Our great and reliable fish is the salmon, visiting our coast, in swarms annually, from the Bay of Monterey to the extent of the Territory of Alaska. The salmon of the harbor of San Francisco are a large, fine, fat fish, and are a valuable article of food, and are sold in the season as low as five cents per pound. They are equally plenty in all the bays and inlets north of this, improving in flavor as you go farther north, until, in the bays and rivers of Alaska, they exhibit a flavor and rich- ness utterly unknown to the epicure of the world at large. The desire of the people of California to have introduced in these waters the shad stimulated the commission to attempt the bringing across the continent the young fish from the Hudson River, and we are indebted to Mr. Seth Green for successfully placing in the Sacramento Eiver some fifteen thousand, alive, in good health and condition, and we await with faith and patience their return from the ocean. In the mean time, I, this year i:)rovided transportation for aud desired Mr. Green to send us fifty thou- sand more, for the purpose of pursuing the experiment yearly, until the first return might assure us of success; but the engagements of Mr. Green are such as to prevent his coming with them himself, and the difficulties of transporting them he deemed too great for him to intrust the care of them to any one else. Mr. Green has written me upon the subject of obtaining salmon-ova on this coast, and I have answered him that they can be obtained here in the vicinity of San Francisco in un- limited quantity. Referring to the mission of Mr. Livingstone Stone, I would add that here he can have every facility for obtaining salmon-ova, and the im- pregnation of them. The fisheries which supply this city with salmon 374 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. are but a few miles distautj and are landed twice a day daily by steamers. The fisli in full spawning condition can be obtained directly from the nets, and the transportation of impregnated spawn is available daily bj^ express. It will give us great pleasure'to meet your friend, Mr. Stone, and you will do me a favor by advising me of the time of proba- ble arrival here, that I may be on the lookout for him. I know that he can teach us many things upon this, to me, very interesting subject, and it will give us great pleasure, not only to meet, but to be as useful to him as we can be. With much respect, 1 remain, very truly, yours, S. E. THROCKMORTON, Chairman California Commission of Fish and Fisheries. Hon. Spencer F. Baird, United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. E— ON THE SALMON-FISHERIES OF THE SACRAMENTO RIVER. By Livingston Stone. Charlestown, N. H., November^ 1873. Dear Sir : In reply to your inquiries as to the extent and nature of the salmon -fisheries in the Sacramento River, I have to say that in February, 1873, 1 went to the Sacramento River and at Rio Vista and other points gathered the following rather fragmentary notes, which I l^resent here as supplementary to my report on the Sacramento River for 1872. The fishing on the Sacramento is done in three ways: 1st, by drift- nets; 2d, by fyke-nets ; 3d, by sweep-seines. 1. — DRIFT-NET FISHING. The drift-nets are nsed exclusively for catching salmon. They have an 84-inch mesh, are usually 40 meshes deep, and from 150 to 200 fathoms long. As nearly as I could learn, there were not far from a hundred salmon-nets in operation on the Sacramento River in 1872. At the meeting of the salmon fishermen of the Sacramento that year, there were 95 boats represented. These nets are worked by simply drifting them with the tide. The salmon, which of conrse are heading against the tide, are gilled in the meshes. The turn of the tide is the most favorable time for this sort of fishing. The nets are frequently drifted a mile before being hauled in. The salmon-fishing is conducted entirely by white men, no Chinamen being allowed to participate in it. There is no law regulating the matter, but public opinion is so strong in relation to it, and there is such a prejudice against the Chinamen, that any attempt on their part to engage in salmon- fishing would meet with a summary and probably fatal retaliation. NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE ON THE SALMON AND TROUT. 375 The number of fresh salmon shipped from Eio Vista to San Francisco in the year 1872 is as follows: January 792 February , 1, 581 March -"- 1, 945 April 3, 354 May 4, 408 June 1, 201 July 1, 145 August c 1, 49G September 2, 335 October '. 583 ]l:ToYember . - , 441 December.: 390 Total... 1 9 , G 7 1 On one day in February, when I came down the river, there were put on board the steamer, at Courtland, 7 fresh salmon ; at Uio Vista, 32 fresh salm.on; at Sherman Island, 32 fresh salmon; at Collinsville, 123 fresh salmon. The daily number of fresh fish (salmon and sturgeon) brought down the Sacramento Elver to San Francisco in 1872 by the steamers of the Central Pacific Eailroad Company, is as follows : JANUARY. FEBRUARY. JIAHCII. Date. Fisli. Date. Fish. Date. Fish. 87 97 105 182 111 115 133 125 113 199 211 224 243 112 166 234 308 214 172 302 73 294 210 221 210 207 112 46 76 301 141 5,514 February 1 326 174 2S7 157 324 250 337 393 334 282 415 296 280 228 253 432 247 259 348 408 285 389 249 223 334 276 292 395 272 5,779 •''47 2 3 109 3 3 402 4 4 4 402 5 5 6 404 6 6....: 401 7 7 1 03!) 8 8 8 3-4 9 9 9 139 10 10 10 334 11 11 11 070 12 12 12 356 13 13 13 31G 14 14 14 135 15 15 15 447 16 16 16 283 17 17 17 ... 41'1 18 18 1». 19 19 19 501 20 20 20 . 4-''5 21 21 21 452 22 22 22 106 23 23 23 516 24 24 :. 24 396 25 25 25 102 26 26 26 2.''i.3 27 27 27 244 26 28 28 242 29 29 29 3S4 30 Total 30 344 31 31 3T8 Total Total 11,394 376 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. AFHIL. MAY. JUNE. Date. rish. Date. Fish. Date. Fisli. ^pril 1 243 57 198 439 4,711 114 May 1 1,485 1,758 1, 342 560 536 2 o 3 3 3 403 4 4 4 207 5 5 229 6 .... 6 993 1,487 1,298 1,361 1,046 482 0 174 7 7 157 8 428 372 418 599 578 310 8 8 75 9 9 9 . 10 10 10 175 11 11 11 220 12 .. .. 12 12 300 13 13 431 573 689 1,216 1,668 712 13 357 14 14 14 348 15 5S9 960 863 879 643 581 15 15 210 16 16 16 17 17 17 564 18 IS 18 307 19 19 19 306 20 . . .. 20 694 929 899 859 950 637 20 158 21 . ... 21 21 41 22 693 905 827 1,123 835 435 oo 22 38 23 23 . . 23 24 24 24 . 89 25 25 25 157 26 26 26 139 27 27 28 29 980 1.193 1, 297 1, 242 603 27, 395 27 162 28 28 100 29 1,014 990 15, 613 29 109 30 30 Total 31 5,561 Total Total JULY. AUGUST. SEPTEIIBER. Date. Pish. Date. Fish. Date. Fish. Julv 1 266 43 134 81 73 38 454 177 72 2 ... 2 2 836 3 3 3 831 4 4 4 1,269 5 560 747 632 558 573 159 5 6 1,170 - 6 6 512 7 7 7 215 g 249 202 214 266 177 75 8 8 9 9 10 9 708 10 10 636 11 11 11 412 12 . ... 12 105 661 297 1,014 798 186 12 512 13 13 13 331 14 14 15 14 258 15 103 140 281 276 181 175 15 16 16 16 890 17 17 17 18 19 766 18. 18 1,112 19 19 1,041 1,205 1,567 1,499 1,001 165 1, 042 20 20 21 22 23 20 461 21 21 261 22 363 330 337 323 353 270 22 23 23 24 567 24 24 563 25 25 385 26 26 27 427 243 341 591 304 240 15, 677 26 303 07 27 225 28 28 28 154 29 520 228 345 5,043 29 . . 29 30 30 30 263 31 31 Total Total Total 14, 706 NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE ON THE SALMON AND TROUT. 377 OCTOBEU. NOVEMBER. DECEMBER. Date. Fish. Date. Fish. Date. Fish. 189 251 462 136 67 40 33 2 2... 3 2 136 3 3 60 4 4 82 69 111 122 107 43 4 5 6 246 5 5 213 6 6 128 143 160 148 218 85 74 7 113 8 8 8 9 9 9 234 10 10 10 248 11 11 91 67 123 147 81 98 11 234 12 12 13 12 2S3 13 13 123 14 95 81 112 118 22 70 14 14 151 ID 15 15 16 16 16 116 17 17 17 164 IS 18 87 112 167 157 70 50 18 226 19 19 19 204 20 20 20 74 21 75 87 122 114 52 50 21 21 64 22 ... oo 22 23 23 23 86 24 ... 24 24 62 25 .. 25 53 58 118 78 51 92 25 93 26 26 27 28 26 27 127 27 100 28 62 18 2 69 28 75 29 29 29 30 30 30 100 31 Total 32 70 2,367 Total Total 3,082 3,716 The i)roportion of sturgeon and salmon in tlie shipments of the va- rious mouths is estimated by the Sau Traucisco market-men as follows : January, 10 per cent, salmon, 90 per cent, sturgeon. February, 10 per ceut. salmon, 90 per cent, sturgeon. March, 50 per cent, salmon, 50 per ceut. sturgeon. April, mostly salmon. May, all salmon. June, all salmon. July, all salmon. August, all salmon. September, all salmon. October, 50 per cent, salmon, 50 per cent, sturgeon. Kovember, 50 per ceut. salmon, 50 per cent, sturgeon. December, 10 per ceut. salmon, 90 X^er cent, sturgeou. Besides the salmon above mentioned, a large number are taken by sailing-vessels, and by the opposition line of steamers and other cou- Tcyances, to Sau Francisco and the larger towns. The points from which salmon are shipped on the river-steamers are, Sacramento City, Courtland, Emmatowu, Eio Yista, Collinsville, Auti- och, Benicia, Martinez. In the spring of 1872 about 25,000 salted salmon came from the Sac- ramento Eiver to San Francisco, and in the fall of the same year about 9,000. Tiie Eio Vista salmon fishermen recommend the prohibition of fishing from June 1 to October 1, or from June 15 to October 15. 378 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONEE OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 2. — FYKE-NET FISHING. The fyke-nets have a mesh of 2^ inches. There were in the winter of 1872-'73 eighty-five fyke-nets on the Sacramento at Eio Vista. They are stationary, of course, and are examined every twenty-four liours. All the kinds of fish that are found in the river are caught in these nets Mr. John D. Ingersoll, a j)rominent fyke fisherman of Eio Vista, in- formed me that the daily catch for twenty nets is now about seventy-five IDOundsof fish. They include chubs, herring, perch, riparous, sturgeons, hardheads, splittails, Sacramento pike, suckers, crabs. Of these the perch, pike, and sturgeon are the best food-fishes, though all of the species named are sold in the market. There has been a vast decrease in the returns of the fyke-nets during the last twenty years. In 1852 and 1853, they used to catch 700 or 800 pounds a day in one fyke-net. An average of 250 pounds a day for one net at Sacramento City was usually expected in those times. The pre- sent catch of 75 i)ounds a day in twenty nets, certainly i:)resents an alarm- ing contrast. The fyke-net fishing is conducted wholly b}^ white men, I believe, the Chinese fishermen being ruled oat by force of public sen- timent. The fyke-nets are usually visited early in the morning of each day, and the catch is sent down to San Francisco by the noon boat. The fyke-net fishing begins in JTovember and is continued till May. The best fishing is when a rise in the water drives the fish in shore where the fyke-nets are placed. During the summer months the water is warmer, the fish are poor, and the fishing is discontinued. On the 27th of February, 1873, 1 went the rounds of Mr. IngersolPs set of fyke-nets with him. We visited twenty nets, but as some of them had not been examined for over twenty-four hours, the yield was supposed to be equivalent to one day's fishing for thirty nets. The nets had four hoops each and 11-feet wings. We took out about 120 pounds of fish in all. Hardheads were the most numerous, and the Sacramento pike next- Mr. Ingersoll said that perch used to rank second in abundance in fyke- net fishing, the average for thirty nets being 200 or 300 pounds a day, bat the perch were quite insignificant in numbers on this day. We found in the nets seven small viviparous perch and two small sturgeon. I learned also that mink, beaver, and otters are sometimes caught in the nets. In 1S72 Mr. Ingersoll caught 8 minks, 2 beavers, and one otter in his fyke-nets. 3. — SWEEP-SEINE FISHING-. The sweep-seine fishing is given over to the Chinese, who are not al- lowed by public sentiment to engage in either of the other two kinds of fishing just described, but what they are not permitted to do by the prohibited methods, they make ample amends for by their own methods. They are, I should say, the most industrious and persistent fishermen on the river. They fish all the year round. They use fine mesh-nets, NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE ON THE SALMON AND TROUT. 379 with which they sweep every part of the river, especially the partially- stagnant fresh-water lagoons, or sloughs, as they are called in California, where the fish collect iu myriads to spawn. With these nets they catch vast quantities of fish of all sizes, and so destructive has their fishing been on the Sacramento, that all the fish of that river except salmon are disappearing with unexampled rapidity. It is owing to this kind of fishing that the returns of the fyke-nets have diminished so alarmingly the last few years. The Chinese have been at it for seven or eight years, and if they keep on three or four years more at this rate, the small fish of the Sacramento will be practi- cally exterminated. I had no means of ascertaining with any exact- ness how many Chinese fisherman there were on the river, but there are a large number, and Mr. lugersoll said that they were increasing every year. The most of their fresh fish they send to the San Francisco Chinese markets as soon as caught, but they also dry a great quantity of them on bars and floors prepared for the purpose. These are both eaten by themselves and sent packed in barrels to the Chinese quarter in San Francisco. While at Eio Nita in February, 1873, I visited a Chinese fishing-station on the Sacramento River. It was located about 80 rods above the Rio Xita steamboat-landing, and consisted of a nest of Chinese fishing-boats numbering seven small boats and three large ones. There was also on the shore, just across the road, two old tumble- down buildings with drying-bars and floors near by iu the open air, where some of the fishermen lived and attended to the drying of the fish. The small boats were small, flat-bottomed dories, square at the stern, sharp at the bow, about 15 feet long, and strongly built. The large boats were also strongly built, but narrow and pointed at both ends, and constructed in the Chinese fashion. Two of the three large boats had one mast, and the other one had two masts, considerably raking, with Chinese sails, which were not like anything used in this country for sails. Xearly amidships, but a little nearer one end than the other, was a tent in which the Chinamen lived. There was also considerable space in the hold of this really Chinese junk, which added a good deal to their house-room. The whole air and look of these crafts was decidedly foreign, and I might say oriental. If I understand their method rightly, the small boats are to visit the sloughs and various fishing points when they go out to dra'.v the seine, and the larger boats are really only movable dwellings and store- houses, where they live and receive the fish that are brought in by the small boats, and which, of course, they move from place to place on the river as the exigencies of the changing fishing seasons may require. Yours, respectfully, LIVmCSTON STONE. Prof. S. F. Baird. XIV.-ADDITIONAL REPORTS RELATIVE TO THE HATCHING AND PLANTING OF THE PENOBSCOT &ALMON. A— NEW HAMPSHIRE. Concord, N. H., June 14, 1873. Dear Sir : The salmou-eggs received from Mr. Atkins were hatched at Meredith with a loss of about 30 per ceut., and have been turned out in the head-waters of the Merrimack, at Woodstock, Thornton, West Carapton, Campton, and Plymouth, together with most of those hatched by the Massachusetts commission, which I have just turned out for them — about 160,000 in all. I placed them in the main stream at those points, believing that there are less enemies in the main stream, in pro- l^ortion to the territory, and better hiding-places on the cobble bottom, than in the small streams, to say nothing of the nearer approach to their natural condition in the ordinary natural way of breeding in our streams. I think I wrote you in relation to the hatching and turning into Win- nipiseogee and Sunapee Lakes 150,000 whitefish, hatched from eggs procured at Missisquoi Bay last fall. This is the fourth year we have hatched more or less of this species of fish, all of which have been put into the same waters, with the view of showing some results as soon as possible. Last winter or early spring, I procured some of the whitefish from Winnipiseogee for you, but they were not in good condition ; and think- ing I could get some better specimens, I did not send them, and I have not been able to get any of them since. I will endeavor to give you both varieties next fall, when they can be caught freely. ' I have been very busy, and have had no time to prepare a paper for you on the subject of whitefish-hatching, &c., but may be able to do so at some future time. I expect soon to carry some eggs or young fry of the shad from North Andover, below the Lawrence dam, to Winnipiseogee Lake, where thousands have beeu deposited within the past five or six years. I shall soon commence operations with the black bass, and hope to be able to stock several waters with them this season. I have the honor to be, respectfully, yours, WM. W^ FLETCHER, Commissioner. Prof. S. P. Baird, United States Commis&ioner of Fish and Fisheries. B— NEW JEESEY. Sir : T have the honor to report that the share of the spawn of the Maine salmon awarded to the State of New Jersey, amounting to forty thousand, were shipped by Mr. Atkins per express February 25, of the present year, and arrived at Troutdale March 1. On being unpacked, they were found to be in excellent condition, the entire loss being not over one per cent., by far the least percentage of loss of any lot of spawn ever received at Troutdale. This I attribute to the method of packing adopted by Mr. Atkins, which consists in placing fine gauze above and below each layer of eggs, the nettiug being attached to a wire ring. The weight of the superincumbent mass is thus evenly distributed over the spawn, and th5y can also be unpacked, cleaned, and placed in the hatching-troughs with much greater facility. There is but little doubt but that many eggs are destroyed by the rough handling rendered necessary in unpacking and cleaning them when packed in the ordinary manner. The entire forty thousand were unpacked and placed upon the grilles of my hatching-troughs in less than an hour. Few spawn died after unpacking, though some were lost by the prema- ture bursting of the shell of the egg, an accident of common occurrence, but of which I have not as yet been able to ascertain the cause. The trays were examined twice daily, and the young removed to the nursery-trough, on the bottom of which fine gravel, throughly boiled to free it from any dirt, had been placed. The alevin stage was short, the sac having disappeared by April 20. The young were then fed upon beefs-heart freed from all fibrous x)articles, reduced to a fine pulp in a chopping- machine run by water-power, sifted through a fine screen of wire gauze, and fed them drop by drop through a bulb-syringe. The tedium of this process may be imagined when I state that nearly three hours were occupied in feeding the lot. This is the most critical period in the existence of the young fish, and the greatest care and patience are required. On the adjournment of the legislature of the State of New Jersey, without making any appropriation for the use of the commissioners of fisheries, I at once wrote you in regard to the final distribution of these fishes. Acting under your advice, they were placed in streams as fol- lows : May 1, 18,000 were placed in a i)ond containing no other fishes, and communicating by a small rivulet with the Musconetcong Creek, a tributary of the Delaware ; May 2, 15,000 were placed in Salmon Eun, at the head-waters of the Earitan Eiver ; May 14, about 2,500 were placed in two streams upon the southern coast of Long Island. Hoping that the above will meet with your approbation, I am, sir, respectfullv, yours, J. H. SLACK, M. D. Prof. S. F. Baird, United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. C— PENNSYLYAXIA. SALMON-HATCHING ON THE DELAWARE. Od Marcb 22, 1873, by previous arrangement I received from Charles G. Atkins, Bucksport, Me., 40,000 salmon-eggs, forwarded by order of Spencer F. Baird, the United States commissioner of fisheries, to be hatched for the Delaware. I had already in position two wooden troughs, each 15 feet long and 2 feet wide in the clear, the bottoms covered to the depth of an inch with tine gravel, at Heitzman Spring, two miles above Easton, on the New Jersey side. This is a copious spring, flowing from limestone strata, a volume of about GOO gal- lons per minute, and the brooks, with rapids and i)ools, discharging, after a course of 150 yards, into the Delaware. The eggs were received with but slight loss (only 305) in transportation. The sudden transition, however, from water nearly as low as the freezing-point to spring- water at 51°, forced the hatching to such extent that there was great mortality in the embryos, many perishing with their heads and shoulders protrud- ing from the eggs. A careful record kept by the person who had charge of the troughs shows a loss of 11,978 eggs and alevin from the time they were received until the last of them were discharged from the troughs — a period of about six weeks. The fry were allowed gradually to escape into the brook, as their yolk-sacs were absorbed, and at which time they commenced feeding. There are numerous large limestone- springs flowing into the Delaware in the neighborhood just at the water's edge, some of which are only seen at a very low stage of water. The fry will, therefore, find a suitable temperature in this part of the river. These, (say 25,000 fry,) with the 13,000 previously placed in a tributary of the Delaware, will, I trust, afford an opportunity to solve the problem whether the true salmon {S. salar) can be acclimated to this fine river. THADDEUS NOERIS. D— OHIO. Dear Sir : The salmon-eggs were put iu the hatching-troughs at Cas- talia the 17th of March, and by the 1st of April 90 per cent, were out. Some of the eggs were developed 24 hours after reaching the spring. From the 1st of April to the 1st of May not over a hundred fish were lost. As they fed well at this time, the fish were placed, a few daily, iu the large pond to care for themselves. This pond is of about 15 acres and contains an abundance of food : the usual temperature of the river is about 45° Fahrenheit ; clear as crystal and deep, with shallow margins, on which numerous aquatic plants abound. As there are no fishes inhabiting these waters, save small-sized species and the stickleback, I do not see but what the little salmon will have it their own way. There are at present about four thousand in the ADDITIONAL REPORTS ON THE PLANTING OF SALMON. 383 pond. I do not thiuk it worth while to send any more salmon- eggs to this State unless it be in the way of experiment, as tbis is the only water suited to their development. It discharges itself after a course of six miles into the Sandusky Bay, thence into Lake Erie. It has four dams in this short distance, and I doubt if a law could be passed at present to oblige the construction of fishways. E. STERLING. Professor S. F. Bated, United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. E— WlSCOiS^SIX. An arrangement was made with Mr. H. F. Dousmau, of "Waterville, Wis., to afford two troughs in his hatching-house for the care of the sal- mon-ova to be supplied for the State of Wisconsin. As the Eastern States had assumed the expense of the care of the eggs and the dis- tribution of the young fish from the hatching-house to the waters in which the}' were to be placed, it was thought desirable that the Western States should show a like amount of public spirit, though they were not as well prepared, having neither fishery commissioners nor funds appropriated for the purpose of fish-hatching. Several gentlemen of Wisconsin were consulted by letter and in i^erson, and a bill appropriat- ing §500 for the purpose was presented to the State legislature and passed, affording more than sufficient means to carry out the work for the season. Among those who were active in obtaining the appropria- tion were Dr. J. W. Hoyt, president of the Wisconsin Academy of Science and Art; Dr. I. A. Lapham, of Milwaukee; and Hon. L. J. Far- well, of Madison. The first lot of spawn, 9,000 eggs, was received March 3, in very good condition, only 100 dead ones being found among them. A second lot came to hand on the 10th of the month, about 18,000 eggs, and with 350 dead ones. A third lot of 13,000 arrived March 19, with 1,000 of them dead. The spawn were received at Milwaukee and cared for be- tween that place and Waterville, under the direction of Dr. I. A. Lap- ham. Mr. Dousman was in correspondence with Mr. Atkins, of Bucksport, Me., with reference to the care of the eggs, and gave them his personal care and attention. On the 13th of March, the first young fish made its appearance, and before the last of the month all of the first lot were hatched. By the 1st of April, the second lot were also hatched, and within a few days all of the eggs remaining good were hatched. Mr. Dousman started with 7,000 young fish on the IGth of April for the Menomonee River, and on the 17th turned them into the stream. They were put into the river at a rapids where the bottom was rocky, and which he deemed a favorable x>lace for the young salmon. 384 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. This river was selected, after considerable discussion, as one of the more favorable streams on the Lake Michigan side of the State for the l>urpose. The Kewaunee Eiver, of Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, was selected as another favorable stream, and on the 25th of the month Mr. Dousman started with all the remainder of the young fish, but 1,000, which were placed in Oconomowoc Lake. A telegram from the steamboat agent announced the departure of a boat for Kewaunee the next dtxy, and theyonng fish were brought into the city and put aboard the steamer. Before the steamer had left the dock, a stiff breeze from the eastward had closed the mouth of the river with floating ice, and all navigation from the port was stopped for several days. In a letter of May 3, Mr. Dousman writes : " The fish did very well until Sunday night, when they began to die, and on Monday morning about half of them were dead. I at once went to see Dr. Lapham, and we agreed that there was no use to try and get anywhere with them by rail, as they would probably all die, and the only chance to get any good out of them was to put them into the Milwaukee Eiver. "I accordingly took them up the river about five miles, to a very nice place in some rapids, and turned them loose. " Those that were left seemed to be in very good condition and swam off quite lively. The condition of navigation this spring was all that prevented a very gratifying success in the planting of salmon in the Wisconsin rivers ; and although something may be expected from the few thousand fish put into these two streams, it would be advisable, if practicable, to make a larger exi>eriment this fall. APPENDIX 0. THE SHAD AND ALEWIFE. (SPECIES OF CLUPEID^].) S. Mis. 74 25 XV.-LETTERS REFERRING TO EXPERIMENTS OF W. C. DANIELL, M. D., IN INTRODUCING SHAD LNTO THE ALABAMA RIVER. Decatur, Ga., January 9, 1860. Dear Sir : Having some twelve years ago had, through the agency of my friend Major Cooper, the fecundated eggs of the white shad depos- ited in the Etowah River, one of the sources of the Alabama River, and that fish having been since taken in that river and in the Black Warrior for the first time, I desire to learn whether it has been through the agency of Major Cooper and myself. It seems that the white shad made its appearance one or two years after the deposit of the fecundated eggs by Major Cooper, if our memories as to dates be accurate. Please say what is the opinion of naturalists as to the time in which the fecund, ated Qgg reproduces itself. I suppose it is a difficult question. I am sure your courtesy will indulge this liberty. The solution given in Alabama to the appearance of the white shad in the Alabama, before advised of what we had attempted in Georgia for them, was that shad were taken by railroad from Savannah to Montgomery, some four hun- dred miles, and dressed in their hotels, whence the ofifal passed through gutters to the river, carrying the eggs of the fish. When it was eistab- lished that the white shad had been taken in the Alabama and Black Warrior Rivers, a committee of the Agricultural Society of Alabama came to Georgia and took, in a hogshead of water, a numbeV of the you '\g shad and placed them in the Alabama River. It is supposed by naturalists that the whale visits the inlets of South Carolina and Georgia annually to calve. That is my belief, based upon a number of facts which have reached me in the last thirty years. Very respectfully and truly, your obedient servant, W. C. DANIELL. I inclose the letter of Maj. Mark A. Cooper, my assistant in introduc- ing the fecundated eggs of the white shad into the Alabama River, through one of its main sources. Major Cooper corroborates the date, which is important to me, as I had in a letter to Col. Isaac Croom, Greensboro, Ala., said, on the recollection of a member of my family, that it was not later than 1850. That date has been since corrected by the recollections of Mrs. Daniell, and my youngest son, Charles, who were about at the date of my letter to Colonel Croom, and in their belief I firmly concur, from recollections recalled by them. I have corrected the error to Colonel Croom. In the spring of 1858, after the presence of the white shad in the 388 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. waters of the Alabama, as Colouel Groom states from personal observa- tion, at the falls of Black Warrior, near Tuscaloosa, several gentlemen went from Alabama to tide water, in this State, and collecting a number of the fry of the white shad, transported them by railroad in a hogs- head of water, kept cool with ice, to Montgomery, and committed them to the waters of the Alabama River. This, I believe, was done because having found that the water of the Gulf was suitable, a rapid increase of that fish was expected to be made. Very truly, yours, W. C. DANIELL. Professor S. F. Baird, Washington, I). C. Decatur, Ga., January 20, 1860. Dear Sir : I thank you for your prompt response to my inquiry as to the time in which the shad attains its maturity. I take pleasure in sup- plying you with the information which you suggest relative to the intro- duction of the white shad into the Alabama River. Learning from the fishermen frequenting the Savannah market during the season- for taking shad, that there is a clear distinction between the shad of the Savannah River and those taken in the Ogeechee River, a neighboring stream, I drew the plain inference that the young fry of that fish attained their growth near the mouths of the respective rivers in which they had been spawned, and I supposed that if once placed in the Alabama waters they would thrive there as well as in the Atlantic rivers of Georgia. In the early spring of 1848 I was with my family on my Drakies plantation, on the Georgia shore of the Savannah River, some ten miles above the city. My table was freely supplied with the white shad just taken and delivered alive at my kitchen. I had the matured eggs taken from the live parent spread on brown paper and the liquor pressed from the fresh milt of the male fish over the eggs. Thus prepared, they were dried in the shade and carefully laid aside. I sent the i3ackage to my friend Maj. Mark A. Cooper, of Etowah, Cass County, who carefully placed them in a small stream (branch) flowing into the Etowah River, as I had suggested. He paid frequent visits, and watched closely the de- posit until all the eggs disappeared, which they did gradually. The Etowah River, as you know, is one of the upper sources of the Alabama River, taking its rise in CTnion County, and not very distant from the ^^Torth CaroUna line. I am dependent on the recollections of two mem- bers of my family for my date, (1848.) They have very distinct impres- sions, and have mentioned circumstances and little details, some of which I myself know to be true. As the winter of 1847-'48 was the last season that my family spent at Drakies, I cannot cite a more recent DANIELL INTRODUCTION OF SHAD IN ALABAMA RIVER. 389 date for the preparation of the shad-eggs. Possibly it may have been earlier. The first white shad known to have been taken was in 1851 or 1852, in traps placed at the foot of the Black Warrior, near Tuscaloosa, Ala. Their value not being known, the owner of the traps threw some away and sold others for a few .cents. About the same time the white shacl was taken in traps at tfie foot of the falls of the Alabama River, near Wetumpka. In 1858 (or ten years, as I suppose;- after the deposit of the eggs by Major Cooper) they were taken in abundance in the traps near Tuscaloosa. Very truly yours. Professor S. F. Baird, Washington, D. C. W. C. DANIELL. E'i'OWAH, Ga., January 26, 18G0. Dear Doctor: I thank you for your letter of the 21st instant, received yesterday, calling to mind an incident of nearly twelve years past, which was an experiment made by me at your instance and request, with the expectation, as you advised me, of supplying the western waters emptying into the Gulf with the white shad, a fish unknown in those waters up to that date. Mrs. DauieU, and Charlie, and you, are certainly just in their and your recollections. So is my recollection that early in the spring of 1848 I received of you by mail, directed to me at this place, a letter and a pack- age. In your letter you stated to me a fact entirely new to me, but ascertained by naturalists, that the eggs of the white shad, taken from the fish as soon as caught, might be impregnated by a process artificial, preserved, and sent any reasonable distance, and, being favorably deposited at a proper period of the year, would hatch. You had there- fore taken the proper steps to procure the eggs of the white shad thus prepared, and forwarded them to me, living on the Etowah River, the waters of which run into the Gulf of Mexico. You requested me to select a proper location in some small stream emptying into the Etowah. Your object, as you explained, was to stock the waters emptying into the Gulf with white shad, that the people of the States watered by these rivers might be furnished with one of the best that is known. The package which accompanied this letter contained the eggs, a great number. Being excited and interested. I took special care of the eggs, and in the month of April, selected, as I was advised by you, a favora- ble location in a small branch or streamlet which empties into the Eto wah River near my residence, between the rolling-mill and flour-mill, and there deposited the eggs, taking every precaution to screen them against intrusion. After a time they disappeared, and there my account of the eggs must end. I did not take the precaution to confine them, 390 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. fearing that it might hazard success. I did not watch them by the hour ; my business forbade it. About two years thereafter I heard for the first time that this shad was found in our waters. I do not doubt that the introduction of this fish in our western waters is properly traceable to your enterprise and provident care. Yery truly yours, MAEK A. COOPER. Dr. William 0. Daniell, Wayside^ Ga. XVI.-LETTERS REFERRING TO THE PRESENCE OF SHAD IN THE RIVERS TRIBUTARY TO THE GULF OF MEXICO. Greenville, Ala., April 11, 1872. Dear Sir : Your favor of the 4tli instant to hand, and in reply state that the white shad are caught in Pea Kiver, at Elba, Coffee County, Alabama. They commence catchiug them in fall traps about the 15th of March, up to the 1st of May. They commenced running in that stream about the year 1804, in small quantities, increasing in size and quantities every season. They also catch the hickory and gizzard shad, which are easily distinguished from the white, in size, flavor, and shape. The white shad's mouth comes together even, and is white. They are thicker and broader, have a dark streak on each side of the backbone after cutting open, and have a different flavor from any other fish, while the hickory shad's under lij) is larger than the upper, and is black and extremely bony, and they taste entirely different from the white shad. Mr. John P. Reynolds, of this city, who was raised at Macon, Ga., and dealt in Savanuah shad, was at Elba last week, and says they were then catchiug the genuine white shad. Hoping that you may be able to stock the southern waters with them, and having no doubt that it can be done, I am vours, respectfully, JNO. T. KNIGHT. Mr. W. P. YoNGE, Spring Villa, Ala. P. S. — The above statement is correct. JNO. P. EEYi^OLDS. YONGESBOROUGH, Ala., April 15, 1872. Dear Sir : By request of Col. W. Penn Yonge, I address you in regard to the breeding and stocking of the southern waters with white shad and herring. Several years' residence in South Alabama and Florida gave me op- portunities of noticing the characteristics of many of the numerous streams giving their waters to the Gulf. I have fished, and hunted the deer, on the Conecuh and its tributaries, the Big and Little Escambias. Tide-water flows as high up as the Molino Mills, twenty-five miles above Pensacola, by railroad, giving at least seventy-five miles from the mouth of Escambia Bay, to the highest flow. I think I can safely say there are no streams on the continent better adapted for the introduction and reproduction of the shad and herring from the Atlantic. These waters 392 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. are pure, the bottom sandy and pebbly, affording ample and the best of spawning-grounds. The Alabama, Tombigbee, and Bigby, pene- trating tlie northern limit of the State, are equally as well adapted for the purpose as any streams in the South. For its central location, its proximity and facilities of transportation to the waters of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, point to Colonel Youge's place. Spring Villa, as the southern fish nursery. I have seen a letter from J. T. Kniglit, of Greenville, Butler County, Alabama, stating that the genuine white shad has been taken out of Pea River, a tributary of the Conecuh. At Elba, Coffee County, Ala., Mr. W. R. Tliugan says he has taken a few white shad at his mill this season, nine miles from Greenvifle, out of Pigeon Creek, another tribu- tary of the Conecuh. Mr. J. P. Reynolds, a resident of Greenville, who was raised in Macon, Ga., and an old fish-dealer, on a recent visit to Alabama, saw the shad that was taken out of Pea River, and pro- nonnced them the genuine white shad. If the above be a true state- ment, which I do not donbt, it is no longer an experiment, but a fact, that the shad can be introduced into the southern waters. We are too poor to make it an individual enterprise. We want help. Yours, most respectfully, ISAAC W. POLLARD. Hon. W. A. Handley, Washington City, D. C. Hot Springs, Ark., August 1.3, 1872. Dear Sir : In reply to the query contained in your letter just re- ceived, I have to reply that shad are caught in the Ouachita River, Hot Springs County, Arkansas. Ye lovers of choice fish ; ye epicureans of Roman taste ; just contemplate a fine, fat, delicate broiled, or a selected white shad, {Alosa prcestabilis,) nicely " planked," served up for your breakfast, dinner, or at a picnic lunch, fresh from the pure, cool, bright waters of the Ouachita. Yes, we have annually a supply of shad, in April and May, found in this stream, near its mountain source, over one thousand miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River. They are caught in a trap constructed of boards, just below the dam. This dam is the first mechanical or physical barrier found on the Ouachita. It was built by the late William Farr, to supply water for a saw, grist, and carding mill erected in 1858. The fish-trap was securely fastened to the bowlders and bed-rocks, in 1860, in effort to supply the Hot Springs market daily with fresh fish. After a spring-rain and a good rise in the water, we found, (April, 1801,) among a lot of black bass, salmon-trout, red horse, drum, and goggle- eyed perch, five fine large shad secured in the trap. Being familiar with the fish, I secured the lot and encouraged the attendants to save me all of SHAD IN THE TRIBUTARIES OF THE GULF OF MEXICO. 393 the " strange fish " that they caaght. Every year since the trap was erected shad have been caught. This year we had a large increase ; the first of the season was brought in April 5, and the heavy rains offered advantages for trapping. Shad continued running until May 12, 1872. Wagon-loads of them were brought to the springs during the season. I send you a photograph of one that measured 20| inches in length. I regret that it was not more artistically portrayed. I have partaken of shad caught in all the waters of the eastern States, or the rivers emptying into the Atlantic, from the Kennebec to the Savannah Rivers, but never enjoyed a finer-flavored or more delicious shad than those found in our waters. The river-bed, from the natural (novaculite) rocky abutment that partly crosses the Ouachita River, at Rockport, for a dis- tance of some fifty miles above, is generally rocky, with several rapids, formed of metamorphic rocks, between that point and Farr's Dam. This rocky river-bed contains good, fresh, pure living water, that is mostly supplied from spring rivulets and mountains streams. After 'heavy or continuous rains,' the main stream sometimes rises very high, frequently twenty to twenty-five feet in a few days. The Ouachita, (pronounced Oo-che-taw, generally Wash-e-taw,) is an Indian name sig- nifying male deer, called thus in consequence of the famous hunting- grounds afforded in the mountain section of its source. It was, accord- ing to the old chart, published in 1781, called Ox River, but now it is known only by the name given to it by the aborigines. It rises in the western boundary of the State, between 34P and 35° north latitude, drains a fertile section of Arkansas f^nd Lousiaua ; it empties into Black River; Black River into Red River; Red River into the Mississippi River, all between 31° and 32° north latitude. In an article contributed to the "Turf, Field, and Farm," in 1869, I called the attention ot ichthyologists to the fact that " white shad " existed in the Ouachita River. I feel that naturalists are not well versed or familiar with the true habits of the shad. I believe that shad can be found, at certain seasons, in most of the principal rivers on our eastern margin of the American continent, from the Saint Lawrence to the Rio Grande Rivers. Young shad, eleven inches long, were caught in the trap at Farr's Dam in November, 1871. I feel fully satisfied that this variety of fish is yearly becoming more abundant in the Ouachita River. On the authority of Capt. Charles B. Church, of Memphis, Tenn., I will inform you of a little circumstance doubtless of interest to you. It is a matter of record, he states, that two fine large "white shad " were taken in 1831 or 1835 at the falls on the Ohio River, between New Al- bany, Ind., and Louisville, Ky. These falls are about one thousand four hundred miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River. I have the honor to be yours, respectfully, GEORGE W. LAWRENCE, M. D. Hon. Spencer F. Baird, United States Commissioner Fish and Fisheries, Fast^ort, Me. 3D4 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. FoBT Snelling-, Minn., December 26, 1872. Your two letters of recent date came to hand in due season. In your first letter you wish me to state as near as possible the date at which the fish in question were observed by me. It was during 1856 or '57, in May, I think about the middle of the month, as it was after the corn-planting of the farmers, and during the spring of the year in which our State legislature passed an enactment to prevent the taking of fishes with the seine, which of course thereafter prevented the presence of the fish from ever becoming generally known throughout the community. Since 1861, 1 have only been a visitor at Mount Carmel twice. Because of the prohibition of seining it is more than probable that the fact that the true shad ever has been, or is now, a visitor of Wabash River, is only known to a very limited number. The four I saw taken in the Keosho Eiver were caught about the middle of May ; one bit at a hook, another was accidentally hooked in the abdomen by my wife, and two others were secured by some seiners; and all were seen by me in 1871. Then, again, if some fortunate individual should in some future time' take some of the trout from Neosho Eiver, it would not surprise me, for during the winter and spring of 1871 I procured from Livingston Stone some 1,200 trout-spawn, and hatched quite a number of them, and turned them into a spring branch, (emptying into Neosho River,) about one hundred yards from its mouth. I am respectfully, yours, WILL E. TURNER, M. D., Acting Assistant (burgeon, U. S. A., Fort Snelling, Minn. Spencer F. Baird, Washington, D. G. P. S. — By referring to Illinois State laws against seining fishes in the State, the exact date can be determined. United States Engineer's Office, Mobile, Ala., February 26, 1873. Dear Sir : Your letter dated January 29 was received this morning, having been delayed many days in Georgia. On our survey of Flint River, I made many inquiries in regard to the existence of the shad, but failed to establish any satisfactory evidence of their ever having appeared in its waters. Many of those from whom I sought information were fishermen who had been raised upon the coast of the Carolinas, and were perfectly familiar with the fish and the time of their appearance. They all said that none had ever been seen or caught by them. The river has no obstructions, even at extreme low water, preventing their movements up or down. The river is a series of pools of compar- atively deep water, discharging over gentle rapids formed by strata of SHAD IN THE TRIBUTARIES OF THE GULF OF MEXICO. 395 soft limestone, crossing the river at an angle of about thirty degrese with its direction. I found no difficulty in ascending these rapids at all times in the boats used upon the survey. On the banks of the river, from Albany down, are numerous large springs — some are 25 to 50 feet in depth. They actually swarm with fish — black bass, rock fish, perch, bream, &c. The water being perfectly transparent, every movement of the fish, and their species, are easily distinguished. All these springs have' open outlets into Flint, and are just a little above the low- water siu'face of the river. To give you an idea of the large spring near Albany, it was discharging a volume of water 60 feet wide, 4 feet deep, mean velocity about 3^ feet per second. There are also numerous sub- terraneous streams emptying into the Flint. I do not know to what cause to attribute the absence of the shad. Every portion of the river seems favorable for their propagation, and its large springs and tributaries safe depositories for their spawn. The waters of its tributaries, the Cookewahee, Kiokee, IS'ochway, and Spring Creek, are clear and deep, but highly impregnated with lime, so much so as to make the water unfit for use, but the impurities become completely neutralized by mixing with the Flint. Very truly, your obedient servant, HOLMES A. PATTISOI^. XVII.-REPORT OF A RECOiNNAISSANCE OF THE SHAD-RIVERS SOUTH OF THE POTOMAC. By H. C. Yarkow, M. D. 1. — INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. Washington, D. C, April 17, 1873. Sir: In accordance with yoar instructions, I snbinit the following as the result of my investigations in the States of Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia in regard to the shad, herring, and rock fisheries, with a view to inquiring into the alleged decrease of these fish and the best methods of, and most favorable localities tor, establishing hatching-houses for their artificial propagation. Having received the necessary leave of absence through the courtesy of my commanding officer, Lieut. George M. Wheeler, of the United States Engineer Corps, 1 left Washington for Richmond, Va., on the night of the 2d instant, arriving in the latter city on the morning of the 3d. At Richmond I visited the fish-market, but found only a few of the above-mentioned species of fish. The limited number of shad for sale commanded a price beyond the means of most persons. On inquiring the cause of this I learned that but a small number were now caught in the James River, and that for five years past the supply had been steadily decreasing, at the rate of probably 10 per cent, annually; that to such a'n extent had this decrease continued that but few fishermen were willing to risk their limited capital in an occupation i^romising sufch meager results. The cause of the decrease was variously stated. Traps, filth from the sewers of the city, constant fishing, and the plying of numerous steam-vessels are thought to drive the fish from their spawning beds. The shad seen commanded a ready sale at from 65 cents to $1 per pair. At this time, April 3, the spawn was not within three weeks of being ripe. The first shad of the season were taken in the latter part of February. The fishermen, generally, expect the season to close about the last of May. Herring abounded in this market. They were from Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds. The price asked for them was from |4 ® $5 per 1,000. Some rock-fish were also seen which were taken near the city; these brought from 8 cents to 10 cents per pound. 2. — GREAT DECREASE OF FISH IN GEORGIA. I next visited Augusta, Ga., where, according to all accounts, a most lamentable decrease in the supply of shad has existed for some time. YARROW — ON SHAD RIVERS SOUTH OF THE POTOMAC. 397 Mr. J. Higg's, of No. 8 Ellis street, an intelligent fisherman, informed me that it was his belief that there were not one-eighth as many shad in the Savannah River at the present time as formerly. He attribntes the decrease to the numerous traps and nets used since the war, and the offal from the gas-works and paper-mills near the city of Savannah. He further informed nie that shad running up the river and meeting, from the sources mentioned, impurities in the water, would retreat to Broad River, below the city. His statements were corroborated by Mr. Powell of the city marshal's office, and other persons of intelligence. I do not doubt the correctness of the views of Mr. Higgs to a certain extent, but consider the chief offending cause to be the numerous traps and nets which cover the face of the river from its mouth to Augusta. At this date there are perhaps 150 nets between Savannah and Augusta, while the average daily haul per net is not more than twenty shad. By invitation, I visited Mr. Powell's fishery, and found it to be an admirable location for hatching purposes on account of the natural ad- vantages surrounding it, and the fact that here more fish are taken than at any other point on the river, except, it may be, at the traps of Mr. Thos. Heckle, about five miles above the city. The nets used by Mr. Powell are of ordinary gilling twine, with 5^-inch mesh, and are 85 yards in length and 18 feet deep. When fished the nets are drifted a mile or so down the river at intervals during the day and night. Mr. Powell estimates the decrease in the supply of shad in the last five years at one-half, and considers 20 fish a fair daily average during the season. At this date, April 6, 24 hours' fishing with three nets has re. suited in the capture of 74 shad. This, however, is far above the num- ber ordinarily taken in the time mentioned. According to this gentle- man, shad make their appearance in the Savannah near Augusta early in March. This year, however, owing to the backwardness of spring, they did not appear until three weeks later than the usual time. They are taken until late in May. Mr. Thos. Heckle, who also owns a valuable fishery five miles above Augusta, as stated, does not use nets, but secures the shad by means of traps formed of stakes of wood. Mr. Heckle takes in these traps not more, perhaps, than ten fish per day on an average during the shad season ; but notwithstanding the limited catch, I have no hesitation in recommending his fishery as favorable for a hatching-house, since in the traps the fish remain alive until the moment of their removal, whereas in the drift-nets they are frequently drowned, and thereby ren- dered useless so far as their spawn is concerned. Mr. Heckle informed me that he had fished the Savannah for a number of years, and that eight years ago 1,500 shad were taken at a single haul. At present a haul of over 40 seldom occurs. They sell readily at from 75 cents to $1.25 per pair, while formerly they brought but from 5 cents to 12 cents each. The shad-spawn will be ripe in about ten days hence. Rock-fish are quite numerous in the Savannah River later in the season, 398 REPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. although they too have greatly decreased in numbers within the past few years. It is the impression among fishermen that they spawn as near the head-waters of the river as it is possible for them to get. Mr. Heckle earnestly recommends that the Commissioner of . Fish and Fisheries authorize the introduction and reproduction of the red-bellied perch and bald-headed bream, common in this neighborhood, into more northern waters as well as into the waters of this vicinity. These fish, he informs me, are highly esteemed and readily command a high price. Some ten years since he placed a few bream in a i^ond on his planta- tion, which have increased a thousand fold, the species appearing to do quite as well in the sluggish water of the pond as in the rapid stream. My next point was Columbia, South Carolina. In former years the Congaree and Wateree Elvers, near Columbia, were justly considered most excellent fishing-grounds for shad. Such, however, is not the case at the present time, nor has it been for several years past, not a sufficient number of shad being taken to warrant the expenditure of either time or money in their capture. A few are caught occa- sionally near the city in scoop-nets, but no regularly organized shad- fishing is carried on. It was impossible to ascertain the cause of the decrease. Eock-fish are still caught in these waters, bat not to any great extent. 3. — DECREASE IN NORTH CAROLINA. At Wilmington, N. C, the next place visited, I found the condition of affairs, with regard to the decrease of shad, to be about the same as that which existed at Columbia and Augusta. Owing to the peculiar character of the bottom and banks of the Cape Fear Eiver, no seines are used in its waters for shad-fishing, the only means employed being drift-nets. Intelligent observers stated that the daily catch of this fish in the Cape Fear, between the mouth of the river and Fayetteville, is not at present more than 100 pairs. Here, ten years ago, shad sold at from eight to ten cents apiece; they now bring from 60 cents to $1.25 a pair. The cause of the decrease could not be ascertained. I found liut very few shad from the Cape Fear in the market. The fishermen informed me that five years since a haul of 150 pairs in a single day was quite a common occurrence ; to-day they seldom take over 20 pairs. The first shad of the present season were tvvo taken on the 28th of January ; none, however, were subsequently seen until the 5th of Feb- ruary, when the number began to increase. At this date (April 8) the spawn is far from being ripe. The shad season closes here in the latter part of April. In the Wilmington market I observed numbers of drum, trout, whiting, and herring from Masonboro' Sound. Herring, ho welder, are not so abundant as formerly. The price they command at this point is from $3 to $5 per 1,000, though at the sound, seven miles distant, they YARROW ON SHAD RIVERS SOUTH OF THE POTOMAC. 399 may be had for 50 cents per 1,000. They appear early ia April, at which time the spawn is well advanced. I learned from the fishermen that it was the cnstom of the herring to deposit its eggs near the head-waters of rivers and creeks. It may not be nninteresting to mention that, according to Mr. W. W. Nutt, of Wilmington, mackerel appeared in the Cape Fear Eiver for the first time in the fall of 1872 ; bnt the people knowing nothing about them declined to use them as an article of food; bunches of from six to eight found few purchasers at twenty-five cents the bunch. Sturgeon are so numerous in the Cape Fear as almost to i^reclude the possibility of drift-fishing in the month of April. I next proceeded to New Berne, N. C, which is situated at the conflu- ence of the Trent and Neuse Rivers. The latter of these rivers has for years been celebrated not only for the fine quality of its shad, but for the very great number taken annually. In this river the decrease in the supply, if there is any, is hardly perceptible ; although I was informed by trustworthy observers that, notwithstanding double the number of men are now engaged in fishing, no more fish are brought to market than was usual ten years ago ; from which it might be inferred that the supply is not as great as formerly. Most of the fishing is by means of drift-nets, although a certain number of draw-seines are also employed. From what I could gather. Goose Island, a short distance above Xew Berne, is the locality aftbrding the greatest number of fisli. At this place Messrs. Pettiford, Brinson, Vincent, and others own extensive fisheries. These gentlemen estimated the daily catch as varying from 50 to 250 fish, 100 probably being a fair average. At this point there is a number of small islands, with narrow channels between, of a depth of 20 feet, wherein the shad appear to resort for the purpose of spawning, as their eggs are frequently found floating in the water, and, at this date, running out of the fish when netted. Mr. Parish, who owns a fishery on the Trent, just opposite the city, (but whose specialty is herring-fishing,) caught 199 shad at one haul last year. Up to the present time, this year, his largest haul is 128. He uses a net 500 yards in length and 125 meshes deep, the meshes being IJ inches in size. The first shad of the season, in any number, at this point, were taken February 14, since which time the supply has been steadily increasing. The season will close the latter part of April. At the r>resent time no fewer than 2,000 nets of different kinds are in operation between the mouth of the Neuse Eiver and Goldsboro, N C, and if this industry is continued we must expect, in a short time, the same deplorable scarcity of shad here as in the rivers farther south. Mr. B. B. Lane, another intelligent fisherman, and also for many years a dealer, informs me as follows : " Shad generally make their first appearance in the Neuse in the middle of January, the first one of this year being caught January 9. During the present season, from the 400 REPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. latter date to April 10, six dealers have handled at New Berne alone no less than 75,000 shad by actual count. In addition there are some six or eight other dealers who probably, at a fair estimate, have handled 50,000 more, and if we take this number as indicating one-half the entire catch, we would have, in round numbers, the sum of 250,000 tish as the total catch in this vicinity for the period named." I am inclined to be- lieve this a very moderate estimate for the Neuse, since many fehad are taken at Kiustou, Groldsborough, Smithfield, and other points on the river of which no account has been made, and 1 have no doubt that more than 500,000 shad are caught during the entire season in this river. The price of shad has varied very little in the last ten years, the retail price being about 70 and the wholesale 40 cents per pair. From this point shad are shipped in ice to all parts of the Southern iStates. Although herring are still very numerous in the vicinity of New Berne, the general impression prevails that the supply has somewhat decreased within a few years. These fish appear to enter the river in three " washes," so called ; the first and largest of which takes place about Easter Sunday. The largest single haul last year at the fishery of Mr. Parish was 29,800. He informs me that, at this date, he has taken at one haul over 20,000. Mr. B. B. Lane states, with regard to herring, that the six firms above alluded to have handled upward of 450,000 within the j)ast ten days, and that the other dealers have probably handled 250,000 ; but that the total of these is but a small proportion of the whole num- ber caught, as the citizens probably buy twice as many from the boat- men. He thinks that a million and a half have been taken during the period in question, and that a still greater number was taken in the same length of time last year. The largest single haul of herring ever made in this river was 41,000, by Mr. Brinson. These fish are seen as early as the middle of January, and disappear about the middle of May. In April the spawn are well advanced, and there is no doubt the fish run up the creeks and head-waters of rivers to deposit their eggs. The price of herring varies very little. They command at wholesale $3.50, and at retail, about $6, per 1,000. The prices are much lower than before the war. Eock fish are quite numerous, and up to this time, about the 1st of January, some 3,000 have been handled by the dealers. It is thought they have decreased in numbers during the last five years. They are taken during nearly the entire year. They sell at from 8 to 10 cents per pound. Drum have also decreased, but for what reason is not known ; probably cold winters, in which they perish in great numbers, may have an effect. At Kinston, on the North Carolina Railroad, some twenty miles above New Berne, a few shad have been taken, but not a sufficieut number, however, to render their fishing remunerative. Seines and drift-nets are used here. YARROW ON SHAD RIVERS SOUTH OF THE POTOMAC. 401 4. — CONTRIVANCES THAT CAPTURE ALL THE FISH. At Goldsborough, also, on the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, some thirty miles from New Berne, shad are taken, but in smaller quanti- ties than at Kinston. At Smithfield, on the railroad leading to Ealeigh, vast numbers of shad were taken in former years ; now, however, but little fishing is carried on at this point. Just here, on the Neuse River, are a series of small falls, beyond which the fish seldom pass, although formerly numbers were taken within six miles of Raleigh. At Rocky Mount, situated on the Tar River, on the railroad between Goldsborough and Weldon, Mr. Spicer owns quite an extensive shad- • fishery, but the number of fish secured herein nowise compares with the number taken at the fisheries lower down the stream. The next point of importance which I visited was Weldon, K. C. Here I had the good fortune to meet with Mr. John Emry, proprietor of the Emry House, mayor of the city, and controller of all the fisheries on this part of the Roanoke River. In this locality shad-fishing is carried on by means of scoop-nets and what are technically called '' fish-slides." The scoop-nets, when in use, are allowed to trail in the rear of the boats, which are permitted to drift slowly down the stream. The fish-slides are solid and substantial structures, built of timber, and are placed in the strongest currents just below the falls at this point ; these falls pre- vent the higher navigation of the river. The shad, seeking the head- waters of the stream, in endeavoring to find their way above the falls, get into the currents and are at once washed upon the screen of the slide, which slants upward from the bottom of the river. The force of the current eflectually prevents their return. Owing to the ingenious construction of these traps, and the well-chosen positions in which they are placed, it is almost impossible for any fish to escape them, if seeking a higher part of the river. Mr. Emry informed me that his average daily catch of shad for the season was perhaps 25 or 30. Commencing early in March, the season ends late in April. The number reported by Mr. Emry is, I believe, a low estimate, since I myself saw at a time when the shad were not "run- ning" 15 taken upon the slide within two hours. It is his opinion that the supply has decreased in the Roanoke' at least one-half in the last ten years, and, with due deference to his ingenious method of fishing, I must say that, in my opinion, if this plan is continued, shad will have disap- peared almost entirely from these waters in a few years hence. The price of shad varies very little at this point, 60 cents being about the average price per pair. The spawn of the shad will probably be ripe in about three weeks from this date, April 15. Upon the slides are taken nearly every species of fish found in the Roanoke, sturgeon forming no inconsiderable item, while catfish, suck- ers, and rednose are captured in countless numbers. Later in the season the rock-fish resort to this locality in enormous numbers, and I am in- S. Mis. 74 26 402 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. formed that with two men constantly employed upon the slide to remove them, it is almost impossible to make room for the succeeding ones. Mr. Emry facetiously observed that should the commission desire the eggs of the rock, he could furnish a car-load in two weeks' time. From Weldon I proceeded to Norfolk, Va., where the story heard so often within the past few days regarding the decrease in the supply of shad was repeated. Learning of no favorable localities in this neigh- borhood for the establishment of hatching-houses, I delayed only long enough to enable me to collect specimens of the food-fishes of the waters contiguous to the city. From the testimony of the individuals I have mentioned, all more or less directly interested in shad fishing, it is very evident that the sup- ply of this fish has been steadily decreasing and continues to decrease year by year throughout southern waters ; and further, it is my sincere belief that unless some means are employed to correct the state of affairs now existing in the sections visited, in a short time our tables will no longer be supplied with this delicate and highly-valued fish, whose ad- vent In the spring is so eagerly anticipated. As localities for hatching-houses, I have no hesitation in recommend- ing Augusta, Ga., New Berne, N. C, and Weldon, K C, since I am of the opinion that the ripe shad-spawn can be obtained in the best possible condition for propagating purposes at these points. I would also rec- ommend that the Apalachicola, the Savannah, the Cape Fear, the Neuse, and the Roanoke Rivers be restocked with shad, close communication being made with all these streams by railroad. In conclusion, 1 am happy in being able to state that at every place visited the greatest interest was manifested in the operations of the United States fish commission, while the hope was expressed on every hand that the enterprise about to be inaugurated throughout the South and West, in restocking the southern waters with food -fishes, might prove eminently successful. H. C. YARROW, Acting Assistant Surgeon, United States Army. Prof Spencer F. Baird, United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, Washington, D. C. XVIII -REPORT ON SHAD-HATCHING OPERATIONS. A— OPERATIONS m 1872. Mystic Bridge, Coisin., Juhj 27, 1872. Sir : Having received your order to stock rivers west of the Allegha- nies with shad-fry, I left New Loudon, July 1, at 2,45 p. m., accompa- nied by Aaron Anderson, foreman of the Poquonuoc Fish Company. Mr. E. S. Sanford, vice-president of the Adams Express Company, had very kindly furnished us with a letter of introduction to his messengers and agents, expressing his warm interest in the success of our enterprise, and requesting them to furnish us with all needed facilities for the safe transportation of the fry. This letter secured for us many favors, not only from his subordinates, but from all the companies through whose hands we passed. Many thanks are due to these companies and their messengers for their courtesies and timely aid. We met Dr. William M. Hudson, of Hartford, chairman of the Con- necticut fish commissioners, at Springfield, Mass., at 6 o'clock, en route for Hadley Falls, where we were to take in the fry. Dr. Hudson has taken the warmest interest in the project of stocking western waters with shad from its conception, and has done everything in his power to make it a success. The Connecticut commissioners have the use of the hatching-boxes of the Massachusetts commissioners,, and their permis- sion to use the shad-fishery for hatching purposes after the legal fish- ing is closed. Last year over 60,000,000 of shad-spawn were hatched at this place, and turned into the river. Mr. C. Smith, who has had charge of the hatching-boxes for several years, informed us that the shad were not only increasing in number, but in size. He had taken many shad this season weighing seven pounds, and upward. The seasou was a week or more later than last year, but there was every indication that the parent-fish would be more numerous, and a larger number of fry be turned into the river. Our apparatus for transporting the fish was ten eight-gallon cans, furnished with handles, a large colander with very fine mesh, for the purpose of changing the water without disturbing the fry, a few water- I)ails, and a thermometer to gauge the temperature. July 2. — We were up with the dawn preparing for our fish. The fry were taken directly from the hatching-boxes and put in the cans about two-thirds filled with river-water. The number of fry was estimated by Mr. Smith at 2,000,000. The thermometer stood at 78^, which indicated a continuance of the heated term which had prevailed for several da^'S. We left the Holyoke Station at 0.22 a. m. The water was about 70°. 404 KEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. We took in ice at Springfield, and left for Albany at 9 o'clock. We readied Albany at 1.20 p. m., the thermometer indicating- 90° in the shade. By occasional additions of ice-water the temperature in the cans had been kept down to about 76°. By way of experiment we took from the hatching-boxes a considerable number of ova not yet hatched, or just in the process of hatching, thinking they might bear transporta- tion better than the fry. The loss was much greater among the ova than among the fry. Our cans were transferred to the Albany and Susquehanna road. We had a complete change of water at this point, and thorough cleansing of the cans by pouring the water from one can to another, and throwing awa}" all sediment. We secured a fresh sup- ply of ice, and left about 3 p. m. The water is very good along the line of this road, and we found no difficulty in making frequent changes, and in keeping the temperature down to 70°. At one watering-tank, near Binghamton, the water was at 55°, quite too coW for the fry. July 3. — The fish passed the night safely. We reached Salamanca at 6.30 a. m. As the Alleghany Eiver touches the railroad at this point, and this seemed to be the best place for stocking the Ohio, we left here three cans estimated to contain 400,000 fry, in charge of the ticket- master, who promised to see them immediately put inco the river. The Erie trains form close connection here with the Atlantic and Great Western, and we left in a few minutes for Akron, Ohio, on our way to Indianapolis, where we had determined to make our next large deposit ©f fry. We reached Kent, Ohio, at 4.15, and as the Cuyahoga Eiver was near the depot, we put in a few fry at this point. At Akron we were troubled to get good water. We drove a considerable distance to the canal, and secured enough to give the fry a change. The heat had reached 96° in the cars during the day, and the fish had suffered consid- erable loss. July 4. — We reached Indianapolis a little too late for the last morning train to Saint Louis, and this involved a delay of ten hours. As the fry suffer much more in standing still than in transit, we concluded to make sure of a large stock in White River, and poured the contents of three cans into that stream, a little below the railroad bridge, in the suburbs of the city. We estimated the number at 400,000. We now had but a single can left and changed the water several times during the day. We determined to make an experiment with the remaining fry to see how far they could be carried. We thought if we could carry them across the plains and plant them in the Platte at Denver, it would be demonstrated that all the streams in the country can be furnished with shad fry. The experience would be worth all it cost, even if we failed. We left Indianapolis at 8 p. m., with fresh water and j)lenty of ice. The heated term had passed, which was very much in our favor. July 5. — We left Saint Louis at 8.25 a. m., with a partial change of water and a fresh supply of ice. We took in a supply of Mississippi water from the hydrant, but it did not seem to agree with the fish so REPORT ON SHAD-HATCHING OPERATIONS. 4*05 well as the water we brought along from Indianapolis. The weather had grown cold during the uight, and the water showed a temperature of 65°. This was cooler than suited the fry, and some of them perished. They grew more lively as the heat increased. At Washington, and at Hermann, Mo., where the cars stopped a few minutes, we made small de- posits of the fry, in the Missouri River. At Kansas City we found that we had ice and water enough to last another day in case we could not obtain it along the road. We left on the Kansas Pacific at 11.10 p. m., for Denver. July 6. — We took in a fresh supply of ice at Brookville, and found good water at Wilson's Station, thirty-nine miles farther west. We now felt quite confident of getting some of the fry into the Platte in good condition. We are indebted to the officials of the Kansas Pacific Eailroad for many courtesies. July 7. — We met a train off the track about 7 in the morning, which delayed us over an hour. We reached Denver about 9.30 a. m., and in a few minutes had the joy of seeing Connecticut River shad swim- ming in the waters of the Platte. They were lively and headed up stream. We estimated the number of fry planted at this point at 2,000. As the Platte is fed by mountain streams full of trout, there can be little doubt that the fry will thrive in its waters. I think the trip, so favorably ended, establishes the following conclu- sions : 1. Shad-fry in any desirable numbers can be planted in every barren stream in the country. 2. That all the larger branches of the Mississippi, the Missouri, and the^ Ohio Rivers can be stocked with shad next year at small expense. 3. That, as the numbers put into a stream in any shipment of fry depends upon its nearness to the source of supply, it would be desirable another season to hatch shad upon the Potomac, which is a days' journey nearer the west. From this point the distribution might begin as early as the first of June, to be followed by fish from the Hud- sou and the Connecticut Rivers later in the season. Very respectfully, yours, M. CLIFT. Hon. Spencer F. Baird, United States Commissioner of Fisheries. Rochester, July 19, 1872. Dear Sir: My men have returned from Saint Paul. They had good luck, having placed about 25,000 young shad in the Mississippi River, two and a half miles above Saint Paul. The shad put into the Alleghany River were deposited at Salamanca. Future observation must determine as to the return of any of these fish, though my experience assures me that they will come back if possible. 406 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. I have batched 7,500,000 this year, and have pat 200,000 above the Troy dam, in the Hudson; 50,000 in Oneida Lake, one of the tributaries of Oswego River that empties into Lalie Ontario; 70,000 in Lake Cham- plain, which empties into the Saint Lawrence at Saint Eidges; and 50,000 in the Genesee River. The baUince I placed in the Hudson. Last year I put 15,000 young shad in the Genesee River, and now I can take at the mouth of the river, in Lake Ontario, twenty at a haul with a twenty-rod seine. These are over 7 inches long now, and we will see w^hat we will see another year. I am very much interested in these experiments. Yours, SETH GREEN. Prof. S. F. Baird, United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. B— OPERATIOiTS m 1873. 1. — THE SAVANNAH, NEUSE, AND ROANOKE RIVERS. 1873, April 20. — Arrived at Augusta, Ga. April 21. — Went up the Savannah prospecting. Prospects very poor. Got back to Augusta at 4 p. m.; went down the river about four miles to a fishery. Two boats fishing; each boat caught one male fish. Ajiril 22. — Went seven miles up the Savannah, from Augusta to Pit- man's fishery; staid two days and two nights, and got no ripe fish; catching from three to eight fish a day. April 24. — Moved three miles down the river, from Pitman's fishery, to Heckle's fishery; staid three days; caught no ripe shad; have not seen two shad alive at one time since we have been on the Savannah; shad selling for from 60 cents to $1.25 each in market. April 28. — Received a telegram to go to New Berne, IST. C. April 29. — Arrived at New Berne, N. G. April 30.— Spent the day getting ready to go up the Neuse River. May 1. — Went up the Neuse fourteen miles 'above New Berne, to Cowpen's lauding, at Vaughn's fishery ; fished with seine at night; caught ten shad, none ripe, several of them spawned out. May 2. — Caught five shad, none ripe. Temperature of water, a m., 64°; p.m., 65°. May 3. — (taught eight shad, none ripe. Temperature of water, a. m., 68°; p. m., 67°. May 4. — Caught twelve shad with seine, none ripe. Fished with skim-net along the shore; caught nine male shad. Temperature of water, a. m., 6Q'^; p. m., 67°. jj/fl^ 5._Fished with skim-net; caught eight fish, two ripe; 50,000 spawn. River rising. Temperature of water, a. m., 62^; p. m., 65°. REPORT ON SHAD-HATCHING OPERATIONS. 407 May C. — River rising. Could not haul seine. Caught three male shad with skim-net. Temperature of water, a. m., 63^; p. m., Q¥^. May 7. — River reported rising. Forty miles up the river caught two shad with skim-net, both spawned out. Temperature of water, a. m., 63°; p. m. 63°. 31ay 8. — Water so high could not fish. Temperature of water, a. ra., 63; p. m., 60°. May 9. — River rising. No fishing. Temperature of water, a. m., Go'^; p. m., 67°. May 10. — River rising. No fishing. Temperature of water, a. m., 66° p. m., 66°. May 11. — River rising. No fishing. Temperature of water, a. m. 66° ; p. m., 67°. Spawn beginning to hatch in boxes. 3£ay 12. — River raising, no prospects for more spawn. Temperature of water 65° a. m. ; 67° p. m. May 13. — Turned loose 45,000 young shad in Neuse River. Pitchkill, about twenty-four miles above New Berne on the Neuse, is the best place for shad-hatching that we could hear of. May 14. — Received a dispatch to go to Weldon, N. C, on the Roanoke. May 15. — Arrived at Weldon, N. C. They were catching some rock- fish, but no shad. The Roanoke very high but falling. May 10. — Catching good many rock-fish. Shad do not run with rock. No chance of getting any shad till river falls. May 19. — Grot no ripe fish up to date. Got two ripe rock-fish ; 110,000 spawn. May 20. — River rising ; no ripe fisb. Temperature, of water a. m., 08° ; p. m., 70°. May 21. — River rising ; caught no ripe fish. Temperature of water, a. m., 680 ; p. m., 69°. May 23. — River rising ; caught no ripe fish. Turned loose 100,000 young rock-fish. Same principle hatches them that hatches shad. May 24. — Fish slides all under water, but we caught no ripe fish. May 25. — Caught a great many rock ; none ripe. A[ay 29, — Did not catch any ripe fish up to date. River rising very fast. Took the 4 p. m. train to Washington. May 31. — Went to the Rappahannock River from Washington. Shad fishing all done and nets hung up. In order to build up the rivers that we operated upon there must be a close time of two days in each week before they can ever be restocked artificially, or in any other way. The lower end of the rivers are so completely barricaded with nets that the fish are nearly all caught before they get to the spawning grounds. The rivers are so nearly depopulated that there is scarcely any fishing done in the upper part of the rivers, and there would not be any done if it was not for the enor- mous prices they get for what few fish they do take. SETH GREEN. 408 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER ON FISH AND FISHERIES. Table of shad-hatching operations at Augusta, Georgia, 1873, hy Seth Green. Date. Temperature of water. a to s Kipe fish. i 1 b* Kemarka. AM. P.M. Apr. 21 Apr. 22 Apr. 23 Apr. 24 Apr. 28 o o 2 3 8 ' Left Augusta for New Berne. No ripe ahad were taken. Shad were selling in market at from 60 cents to $1.25. Talle of shad-hatching operations at Netc Berne, N. C, 1873, 6y Seth Green. Date. Temperature of water. S g 1 So ton Young fish turned into the river. Kemarks. A.M. P.M. May 1 May 2 May 3 May 4 May 5 May e May 7 May 8 May 9 May 10 May 11 May 12 o 0 10 5 8 21 8 3 2 64 68 66 62 63 63 63 65 66 66 65 65 67 67 63 64 63 66 67 66 67 67 2 50, 000 River rising. Eiver too high for fishing. Do. Do. Kiver too high for fishing ; spawn be- ginning to hatch. Kiver rising. May 13 43, 000 May 14 Average Received dispatch to go to "Weldon.N.C. 64.6 65.6 Table of shad-hatching opei'ations at Weldon, N. C., 1873, hy Seth Green. Date. Temperature of water. a Mi a i a to Remarks. A. M. P. M. May 15 May 16 May 19 May 20 May 21 May 23 May 24 May 25 May 29 0 o Arrived at Weldon ; river very high ; no shad being taken, but some rock- flah. No shad taken ; water too high. *2 110, 000 68 68 70 69 River rising. *100, 000 Took many lock-flsh not ripe. Left for Washington, as the water was too high for fishing and uo ripe shad had been taken. ' Rock-fish. REPORT ON SHAD-HA.TCHING OPERATIONS. 409 2. — THE DELAWARE RIVER. Bloomsbury, K J., July 12, 1873. Dear Sir : The uudersigued haviug been honored by you with the appointment to the position of deputy United States commissioner for the purpose of collecting information concerning the food-fishes of the United States, and of superintending their transportation to west- ern waters, would most respectfully submit the following report of his proceedings, reserving all observations and deductions for a future and more detailed report : Tour .letter notifying me of my appointment was received on the even- ing of Monday, May 26, and I had the pleasure of reporting to you at Washington on the morning of May 28. At 11 p. m. of the same day I started for Weldon, N. C, where I arrived at 10 a. m. the following morn- ing. Here I found Messrs. Holton and Green, who had for some time been endeavoring, though without success, to obtain ripe shad for the purpose of artificial impregnation. In this they had utterly failed from two causes, both entirely beyond their control. First, the method here employed in catching the fishes renders it almost impossible to obtain at the same time males and females in a ripe condition. The fishes are captured by means of a piece of apparatus called a slide, which is so arranged that in passing up stream the fish is caught by a rapid cur- rent and thrown upon a board platform, where it almost instantly dies. From all quarters I heard of the zeal and energy displayed by Messrs. Holton and Green in their efforts to obtain ripe shad, but spite of all their efforts they were entirely unsuccessful. However, important and interesting experiments were made with the rock-fish, and over one hun- dred thousand young were hatched and placed in the river. Secondly, as is well known, the Roanoke is liable to sudden and severe fresh- ets ; at the period of my visit the water of this river was about fifteen feet above its ordinary level, and residents of Weldon informed me that a few days previous it had risen 32 feet in twenty-four hours. As there seemed to be little use in retaining Messrs. Holton and Green at this point, I telegraphed you suggesting that they be at once recalled. On receiving a concurrent answer they at once set about their prepara- tions for departure. On inquiry at the express-office it was found that the cost of forwarding the hatching-boxes would about equal their value, and upon Mr. Emry kindly ofiering to give them storage-room free until next season his kind offer was accepted. Leaving Weldon at 4 p. m. we arrived in Washington the following d^ at 4.30 a. m., and I reported to you my arrival at 10 a. m. Desiring to ascertain the condition of the shad in the river Delaware, I, at your request, telegraphed to the following persons, proprietors of fisheries on that river : B. P. Howell, M. D., Woodbury ; A. J. Scarbor- ough, Lambertsville ; W. M. Hutchinson, Delaware Station. The an- swers received from all these persons showed conclusively that the sea- 410 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. SOU for ripe shad upon the Delaware Eiver had not as yet arrived ; Mr. Scarborough stating (which statement was afterwards shown to be cor- rect) that but few ripe shad would be taken until after the close of the fishing season, (June 10.) On the evening of May 28, accompanied by Mr. Holton, I started for Fredericksburgh, Pa., where we arrived at 3 a. m. We found the fish- ing season over, but obtained valuable and interesting information from Messrs. W. H. Smith and C. Eowley. No net-fishing is carried on at Fredericksburgh, and bat few coarse fishes are taken at that point with the hook and line; in the lower portion of the river, however, large num- bers of shad, sturgeon, rock-fishes, and herring are taken with seine, gill? and stake nets. The stake-nets are regarded as detrimental to the fish- ing interests, as many shad and herring escape from them severely in- jured and many taken are eaten by the eels, it frequently happening that hundreds of heads with back-bone attached are found in the nets of a morning. Mr. W. H. Smith has fished the river for the past eight years, his fishing-ground being some thirty-five miles below Fredericks- burgh, within tide-water; he has taken during the past season about3,000 shad and 0,000 herring, (alewives.) He estimates the number of shad sold in Fredericksburgh during the season at 10,500 ; this, however, is but a small portion of tlie catch. He commenced fishing abont the 15th of March and finished May 20 ; during the last week of fishing noticed a number of ripe shad and frequently heard them "washing." Mr. E. Rowley has fished for twenty years, except during the war- His fishery is located at Fallervale, twenty miles below Fredericksburgh. He corroborates the statements of Mr. Smith. Has noticed no ripe shad during the past season. Commenced fishing about March 20, and " hung up his net" May 26. There are no laws, as far as he is aware, regulating the fisheries of the Rappahannock. His fishery is a night-fishery, using a net 318 yards in length. Has heard shad " washing" in tide-water. Thinks the spawning season in this river is from April 15 to May 15. We returned to Washington the same evening, arriving at 7.30 p. m. On Mouday, June 2, I visited the United States establishment for shad-hatching, situated at the lower end of Long bridge, operated by Messrs. Mason and Welsher. I found that during the past week very few ripe shad were met with, but that upon the afternoon of June 1 about 250,000 spawn had been taken. These, on examination of the boxes, showed to be in very fine condition, the percentage of unimpreg- nated spawn being very slight. A large number of spawn had been prematurely let loose by the breaking away, in consequence of a sudden storm, of a boom placed above the boxes for the purpose of breaking the force of the waves, which are sometimes so high as to upset the boxes. The fishing, June 1, commenced at 1.30 p. m., and continued until midnight. No ripe shad were taken after 9 p. m. On the morning of Tuesday, June 3, I left Washington for Trenton, N. J., in company with Messrs. Holton and Green, having been ordered EEPORT ON SHAD-HATCHING OPERATIONS. 411 by you to make a careful examination of the shad-fisheries of the Upper Delaware, and to find a suitable location for shad-hatching operations. We arrived at Trenton about 3 p. m. The next morning we visited Scudder's Falls, about seven miles north of Trenton. Through the courtesy of the Hon. Charles Hewitt, president of the Trenton Water- Power Company, we were enabled to make a thorough examination of the river at this point. Harvey's Island fishery has been fished during the present season by Mr. Aaron Pidcock. He reports the catch as very small, not more than half that of last year. He believed that the great run of shad had not as yet commenced; would be happy to give us every attention in his power, but believed that we would be able to do much better higher up the river. His fishery can only be operated in low water, and a rise of even a few feet would render it useless as a shad-hatching station. • Several days were now devoted to the examination of the fisheries in the vicinity of Lambertsville ; over a dozen were examined, and fiuallj^ it was decided to encamp at Lower Black's Eddy, situated in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, about twenty-six miles below Easton, and the same dis- tance above Trenton. The fishery at this point is both a high and low water fishery, so that operations need not be suspended. A telegraph- station and post-office were within a short distance, and every facility, including free use of the nets and ground, was afforded by Mr. Samuel Parrel, proprietor of the fishing-grounds. The camp was named Camp Baird, in honor of yourself. The first spawn was taken June 12, the last June 27. We moved into camp June 14, and struck our tents June 29. For a detailed accountof uumberof fishes ca'pturedand spawutaken, see the tabular statement. Being called to my home on June 20, I received yours of June 18, stating that you would be in New York City upon the following day. Wishing to obtain from you further orders, I repaired to New York, and received from you instructions concerning the transportation of spawn to the Monongahela Eiver. I returned to camp on Monday, June 23, and on the afternoon of June 24 started for Greensburgh with 15,000 young shad. The following are my notes of the journey: Fishes shipped from Camp Baird at 5.30 p. m., temperature of air 64°, water 63° ; reached Easton at 6.40 p. m., changed water; left Easton at 8 p. m, air 60°, water 63° ; left Bethlehem at 8.40 p. m., air 60°, water 64° ; left Allen- town at 9.20 p. m., air 60°, water 63° ; changed water; left Alliance at 10 p. m., air 60°, water 63°; left Eeading at 10.30 p. m., air 68°, water 62i°; left Harrisburgh at 12.10 p. m., air 70°, water 64°; left Mifflin at 2 a. m., air 63°, water 60° ; changed water; left Altoona at 5 a. m., air 66°, water 62° ; left Blairsville at 7.08 a. m., air 67°, water 64°. We arrived at Greensburgh at 8.15 a. m., and at once transferred the fishes to a small stream known as Jack's Run, situated upon the out- skirts of the town. I was accompanied upon the trip by Mr. William Scwartz, of Point Pleasant, who afforded most valuable assistance. The 412 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. fishes reached their destination in good order, the low temperature of the night being greatly in their favor. Though furnished with an ample supply of ice, through the kindness of Mr. A. H. Lee, of Allentown, its use was not necessary, the temperature of the water never exceeding 65°. I returned home via Pittsburgh, Harrisburgh, and Reading, arriving at camp June 28. Here I found all operations suspended. The erec- tion of a dam by the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company at Bull's Island, with a chute of only 25 feet, had completely stopped the ascent of shad. A number of spent fishes upon their way down the river were taken, but the ascending spawners had disappeared. Upon my giving my assent, camp was broken June 29. Messrs. Holton and Green left for home on the following day. I remained until July 1, when I also left. Su'bh, sir, is a synopsis of my proceedings while in your employ. I have made numbers of observations upon the food-fishes of our rivers, which, with information obtained from various sources, I hope to pre- sent in a future supplementary report. A small collection of the fishes of the Delaware was obtained, and arrangements made for a more com- plete set. I am, sir, respectfully vours, J. H. SLACK, M. D. Prof. S. F. Bated, Portland^ Me. Report of shad and shad- spaivn taken at Camp Baird, 18T3. Date. a 1 ai 0) a Q, Temperature of water. 1-2 HE© Remarks. A. M. P.M. 10 19 15 10 7 o o All males. Sunday. Sunday. Serere storm ; 15,000 Sunday. 11 12 1 1 2 15, 000 15, 000 35, 000 13 72 72 71 72 74 74 7G 76 75 75 73 72 70 ro 72 75 76 76 74 75 77 80 81 83 82 81 80 74 72 77 77 79 81 77 14 15 16 8 21 7 12 3 17 2 2 2 4 1 5 40, 000 25, 000 20, 000 65, 000 30, 000 105, 000 17 18 28, 000 19 20 21 35, 000 22 . . . 23 11 1 7 12 9 2 50, 000 24 "36,060' 100, 000 shipped. 25 2 4 1 35, 000 50, 000 10, 000 26 27 28 29 140, 666 100, 000 30 , Total of young shad, i 169 29 495, 000 73.2 75 78 6 433, 000 15, 000 448, 000 EEPORT ON SHAD-HATCHING OPERATIONS. 413 REMARKS ON REPORT. Percentage of loss, about 13 per cent. Average temperatures: a. m., 73.2°; p. m., 78°; total average 75.6°. Percentage of ripe shad to fish taken, 17i ; average number of spawn per fish, 17,069. 3. — REPORT ON THE TRANSFER OF SHAD FROM THE HUDSON RIVER TO THE SACRAMENTO. By Livingston Stone. Charlestown, N. H., December 1, 1873. Sir : I beg leave to present herewith a report of my operations in carrying live shad from the Hudson Eiver to California, and in procuring the eggs of the Sacramento salmon for distribution into various waters of the United States. I have the honor to be, your obedient servant, LIVINGSTON STONE. Hon. Spencer F. Baird, ^ United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. EEPORT. On the 9th of June, 1873, the day after the loss of the California aquarium car in the Elkhorn Eiver, Nebraska, I received at Omaha a telegram from you, instructing me to return East with my men, and take a load of live shad to the Pacific coast. As soon as was practicable I reported to you at Washington, and immediately after began prepara- tions for the overland journey with the shad. Your instructions were to procure the supply of shad from Mr. Monroe Green, at the New York State Hatching-Works, at Castleton, on the Hudson. Accordingly, when everything was ready I proceeded to Mr. Green's camp with my two assistants, Mr. Willard T. Perriu and Mr. Myron Green. Mr. Mon- roe Green had a sufficient number of shad on hand at the right age for the journey, and at about 5 o'clock on the afternoon of the 25th of June we left the shad-hatching camp for the Castleton railroad-station, with eight cans, containing in all eighty gallons of water and 40,000 shad. Mr. Welsher, of Seth Green's force, accompanied us as far as Omaha. We reached Albany safely, and left that city at 1.40 p. m., on the New York Central Eailroad, going west. In carrying live shad, it is considered necessary to give them a change of fresh water every two hours. We accordingly took on reserves of water, for the purpose of making these changes at Albany, Utica, Syra- cuse, Eochester, Buffalo, Dunkirk, Erie, Painesville, Cleveland, Illyria, Edgerton, Elkhart, and South Bend, arriving at Chicago Friday morn- ing, June 27, with the fish in good order. The temperature of the water 414 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. when it was put into the cans was 70'^ Fahrenheit, and we kept it at about that temperature till we reached Chicago. I ought to remark here that the main points in carrying living shad are : (1) To make constant and regular changes of water ; (2) To keep the temperature even, not letting the water fall below 62°, or rise above 75° ; (3) To avoid all sudden changes of temperature in the cans ; (4) To avoid introducing impure, alkaline, or other unsafe water upon the fish. I remarked that we kept the temperature of the water about 70° till we reached Chicago. The morning of our arrival here, however, was very hot, indeed, the thermometer indicated about 100° in the shade, and it was with great difficulty that the water could be kept down to a safe point without producing too sudden a change of temperature, but by making several changes in quick succession we succeeded in keeping the water from rising above 74°, and a little after noon left Chicago for Omaha, the fish being in good condition. From Chicago to Omaha we took on water at La Porte, Bellow's Station, Bureau, Tiskilwa, Rock Island, Davenport, Kellogg, Casey, and Avoca, reaching Omaha about noon. During the previous night, on our wa!^ from Chicago, we had suc- ceeded in bringing the water down to 68°, but before reaching Omaha it was again to 72°. Mr. Welsher left us at Omaha, and returned to Castleton, N. Y., his care and experience having contributed very much to the success of the expedition so far. We left Omaha at 3 p. m., on the Union Pacific Railroad, the train being several hours behind time. The fish were still as fresh as when they left the Hudson. There were now but four days between us and the Sacramento, and we took courage. Owing to the scarcity of suita- ble water in the long reach of alkali country before us, I considered it necessary to take on larger reserves of water at the few places where the water could be depended upon. I accordingly procured at Omaha a thirty-gallon tank which had been recovered from the wreck of the aquarium car, and obtained permission from Mr. C. B. Havens, the traiu-dispatcher of the Union Pacific Railroad, to stop the train at the Elkhorn River, long enough to allow us to fill our tank from the Elkhorn. The water which we took from this river proved to be the best for the shad that we found on the road, although very roily and so hot (bring- ing the thermometer up to 84°) that it ate up our ice-supply very fast. About 8 o'clock Saturday evening we took on several hundred pounds of ice at Grand Island, Neb., but as we climbed the Rocky Mountains the air grew colder and we did not need much ice. During the night the temperature of the cans fell steadily till morning. Just before day- light we took on a small reserve of water at Big Spring, Neb. This water was cold and clear, and brought down the temperature of the shad still lower. At sunrise the thermometer indicated 67° to 6S° in the cans, and remained at about that point till 6 o'clock Sunday afternoon, when we reached Laramie, and took on fifty gallons of Laramie River REPORT OX SHAD-HATCHING OPERATIONS. 415 water. The Laramie reserve bad a temperature of 62°, and the night being very cold, the water in the cans dropped down to 60°. We built a hot fire, however, in the stove of the express car, and kept the tem- perature from going any lower. We obtained a small supi^ly of water at Evauston, Utah,andas we descended Weber Caiion, approaching Ogden, the weather grew warm again, and the anxiety we felt about the water getting too cold was removed. We reached Ogden at 5,30 p. m,, Mon- day, June 30, an4 laid in a large reserve of water from Weber Eiver, which was very good, though roily. Here we left 5,000 of the shad in charge of Mr. Rockwood, of Salt Lake City, for the benefit of Great Salt Lake. We had previously passed through very cold weather, and at Bryan, on the Rocky Mountains, there was even a slight flurry of snow, but on leaving Ogden Monday evening the air grew still colder, the tempera- ture of the cans dropped to 65°, and there was no stove iu the car to warm the air or heat water with. The air grew colder and colder, and it soon became obvious that some unusual means must be resorted to to keep up the temperature of the water in the cans. By telegraphing ahead for hot water, and by heating an iron in the engine furnace, and plunging it into a vessel of water, we managed, by incessant labor all night, to keep the cans from going below 62°, but it was a close strug- gle. The secret of the difliculty was, that the warm water which w.e obtained we could not depend on sufficiently to introduce it into the cans, and only ventured to utilize its heat by placing a smaller vessel of good water in the large pail of hot water, and letting it remain till it became warm. Daylight and the warmer atmosphere that followed were never more welcome than they were on Tuesday morning as we emerged into them, finding ourselves about fifty miles over the Nevada line, with the shad in flue order, and now only five hundred and fifty miles from Sacramento. W^e had been changing the water a little oftener than every two hours night and day up to this time. We now began to change the water almost every hour, and felt quite hopeful of success. By utilizing the hot water which we obtained in various ways, and by constant exertion, we were enabled from this time to keep the temperature of the cans at a safe distance from the minimum limit of safety, and taking on aiiother large reserve, both of hot and cold water, at Humboldt, at 7 o'clock Tuesday evening, July 1, we passed the night safely, and found ourselves the next morning within the limits of Cali- fornia, on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, with all the shad in first-rate condition, and only seven hours' run to Sacramento City. At 9 o'clock Wednesday morning we took on a small supply of water at Alta, Cal., and reached Sacramento City four hours and a half after- ward, with the shad as fresh and lively as when they were taken from the shad-hatching boxes on the Hudson. At Sacramento City we met S. R. Throckmorton, esq., chairman of the California State fish commis- sion, and Mr. John G. Woodbury, the State fish-warden, who expressed themselves wholly satisfied with the appearance of the youag fish. We 416 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. took on 30 gallons of Sacramento River water here, and a large supply of ice, and at twenty minutes past two we left Sacramento, on the Cali- fornia Pacific Railroad, which runs up the Sacramento Valley, for Te- hama, where it was thought best to deposit the shad. We reached Tehama just after dark, and at ten minutes past nine on Wednesday evening, July 2, 1873, we placed our 35,000 shad in the Sacramento River, near the village of Tehama, just above the railroad bridge, in the presence of Mr. Woodbury and several citizens of Tehama, the whole expedition, from beginning to end, having been an entire success. Below will be found a list of the places where we procured supplies of water, and also a table indicating the changes of temperature in the water which contained the shad. We took on water east of Omaha, at Albany, TJtica, Syracuse, Roch- ester, Buffalo, Dunkirk, Erie, Painesville, Cleveland, Illyria, (well-water,) Edgerton, Elkhart, South Bend, (bad lime-water,) Chicago, (Rock Is- and Railroad depot,) La Porte, Bellow's Station, Bureau, (rain-water,) Tiskilwa, (spring-water,) Rock Island, (good,) Davenport, (from Missis- sippi River,) Kellogg, Carey, Avoca. West of Omaha we took on water at — Gallons. Temperature. Character of water. Elkhorn River 50 84° F. Roily. Big Spring 10 58° F. Clear. Laramie River 50 62° F. Clear. Evanston, (spring- water) 10 57° F. Clear. Ogden, (Weber River) 50 (50° F. Roily. Humboldt Station, (spring-water) 50 65° F. Clear. Alta. 20 60° F. Clear. Sacramento 20 Warm. Muddy. The temperature of the cans was as follows : Hudson River water, 70°. Albany to Chicago, 70°, 74°. Chicago to Omaha, 74°, 68°, 72°. Omaha to Laramie, 72°, 70°, 69°, 67°. Laramie to Ogden, 67°, 66°. Ogden to Humboldt, QQ^, 62°, 66°, 70°. Humboldt to Sacramento, 70°, 68°, 66°, 67°. Sacramento to Tehama, 67°, 70°. Sacramento River water at Tehama, 74°. In concluding this account of the journey with the shad, I will say that the water was changed every one or two hours, night and day, from 6 o'clock p. m. on Wednesday, June 25, to 9 o'clock p. m. on Wednesday, July 2, being about 105 times for each of the eight cans, or equivalent to changing the water of one can 840 times. I will also add that a careful estimate was made of the number of shad that died on the way, and it was found to be about 400, or 1 per cent, of the whole. REPORT OX SHAD-HATCHING OPERATIONS. 417 4. — ON SHAD-HATCHING OPERATIONS BY THE COMMISSIONERS OF THE STATE OP MAINE. Bangor, Me., Aiigust 6, 1873. Dear Sir : You ask me for data, particulars, «S:iC., of our shad- hatching experience this year. The awakened interest in fish-culture in our State has made such calls upon our time, has kept us so continually occupied, that we were able to make but little anticipatory preparation before we were called to the field of operation. Our experiments were not rich in results of great numbers of fish, but in valuable experience for our future guidance not contained in any of onr books on piscicul- ture. We were governed in onr time of commencing by the 0])erations of the Massachusetts commissioners at Andover, as from them we were to learn the mode of procedure. This necessarily delayed our opera- tions at Bowdoinham until the 15th June. Further delays in obtaining the requisite material for boxes, the changes required by practical use making all those constructed useless in waters where there was no cur rent, consumed so much time that when all was ready the season was passed, and none but spawned shad could be obtained. The opinion was arrived at that all the shad required as spawners could be obtained at Bowdoinham between the 10th and last of June. The great obstacle presented in the path of progress to every attempt to bring about rap- idly the restoration of fish to our waters, is the system of patenting every result of simple experience in practical work, and thus establishing a toll on every road to success. Conclusions as obvious and unavoidable as that "twice 2 is 4" have been the subject of claims for letters-patent until one can scarce use a bit of charcoal as a disinfectant lest he be in extricably involved in a lawsuit, upon the claim that the wood was only charred and not carbonized. If this was exhibited only in placing a moderate royalty on every mode, or article, or implement, so patented, the tax would be readily paid ; but, as in our case, the demand is now so exorbitant as to amount to prohibition. The sum demanded of us for one of these patents w-is two-thirds of the entire appropriation of the State of Maine for our whole department. We succeeded, most fortunately, in constructing a hatch- ing-box that, wliile it infringed upon no patent, gave all the requisite motion of the eggs in the box, so necessary to the successful hatching of shad-spawn in a current. At Bowdoinham there was no current to move the eggs in the boxes f the short, choi)ping wave at the ebb and flow of the tide gave simply an up-and-down motion, while the wind with its added force projected the waves into our boxes and washed out the eggs. A new form of box was adopted, a simple parallelogram, with a bottom of wire netting. The boxes were floated within a plank frame as a sort of breakwater; this was a success, so far as hatching was con cerned, but the mesh of the wire netting was too large, and our fish escaped as fast as hatched. This brought us to the end of the sea- son, as no more shad that had not spawned were to.be had. The num- S. Mis. 74 27 418 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. ber of shad hatcTied, according to an estimate made by Mr. Commissioner Stanley, and coincided with by his assistant, Mr. Brown, was 100,000. The Cnited States commissioner. Professor Baird, afterward veryo[)i)or- tnnely snpplied us with 100,000 shad-fry from Hadley Falls, on the Con- necticut, which were planted in the Penobscot at Mattawamkeag. The possibility of obtaining shad-spawn from Massachusetts so much later in the season than with us, would seem to indicate that tlie habits of the shad are the reverse of the salmon. The earliest spawning of the salmon is at the head- waters of the river, the latest run of fish always spawning lower down tlie river. Our inference here may not be cor- rectly deduced, as our experiments were at the mouth of the Kennebec, where the fish are probably turned back from their native spawning- grounds by the Sprague's Dam at Augusta, and cannot follow out their instincts. The shad at Topsham, also, were found all spawned. These later fish never could have ascended much higher than Brunswick, owing to the natural obstructions in the river. E. M. STILWELL. XIX.-REPORT Ox\ THE PROPAGATION OF THE SHAD (ALOSA SAPIDISSIMA) AND ITS INTRODUCTION INTO NEW WATEitS BY THE U. S. FISH COMMISSIONER IN 1873. By James W. Milner. 1. — SHAD-HATCHING AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY. lu the progress of fish culture there has probably been no more difficult problem carried forward to a certain and successful conclusion in a sliort space of time than the propagation of shad, nor has the propagation of any species afforded more efficient results io the attempt to increase the numbers of the food-fishes. 2, — PLAN OF OPERATIONS. The plan of the work of shad-hatching, under the appropriation for that purpose, as established by Professor Baird, was to begin as far south as the Savannah River, early in the season, and visit the rivers northward as the season advanced, it being a well known fact that the shad enter rivers in succession to the northward, at intervals of a few "weeks, for the purpose of spawning. The Savannah Eiver, of Georgia, and the l^Teuse and Roanoke Rivers, of North Carolina, on the representation of Dr. H. C. Yarrow, who investigated the southern streams, were se- lected, and the locations of the hatching-stations determined, with refer- ence to the supply of fish obtained at the fisheries, and the facilities for transferring the young shad by rail to waters destitute of this species of fish. The intention of the work was not only to multiply numbers in the streams where the spawning fish were taken, but to stock other waters with this valuable fish where they had been exterminated or where they had never existed. The Potomac and Delaware Rivers, the Susquehanna and the Rappahannock Rivers, were kept in view as favor- able streams for shad-hatching, with possibly one or two rivers still far- ther north late in the season, from which contributions could be made to the waters of the Mississippi Valley and the great lakes. It was determined by the commissioner to obtain if possible the ser- vices of Seth Green, and arrangements were made with liim for that i)ur- pose to afford to the commission his own aid and as many of his trained experts as could be spared for the season. 3. — OPERATIONS ON THE SAVANNAH, NEUSE, AND ROANOKE RIVERS. On the 17th of April Seth Green, with a partj^ of four, his son, Mr. Holton, Mr. Welsher, and Mr. Mason, all having had ample experience 420 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. in the work of sUad-hatcbiiig, arriv^ed ia Washington, and Mr. Green, after learning the plans and intentions of the commission, left, accom- panied by the whole party, for Angasta, Ga., where the first station was to be established. The intense heat affecting Mr. Green unfavorably, be was obliged to return home, and the work fell to the hands of the rest of the party to perform. Mr. Mason reports that a visit to the fish-markets on the 21st found only twenty shad offered for sale, and on visiting the fishing-grounds the fishermen asserted they did not think fifty shad would be taken in. one day within ten miles of Augusta. Remaining at the fisheries until 11 p. m., only one shad was caught, though six drift-nets were in use ou that portion of the river which he visited. Until the 28th, the time was spent in visiting the different fisheries above and below Augusta^ for a distance of twenty miles along the river, with no better results. From sisteen trap-nets in a rapid portion of the river he saw four shad taken, all dead from the rapid water crowding them against the lower side of the crib. On the 28th, receiving advice from Mr. Welsher, who had gone north prospecting ou the Neuse Eiver, the camp on the Savannah was aban- doned and the whole party proceeded north to H^ew Berne, N. C, and oa May 1st selected a location for a hatching-station fourteen miles up the river. At this place from eight to fourteen shad were taken nightly until the 6th, when the rains had raised the water in the rivers until the only fishing possible was with skim-nets. Twospawners weretakenon the 5th with skim-nets, from which 45,000 eggs were taken and impregnated. The river continued to rise until, on the 12th, the party were driven from their camping ground and returned to New Berne. The young Siiad were hatched with scarcely any loss of eggs, and were turned into the river, with the exception of about one hundred, carried to New Berne for exhibition. Ou the 15th, orders having arrived from Washington, the party divid- ed, Mr. Holton and Mr. Chester Green going to the Roanoke River and selecting a locality for a hatching-station near Weldon, N. C, and Messrs. Mason and Welsher came to Washington. Messrs. Holton and Green at this point were so fortunate as to obtain and imin^egnate a quantity of spawn of the striped-bass or rock-fish, Roccus Uncatus, which they 'placed in hatching-boxes and treated them in the same manner as shad ova and succeeded perfectly in bringing them to maturity in about the same period of time required for shad. 4. — OPERATIONS ON THE POTOMAC RIVER. On the 16th the station on the Potomac River was established at the south end of Long Bridge, at Jackson Tavern, Virginia. Messrs. Knight and Gibson, owners of extensive fisheries in the vicinity of Washington, and owning the fishery at that point, afforded a supply of spawning shad MILNEE ON THE AETIFICIAL CULTURE OF THE SHAD. 421 and extended many valuable favors throngh tlieir foreman, Captain Evans, who was always ready to afford assistance. On the night of the 17th twenty ripe spawners were taken and about 400,000 eggs impregnated and placed in the hatching-boxes. This large quantity afforded us anticipations of a more than ordinary success on the Potomac River, that were not destined to be fulfilled. On the 18th about five hundred shad were taken at the fishery, and only two ripe spawners found among them, affording about 50,000 eggs. The temperature of the river on this day was 63° in the morning and 67° in the afternoon. On the 19th about six hundred shad were hauled in the seines, among which ten ripe fish were found and about 250,000 ova impregnated. The temperature at 6 a. m. was 62° ; at 6 p. m. it was 65°. On the 20th, one hundred and twenty shad were taken, seven ripe fish found, and 120,000 ova obtained. The 21st was cold and rainy. In the night-hauls six hundred shad were captured, seven ripe fish handled, and 150,000 spawn taken. The night-catch of the 22d was one hundred and thirty shad, four ripe fish and 100,000 spawn. The 23d saw the first young shad out of the egg, about one hundred and forty hours after the first eggs were impregnated, the water having varied in temperature between 62° and 67°, the time being just about double that occupied when the temperature ranges from 75° to 80°, in both instances the water remaining quiet. On this day four spawners were found and about 90,000 eggs obtained. Arrangements were made with fishermen on tlieriv^er, at Mr. Living- ston Stone's request, for obtaining one thousand young cat-fish and five hundred yellow perch to be forwarded to the California aquarium car. The fisherman collected the perch, Ferca Jfavescens, in a live box, and a number of cat-fish, Amiurus albidus, were also obtained. On the 21th 50,000 eggs were put into the boxes. On the 25th 400 shad were taken, three ripe fish, and about 60,000 eggs taken. Twelve boxes of the young fry were turned loose in the river, about 200,000 shad. On the 26th, from a catch of about 200 shad, four ripe ones were ob- tained and about 75,000 eggs impregnated. There were also on this day about 220,000 young fish turned loose in the river. On the 27th a heavy storm from the north broke the connecting links of the boom that had been arranged to protect the boxes, and sweepiug it down upon some of them, released about 275,000 young shad into the river, with the eggs in the same boxes remaining unhatched, of which there was a small percentage just ready to hatch, aud many of them, no doubt, emerged from the egg in good condition on the bottom of the river. Out of 250 fish four ripe fish were taken and 80,000 spawn put into the boxes. 422 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. On the 28th about 155,000 yoimg shad were put into the river, aud 60,000 eggs impregnated from three spawners. On the 29th the river was muddy aud the water high from rains to the northward, and but few shad were taken in the nets, and no spawTiers found among fehem. The temperature of the river on the afternoon of the 2Sth reached 70^, and on the 29th varied from morning to evening from 70O to 75°. On the 30th no ripe fishes were taken. The temperature of the river varied from 75° to as high as 80°. About 50,000 young shad were turned loose into the river. On the 31st the temperature of the water had fallen as low as 62° in the morning, but rose again before night to 70°. Day-time fishing for spawners, though rarely successful, afforded this day three ripe fishes, and at night nine more were taken, and from all 250,000 ova were obtained. June 1, no ova were obtained. On June 2, 211 fishes were captured aud five ripe fishes handled, producing 100,000 Sj)awn, the temperature of the river varying between G8° and 72°. On the 3d the fishermen made twelve hauls of the seine, capturing about 200 sliad, among which were found four spawners, and 80,000 eggs taken from them. On the 1th twelve hauls were made aud but few shad taken. Eight ripe females were obtained in the evening, and 190,000 eggs impreg- nated. The 5th saw but few shad taken at the hatching-station. More than 100,000 young fish were turned out of the boxes; four ripe females were obtained aud about 70,000 eggs impregnated. The river for the first time during the season showed a temperature as high as 81°. On the Gth the fishermen made twelve hauls, taking only ninety shad; eight of them were ripe females, but the eggs were all found to be dead, on extrusion, with a white speck in the normally uniform yellow tint of each egg, showing its addled condition. The temperature of the river in the morning and the evening was 78° and 81°. As dead eggs are seldom or never taken from the shad except in a time of high tem- Ijerature of the river, this condition is without doubt to be attributed to this cause. There were about 75,000 young fish turned loose on this day. On the 7th nine hauls were made, two ripe spawners obtained, and 15,000 eggs impregnated. There were about 125,000 young fish turned into the river. The highest record of the thermometer in the river on this day was 80°. Knight & Gibson stopped fishing for the season on this ground, "cut out the nets," as it is termed on the river, their fisheries farther down the river having been stopped several days before, and it was with difficulty and additional expense the gang of men could be kept together MILNER ON THE ARTIFICIAL CULTURE OF THE SHAD. 423 for the sake of procuring spawners, the proprietors of the fisheries being partially remunerated for their expenses during this additional time. ♦ A new and less expensive seine was put in on the 8th, but no shad were taken in it, and but few other fishes, which was no doubt partly owing to the bad construction of the seine. About -J0,000 shad were turned into the river. On the 10th a new seine was set at work on the ground, and making eight hauls one shad was captured. The temperature of the water was 80° to 82°. It was now decided to break up the station, and the boxes, chains anchors, and boat were stored away until another year. IsT. W. Clark, of Clarkston, a fish-culturist of Michigan, arrived in Washington on the -Ith, sent out by the State commission for a supply of shad for waters in Michigan. A sufficient supply for this purpose was in readiness, and it was decided at the same time to move a ship- ment out to the head-waters of the Kanawha Eiver, in West Virginia. Six large milk-cans, with a capacity of fifty quarts each, had been pro- vided for the purpose, but at the request of a prominent fish-culturist two large galvanized-trou cans, with a very convenient and ingenious device for aeration, were substituted for two of the milk-cans. About 50,000 young shad were put into the six cans. The water from the river at 5.45 p. m., the time when the fish were put into the cans, was 83.5^ in temperature, and a quantitj' of ice was immediately procured for the purpose of reducing this high degree of heat, as it was much too high for the young fish to endure. The ice placed around the cans while being transferred in a wagon from the hatching-station to the ferry-boat of the Orange, Alexandria and Manassas Eailroad, reduced the heat somewhat, and while cross- ing the river on the steamer a small quantity of ice was put inside of the cans, so that at 8 p. m., when the train left Alexandria, two hours and fifteen minutes after the fish had been put into the cans, the tem- perature was reduced to 72°. A reserve can of water, obtained at a hydrant in Alexandria, was taken on board the train and a quantity of ice put into it. Fresh water was obtained at Warreuton Junction, at Staunton, and North Mountain Summit, always from the railroad-tanks, as no other water was to be obtained; the temperature of the water in the reserve can was reduced with ice to about 52° to 53° before it was put upon the fish, and the cans of fish held a very uniform temperature through- out the journey of from 68° to 73.5°. In the night it was discovered that a large number of the fish in the galvauized-iron cans were dead, tliough those in the tin cans seemed to be all lively and in good condition, and in the morning very few living ones could be found in the ga|vanized-iron cans. At 8.30 a. m. of the 6th, Eonceverte, West Virginia, the point on the 424 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Greenbrier Eiver selected for placing the fisli, was reached. There had been fresh water afibrded the cans five times, and the aerating appa- ratus applied seventeen times. The temperature of the Greenbrier Eiver was found to be 76°; the water in the cans from 72° to 74°, a difference too slight to injure the young shad. Procuring a boat, some time was expended in finding a spot free from minnows and small fishes ; but they were finally turned into a quiet inlet to one side from the rapid current of the river. The two cans of galvanized iron did not contain a single live fish, but the loss in the tin cans was very small. The process to which the sheet- iron is subjected while the zinc coating is applied had possibly left suffi- cient injurious matter on the metal, which had not been well cleaned and produced the fatal effect upon the fish ; and, though large fish may not be materially affected by the use of this metal, it is not advisable to use it in the transportation of so delicate a creature as the young shad is. Out of the *50,000 estimated to be the number that left Washington, about 30,000 were put into the river alive. On the 9th 40,000 shad were put into the tin cans and sent to the Iisew River, Virginia, headwaters of the Kanawha Eiver, in the charge of Mr. Welsher. • The temperature of the water was reduced to about 70° before the cans w ere put into the wagon. Leaving the city at 7 p. m. they reached Central Station Virginia, at 10.30 a. m. of the 10th and were moved to the river in an ox-cart and turned out of the cans in good condition with an imperceptible loss. The work of the season had resulted in the releasing of 1,370,000 young shad in the Potomac Eiver, and about 90,000 contributed to the head- waters of the Kanawha Eiver as a portion of the stocking of the waters of the Mississippi Eiver tributaries, which was a part of Professor Baird's plan for the season's work. The conservatism which Seth Green had taught his men, in estiuiating numbers of eggs, is to be taken into account, when comparing the suc- cess of the season with that of other localities ; as the uncertain and un- reliable method in estimating in different parts of the country have re- sulted in very diflerent standards, by which the approximations to the true number have been attained. In the future it will be advisable to begin operations earlier, as it is not probable, in ordinary seasons, that the temperature of the water will continue cold so late in the spring, and the last of April, or possibly the middle of the month, might find occasionally a fish spawning; and the true policy in effecting large results is not to allow a single spawning of eggs to escape the vigilance of the operators. "The staudanl for estimation of numbers of the live fisli adopted by Mr.Greeu's men, with commendable desire not to exaggerate, I suspected from the first to be too small, as it would not account for the estimated number of eggs in the boxes. A test was subsequently made as related on page 443, and any excess of numbers in this report over former published statements in the newspapers is to be attributed to this fact. MILNER ON THE AETIFICIAL CULTURE OF THE SHAD. 425 Shad-hatching on the Potomac River, Jackson Citij, Va., opimsite Washington, D. C, in the year 1873. Date. Number of shad takeu. o a ^ . B o o g 3 Temperature of water. Period of develop- in out. _ o lis .a to 'it May 17 18 20 10 7 7 4 4 400, 000 50, 000 250, 000 120, 000 150, 000 100, 000 90, 000 50, 000 60, 000 75, 000 go, 000 60, 000 6 a.m. 6p.?ji. 65° 03^ to 67° 62° 66° 62° 64° dC2° ceo 62° 63° 62° 6.5° About 7 days 500 600 Morning and 270 evening. Evening tide. COO Evening tide . 130 do 19 do 20 21 ...do go 23 24 65° 66° do 25 Morning and 400 evening. 200 250 150 None. Xone. a3 4 4 3 66° 69° 66° 69° e63° C7° 05° 70° 70° 75° 75° 80° 70° 72° ....do 200, 000 220, 000 275, 000 155, 000 100, 000 50, 000 50, 000 26 27 About 3 days . . . . . do 28 20 About 70 hours . 30 31 &12 250, 000 o 214 200 Few. Few. 90 5 4 8 4 c8 2 100, 000 80, 000 170, 000 70, 000 C8° 72° 08° 73° 70° 75° 3 do 4 5 72° 84° 78° 84° 77° 80° 75° 78° do 100, 000 75, 000 125, 000 20, 000 0-50, 000 6 7 15, 000 About 70 hours . g None 9 7i40, 000 10 80° 82° Total 3,665 111 2, 170, 000 68°.2 71°. 9 1, 370, 000 90, 000 Percentage of eggs hatched 67J a One spawner in day time. 6 Three spawners in day time. e Eggs all dead. d Cloudy and rainy. e Heavy storm from north. /First shad hatched on 23d, sir days. g Transferred to Greenbrier Eiver, W. Va. h Transferred to New Eiver, Va. 5. — METHODS EMPLOYED IN SHAD HATCHING. Up to 1867 the speckled trout, {Salmo fontinaJls,) the salmon, {Sal- mo salar,) were the only fishes that had been hatched on any consider- able scale in the United States. Experiments .had heen made with more or less success on the yellow perch, [Perca flavescens) and the wall- eyed pike, {Stizostedium americanum,) the common sucker {Catostomus communis,) the corporal,* {Semotilus corporalis,'^.) the salmon-trout, {Salmo namaycush,) and the white-fish, {Coregonus alhus.)f At the invitation of the States bordering on the Connecticut Eiver, Seth Green visited the river and selected what afterward proved to be a most excellent locality for a shad-hatching station. He began his experiments in shad-hatching by using the usual methods for trout-hatching — the * A Treatise on the Artificial Culture of certain kinds of Fish, &g,, by Theodatus Gar- Ijck, M. D., Cleveland, Ohio, 1857, p. 137. t Annual Report Department of Agriculture, 1859. 426 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. ordinary troughs, with a gravel covering on the bottom, and a stream running with a slight current over the gravel. Owing to the very light specific gravity of shad-eggs, it was soon found that there was no success whatever to be hoped for by these devices. Several experiments of different devices were attempted before the mode now adopted was tried and proved successful. Bat a successful method was discovered and employed sufficiently long before the end of the season to hatch out a large quantity of shad, and the results were apparent to the fishermen of the river three years afterward. The apparatus* devised by Mr. Green was merely a light pine box, 22 inches long, 15 inches wide, and 12 inches deep; the bottom was of wire- cloth — about twenty wires to the inch. It was used withoirt a cover. On the ends of the box two pieces of two by four scantling were nailed diagonally to the lines of the box, so that floating in the water it was slightly tilted, the side of the box sunk to the least depth being up stream, so that the wire-screen bottom was presented to the current at a slight angle, sufiBcient to produce a circulation of the water inside of the box that kept the light shad-eggs in gentle motion. In a sluggish tide-current the floats are usually nailed on so that from the upper edge of the box to the top of the float in front there is a distance of 5 inches, and from the upj)er edge of the box to the top of the float behind there is 2^ inches. The angle of the floats is of course less for a more rapid current, the object being to produce a current that will move the eggs as gently as possible, a more rapid motion being regarded as injurious, especially in the later stages of development, when it materially hastens the rupture of the shell membrane and effects a too premature birth The wire-screen bottom is coated with coal-tar, or what is better, asphal- tum varnish, both for the purpose of preserving the wire-cloth and for a supposed effect in retarding confervoid growth. The boxes are connected by bridles and lines in gangs of six, and to the first box an anchor-line with a large stone at the end holds the g^ng in its place in the river. The box next the anchor has the floats extend- ing both ways beyond the box about 8 inches, but on the remaining ones they are sawed off flush with the box. The method employed at the station at Washington is as follows ; The fish are taken in a seine one thousand fathoms long. As soon as the bag of the seine comes near the shore the fishermen, gathering* the lead-line and cork-line in their hands, gradually work it up to the top of the water, shaking the fish into the bunt of the bag. A boat is brought alongside and the fish thrown into it with a scoop-net, the shad being at once separated from the other species. The operators, provided with ordinary six-quart milk pans, containing about three- fourths of an inch of water in the bottoms, are in the boat and, taking up the shad one by one, detect at once, by a gentle pressure on the belly of the fish, if the spawn is ripe by its free emission from the * See illustration at end of volume. MILNEK ON THE ARTIFICIAL CULTURE OF THE SHAD. 427 oviducts. In an unripe one the eggs will not flow at all, and if the eggs are only nearly ready, tlie extrusion is difficult and in masses and the fish is rejected. When a female is found from which the eggs flow in a liquid stream when a gentle pressure is applied, it is carefully takeu in the hands of the operator, the left hand ap- plied closely arouud tlie tail and the head of the fish crowded against his body, while with the right hand a slight pressure is applied with the thumb aud fiuger to the abdomen of the fish, and a stripping movement executed which causes the eggs to flow rapidly into the pan. As soon as it is evident that the spawn is all obtained, the shad is thrown into the basket, it being impossible to preserve the lives of so delicate a fish even if the utmost care is taken in handling it- But though they are delicate in this particular, and have a very slight tenacity o£ life when taken from the water, they are a A^ery muscular fish. Experts in fish-culture who have handled the white-fish and salmon-trout of the lakes, regard them much stronger than the same sized fishes of either of the latter species, aud if the utmost pains is not taken to prevent their releasing themselves from the hold, they will flounder and splash in the pan of eggs and probably throw a large pro- jjortion out, and damage some of those that remain. In stripping down the abdomen, a great many scales will be removed from the sides of the fish. These, if carelessly allowed to fall into tho pan, will be an annoyance, as the eggs will adhere to them. They can be gathered and thrown away, by an adroit movement of the hand, with a little experience, without making any delay in the operation of strip- ping the fish. Mr. Green estimates the number of ova taken from an average spaw- ner at about 20,000 eggs, aud rarely estimates above 28,000 for the most prolific shad. Mr C. C. Smith, operating for the Connecticut State commission, estimates an average good spawner at 50,000 ova. We have not made a test of these estimates, aud are not prepared to offer an opinion with reference to the disagreement. The salmon family contains the species that had, previous to 1867, been dealt with in fish-culture on any considerable scale in the United States, nor had any of the family of fishes that embrace the shad, the Clu])cklce, been experimented with in Europe. The conditions that necessitated new methods in the shad-hatching from that of the trout and salmon were not only in the less specific grav- ity of the shad ova, but in the very much less period of time re- quired for the development of the fish from the egg. With the trout, at the ordinary temperature of spring- water, about 47^, the troat-eggs re- main in the hatching-troughs from seventy to one hundred days j with the salmon in some hatching establishments, where the water assumes a winter temperature of 35° or 36^, the fish are not hatched out under about five months from the time the eggs are impregnated. The shad, wheu the temperature of the water was as low as from 62° to 07°, only re« 428 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. quired about six days to emerge from the egg, while iu a temperature between 75^ and 80^ only about seventy hours or three days from the time the eggs were impregnated, the fish were numerous iu the boxes. This fact was, of course, a great advantage over the trout, both in the very much less amount of labor in the care of the ova and in the fact that, being in the always precarious egg-stage for such an inconsider- able length of time, they suffered a proportionately less amount of ex- posure to the ills and damages the longer-developing Salmonidcc were subject to. The eggs of the shad are somewhat smaller than those of the white- fish, {Coregonus albus, Les.,) which are smaller than in the trout, {Salmo fontinaUs,) and much smaller than in the salmon, {S. salar.) The eggs, just after impregnation, of the white-fish are a little less than one-eighth of an inch iu diameter, while those of the shad are but about one-tenth. The shell membrane is also thinner and the egg more delicate, and does not seem to endure the handling and ladling out into moss or cups for transportation, or even into the hatching-boxes. Experiments in the transportation of shad-eggs, even for short distances, have proved fail- ures, while the white-fish eggs have been sent from Michigan to Cali- fornia, being on the road ten days, and have arrived in good condition, and trout-eggs and salmon-eggs have been shipped much farther, the latter from England to Australia and Tasmania. A small percentage of loss occurs in the boxes of shads' eggs, and by careful fish-culturists the dead eggs, detected at once by their white hue, are removed ; but by many are not interfered with, as they are usually too few to occasion very serious damage to the good ones. The tool used for their removal is not the egg-tongs or forceps used in trout-culture, but a small net, of minute mesh, less than one-half inch extension measurement, mounted taut on a square frame of wire, about 3 inches square, and the bad eggs are floated up to the surface and thrown out with the scaf-net, the good ones passing through the meshes more readily than the bad ones, covered with the mossy parasitic growth that so soon develops upon dead eggs. Unlike the fishes of the salmon family, the shad, instead of dropping the ripe eggs into the open cavity of the abdomen to pass backward and out through an ovipore, has a continuation of the oviduct to the outside, the two ovaries in their posterior prolongations uniting into an oviduct, in which, by dissection, the eggs can be seen to pass within the transparent membrane of its walls to its outlet. 6. — KELATION OF THE TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER TO THE PROPA- GATION OF THE SHAD. Temperature of the water of the sea, rivers, and lakes has a very im- portant relation to the increase of the food-fishes, influencing the time of the spawning migration, the development of the eggs, and the wel- MILNE R ON THE ARTIFICIAL CULTURE OF THE SHAD. 429 fare of the young fishes. The eggs, uot only after they are deposited and impregnated, but before they leave the body of the fish, are afiected by the temperature of the water. The spawning season of the shad seems to be regulated by the increase of temperature as warm weather advances. Their migrations on the coast are in quite a regular succes- sion of time with relation to latitude. From letters received, from pub- lished statements, tables of inspection, and personal observation, the l^criods of their migrations are nearly as given in the following : They make their first appearance in the Saint John's Eiver, Florida, the 1st of December. The season of their greatest numbers is February, and they disappear in April. In the Savannah Eiver, Georgia, it is much the same. On the coast of North Carolina* they make their first appearance in December, their greatest abundance is in March, and they disappear in May. In the Neuse River, Xorth Carolina, the periods of these stages of their migTation are a little later. In the Potomac Eiver the advance individuals are found in February ; they are found most numerous in April, and they disappear earl}^ in July. They are found in the Delaware Eiver at first in March ; in the Hudson Eiver early in April. In the Connecticut Eiver they are first found in the last of April, are the most abundant the last of May, and do not leave the river until late in July. In the Kennebec Eiver, Maine, they are first taken in April, and have left by the middle of July ; and the same dates apply to the Androscoggin Eiver. In the Saint John Eiver of New Brunswick t they appear about the middle of May, and in the Miramichi Eiver of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence late in May. But not only in the ordinary times of ascent is there evidence of their sensibility to the temperature of the water, but in late seasons, when the snow-water from the northern sources of the streams keeps the water cold for a longer period than usual, the shad are retarded in their as- cent of the rivers, and are taken in quantities by the nets near the mouths of the rivers, while the fishermen above wait impatiently for the run up stream that they know to be prevented by the coldness of the water; even an entire failure in the shad-fisheries in Albert County, New Brunswick, ^as attributed by the fisheries overseer to the extreme lateness of the warm weather of spring. Among the Salmonidcc of the gTeat lakes the salmon-trout, {Salmo namaycush, Penn.,) the white-fish, {Coregonus albus, Les.,) and the black- fin, (Coregonus nigripinnis, Gill.,) avoiding high temperatures, re- main in the deep waters during the warm weather, but in early winter are taken abundantly in the shoaler water near the shores. The antip- athy to warm water varies to some extent, the white-fish showing the least, and the black-fin the most, sensitiveness to the warmth. The transportation of young fishes in cans indicates this peculiarity also. The Sahnonidce will thrive in a temperature as low as 40°, and * See Notes on the Shad, &c., by H. C. Yarrow, M. D., p. 452. t Article ou the Shad and Gasperean, &c., by Charles Lanman, p. 460. 430 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. show no symptoms of lethargy in water kept at 45'^, while the shad are most active between 68° and 72°, and become torpid and sluggish at a temperature below 65°. In the case of the shad there are many indications that the develop- ment of the spawn within the ovaries is hastened by the heat and re- tarded by the cold. In a warm season ripe spawners are more numer- ous early iu the season than in a cold one, and the period for obtaining them is apt to close earlier. A temperature in the water of about 75° or 70° seems to be the most favorable for obtaining and hatching spawn. At 80° the eggs hatch very rapidly, but the young fish do not do so well, and a more serious difficulty is the fact that many spawners are taken with the eggs dead in the ovaries ; that is, they have lost entirely the capacity for fecunda- tion, and as there has been no instance of this kind reported when the ■water was below this temperature, it is probably correct to attribute the cause to the high temperature of the water. The temperature of the water regulates the period of development of all fishes' eggs that have been experimented with. In the shad-eggs the period required for release of the fish from the eggs was, with an average temperature of 64°, though actually varying between 62° and 68°, about seven days. With an average temperature of about 65°, ac- tually between 62° and 69°, the time was about six days. With an av- erage temperature of nearly GQ'^, actually between 62° and 69°, the time for the most of the fish to be free was about five days. An average of 68°, between 66° and 75°, released them in about tliree days. An aver- age of 72°, really between 65° and 80°, released the fish in about sev- enty hours, the shortest time observed for a large quantity of eggs, though usually some were hatched a few hours before the majority, and a few eggs lingered for several hours after the eclosion of the rest. 7. — THE OVARIES AND OVA OF THE SHAD. The ovaries of the shad are familiar to eaters of shad-roe, as thej^ are usually cooked whole. They differ from those of the white-fish {Core- goniis alhus) in being shorter in proportion to their length, and the mem- brane of the ovaries is thicker and* stronger, while the white-fish, unlike the shad, has the entire length of each divided transversely into folds, which, on removing the outer membrane, are found to hang sus- pended from the long thickened fold of the membrane on the dorsal side of the ovary, an arrangement that facilitates the passage of the eggs toward the walls of the ovaries, before they fall into the cavity of the abdomen. The eggs remain in a compact solid mass until they ripen. At first minute, and the ovaries occupying but a small space in the abdomen, they gradually increase until the whole abdomen is distended with their bulk. On a close examination, as they approach the time of spawning, there will be found the maturing eggs, the larger, which are rather MILNER ON THE AETIFICIAL CULTURE OF THE SHAD. 431 uniform in size, and others of variable size. Whether the latter are the forming eggs for the next year, for two or three succeeding years, or for the lifetime of the fish, has not been determined. In a spent-fish, with the ovaries shrunken and small, they are still found full of these eggs of different sizes; and numerous specimens of this character were pre- served in alcohol while at Topsham, Maine, at the close of the spawn- ing-season. Several weeks before the time of spawning the ovaries have grown so as to fill the cavity of the abdomen, though still increasing. A short time before spawning, transparent eggs of large size, contrasting strongly with the golden hue of less mature ones, will be found scat:^ tered through the still compact mass of ova. These become more and more numerous, and after a time the compact condition becomes less ap- parent and the eggs fall apart and separate, and the extrusion begins, a liquid stream of eggs and mucous flowing from the oviduct on the slightest pressure of the abdomen. After they lose their compact con- dition they are no longer preserved for cooking. Unripe eggs, on extrusion, instead of flowing in a liquid stream, come away with difficulty in clotted masses, and generally with a little blood. The same thing will be observed on stripping a fish, with ripe eggs, too long, as the eggs of the season are not all ripe at once, as is frequently seen in dissecting the ovaries of spawning-fish. The fish, after the spawn is taken away, has a soft and flaccid appear- ance about the abdomen, which, after natural spawning, becomes con- tracted and drawn up, tapering slenderly toward the tail, the familiar appearance that characterizes the despised "spent shad." The eggs covering thickly' the bottom of a pan containing water are not easily discernible, as they are so very transparent; and as they come from the fish are so soft and light that when the fingers are moved among them there is nothing other than the water apparent to the touch, and in the dark a person trying the experiment would be willing to admit that there was nothing in the pan but water. 8. — THE MALE FISH. The male fish resembles the female so closely that there is very little certainty in attempting to distinguish between them by outward Ibrm, even when the comj)arisou is to be made with a gravid female. The males are ordinarily rather smaller than a full-szed female, and the sex is quickly known, when ripe, by the flow of the milt from the spermaries. Of course dissection always reveals the sex, though the spermaries even in the height of the spawuing-season are not nearly so large in propor- tion to the size of the fish as in most fishes handled by fish culturists. In large lots of shad brought in by the fish-boats early in the season, ripe "milters" are often very numerous when as yet a ripe " spawner'' is very rare, while later in the' season tlie ripe males and femalfs are not found in equal numbers, and it is not a seldom occurrence to have 432 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. a fine lot of spawn in the pans and not a single ripe male to be found to fertilize it with, and it has, to the great disappointment of the breeder, to be thrown away as worthless. Tliis scarcity of ripe males, late in the season, may possibly be attributed to this fact, that many of them ripen so much earlier in the season than the females. The amount of milt that can be expressed at one time is limited to a small quantity, but a very small quantity will impregnate a very large number of eggs, and it is asserted by some to be the more successful way, though usually the milt of a large number is made use of when available. Under the microscope the milt is seen to be thronged with myriads of spermatozoa. In impregnating by the dry method their sttong impulse for movement is observed, by placing a small quantity of the milt on one side of a quantity of eggs covering the bottom of a pan, when, if left to itself but a short time, it will be found to have diffused itself between and among all the eggs. If but one of the spermatozoa is needed to fertilize each egg, but a very small quantity of the milt is required. 9. — THE IMPREGNATION OF SHAD EGGS. The ova from the female being collected in the pan with a small quantity of water, a slight pressure on the ripe male near the anal open- ing will force out two or three jets'of the milt, which, falling into the l^an, is stirred by a gentle movement of the hand with the fingers spread, care being taken to keep the fingers from contact with the sides or bottom of the pan, as in that case some of the eggs would be crushed The milt being diifused throughout the water, the pan is left for a few moments to allow the spermatozoa to come in contact with the eggs- The pan should then be filled full of fresh water, and gently swaj^ed until the water charged with milt is thoroughly mixed with the fresh water and the eggs slightly rinsed, when soon afterward the water may be j)oured nearly off and the pan refilled with fresh water, and after a slight and always gentle rinsing up of the eggs, the pan may be al- lowed to stand for several minutes. The fact has been referred to that the eggs were not discernible to the touch when put into the j^an, nor is there any change in this par- ticular, if no milt is added ; at any rate, for the length of time that the eggs have been observed in this condition, a half hour or more. For about twelve or thirteen minutes, when the temperature of the water was about 70°, after the milt was added, no change was observed, but about this time a careful movement of the fingers in the pan discerned their presence, and in a little more than twenty minutes from the time the milt was applied they were felt like shot against the fingers, and to an experienced eye were observed to have increased slightly in size.* This * Dr. E. M. Scbaelier, of the United States Army Medical Museum, while making in- vestigations with tlie microscope at the station, found that the increase in size waa nearly nine-tvveutieths of their original diameter in one hour and tifteen minutes after contact with the milt. MILNER ON THE ARTIFICIAL CULTURE' OF THE SHAD. 433 stage of their condition is known to fish-breeders as the " spawn-rising," referring to the greater bulk in the pan from the increase in size of each egg. The increase in size and hardness continues for several minutes, during which the water is poured off and fresh water poured into the pan two or three times, and the eggs gently stirred with the fingers. In I)Ouring in the water the edge of the dipper is placed against the sides of the pan and the stream directed between the eggs and the sides of the pan, as it is likely to damage the eggs if poured directly down upon them. In the white-fish eggs it was observed that before impregnation an egg placed upon a hard substance was easily cruslied by a slight pres- sure of the finger, but after impregnation the shell membrane became so tough and turgid that a very strong pressure with the finger failed to break it. The assertion is made by nearly all experienced in shad-breeding, that there is a considerable fall in the temperature of the water in the pan containing eggs during impregnation ; some of them judge from the sense of touch, and others have made the test with a thermometer, the amount of reduction claimed being from six to ten degrees. Having made this test with a thermometer on several occasions, I have to say that it never resulted for me, though on one occasion a very large number of eggs were in the pan. The temperature in thepan was 69^ when the milt was applied, and the thermometer was put into the pan and the bulb immersed and allowed to remain, showing not the least change, though every phenom- enon of impregnation occurred. When the changes of water were made the thermometer was each time inserted, but showed the same tempera- ture as the river, the test being continued nearly one hour. 10. — THE SUSQUEHAjVNA, DELAWARE, AND HUDSON RIVERS. On the Dela^vare River, hatching operations were begun by Dr. J. H. Slack, with Mr. Holton and Chester Green, at Lambertsville, N. J., on June 12, and continued until June 27, resulting in the placing of 133,000 young shad in the Delaware and 15,000 in the Mouongahela, at Greens- burgh, Pa. The hatching-station at Washington was broken up on the 11th ot June, and the same evening, accompanied by Mr. Welsher, on his way to Marietta, Pa., to work in connection with the Pennsylvania commis- sioners, and Mr. Mason, we went north to find a later migration of the shad. At Newport, the Pennsylvania commissioners, operating with one of Mr. Green's men, had obtained up to date forty-three spawuers, out of a little more than one thousand shad taken, and producing, according to Mr. Boehm's notes, 1,500,000 eggs. A greater success would have re- sulted if there had been a reguar fishery established at this point. We soon ascertained that there was not much prospect of procuring shad for transfer westward, ami took the next train for Albany, IST. Y. S. Mis. 71 28 434 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. We arrived at Castleton, !N". Y., ten miles below Albany, on the after- noon of the 13th. The shad-hatching station of the New York commis- sioners is situated on the Hudson Eiver nearly opposite this place, a few miles above Coeyman's Landing. Taking a boat, we crossed to Camp Green, and met a hearty reception from Mr. Monroe A. Green, to whose eflicient management the responsibilities of this successful establishment are delegated by the superintendent, Seth Green. The force to whom continual employment is afitbrded during the shad season is six or seven men at the fishery and five to seven men in the direct work of the hatching-station. There were one hundred and twenty-two boxes, containing about two millions of eggs and young shad, anchored in a quiet channel of the river between an island and the west shore. Four boxes of young eels, {Anguilla hostoniensis,) of about 4 inches length, gathered from the river, were retained for transfer to distant waters, a large number having been provided the unfortunate California aquarium car. They were at present obtaining from five to twenty spawners per day, and had taken the first spawner of the season the 25th of May, though they had been on the ground several days. The water on the 25th had a temperature of 50°; on to-day it was 78°. . Questioning Mr. Green for some exact data for results from his own personal knowledge in the improvement in the numbers of shad in the river, the following facts were developed: The first year spawners were scarce, and even fewer the succeeding years until the fourth year, when tliey began to feel the benefit of their own work in the marked increase of fisli, and the spawners their special desideratum. Double the num- ber of hatching-boxes were required for the accommodation of the in- creased quantity of ova. He remarked that, taking tlie standard now used in estimating the number of eggs, the correct estimate of the num- ber hatched the first year would be about 7,000,000. 11. — JOURNAL OF A TRIP WITH SHAD AND EELS TO CALUMET RIVER, ILLINOIS. At 6 p. m. the same evening the young fish were put ihto the cans ; six fifty-quart cans, containing 70,000 shad, and one can containing 4,000 eels, with a reserve can for fresh water, were put into a boat and car- ried across to Castleton, to be shipped upon a train passing at 9.12 p. m. On arriving at the east bank of the river the cans of fish remained at the water's edge until about half an hour before the train arrived, when one pailful, 12 quarts, of fresh water was aflbrded each can ; the temperature of the river-water being 75°, and the air rather cooler. The point determined upon for this first "planting" of shad in the Great Lakes was the Calumet lliver of Illinois, at South Chicago, on the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Kailway. The cans were put into the baggage-car of the passenger- train, Mr. Mason remaining with them until their arrival in Albany, at 9.40 p. m., MILNER ON THE ARTIFICIAL CULTURE OF THE SHAD. 435 where they were pat out and moved upon a truck to the penstock at the depot bat^gage-room, to await the 1.45 a. m. train, which afforded the best conuectious through to Chicago. The temperature in the cans was 70^, and in the fresh water from the penstock 68'-^. Fresh water was supplied each can twice while waiting between the trains, about twelve quarts each time. The cans were put into the baggage-car, Mr. Mason in charge of them, and fresh water was again afforded them from the reserve-can at about 4 a. m. At 5.15 a. m. the reserve-can was filled at Utica, and fresh water agaiu supplied before reaching Syracuse, at 7 a. m. After leav- ing Syracuse, a partial change of water was afforded and fresh water again taken on board at Port Byron at 8.10 a. m. The thermometer indicating 64° in cans, and the reserve-can showing a temperature of GO^, fresh water was agaiu supplied, and at Palmyra, at 9.20 a. m,, the reserve-can filled with water from the well at the de- pot, having a temperature of 50°. This, more than ten degrees of differ- ence, necessitated the moderating of the cold in the well water, which was readily done bj^ taking about four quarts of it in a j)ail and drawing off water from the can to be supplied until the pail was full, when it was emptied into the can. Seven or eight of the eels were found dead in the bottom of the can. At Eochester met Seth Green at the depot and received profitable suggestions from him with reference to the transfer of young fish. At Batavia, at 11.35 a. m., the reserve-can was filled from the faucet in the dining-room, the water of the reserve-can being as low as 54° and of the cans 64°. Water moderated before using it. The water from the reserve-can being again exhausted, at 1 p. m. it was refilled from the penstock, at the east end of the depot, in Buffalo. The temperature of the water was 66-, and the fish-cans 64°. The cans were transferred to the baggage-car of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern passenger- train. After leaving Buffalo the fish-cans were again replenished, and at Dunkirk, at 2,10 p. m., nearly two hours after reaching Buffalo, the sup- ply was replenished and a partial change afforded the cans. At Erie, Pennsylvania, at 4.15 p. m., fresh water was again obtained and furnished the cans ; the temperature remaining at 64°. At Girard, Pa., 4.43 j). m., again filled the reserve-can. The bottoms of the cans were examined for dead shad, and a very few found. Before reaching Cleveland, Ohio, 4.43 p. m., fresh water was supplied, and at Cleveland a can of fresh water brought on board. The water in the short interval of two hours had become sufficiently exhausted of the respiratory gases to dissatisfy the eels, and, very un- fishlike, tliey were determined to get out of it and find something better. On taking off the cover they were found in large numbers adhering to the neck of the can, entirely above the water, and worming their way up its vertical surface, just as they are frequently seen, while small, at 436 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. a dam or waterfall tliat obstructs their passag'e up a stream. They per- sisted iu clamberiug out of the can, and were with the greatest difdculty driven back by repeated washings down with dippersful of water until it was freshened sufficiently to be agreeable to them, when they settled to the bottom and remained there. A. few got out on to the floor of the car, and of course quickly perished. Water was also afford- ed to the young shad. . At Elyria, at 8.4:5 p. m., the reserve-can was supplied. The water from the well had a temperature of 54°. At Sandusky, 10 p. m., changed the water partially, taking only a pailful from the well at the east end of the depot, as the train-men legarded it as poor water. At Port Clinton, 10.28 p. m., examined fish and found them in lively condition. At Toledo, at 11.4:5 p. m., we did not use the water from the artesian well, as it had a strong mineral flavor. Mr. Mason took charge of fish the latter part of the night, obtaining water at Edgertou, Indiana, 2.01 a. m. He drew the water all away from the eels, finding about one hundred and fifty dead ones. Fresh water was supplied them again. It was evident they required more fre- quent changes than the shad, or a less number of eels to the quantity of water. AtLaporte, Ind., at 6.05 a. m., the can was refilled for the last time, fresh "water having been supplied, about twelve quarts at a time, to each can sixteen times, the eels having had a larger supply at the time of refilling the can. At 7.30 a. m. of the 15th we reached South Chicago, and Col. James H. Bowen, kindly responding to a telegram from Palmyra, was at the depot with a handcar, and a boat on the river near by. The shad hav- ing been conveyed to this boat were moved up the river for some dis- tance and consigned to the waters iu the middle of the river, where no small fish were found to attack them. The young fish were found in vigorous condition, the number of dead ones being very small, and they swam around in the vicinity of the boat very activelj^ and with no appearance of injury from their journe}^ in the cans. The eels seemed to evince a ludicrous state of elation at their escape irom thecaua, and showed similar iudications of enjoyment of their freedom to what may be seen among a flock of lambs let loose into a pasture from confinement in a pen. They made sudden darts for short distances, and turned right and left, twisting and wriggling until everybody was laughing ac their funny antics. A number of them persisted in follow- ing the boat as it moved slowly along while we were turning the j^oung shad from the cans into the stream. At Colonel Bowen's suggestion, one can of shad was retained to be moved up the river some seven miles, in his little steamer, in the after- noon, Mr. Mason remaining to take charge of it and see the fish safely MILNER ON THE ARTIFICIAL CULTURE OF THE SHAD. 437 placed iu the water, which was accomplished ; Gov. J. L. Beveridge, of Illinois, being the guest of Colonel Bo wen at the time, and witnessing the planting. A dozen or more of eels were carried to Chicago for exhibition, and some days later were placed by Dr. Walter L. Haines in one of the ponds at Lincoln Park. The cans were returned by express to Castletou, and the same after- noon we were on our way back to the hatching-station on the Hudson for a new supply of fish, to be put into the waters of Wisconsin. 12.— SHIPMENT OF SHAD AND EELS TO THE FOX RIVER, WISCONSIN. We arrived at Castleton on the 17th, and the same evening left again for the Fox Eiver of Wisconsin with about 70,000 shad and 4,000 eels, and we again left by the 9.12 p. m. train. At Batavia we were delayed a long time by the burning of a baggage- car ; and again, on the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Koad, the train was obliged, because of a defective bridge, to take the longer route between Toledo and Chicago via Adrian, so that we reached the latter city one hour too late for the train of the Northwestern Eoad that should take us to our destination, Appleton, Wis. The cans were moved to the ISTorthwestern depot, and a convenient ■upply of excellent water from the hydrant afforded for use during the day ; Mr. Mason, with his usual fidelity, caring for them. A small can was procured at a tin-shop and about 200 eels put into it to be moved to Big Dead Eiver, at Waukegan, 111. This task was accomplished by the kindness of Mr. William H. Fay, of that city. At 9 p. m. of the 19th the fish were again on the way to their destina- tion, and at 10 a. m. of the 20th they were put into the Fox Eiver, Mr. Eeid, of the Appleton Post, accompanying us to the point on the river where they were put in. From the long delay there were a larger num- ber found dead in the bottoms of the cans than at the former shipment, though not enough to make any apparent impression in their numbers when looking in at the mouths of the cans. There were probably less than 2,000 dead ones, or a little less than 3 per cent, of the whole num- ber. The fish had been iu the cans just sixty-five hours, standing still about eleven hours, and, though the amount of splashing that will ben- efit larger fish is an injury to shad, still it was made quite evident dur- ing our experience that even young shad do better while exposed to the motion of the cars, if managed so that it affect them slightly, than when standing perfectly still. It will be advisable, under similar circum- stances, to have them put into a wagon and kept in motion during the delay. 13. — SHIPMENT OF SHAD TO ASHTABULA ERTER, OHIO. The same evening we again took the return route to Castletou, arriv- ing on the 23d. Your telegram calling me to New York City, Mr. Ma- 438 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OP FISH AND FISHERIES. son was provided with about 50,000 shad for the Ashtabula River, Ohio, leaving on the same evening, while I took the train in the other direction. Returning to Camp Green, Mr. Welsher had arrived, and was informed of the purposed shipment to California, which he was to accompany as far as Omaha, Neb. Mr. Mason returned on the 25th, having put the fish, in good order, into the Ashtabula River on the 24th ; Mr. Toombs, express-agent at that point', having alforded him assistance in moving the shad to the river. In the evening Mr. Livingston Stone, with two assistants, arrived, and also ]Mr. George H. Jerome, commissioner of fisheines for the State of Michigan, desiring to take back a sn]:>ply of young shad for his State. Mr. Stone was supplied with cans, tubes, siphons, and pails, and left the same evening for the Sacramento River with 40,000 shad, Mr. Welsher accompanying him as far as Omaha. The supply of young tish at the hatching-station had bognn to fall short, but few shad being taken at the fishery, and indications were numerous thatthe season was drawing to aclose. Our claim for a supply of shad for another shipment was waived in favor of Mr. Jerome, who got away on the 20t]i with about seventy thousand shad for the waters of Michigan. 14. — SHIPMENT OF SHAD TO THE WABASH RIVER, INDIANA. On the evening of the 28th Mr. Mason and I started for Logansport, Ind., with four cans of shad, about forty thousand. The weather was very warm, and we made use of a small quantity of ice in our reserve- cans whenever the temperature of the water was above 67°. We arrived at Logansport at 8.50 a. m. of the 30th. Messrs. Bryer and Hunt of the Logansport Journal generously interested themselves in the work of moving the fish to the river, and Colonel Bringhurst, with a knowledge of the character of the waters in the vicinity, selected a locality in Eel River, a large tributary of the Wabash, into which the young shad were put, in fine condition, and with scarcely any dead ones. We started for Castleton early in the evening, and arrived on Jul3^2 to find the station abandoned and the boxes and apparatus stored away until another year. The season, as anticipated, had closed. Arranging unsettled matters, and providing for the storage of some surplus apparatus, we left the same evening for South Hadley Falls^ Mass., Mr. Mason and Mr. Welsher joining me in Albany. At South Hadley Falls found Mr. 0. C. Smith superintending the hatching-station for the Connecticut fish-commission. He had some seventy boxes in operation, with eggs and shad in various stages of development, and was taking from twenty to ninety spawners nightly, aftbrdiug large quantities of ova. Mr. Welsher had been sick during the trip, and, feeling worse, returned home to Rochester, K Y. MILNER ON THE ARTIFICIAL CULTURE OF THE SHAD. 439 15. — SHIPMENT OF SHAD TO THE WATEES OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN, VERMONT. On the eveniug of the 4th, with six cans, containing a much larger number of fish than in previous shipments, about one hundred thousand, we started for Burlington, Vt., intending to place the fish in the Winooski River. The weather being very warm we made free use of ice. We arrived in Burlington at 7 p. m. of the oth, and, accompanied by Mr. 11. S. White and a gentleman connected with the Burlington Free Press and Times, we drove to the river and put in the shad, in very fine condition, the loss being hardly apparent. During 1872 a quantity of shad were planted at Whitehall, N. Y., the head of Lake Champlain, under the direction of Seth Green, and a quantity put in at the dock by Dr. M. C. Edmonds, commissioner for the State of Vermont. This season at the mouth of the Winooski, and at the shore of the lake at Burlington, a number of unmistakable shad five or six inches in length, had been taken ; a son of Mr. H. S. White, in one instance, compelling their return to the waters. We returned to South Hadley Falls, arriving on the 6th, (Sunday,) and remained at Holj'oke, Mass., until the next day. 16. — SHIPJIENT OF SHAD TO THE HOUSATONIC RIVER, CONNECTICUT. In response to a telegram to Dr. W. M. Hudson, commissioner for the State of Connecticut, proposing to move fish to the waters of the State, the reply was received : "Take as many as convenient to iS'ew Milford, on the Housatonic." On the 8th we started with 90,000 shad and arrived at Kew Milford in the afternoon, putting the fish in the Housatonic River with scarcely any loss. Although the people of the vicinity were wide awake to the fishing interests, and appreciated perfectly the value of stocking the waters with valuable fishes, their enthusiasm was very much checked by the condition of a fish-way in the dam at Birmingham, lower down the river, which was represented as in no particular constructed according to the models in use for this purpose, and was of no value whatever for the passage of fish. We started back the same afternoon, arriving at the hatching-station the raoruingof the 9th. In the afternoon we witnessed thesport of taking shad with a fly-hook*. A citizen of Holyoke, Mr. Thomas Chalmers, has made this line of hook-fishing quite popular on the Connecticut by his successes; on this evening we saw him take eleven full-grown shad. The tackle used is a trout or salmon rod, with a reel containing one hundred or more feet of line, and a small hook (about :N^o. 6) with a brown fly. A peacock body, long, turkey-feather wings, and light- brown hackel is the fly in common use. Two persons in a boat select a spot where the current is quite rapid, and anchor the boat and let their * A prevalent impression that this is a new sport will be corrected by referring to page Ibl of Frank Forrester's Fish and Fishiu'(t'stahilis, De Kay,) so well known as an important item of food both South and North. From the fact that the only fresh-water river leading from this body of water is small a^id short, we should not expect to find the shad as numerous as in more favorable localities. Indeed, the general impression among fishermen seems to be that as the schools of fish gradually work their way North early in the spring, searching for their favorite breeding-grounds, stragglers become separated from the main bodies, and are from this circumstance, taken near Beaufort. However well grounded this belief may be, recent careful observation will hardly bear it out, as it is now thought by observers who have given much attention to the subject, that the fish, after leaving their breeding-grounds simply swim into deep water, not a very great dis- tance from the mouths of their respective rivers, remaining there until the sexual instinct again impels them to re-enter. Of course, those shad hatched in the Newport River, the one mentioned, would also return. From the limited yield of the shad-fisheries at this place, I can hardly consider it at present a favorable breeding-ground, although it is stated that in former years the catch was much greater. If the fishermen's theory above named is correct in regard to stragglers, it may be pos- sible that the few shad who enter, finding circumstances unfavorable for breeding, remain but a short time, going out to sea again soon after entering. I may here mention that the facts given below in regard to this fish are compiled from my notes taken while on duty at this point, and from the experience of a large number of fishermen with whom I have conversed. NOTES ON THE SHAD AND ALEWIFE. 453 The first sliad taken uear Beaufort appear about the 25th of De- cember, and from this time until the latter part of May they are taken in more or less numbers, increasing generally toward the latter part of the season, although for some years past the largest catches have been in March. As already stated, the number of fish captured is not very great, being about oue-fiftieth, as compared to the so-called herring, {Porno- lobus pseudoliarengus ;) but in making this comparison it must be remembered that this is not a good ground for the fish mentioned, nor is fishing for the herring systematically carried on to anything like the same degree it is in the waters of the Neuse Elver, not many miles distant. According to many observers, shad formerly were very numerous in this region, and have probably decreased 30 or 40 per cent., the reason for this diminution being, in the opinion of the fishermen, the filling up of Beaufort Inlet. In view of the fact that there still remains 14 or 15 feet of water in the channel, which is appa- rently sufficient to admit large schools of fish, I hardly think much credit can attach to the statement, unless some other causes oper- ate to prevent the entrance of the fish. It may be as the channel has changed, forming shoals in some instances at right angles with the shore, the fish either coming up from the south or from the ocean, strik- ing the shoals, are deflected oft' toward deep water, and thus pass the inlet. As the cause mentioned has greatly interfered with the mullet- fishing at this point, it may also have done the same with regard to other fish. ' Shad taken uear Beaufort, though generally small, frequently reach a length, of 18 inches, such a fish weighing from 4 to 6 pounds, but the average length of those taken will not exceed 15 inches, the average weight from 3 to 4 pounds. It is supposed that about three years are required for a shad to attain its full growth, but in the absence of reliable and positive data this statement is given for what it is worth. YVith regard to difference of shape and rate of growth between the male and female, the latter is supposed to grow rather faster and is always the largest, having a broader back and more pro- tuberant bellj'. The different modes of entrance of these fish are through the different inlets into the sounds of this part of the coast, and their movements in entering and leaving are entirely similar to those of the so-called herring or alewife. It is a mooted ques- tion as to the winter-residence of the shad, some inclining to the belief that they remain in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, while others believe that they run out to the deeper waters of the ocean. The latter theory will probably prove the correct one. The first appearance of shad at Beaufort Harbor, as has already been mentioned, occurs about Christmas, and from this time they are only scattering, until 3Iarch, when the larger runs take place, but aa 454 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. the runs become larger there is no increase in the size of the fish except tlie female : from this time the runs decrease, the fish leaving gradually, the same as they entered. So far as known the shad invariably appear each succeeding year, but there is a very marked ir- regularity of number and size, the last arrivals beiug nearly always the largest. On entering the inlets both sexes appear to be about equal in numbers, the ovaries of the females being about 3 inches long. Upon the entrance of these fish their presence is indicated by their swim- ming near the surface of the water, producing a ripple, the gathering near of birds, and lastly, their capture in the herring-nets. In com- mon with very many other fish, they invariably run in with the tide, going ou| with its ebb, and these movements I believe to be invaria- ble. As the female shad is not far advanced toward spawning on entering the sounds, it is but seldom the spawn is seen run- ning from them when captured in nets, more especially as few are captured when the eggs are near maturity. It is believed this fish is strictly anadromous, that is, it regularly returns from the sea to the fresh- water rivers for spawning, and from its first appearance off the coast about December 1, it would seem that the sexual instinct, which impels it to visit fresh water, is strongest a short period anterior to this time, providing that the theory be true of their wintering in the deep waters of the ocean. At this time their rate of progression is esti- mated at about eight miles per hour. In regard to their stay in fresh water, it is probably not later than the last of May, as after this time but few are seen. At fhe locality under discussion, though quite a common notion, not at all likely to prove true, it is said no spent shad have ever been taken, and that but few ever live to get back to the sea, not so mncli on account of their feebleness after spawning, but on account of their being nearly all cajitured. As to the habits at this time, no dif- ference has been observed in the sexes. In coming in the breeding- grounds, all aged fish are probably seen together, altliough many per- sons state that yearlings do not herd with older fish, and in fact remain in livers for over a year after hatching, although as yet it has beeu deemed almost impossible to determine accurately their ages. The most favored localities by these fish are in deep water, with a fair run- ning current, although for spawning they prefer shallow, sandy ground, vrhere the water is warm, not over IG to 20 feet deep. After spawning shad no longer keep together in schools, but scatter and make their way from the breeding-grounds singly or a few togetlier. This state- ment, though not positively proven, is believed to be correct. With regard to friends and enemies among other fish, they appear to possess few of either, though herring and rock-fish are frequently found in their company. • They neither prey upon or suffer from the attacks of other fish, their iirincipal food api^earing to be sought in small pebbles and gravel, and is probably small Crustacea, and -perhaps NOTES OX THE SHAD AND ALEWIFE. 455 algiie, as I have noticed a greenisli substance in tbeir stomachs; the ainoimt is doubtless small, as the stomachs are nearly always found empty. The only interference in spawning is caused by traps and nets aud unusual floods of water which wash gravel over the spawn, thereby destroying it. It is stated, and generally believed by fishermen and others, that shad begin to breed when one jear old, and are able to breed for one year only ; this statement cannot, I believe, be considered as reliable, as Mr. Miluer has found in the ovaries of spent shad the undeveloped eggs of succeeding seasons. During the spawuing-season no well-marked change of appearance has been noticed, except the larger belly of the female, and a greater brilliancy of general coloration. The act of spawning seriously affects the shad in different ways; it produces emaciation and weakness not only in the female, but male tish, and deteriorates their flesh, rendering it flabby and tasteless ; these results are due not only to the propagation act, but to the amount of physical energy necessarily expended in reaching the head-waters of rivers, their favbrite spawning-grounds. In the act of spawn- ing the males and females appear to run indiscriminately together, although Mr. Lyman, of Massachusetts, has seen them at this time paired, and it is but seldom the water is seen colored with the milt of the male. The most favorable temperature for hatching is warm, the eggs being laid near the surface of the water. The size of the individ- ual egg is larger than that of the pseudo herring, and from 100,000 to 150,000 is the number estimated for each female. Tlie eggs when spawned sink to the bottom, and are not attached to stems or gravel floating freely in the currents ; no nest of any kind being.built by either male or female, nor do they watch the eggs until hatched, which event takes place late in the season, probably June or July. The time required for hatching depends mainly on the temperature of the water, from seventy hours to six days being required. Of the total number of eggs laid, it is estimated by fishermen that probably oue-tenth are hatched ; this I believe to be a large estimate, and of the young reach- ing maturity, not more than one-fifth survive. From evidence received, it is believ^ed a much smaller number are hatched, but a larger portion reach maturity. The rate of growth is said to be about -l or 5 inches per annum ; but this statement has not been confirmed by personal observation. After hatching, the young fish receive no care from either parent, and suffer greatly from the attacks of other fish. In fact, there appears to be no parental instinct whatever, as shad are known to have devoured their own eggs. It is but seldom the young tish are seen after hatching, or if seen, are not recognized in the waters near Beaufort^althougli ob- served in other streams. The}' appear to live on similar food to their parents.- 456 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. No steps, thus far, have been taken by the authorities of i^Torfch Carolina to increase the abundance of this fish by artificial breed- ing, although a few public-spirited gentlemen of l^ew Berne, X. C, are trying to influence local legislation with a view to this laudable object.* Legislation upon the subject of preserving the fish-supply has received its full share of attention in the southern seaboard States, but the law is practically a dead letter. No disease has ever been noticed prevailing as an epidemic, nor do parasites as a rule infest shad 5 although occasionally sea-lice are found hanging near the gills. The only two methods of capturing shad in this locality are with draw and gill-nets ; the former being from 150 to 500 yards long, 8 to 16 feet deep, with a. mesh of 2^ inches ; the latter, 25 yards long, 12 feet deep, with a 3-inch mesh. Although, undoubtedly, shad will bite at a hook in some of the northern rivers, the experiment has never been properly tried at Beaufort, to my knowledge. The average day's catch, in a fair season, for 200 yards of net is about 30 fish, but frequently is much less. The most favorable time of tide for fishing is low ^ater, just at the time the fish are moving least. The disposition made of this fish is as follows: but a small por- tion of the catch is eaten on the spot, as they command high f)rioes, and it pays the fisherman better to dispose of them in the inland towns. Probably three-fourths are thus disposed of. It is considered the best food-fish that swims, and is eagerly sought for by all classes of people in its fresh state, smoked, and salted. In warm weather, although' the flesh is fine and hard, after six hours decomposition rapidly ensues, rendering it unfit for food. Shad have always commanded at this point high prices, having been sold for $1.50 per pair, wholesale, although the average price is about 50 cents. These rates are a little higher tban be- fore the war. Tlie supply of shad is so small about Beaufort that none are exported, the principal market being New Berne, N.O., and it is but seldom that fishermen feel justified in making any extensive prepara- tions for its capture, most of those secured being found in the so-called herring-nets. In view of the facts given above, I would hardly feel justified in recommending that any means should be taken to increase this fish in Beaufort Harbor, its inlets, and sounds ; the geographical and natural advantages not being such as would justify either the expense or trouble, more particularly as the Neuse, which is not far distant, and communi- cates with the Newport Eiver, has already been well stocked. Fort Macon, Beaufort Harbor, North Carolina, December 5, 1871. 4» ■ : *Smce the above was written the United States Fish Commissiouer, Professor Baird, has thoroughly investigated the subject of the shad-supply of the southern rivers, and in 1873 placed in these waters a large number of young shad, hatched at New Berue> N. C, by Seth Green. NOTES ON THE SHAD AND ALEWIFE. 457 B— NOTES ON THE SHAD, AS OBSERVED IN THE DELA- WARE RIVER. By J. H. Slack, M. D. 1. — THE EMPORTANCE OF THE SHAD AS A FOOD-FISH. Among the fishes of the eastern coast of North America the shad stands pre-eminent. From South Carolina to the Bay of Fiiudy they are found in every river, and the number annually captured must amount to many millions ; the catch in the Delaware River alone, during the season of 1872, being at least two and a half millions. 2. — THE DECREASE IN THE DELAWARE. The catch in the same river, however, varies greatly from year to year, and the reason for this is most probably as follows : Repeated ex- periments have shown titat three years are required to mature the female fish, though the young males, called otfal-fishes and rebel-shad, return during the second season. A heavy freshet during the period of spawn- ing may bring down upon the spawn torrents of liquid mud, smothering the ova and destroying the life of the embryo fishes. The results of this will not be apparent until the third season. Unfortunately full and ac- curate statistics for a series of years are wanting, save in the case of one fishery, that of Dr. B. P. Howell, of Woodbury, New Jersey. This fish- ery has been in the possession of one family since prior to the year 1700, and a careful record of each haul of the seine has been kept. From this record it would appear that until the introduction of the gill-nets, lS20-'25, the catch averaged about 130,000 i^er annum. Not to enter into detailed statements, but dividing the period between 1818 and 1873 into four cycles, each of which may be taken as represen- tative of the intervening period, we have : Average catch, 1818 to 1822, 131,000 per annum. Average catch, 1815 to 1819, G6,800 per annum. Average catch, 1865 to 1869, 60,739 per annum. Average catch, 1870 to 1873, less than 25,000 per annum. The season of 1873 did not pay expenses. But not only have these fishes decreased in numbers, but also in size. In 1813 shad of seven aiid eight pounds weight were by no means uncommon, and the average run was between five and five and a half pounds. Now in the Delaware River a four-pound fish is a curiosity. A catch is recorded as having been made near Burlington, New Jersey, in 1843, of three hundred and seventeen shad, averaging over six pounds each. Forty shad then filled a pork-barrel, mackerel- barrels not being in use. Over a hundred of the present deteriorated fishes are now required for this purpose. 3. — THE CAUSES OF DECREASE. The cause of this is evident. The size of net-mesh in the river has been greatly reduced ; only the smaller fishes can pass up the river 458 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. to their spawning-grounds, and from these puny i)arents nought but small puny offspring can be propagated. The cause of decrease in the number of fishes taken can, I think, be placed under the following heads : 1. Erection of insurmountable dams: 2. Destruction of young fry: 3. Destruction of seed-fishes: 4. Destruction of spawn. (3 a.) EreGtion of dams. — The erection of an insurmountable dam, cut- ting off parent fish from their wonted spawnihg-grounds, has been fre- quently followed by the total disappearance of the fishes from even the lower reaches of the river. A notable example of this took place upon the erection of the dam at Fairmount, Philadelphia. Before this large numbers of shad were taken in the reach of the river between the falls and its mouth. In a few years they had utterly vanished. ■ I am aware that it is the general belief that the fishes were driven away by the coal-tar thrown into the river from the city gas-works, but careful investigation has shown that shad-fishing was extinct several years previous to the construction of the gas-works. A fish-way, capable of carrying shad, has long been a desideratum. Great hopes are entertained of the capabilities of that recently erected by Mr. Brackett at Holyoke, but the matter is still but an experiment. Shad are taken in large numbers directly below the Lackawaxen Dam upon the Delaware ; but few, if any, ascend beyond this point. How- ever, in this case there are ample spawning-grounds below. Should any of the new j)lans for fish- ways now before the public prove a success the removal of these impediments is but a work of time. (3 h.) Bestniction of fry. — Few persons have any idea of the immense quantity of young fishes destroyed on their way to the sea. In our more northern rivers, with which I am best acquainted, the number devoured . by carnivorous fishes is enormous. In 1870 a large number of young rock-fishes were examined, and in every case young shad were found in their stomachs. From one fish, eighteen inches in length, seven young- shad were taken. Fish-baskets destroy millions. In 1871 I made a careful and thorough examination of the upper waters of the Delaware River, for the purpose of investigating this point. The fiicts elucidated were astounding. It was ascertained that a scoop-shovel, with which to shovel out the dead young shad which accumulated in the basket, was an important part of the fishermen's equipment. One proprietor acknowledged that as much as a two-horse load of dead young shad had been shoveled from his bas- ket during a single day. I am happy to state that through the active exertions of the fish-police these engines of destruction have entirely dis- appeared from the River Delaware, and I believe also from the Susque- hanna, though they still abound in the more southern streams. The good effect of their destruction in the Delaware is akeady shown by the fact that the number of young shad seen descending that river during the past autumn has been far greater than ever previously noticed. Wing- NOTES ON THE SHAD AND ALEWIFE. 459 dams and water-power sluices, by carrying tlie young fishes into turbine- wheels and feeders of canals, carrying them into locks, where, as a wit- ness remarked, they are churned to death by the rush of waters against the flood-gates, also contribute to destroy the fry. (3 c.) Destruction of seed-Jishes. — Under the name seed-fishes I would nclude parent shad during the season of actual spawning; in the latitude of 41^^, it would be from June 10 to August 1. The capture of the parent fishes is, in most of our ]S"orthern States, strictly forbidden by law daring this period, and the fishermen themselves are the most ardent advocates for its strict enforcement. The organization of a fish police in New Jersey has prevented any infraction of this law, even were the fishermen so dis- I>osed. (3 d.) Beatruction of impregnated ova. — As has been previously men- tioned, a flood, by covering the ova with mud, may stifle them and pre- vent their incubation, but other and equally great dangers surround them. The number eaten by other fishes is enormous. I have fished much in the Delaware during the mouth of July, the height of the spawning season, and almost every sucker, minnow or cat-fish taken was found to contain shad spawn. I have seen suckers literally crammed with ova, so much so in fact, that upon holding them by the tail the spawn would flow from the mouth. The spawn of shad are peculiarily liable to depredations from these fishes, as, unlike the bass, sun-fish, and cat-fish, the nest, if nest it may be called, is not protected by the i)arents. By a special law of the State of New Jersey no net of any kind is al- lowed to be drawn in the Delaware River between June 15 and August 20, it being believed by the commissioners of fisheries of that State that the drawing of the heavy lead line of the net over the gravel-beds upon which the ova is deposited would destroy the vitality of the spawn. The great increase in the number of small fishes during the past few years has proven the truth of this theory. Seth Green has stated that in nature not two per cent, of shad-spawn will hatch, and this is proven by the comparatively small number of fishes in our waters in proportion to the immense numbers of ova Iinuually deposited. The number of spawn deposited by a shad will average about forty thousand. Allowing but yig of one per cent, to return from the sea as adult fishes, and sup- posing the parent fishes to be entirely removed, the number of fishes in the river would be yearly doubled. Now, in fact, we know that they have been for some years past yearly diminishing, so that less than J ^ of one per cent, return as food-fishes. 4. — HABITS OF SHAD IN THE SPAWNING- SEASON. Though varying somewhat from year to year, the average date of the appearance of the shad in our waters is as follows, as far as I have been able to ascertain : South Carolina, January ; Norfolk, February ; New York and New 460 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Jersey,* March ; Boston, early in April ; Bay of Fuudy, late in April or .May. It is the opiaion of mauy fish-calturists that shad never spawn in tide- water. This, I think, is an eri^r. Shad, so ripe that it was impossi- ble to handle them ever so gently without causing a flow of spawn, have been repeatedly taken more than a hundred miles below the head of tide-water, and at Mull's Fishery on the Hudson, where millions of shad- spawn are annually taken, the tide ebbs and flows. From observations made by me at Camp Baird during the summer of 1873, it would appear that the ripe females with their attendant males feeling the time of spawning approaching, lurk during the da^" in the deepest ];)ortions of the river. At nighr, between an hour after sunset and midnight, they move into shallow waters, and, though for the proper incubation of the spawn clean gravel has been regarded as absolutely necessary, most ripe shad are taken upon bottoms thickly covered with aquatic plants. At MulFs Fishery so great is this growth of vegetation as to sometimes put a stop to the operations of the fishermen. The noise of the splashes made by the fishes in the act of emitting the spawn and milt are the best guides for the fish-culturist in selecting a proper locality for a fish-camp, and the most favorable locations I have met with are on flats covered with aquatic vegetation in the immediate vicinity of deep reaches of the river. The splash, or wash of the shad, as it is termed by the fishermen, is apparently but a single sound, yet a carefully-trained ear can frequently distinguish two sounds, the second following instantaneously that of the first, being made by the male in the act of emitting the milt. My atteutiou was called to this second sound after observing the pro- cess of imiu'egnatiou of the spawn of the gold-fish in a pond at my estab- lishment at Troutdale. The male and female fishes swim side by side, the male generally upon the left with his head on a line with the dorsal fin of the female. Suddenly, on passing near a clump of aquatic i)lants, the female makes a leap out of water, throwing the whole body in the air, and scattering her spawn over the plants; she is immediately fol- lowed by the male, ejecting milt. So rapidly is this done that even while watching the process it is difficult at all times to distinguish more than one sound. Having frequently observed this, it occurred to me that the spawning of the shad might be similar, and observation has confirmed this impression. The practical details and journals of my work having been presented in my previous report, I have, in the present paper, only given you my theories. * First shad taken iu the Delaware Bay in 1874, Fehruary 10, an uuprecedeutedly early fish. NOTES ON THE SHAD AND ALEWIFE. 461 C— THE SHAD AND GASPERBAU OR ALEWIFE OF NEW BRUNSWICK AND NOVA SCOTIA. By Charles Lanman. 1.— THE SHAD. The sbad of America, like the common herring, having been found to differ materially from the shad of Europe, has received a distinct name; the designatio'n given by Wilson, and adopted by Dr. Storer, {Alosa sapi- dissima,) is here followed. Unlike most fish which frequent the northern seas, this species comes from the south to deposit its spawn. At Charleston shad appear in January ; at Norfolk in February ; on the coast of New York at the latter end of March or beginning of April; at Boston in the latter part of April. In the Bay of Fundy they seldom appear until the middle of May. The first fish which arrive ascend the river Saint John to spawn; it is believed that they remain iii the fresh water no longer than is necessary to deposit their ova, and then proceed up the Bay of Fundy to their favorite feeding-grounds, there to fatten upon the shrimp and "shad-worm" until they attain that degree of ex- cellence which renders them so much sought after. The other shad, which are found in the autumn upon the same feeding-grounds, and in which no roe has yet been seen, are probably fish that have not attained a sufficient age for spawning, as those which ascend the river for that purpose are of large size and apparently old fish. The body of this fish is deep and compressed ; its length varies from one to two feet. The width across the body, from the commencement of the dorsal-fin to the anal, is nearly equal to one-fifth the length of the fish. The usual weight of this fish is from one to four pounds, although it sometimes attains the weight of six pounds. Of the sea-shad, none are so fine as those taken at the head of the Bay of Fundy, in the muddy waters of which they attain the highest perfection, owing to the great abundance there of their favorite food, the " shad- worm " and the shrimp. The shad is but rarely seen, on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia. It is found in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the various rivers of which it ascends as far north as the Miramichi, which seems to be its limit in that direction, none having been seen in the bay of Chaleur. The shad enters the Miramichi in the latter part of May, and remains until the middle of July; occasionally it ascends the Southwest as far as Boiestown, but the greatest numbers are found below the mouth of Etienne's River, always resting in deep, quiet water. The shad which frequent the gulf are greatly inferior to those taken in the Bay of Fundy. The shad which ascend the Saint John resort for spawning to Dar- ling's Lake, (Kenuebecasis,) Douglas Lake, (Nerepis,) the Washade- moac Lake, the Ocnabog Lake, the Grand Lake, and the Oromocto 462 REPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Eiver. They are caught in the Saint John, near Fredericton, bat not above, the water being too rapid. The shad taken in the fresh water are very inferior to those which remain exclusively in the salt water of the bay, and the longer they are in the river the more worthless they , become. 2. — THE GASPEREAU, OR ALEWIFE. The alewife appears in great quantities in the Chesapeake in March ; at New York it appears with the shad. The earliest fish appear in the harbor of Saint John in April, but the main body does not enter the river before the lOth of May. It would, therefore, appear that the ale- wife also comes from the south, like the common shad, to deposit its spawn in northern rivers. The usual length of this species of shad, which is best known in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia by the name of gaspereau, is from 8 to 10 inches ; the back a blue-green, approaching to purple ; sides, silvery. The head, dark green above, and the tip of the lower jaw of the same color ; opercles, yellow. In the Bay of Fuudy this fish is abundant ; in the Gulf of Saint Law- rence it is less plentiful and of much smaller size ; in the bay of Chaleur it has not yet been noticed, and, like the shad, the bay of Miramichi would seem to be its extreme limit north. The catch of gaspereau in the harbor of Saint John varies from 12,000 to 16,000 barrels each season, and sometimes reaches 20,000 barrels. It ascends the Saint John to the same localities as the shad, in order to deposit its spawn. In the Miramichi it ascends to the source, and spawns in the Miramichi Lake. APPENDIX D. FISH-CULTURE. (THE HISTORY, THEORY, AND PRACTICE OF FISH-CULTURE.) XXI.-THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. A— THE HISTOEY OF FISH-CULTURE IN EUEOPE FROM ITS EARLIER RECORDS TO 1854.* By Jules Haime. Fisheries have ofteu been called the agriculture of the waters, as if seas, lakes, and rivers were inexhaustible store-houses of food, Avhere, without fear of ever impoverishing them, man might continue to take and destroy forever, bounded only by his wants and desires. This defi- nition is false, because founded on a false view of the case. Fishery is not the agriculture of the waters; itisouly theharvesting. The waters are a source of production extremely powerful, but by no means infinite ; and that the harvest may be always certain and abundant, it should be prepared by regular sowing, if it is true, according to the expression of M. de Quatrefages, that fish may be multiplied by sowing in the same manner as grain. This would appear unnecessary pains, if we were to consider only the very greatfecundity of almost all the aquatic tribes. A perch of moderate size contains 28,320 eggs, and a'herring 36,960. Thomas HarmerfandC.F. Lund| haveobtaiued, by untiring researches, still higher numbers from other species, e. g., 80,388 and 272,160 for the pike; 100,300 for the sole; 71,820 and 113,840 for the roach; 137,800 for the bream; 383,250 for the tench ; 546,680 for the mackereL A carp weighing 3 kilograms (66 pounds) contained, according to Petit, 342,140 eggs. A flounder has given the enormous figure of 1,357,400. There have been counted in a sturgeon as many as 7,035,200, and Leeuwen- hoek has found 9,344,000 in a codfish. Finally, M. Valenciennes § has just *Ia the Revue des Deux Moudes, June 15, 1854, Paris, wae published an article on Pisciculture, by Jules Haime, 'a trauslation of which, by Mr. Gamaliel Bradford, appeared in the Report of commissioners appointedunder resolve of 1856, chapter 58, [of the legislature of Massachusetts, 1 concerning the artificial propagation of fish, with other documents, Boston, 1857. As the most complete paper published on this portion of the history of fish-culture, and as a suitable introduction to the account of methods iuuse in the United States, it is here reproduced.— S. F. Baird. t Philosophical Transactions Royal Society of London, vol Ivii, p. 280, 1768. t Memoirs of the Swedish Royal Association of Sciences, vol. xxiii, German ed., p. 192, 1761. § Valenciennes and Fr6my. Researches on the composition of eggs in the series of animals. Academy of sciences, March 20, 1854. S. Mis. 74 30 466 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. calculated that there are 9,000,000 iu a turbot of 50 centimeters, (19i iucheSj) and as many as 13,000,000 in a thick-lipped mullet. If ouly the tenth ]3art of the germs inclosed in the body of each fish arrived at maturity, there must be little to fear from the devastation of our coasts, or the depopulation of our fresh waters ; but numerous • causes of destruction tend to reduce considerably the multiplication thus richly provided for. These arise partly fro!u natural causes, but in great part also from the act of man. We are to point them all out, if possible, and weigh them successively before discussing the means of preventing their action, which will form the chief object of this article. In the first place, we must not forget that, in the general harmony of nature, as Mr. Milne-Edwards has justly remarked, the productiveness of animals is regulated with a view not ouly to the dangers to which the young are exposed before ariving at the age of reproduction themselves, but also to the uncertainty of fecundation of the eggs. It is well known that the immense majority of fishes areoviparous, and that the fecundation is effected by the operation of the male element upon the female element separate from the body of the animals, and in the midst of the waters where they live. This action is the condition necessary to the develop- ment of the embryo, and all the eggs which have not experienced the contact with the animalcules of the milt change and soon decay. Now, it is never the case that all the spawn receives this action, and from this cause alone a portion, more or less considerable, is always lost. The portion which remains is in turn exposed to a host of pernicious influ- ences. It may be left dry by a decline in the level of the water, or spoiled by the slimy substances which a rise of the water always causes and car- ries with it. The spawn has alse numerous enemies; many fish devour it, many Crustacea, many insects attack it in like manner ; it may be carried off by sea-weeds and byssus, and almost all aquatic birds are very fond of it. All these chances of mortality and destruction prevent the fish from increasing as fast as the great number of eggs would at first lead us to suppose, but they are still in a measure subject to the laws of the animal creation, and would seldom suffice for the depopulation of the waters, unless supported by causes of another nature. Among these should be mentioned, first of all, the inadequacy of the legislation on the fisheries, and the violation with imi)unity of all the protecting ordinances which it has provided. At the end of the last century Duhamel pointed out the depredations of the fishermen, who cast their lines, with impunity, at all seasons of the year, and daily suffer numbers of fishes, too small to be sold, to Ijerish upon the banks. He saw, with natural indignation, the inhabit- ants of t he coasts fill baskets with the spawn to manure their land or feed their swine. This culpable improvidence has still further increased, and we can almost say that, at the present time, all injuries are autho- rized and all abuses are practiced without limit. In vain the best- THE HISTORY OF • FISH-CULTURE. 467 grounded complaints are raised against the poacliers upon fisheries: the devastations have continued on all sides. The necessity has been felt, however, for a long time, of taking repressive measures against the destruction of spawn, and the historians of fishery have collected numerous ordinances, which have been succes- sively issued with this view at different times and in different countries. Without citing them all, it will be sufficient to recall those which have had the greatest intiuence upon the legislation of the present time. In the year 9G6, Ethelred II, king of the Anglo-Saxons, interdicted the sale of young fishes. Malcolm II, in 1030, fixed the time of the year Avhen the salmon-fishery should be permitted. Several other kings of Scotland have confirmed these decrees. Under Eobert I, the willows of the bow-nets were to be separated by at least two inches of interval, to leave a passage for the young fry. In 1400, Robert III carried severity so far as to punish capitally every person convicted of having taken a salmon in the forbidden season. This cruel law was abolished by James I, but this prince kept up the interdict during the same season, and every infraction still remained the object of severe penalties. Tlie kings of France were at great pains also to insure the free development of the j-oung fishes. A great number of ordinances were issued by them, to determine the nature of the nets of which the use should be permitted, and the length of the fishes which might be sold in the market-places. At lengh, in lGo9, Colbert i)laced upon a new footing the legislation of the coasts and rivers. He prohibited river fishing during the night and during the spawning season, under penalty of a fine of twenty livres and a mouth's imprisonment for the first offense, of a fine double in amount and two months' imprisonment for the second, and of the pil- lory and the scourge for the third.' The only exceptions were in the fisheries of salmon, shad, and lampreys. Colbert also prohibited the placing of basket-wcrk at the end of the drag-nets during tlie spawning- season, under penalty of twenty livres tine ; and after having determined the kinds of snares to be forbidden, he directed that the fishermen should return to the streams the trouts, carps, barbels, breams, and millers which they should take having less than six inches between the eye and the tail, and tlie tenches, perches, and mullets having less than five inches, under a penalty of one hundred livres fine. The legislation wliich governs us at present is based upon the pre- vious dispositions; unfortunately, it has disregarded the information offered by natural history, and thus but imperfectly attains the object pro- posed. The regulations relative to marine-fishing permit, for example, the taking of a given fish on shores where it has never been found, and give, for the limit of the Crustacea, indications contrary to the most sim- ple common sense. The code of river-fishing, which principally interests us here, is no better i)rotected against criticism. The ordinance of ]S^ovember 15, 1830, supplementary to that of April 15, 1829, leaves to the prefect of each department the care of determining, with the advice 468 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. of the geueral council, and after liaving consulted the foresters, the times, seasons, and hours when fishing shall be prohibited in the rivers and watercourses. Now, how many tinies must the prefects, little skilled in natural science or ill-advised by those whose duty it is to enlighten them, have committed errors like those of Colbert, when he interdicted trout-fishing from the first of February to the middle of March, that is to say, at a time when they had nearly all already fin- ished spawning! The same ordinance prohibits certain specified nets and snares, thus intimating that all others are authorized, and permit- ting changes of form and name in the first, without rendering them less formidable or destructive. Article 30 of the fishery-code punishes, with a fine of 20 to 50 francs, whoever shall catch, offer for sale, or sell fishes of less than the prescribed size, but it excepts from this provision sales of fish coming from pouds or reservoirs. It will at once be perceived how easy it is, through this exception, to catch and sell fishes of all sizes. Article 24 forbids the placing of any gate, structure, or fishing- establishment whatever, calculated to prevent entirely the passage, of fish, but it tacitly authorizes dikes and mill-dams, which produce the same effect. We will carry criticism no farther. It would be as easy for us to show that no efficacious measures insure the action of the fish-police, aud that the law is as badly executed as conceived. This state of things is deplorable, and has, without doubt, powerfully contributed to bring on the decay which has fallen upon the aquatic industry of France.* Some figures, taken from the archives of the ministry of finance, will show clearly the importance of the evil. The water courses of France have a total length of 197,255 kilometers, (122,500 miles.) Its lakes, reservoirs, and fish-ponds occupy ^ superficies of 220,000 hectares, (900 square miles.) Now, the rent of all the waters directed by the commis- sioners of forests, and those of dikes and bridges, yields to the state a revenue of 000,000 francs. The former alone give fishing-privileges in 7,570 kilometers (1,750 miles) of navigable and floating water-courses, producing the annual sum of 521,395 francs; that is, an average of 69 francs to the kilometer. The insignificance of this sum is very striking when compared with what it ought to be, or even with that still fur- nished by some rivers more favored than others. Thus, the Doubs, in the Jura, is still let out at the rate of 159 francs the kilometer ; the Moselle, in the department of La Meurthe, at the rate of 182 francs. For a similar length, the Loire brings in 252 francs in La Loire Infe- *The evil has been further increased by the eucroachmeuts of manufacturiug indus- try, as well as by the processes which they have involved. The mills throw ofi" into the water-iCourses their acids aud salts which have become useless, and the bleachers do the same with their chlorides. The beds of streams have often to be laid dry to ex- ecute dragging and .cleansing. Finally, steamboats, by their violent movements of the water, raise and (jast up the young fishes upon the river-banks, and these are often detained and perish there. These last causes of destruction are still more fatal to the develoijment of the fry than the culpable practices of the poachers. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 469 rieiire, (departuient;) the Sarthe 297 francs in Le Mairie et Loire ; and tlie Loiret 309. La IMayenne produces 339 francs, and the Seine 498. As for the Mairie, it produces the exceptional sum of 1,378 francs. By the side of these figures, more or less satisfactory, many others attest, on the contrary, the extreme scarcity of fish. The Ain, in the .Tura, produces only 14 francs to the kilometer ; the Dordogne, in the department of La Correze, 10 francs; the Isere, 8 francs; the Drome, 4; and the Durance, 2. Finally, 219 kilometers have been depopulated to that point that they cannot be let at any price. This marked inequality in the revenues of several rivers, which offer in general similar conditions to the fish, or whose different conditions can be ditferently improved, seems to indicate that the evil, even where great- est, is not irreparable. The proprietors, injured by the impoverishment of the fisheries, and the government itself more interested than any- body in the products of the rivers, have yet remained along time inact- ive under the laws which they are sustaining. The remedy has been decided upon only after the reiterated solicitations of naturalists, who, long since masters of a process of artificial multiplication, have felt that it might be usefully api)lied to the repopulating of rivers and ponds. The first experiments have given results sufliciently remarka- ble not to discourage farther attempts. The practical methods have been promptly developed, and scientific researches skillfully conducted have impressed a new character upon pisciculture ; that is, the branch of rural economy which is occupied with the improvement of waters. A very general interest is now felt in this important question of the arti- ficial multiplication of fish, which belongs at once to the natural sci- ences, to agriculture, and to political economy. The result of the ex- periments which, since the end of the last century, have had for their object the restocking of rivers,' already forms a curious chapter of zoo- logical history ; and while awaiting its increase bj' some new pages, it appears to us desirable to reunite its scattered elements. I. The first attempts at pisciculture were made by the Chinese and the ancient Romans, and it is probable that they were preceded by their elders in civilization. We have no positive data as to the epoch in whicii the Chinese commenced these experiments; but everything tends to show that they reach back to the most remote antiquity. We find in the " Histoire generale des voyages," (1748,) in Grosier, in Davis, as M. Chev- reul has already pointed out, and in most of the works which treat of Chinese customs, some curious details on the transport of the spawn of fish. According to the missionaries who have visited China, a multitude of salmon, trout, and sturgeons mount into the rivers of Kiang-si and into the ditches which are dug in the middle of the fields to preserve the water necessary to the production of rice. They deposit their eggs 470 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. there, and the young, which are soon hatched, are a source of consider- able profit to the riparian proprietors. The Jesuit father John Baptiste Duhahle, is the first French author who has shown* the manner in which this traffic is effected. We give his account, which most historians have copied with alterations: "In the great river \ang-tse-kiang, not far from the city Kieon-king fou, in the province of Kiang-si, at certain times of the year, are assembled a prodigious number of boats for the purchase there of the eggs of fish. Toward the month of May, the country-people bar the river in various places with mats and hurdles for a length of about nine or ten leagues, leaving- only sufficient space for the passage of the boats ; the eggs of the fish are stopped by these hurdles. They can distinguish them by the eye, where other persons see nothing in the water ; they draw out this water mixed with eggs, and fill several vases with it for sale, which causes, at this season, num- bers of merchants to come with their boats to buy it, and transport it into different provinces, taking care to agitate it from time to time. They succeed one another in this operation. The water is sold in meas- ures to all those who have fish-preserves and domestic ponds. After some days there are seen in the impregnated water, as it were, little heaps of fishes' eggs, without its being yet possible to distinguish the species. It is only with time that this appears. The profit is often a hundred fold more than the outlay, as the people live in great part upon fish." To these very simple but successful means of replenishing their ponds, the Chinese are said to have joined others which travelers have only very imperfectly indicated ; they assert that when the young- fish begins to eat, they give him marsh lentils mixed with yellow of The Romans had nearly similar customs at a very early epoch. "The descendants of Romulus and Remus," says Columella,! "rustics as they were, had much at heart the procuring upon their farms a sort of abun- dance in every thing like that which reigns among the inhabitants of the city ; thus they were not satisfied with stocking with fish the ponds which they had constru(;ted for this purpose, but carried their foresight to the point of filling lakes formed by nature with the spawn of fish which they threw into them. In this way the lakes Velinus and Saba- tinus, as well as the Vulsmensis and Oiminus, have, in the end, abun- dantly furnished, not only cat-fish and gold-fish, but, moreover, all other sorts of fish which are able to live in fresh water." These practices were early abandoned, and it is a matter of surprise, when we consider the strange infatuation of which fish became the object in ancient Italy during the following centuries, that no measures were then taken to insure their reproduction and free development. It is well known that the ancients had a remarkable predilection for this species of food. The principal luxury of the Roman banquets consisted of fish, and the poets *Hi8tory of the Cbiuese Empire, vol. 1, p. 35, 1735 t De Re Rustica, book viii, section 16. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE, 471 speak of snmptuoiis tables spread with these exclusively. In the period between the taking of Carthage and the reign of Vespasian, this taste became a ijerfect passion, and for its gratification the senators and patricians, enriched by the spoils of Asia and Africa, incurred the most fQolish expense. Thus Liciuius Mureua, Quintus Hortensius, Lucius Philippus, constructed immense basins, which they filled with the most rare species, and LucuUus, like a new Xerxes, caused a mountain to be pierced to introduce sea-water into his fish-ponds. Yarro* relates that Hirrius received twelve millions of sesterces ($075,000) from the numer- ous buildings which he possessed, and that he employed the entire sum in the care of his fishes. The rich patricians, says the same author, were not satisfied with a single pond 5 their fish-preserves were divided into compartments, where they kept shut up, apart from each other, fishes of different kinds; they retained a great number of fishermen solely to take care of these animals. They tended their fish as carefully as their own slaves during sickness. It is even added that a naval expedition, commanded by an admiral, had for its object to introduce upon the coast of Tuscany a sort of scar peculiar to the water of Greece.t This extravagant fashion, which spread through the various classes of society, and brought on the ruin of entire families, had also the effect of impoverishing the coasts of the Mediterranean. Ismeral complained that time was no longer given to the fish of the Tyrrhenian Sea to come to maturity. The scandalous luxury displayed in fish-])reserves, and the unwearied attention then directed to marine-animals, have furnished no other result useful to i)isoiculture. The only fact worthy of rem;irk at this epoch of sterile • extravagance is the introduction of gold-fish into artificial ponds, where shell-fish were also placed for their nourish- ment. We may pass rapidly over the immense interval which separates the Eomaii Empire from the eighteenth century, without remarking any ini[)ortant progress in the husbandry of the waters. The fisherman's art was, however, extended and perfected during the middle ages, and fish-preserves became extremely numerous in France and Italy. Kings and princes all had artificial ponds in their domains, and we be- hold Charlemagne himself taking great pains to keep his own in repair, causing new ones to be dug, and giving orders that the fish produced should be sold. The religious communities exacted enormous duties upon almost all fisheries, and had considerable preserves in which mul- titudes of fish grew fat. The maintenance of these preserves requ red many precautions, and the restorer of agriculture in the thirteenth century (Peter of Crescenza) pointed out the manner of getting the greatest result from the lakes of fresh ar> well as salt water. There appears in his work, however, no method worthy of being noticed here, and the *De Re Rustica, book viii, section 17. tFor farther details, see Noel de la Morimifere, History of Fishes, vol. i, 1815 ; Cuvier and Valenciennes, Natural History of Fishes, vol. i, 1828; and Dureaii do la Malle, Political Economy of the Romans, vol. ii, 1840. 472 KEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. treatise does not appear to us to have rendered any more service to pis- ciculture thau that of Florentinus iu the third century, at least as far as we can judge of the latter by the extracts which Cassianus Bassus has preserved for us. It appears, nevertheless, that toward the end of the middle ages new methods were sought for, which might serve to in- crease the production of fish ; a monk of the abbey of Reome, near Montbara, named Dom Pinchon, conceived the idea of artificially fecun- dating the eggs of trout by pressing out in turn the products of a male and female of this species into water, which he afterward agitated with his finger. After this operation, he placed the eggs in a wooden box having a layer of fine sand on the bottom, and a willow grating above and at the two ends. The apparatus remained plunged, up to the mo- ment of hatching, in water flowing with a gentle stream. This process is described iu a manuscript dated 1420, and belonging to the Baron of Montgaudry, grand-nephew of our celebrated Buffon. It has never been published, and had remained secret till a recent time.* Dom Pin- chon is then, iu all probability, the first inventor of artificial fecunda- tion; but his experiments must be looked upon as not having occurred, since they were not made public. They have, of course, had no in iueuce on the progress of' pisciculture, and are only interesting in a historical point of view. The fishery of Commachio on the Adriatic, of which the origin is probably very ancient, presents some natural features, which may, per- haps, be imitated with advantage on other parts of the Mediterranean shore. Already described at length by Bonaveri, then by Spallanzani, this lagoon still merits that we should say some words with regard to it. It is, perhaps, one hundred and thirty miles in circumference, according to Spallanzani, and is divided into forty basins, surrounded with dikes, and all in communication with the sea. Eels abound there to such an extent that the inhabitants sell them through all Italy. Dur- ing the months of February, March, and April, they leave the gates open and all the passages free; the young eels enter of their own accord, and the more abundantly in proportion as the weather is stormy. This they call the " mounting." Once in the basins, the fishes find nourish- ment so abundant and so well suited to their wants that they do not attempt to leave until full grown ; that is, after about five or six years. The eels emigrate, and are taken in the greatest number during the mouths of October, November, and December, For this purpose the fishermen open at the bottom of the basins little passages bordered with reeds, which the eels follow from choice, and are conducted into a sort of narrow chamber, where they accumulate without being able to get out- On the average, the crop amounts annually to a million of kilogrammes, (2,204,737 pounds,) and M, Corte informs us that it produces, according *M. De Moutgaudiy exx:)lahied the liatching-bos of Dom Pinchon at one of the last sessions of tke Zoological Society of Acclimation, and was kind enough to inform us also of the manner in which the monk of R6ome effected the fecundation of the eggs. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 473 to the estimate of M. Cuppari, a net revenue of 80,000 Eoman crowns; that is, abont $88,000. The fishers of Coinmachio profit, as we see, by the advantages which nature oflers, and they have but few precautions to take to insure the development of the fish in this great preserve. The less favorable cir- cumstances in which the fi.sheries of the Swedish lakes were carried on induced an investigation, toward the middle of the last century, of the means of preventing the considerable loss which the spawn had there to undergo. Already great care was taken in that country not to trouble the fish at the times of their reproduction, so that it was even forbidden to ring the bells during the si)awning-seasou of the bream. A coun- selor of Linkoeping, Charles Frederic Lund,* remarked that the three species most esteemed among those which inhabit the lakes of that country, the bream, the perch, and the mullet, attach their eggs near the banks, either to the rocks, or, by preference, to the twigs of pine and to the willow cages placed in the water to catch them. The eggs are thus destroyed by the fisherman, or devoured by insects, birds, and especially the fishes of prey, so that hardly one out of ten finally escapes. He well understood that the prohibition of fishing during the spawning-season would very imperfectly prevent this enormous destruction. He devised another means of protecting the multiplication of the fish, which accords completely, as he himself remarks, with the habits of these animals, the mode and the laws of their reproduction, as well as with the rules of logic and of our own duty. He caused large wooden boxes to be made without covers, but pierced with little holes, and furnished with rollers, to allow of their descending easily into the water. He placed twigs of pine in them, and introduced a certain quantity of males and females, taken at the time of spawning, taking care to separate them by their kinds and to give them space enough. After having left them there two or three days — that is, during the time necessary for laying the eggs — he drew out all the fishes with the help of a small net, and arranged the boughs so as not to i)ress too much against one another. The eggs arrived at maturity after a fortnight, or a little more, according to the degree of heat, and a multitude of young fishes came forth. This simple process included all the conditions necessary to success, and doubtless great advantages may be found in it for the propagation of fishes whose eggs are adherent. Lund succeeded in transporting from one lake to another boughs covered with spawn, which he placed in a vase of water, taking care merely not to expose them to contact with the air. In mak- ing a first application of his process, he had put separately into three large boxes, with a small number of males, fifty female breams, which gave him 3,100,000 of the fry ; one hundred i)erch of the large species produced 3,215,000 of the fry ; and one hundred mullets gave 4,000,000 of little ones. He obtained then in this manner more than ten millions *0f the Planting of Fishes iu Inland Lakes. Memoirs of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, vol. 22, 176L German translation of Kartuer p. 184. 474 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. of young fishes, which were dispersed in the Lake of Raexen. If this process had been employed on a large scale in all the lakes of Sweden, there would have resulted, says he, a real blessing for the country. The favorable circumstances of the arrangement adopted by Lund enabled hirn to observe some particulars of the development of the embryo. A German naturalist, Bloch,* advanced somewhat farther in this direction by employing a similar means. He took from the Spree some aquatic plants covered with eggs of perch, bream, rotengle, &c., and kept them in a wooden box of fresh water, renewed daily. At the end of a week he obtained many thousands of little fish ; observing, however, that only a small part of the eggs were fecundated, and that those which were so remained transparent and yellow, while those which failed be- came daily more disturbed and opaque. Bloch concluded that l)y transporting spawn upon plants, as he had done, lakes and ponds might be easily and cheaply stocked with fish ; but he made no experi- ment, and, as we see, only imperfectly imitated Lund. While the ingenious predecessor of Bloch was seeking the means of increasing the inhabitants of the Swedish lakes, a lieutenant of miltia of Lippe-Detmold, in Westphalia, J. L. Jacobi, conceived the idea, of artificially fecundating the eggs of fish, and of applying this process to the repopulatiug of ponds and rivers. The curious results of his experi- ments were, indeed, embodied in a letter, which the "Magazine of Han- over" only published in 1 703 ; t but as early as 1758 Jacobi had addressed manuscript-notes upon the subject to the illustrious Buffon, which La- cepede has mentioned in the first volume of his " Natural History of Fishes," and in the course of the same year he had intrusted another account of his labors to the Count de Goldstein, grand chancellor of Berg and Juliers. Goldstein caused a Latin translation of it to be made, which he sent M. de Fourcroy, director of fortifications at Corsica, and an ancestor of the celebrated chemist. This version was published for the first time in French in 1773, in vol. iii of the " General History of the Fish- eries " by Duhamel-Du Monceau. Duhamel does not mention Jacobi ; but, the facts in both memoirs being perfectly identical and set forth in siinilai terms, it is impossible not to perceive that both writings emanate from the same author. The date of the first communication entirely secures the claims of Jacobi, which are besides confirmed by the quotations of Lacc^'pede, and by a communication made in 17G4 by Gleditsclj to the Academy of Sciences at Berlin. We give the details, because, the name of Goldstein alone having been printed in the " History of the Fisheries," many naturalists have wrongly attributed to him the merit of the dis- covery of artificial fecundations. The experiments of Jacobi were upon the two most esteemed species *Miirc Eiitizer BJocii, General and Particular Ichthyology, part ii, p. 94, 1795. tit is to be found also, in extenso, in William Yarrell, History of British Fishes, vol. ii, p. 87, 1841 ,* and at the end of Practical Instructions upon Pisciculture, by M. Coste, 1853. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 475 of fish, tlie trout and the salmon. He tells us himself that, before arriv- iug- at good results, he had to employ sixteen years in preparatory researches and incomplete experiments. He remarked, in the first place? that from the end of November to the beginning of February the trout come together in the brooks and fix themselves upon the gravel, wliere the^' rub their bellies in a way which leaves large tracks. The females then deposit their eggs, upon which the males drop their milt. He caused some trout, tlien, to be taken at this season, when ready to spawn ; taking by turns a female and a male, he pressed their abdomen liglitly over a vase half filled with water, and let fall into it the mature products of both sexes, and then stirred up the whole with his hand, in order to render the mixture more complete, and thus to insure the fecundation of all the eggs. These eggs being once fecundated, it was necessary to combine the circumstances proper for their development, and for this purpose Jacobi thought of placing them in a grated box, across a little brook of running water. He constructed a large chest, at one extremity of which, and on the upper surface, he left a square opening, barred by a metallic grating of which the threads were separated by a space of only about four lines ; this opening served to let in the water. Another, grated in like manner, and placed in the vertical face of the other ex- tremity, allowed it to flow out. The bottom was overlaid with an inch of sand or gravel. Jacobi placed this apparatus in a trench prepared for it by the side of a brook, or, better still, a pond fed by good springs, from which he could cause, by a canal, an nninterupted stream of water to flow through the box. These dispositions, very simple and judiciously combined, completely resolved the problem which he had proposed to himself, viz : To pro- tect the fecundated eggs against their natural enemies and yet to leave them in circumstances similar to those in which they Aivonld naturally have been placed. The experiment succeeded. After about three weeks, Jacobi saw appearing through the thick envelope of the egg two black points corresponding to the eyes of the animal, and eight days later he began to distinguish the body itself, which moved and turned in the interior. Finally, after five weeks, the young fishes broke from their shells, and soon separated themselves completely from it, retaining only, under their bellies, a hanging yellow pouch, which is the umbilical vesicle. During nearly a month the young were nour- ished by the substance of this pouch, which disappears as they increase in size; but then they had need of other nourishment, and to obtain it they left the box by passing through the grating, and fell into a reser- voir filled with sand and fitted to receive them. Jacobi adds that, in a basin of sufficient size, they grew wonderfully in the space of six months, and that then they had arrived at a suitable growth for stocking the ponds; but he does not say in what way he nourished them during all this time. The inventor of artificial fecundation appears to have often repeated 476 EEPORT OP COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. the experiments wbicli he describes, and took great paius to insure the success of them. He perceived that the eggs are easily spoiled when they get into heaps, and recommends, to avoid this danger, the separ- ating them frequently by means of a switch. Care should be taken also that they do not stick together when the milt is poured over them. Finally, the dirt which the water deposits should, from time to time, be carefully removed from them, and this may be readily done with the feather of a quill. The question now is, whether Jacobi, by neglecting no precautions, and guarding himself ngainst the various chances of failure, did arrive at a final result which is comi^letely satisfactory in a practical point of view. Did he succeed by means of his process in advantageously restocking water-courses which had become unproductive,^ or increasing production, to any extent, in those where tish were already abundant ? We have not the requisite documents for answering this question posi- tively; but we can scarcely doubt that he obtained at least partial results, since England recompensed his services with a pension, and in a little state of Germany his operations have been continued with suc- cess by M. Schmittger.* Physiology soon turned to account the discovery of Jacobi, and arti- ficial fecundations have since been frequently reproduced in laborato- ries. There is no need of recalling the results which Spallanzani, Pre- vost of Geneva, and Dumas have drawn from theui. They have been also a great help to embryological studies; and by emidoying tliis means two contemporaneous zoologists, Rusconi and C. Vogt, have been able to follow all the i^hases of development of the tench and the palie ; but this discovery especially marked a great progress in pisciculture, and, w^hile science availed itself skillfully of this new mode of investigation, the practical results obtained by Jacobi were carried out in Germany and Scotland. In the " Treatise on the Economy of Ponds," (by Ernst Friedrich Hartig, p. 411, 1831,) there is given a description of the process of Jacobi, with the remark that this method has been successCully employed by the forester, Franke, at Steinburg, in the principality of Lippe-Schaumburg, as well as by M. De Kaas at Biickeburg. The same facts are confirmed by M. Knoche,t who asserts that he has himself also completely suc- ceeded upon the estate called Oelbergeu. The last writer placed the young tish at first in a little reservoir, and the following year trans- ported them into a larger basin. "I have obtained by this process," says he, " in the eight years that I have been employed, 800 young fishes out of 1,000 to 1,200 eggs. After a year I found in the smaller pond only about half the fish, the others having either died or escaped. * This fact is proved by a letter of Dr. Schutt, of Frankfort, recently written to Mr. Milne-Edwards. The experiments of M. Schmittger have been made in the principal- ity of Lippe-Detmold. t Journal of the Agricultural Union of the Grand Duchy of Hesse, No. 37, p. 407, 1840. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 477 Apart from this loss, they succeeded very well, and I have obtained in tliree years, out of the fish, in this manner, a crop of three to four hun- dred trouts a year, of three to four years of age, and of which the largest weighed three-quarters of a pound." M. Vogt, in a letter recently pub- lished, which reproduces this passage of M. Knoche, informs us at the same time that a decree of the government of J^eufchatel, issued in 1842, gave complete instructions to the fishermen as to the method of artificially fecundating the eggs of fish. Some experiments have also been made in England and Scotland. After having studied during several years the manner in which the salmon spawn naturally, Mr. John Shaw* attempted to combine the conditions which appeared most essential* in some preserves which he caused to be made near the river Nith. These reservoirs were only two feet in depth, and spread with a thick bed of gravel. They were fed directly by the water of a spring, which abounded with the larvre of insects. A close grating was placed before tlie conduits, by which the surplus of this water had to How out to gain the river. These disposi- tions once made, Mr. Shaw fecundated the eggs just below the point where the water fell into his basins, and left them to develop at the same spot. This plan succeeded, and he was' able to bring up a certain number of young salmon during two years, and even more. He took advantage of them to make observations upon their growth and change of color. At the age of six mouths the young salmon had a length of two inches; of a year, three inches and three-quarters^ of sixteen months, six inches; and of two years, six inches and a half. At this last period, when they had put on the livery of emigration, aud when they are called in Great Britain by the name of parr, the milt of the males had arrived at a sufficient state of maturity to be able to fecundate the eggs of adult females. We owe also to Mr. Shaw, as well as to Mr. Andrew Youngt and Dr. Knox, our increased knowledge of various par- ticulars relative to the monogamy of salmons, aud to the maneuvres which the female ])erforms on the spawning place, but these researches do not appear to have had any practical result worthy of attention. An engineer of Hammersmith, named Gottlieb Boccius, published in 1848 a short treatise on the management of fish in rivers and streams. He extols in it the method of artificial fecundation, but without produc- ing any positive fact to prove that he himself experimented with suc- cess. | Since that time he has assured Mr. Milne-Edwards that he had * Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, vol. xiv, p. 547, 1840. t Natural History of tiie Salmon, Wick, 1848. i lu a previous work by the same author, (A Treatise on the mauagemeut of Fresh- water Fish, with a view to makiug them a source of inolit to lauded' proprietors, by Gottleib Bubocci London, John Van Voorst, Pateruoster Row, 1841,) there are directions, on page 19 for the propagation of trout by the method used bj^ Lund, of confining a male and female in a box sunk in the stream. It is very evident from this work that the author at the time of preparing his manuscript makes no claim to a knowledge of artificial fecundation. 478 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. operated iu 1841 iipou the water-courses belonging to Mr. Drummoud, near Uxbridge, then upon the estate of the Duke of Devonshire at Chats- worth, upon that of Mr. Gurnie at Carsalton, and that of Mr. Hibberts at Chalfort. Mr. Boccius must have raised alreads' about two millions of little trout. The discovery of Jacobi had passed successfully, as we have seen* the trial and application in England as in Germany. Up to 1848, neverthe- less, France had remained very much behind in experiments of this sort. Although she, perhaps more than any other country, had need of effectual means for remedying the impoverishment of the waters, the French economists had given scarcely' any attention to this question. A single one, the Baron of Riviere, presented, in 1840, to the Central Society of Agriculture, some very learned and sensible reflections upon ichthyology regarded in its relations to the wants of man aud the profits of agricul- ture.* He insisted especially on the advantages which would result from taking iu the spring the bouirons or little eels which abound at the mouths of rivers, and dispersing them in the lakes, ponds, pools, and even muddy ditches, where they live very well. He satisfied himself that they might be transported alive in casks full of water, without appearing to suffer much from it ; but wherever it should be possible to use rivers or canals, he thought it better to make use of boats pierced with holes iu communication with tlie water, such as are frequently used for keeping fish. In this memoir of M. de Riviere, the word pisciculture is used for the first time; he employs it with hesitation to indicate this new branch of rural economy, which, says he, is still to be created. II. The year 1848 saw a new era commence iu I^rance for the economy of the waters. We believe it is just to say that if the application of arti- ficial fecundation to the repopulating of rivers is owing to a German naturalist, it is in our country that pisciculture has grown, has been per- Iii his work published in 1848, (Fish in Rivers aud Streams, a treatise on the produc- tion and management of fish iu fresh water by aitificial spawning, breeding, and rear- ing, siiowing also the cause of the depletion of all rivers aud streams, by Gottleib Boccius, London, John Van Voorst, Paternoster Row, 1848,) after describing appa- ratus for the incubation aud care of eggs he says, on page 32 : " Sis years have I suc- cessfully carried out this arrangement with trout in a fishery not far from London, which is now the richest streftra in the south of Euglaud. The principle of artificial spawning I have been acquainted with as far back as 1S15;" after which he describes the processes of artificial fecundation of eggs. The statement made by Boccius to Milne-Edwards, repeated by M. Coste and subse- quent writers, that he applied the art of artificial fecundation in England in 1841, seems to indicate an inconsistency with referencs to the dates. The evidence from his first work has, of course, no bearing upon the matter other than to indicate that he had not practiced the art at the time of preparing the book. But his claim in his second book, that for six years he had practiced the art, would not carry him back to the autumn of 1841, unless it were the fact that the" manuscript had been prepared more than a year before the date of publication. — J. W. M. * Memoirs of the Central Society of Agriculture, vol. xlviii, p. 171, 1840. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 479 feetpd, and has finally come to constitute an actual branch of industry. All the progress which has been made within six years in this depart- ment of the science is the work of French inquirers. The first, M. de Quatrefages,* was led by purely scientific researches to occupy himself with the multiplication of fish. This zoologist, con- vinced that artificial fecundation would do away with the various causes which prevent the development of the eggs, advised the employment of the hatching-box of Goldstein (or rather of Jacobi) for fish of running water. For those of ponds or lakes he recommended dei)ositing the fecundated egg on a layer of aquatic plants in a spot where the water should be tranquil and shallow, an4 protecting them by latticework against the attacks of their enemies. He showed how the employment of the process discovered by Jacobi would facilitate the domesticating of foreign fish in our waters. Finally, he pointed out the possibility of rendering annual the triennial and irregular product of the ponds by dividing them into three or four unequal compartments. In the small- est the eggs might be hatched and the fry raised. Each year the fish might be diiveu from one compartment to another, and the last basin might be fished every year. The memoir of M. de Quatrefages made a good deal of noise, because it met one of the wants of rural economy, ami gave a glimpse of a quite new prosperity for the industry, of ponds and water-courses. Drawing from oblivion the results obtained in Germany during the last century, it recalled the attention of naturalists and husbandmen to a question too long neglected, and of which it would be now superfluous to dwell upon the importance. The author was, doubtless, far from thinking that the conclusions to which he had brought his studies would be almost imme- diately justified and confirmed by the experiments taken some years before, but which had not yet been made public. However, in the first days of March, 1849, the Academy of Sciences learned by a letter of Dr. Haxo,t secretary of the Society of Emulation of the Vosges, that this society had, in the year 1844, given a premium to two fishermen of La Bresse, Mil. Remy and Gehin, tor having fecundated and artificially hatched some eggs of trout. M. Haxo added that Remy and Gehin then possessed a i)iec6 of wat«r containing five or six thousand trout, of one to three years old, all raised by this process. It is impossible not to admire the sagacity and perseverance of these, fishermen, who, quite unlettered and ignorant of the progress of the natural sciences, have found the means of themselves, of remedying the decay of their industry, and of giving it a new impetus. Not only have they repea.ted, with great pains, the observations and experiments which occupied Jacobi'S whole life, but they hav^e gone much farther in the practical application, and have almost entirely resolved the problem. * Coiuptcs-rendus of the Academy of Scieuees, vol. xxvii, p. 413, 1848. See also the Revue des Deux Mondes, Jan. 1, 1849. t Comptes-reudus of tbe Academy of Sciences, vol. xxviii, p. 3.j1, lb'49. 480 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Althoiigli they Lave both greatly contributed to the success of the undertaking, we now know that the first efforts were solely owing to Joseph Kemy, and that he associated Antoine Gehiu with himself only after having already half succeedeVl. Reniy first studied the habits of the female trout ready to spawn. He saw them remove the gravel with their tails, and rub their bellies to assist the laying of the eggs. Hav- ing caught many of them in this state, he perceived that by pressing them a little with his haiul, he could easily force out tiie mature eggA, aud that the same thing occurred with the milt of the males. He next suspended a female above a vase full of water, and by means of a light pressure applied from above downward, he caused the eggs to fall out, upon which he afterward poured, in like manner, the fecundating liquid of the male until the water was white. Next depositing the eggs in a tin box pierced with numerous holes, and spread with a layer of coarse saud, he placed the box in a fountain of pure water, or in the bed of a brook ; after a certain time he saw the young hatched, and freeing their tails first. These facts, which Remy relates himself in a letter addressed, in 1S43, to the prefect of the Vosges, are, as we see, almost identical with tliose which Jacobi has embodied in his memoir, as these last were with the experiments of Dom Pinchou ; but the two fishermen of La Bresse di^ not stop there.* It was not enough to have guarded the eggs against the chances of destruction, which menace them when abandoned to themelves. It was necessary also to insure the development of the young, and to find for them a nourishment suited to the wants of their age. This Remy and G6hin succeeded in doing. After two or three weeks of a diet adapted to these wants, they opened the boxes which contained the fry, and allowed them to run freely into a water-chamber or a por-- tion of the stream prepared to receive them. There they had taken care beforehand to raise a great number of frogs, of which the spawn is eagerly devoured by the young trout. Somewhat later they had recourse to the method already employed for the support, in preserves, of adult carnivorous fishes.t Remy and Gehin first stocked two ponds near La Bresse, several brooks of their canton, the water courses of tlje commune of Walden- stein, and have thrown about fifty thousand young trout into the Mose- *Haxo d'Espinal on the Artificial Fecundating and Hatching of the Eggs of Fish, 2d edition, p. 22, 1853; and Guide of the Pisciculturist, 1854. t"To nourish their young troitt," says M. de Quatrefages, "they hatched with them other smaller species of iish, smaller aud herhivorous. These are raised and nourished upon aquatic vegetables. lu their turn they serve for food to the trout, who are nour- ished by flesh. These fishermen have thus succeeded iu applying to their industry one of the most general laws, upon which are based the natural harmonies of the animal creation." In view of the necessity of their carnivorous diet, it is important to put together only trout of the same age, otherwise the smaller become the food of the large ; and even with this precaution, it is not always possible to avoid the fatal effects of their voracity. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 481 lotte, one of the affluents of the Moselle. These results were too impor- tant, and promised too great advantages in the economy of our waters, not to draw tbe attention of the public, and even of the government. In 1850 M. Milne-Edwards was officially charged by the minister of agriculture to make sure of the accuracy of the facts published, and to ascertain their value. After having procured some information in En- gland as to similar experiments, he went into the Vosges, and visited the little establishment of tbe fishers of La Bresse. In a very remarkable report,* he gave an account of the interesting labors of Remy and Gehin, and, while pointing out that the discovery of artificial fecunda- tion dated back into the last century, he proclaimed that the fishermen of La Bresse were the first to make application of it among us, and that they have the merit of having thus created a new branch of industry in France. The learned dean of the Faculty of Sciences of Paris resolved upon a grand experiment of stocking the waters of France with fish and regarded the success of it as probable if the processes were judi- ciously arranged. It appeared to him that the best recompense which the government could make to the fishermen of La Bresse would be to give them the direction of the enterprise. The Philomatic Society did not hesitate to put forth a similar wish by the organ of M. de Quatre- fages.t The first notice of M. de Quatrefages, the promulgation of the success obtained at La Bresse, and the favorable report of M. Milne-Edwards gave a powerful impulse to pisciculture, and induced varied applications of it on all sides. Under the influence of these first labors, commenced, in many parts of France, the grand trial which is now going on. Its value will not be fully known till it is completed ; but it is already suf- ficiently advanced to permit us to hope that in the majority of cases the method of artificial fecundation will produce important results. A cer- tain number, both of eminent men of learning and of men of practical skill, have taken ijart in this movement, which, far from slackening, increases, on the contrary, and is extending daily more and more. Among those who have contributed most by their writings or their practical studies to the continually increasing progress of pisciculture, besides Eemy and Gehin, besides M. Milne-Edwards and M. de Quatrefages, we must mention M. Valenciennes, whose knowledge of ichthyology is so extensive and profound ; M. Millet, inspector of waters and forests ; M. Coste, professor in the college of France ; Messrs. Berthol and Detzem, engineers of bridges and causeways ; M. Paul Gervais,f at Montpel- lier ; M. J. Fonmet,§ at Lyons -, Mr. F. Defilippi,^ at Turin. M. Valenciennesll has, at least in part, realized the hope which has * Anuales des Sciences Naturelles, third series, vol. xiv, p. 53, 1850. t Journal of Practical Agriculture of June 5, 1852. t Bnlletiu of the Society of Af;riculture de I'Herault, July, 1852. § Memoirs of the Society of Agriculture of Lyons, May, 1853. U Importanza cconomica dei pesci e del Coro allevamento artificiale. II Report on the Species of Fish in Prussia, which might be imported and acclimated in the fresh waters of France. S. Mis. 74 31 482 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. often been indulged, of transporting and domesticating in tbe waters of France the most esteemed fish of foreign countries. He bas succeeded in bringing alive from tbe Spree to tbe reservoirs of Marly live different kinds, each represented by a certain number of individuals. Tbere are tbe Sander, {Ferca Inciojjerca, o/Linne) tbe wels or silure, {Silurus glanis, of Linne,) the A\a,ndt, {Cyprinus jeses, of Blocb,) tbe German lotte, {Gadtis Iota, o/" Blocb,) and tbe pitzker {Cohitis fossiUs, of Linne.) Tbis trial bas only been made on a small scale, but it is none tbe less important on that account, since it proves that, in ordinary circumstances, difference of waters would not be an absolute obstacle to tbe acclimating of for- eign fish. Tbe same gentleman was afterward charged by the minister of marine with the duty of inspecting tbe fisheries of our coast. Tbe report, in which were embodied the observations made in the course of tbis mis- sion, bas remained unpublished, and it is to be regretted that the learned ichthyologist was not able to continue and extend these researches, to which bis previous studies so naturally called him. It is worthy of notice what wise circumspection MM. de Quatrefages and Milne-Edwards have employed in presenting the advantages which rural economy might derive from tbe method of artificial fecunda- tion. Tbey have incited the proprietors to attempts which appeared likely to be advantageous, but without always promising them certain results. M. Coste has proceeded with less reserve. With unlimited confidence in the future of pisciculture, be bas allowed no occasion to pass without exalting tbe benefits which it will confer. In bis first report, at the close of the jenT 1850, he declared already " that tbere is no branch of industry or husbandry which, with less cbauce of loss, offers an easier certainty of profit."* Later be speaks with enthusiasm of the means tried during a century of providing for the rej)opulating of tbe waters. Most certainly it is with excellent intentions, and, doubt- less, in the hope of sustaining the efforts of experimenters, that M. Coste thus undertakes to guarantee future results ; but is it not rather to be feared that, in magnifying too greatly some partial successes, he may compromise the general success of the undertaking? Meanwhile, though these absolute affirmations seem to justify, to some extent, some criti- cisms of which the learned professor bas been the object, tbey cannot diminish his share in the improvements recently made in tbe method of Jacobi. M. Coste first put in practice the means proposed by the Baron de Eiviere for transporting the "mounting" or the young eels, and raising them in confined spaces.* After having brought this mounting from the mouth of the Orne to the College of France, in flat i^auiers, over- laid with aquatic ijlants, he gave them for nourishment a bash com- posed of the flesh of animals, which do not serve for food or that of * Practical Instructions upon Pisciculture, p. 34. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 483 molluscs aud eartb -insects. The little eels, which, ou arriviug, bad an average length of six and seven centimetres, (two and one-half to three inches,) and a circumference of one centimetre, had arrived, after twenty- eight months of this diet, at thirty- three centimetres of length, and seven of circumference. INL Coste remarks with reason that the corpses of the vertebrated animals, which are not fit for the food of man, might be made useful in this manner. He adds that the noxious insects would serve quite as well to fatten the fish. '-Thus a great service would be rendered to agriculture, since it would, in the end, be delivered of one of its s ourges." It is to be regretted that the learned professor has not entered into au}- details upon the best metliod of capturing these insects, which the cultivators have so great an interest in getting rid of, even if they could not make a profitable use of them. The author of the Practical Instructions upon Pisciculture has been at length induced to take charge of the organization of a vast establish- ment of artificial fecundation. In 1850 the two engineers of the canal from the Ehoue to the Ehine, Messrs. Detzem and Berthol, after hav- ing visited La Bresse on the invitation of the prefect of the DoubSj had applied at Huningue the method of Eemy and Gehin. Upon the basis of their first experiments they had undertaken hypothetical calculations, from which it appeared that the present population of the waters of France does not exceed twenty-five millions of fish, producing annually less than six millions of francs ($1,200,000) — which figure is really much too large — while, if the process of artificial fecundation were everywhere introduced, the .mimber of fish would be raised, after four years, to thi"ee thousand one hundred and seventy-seven millions, and would produce a revenue of nine hundred millions of francs ($180,000,000.)* At Lochlebruun, some kilometres from Huning'ue, MM. Detzem aud Berthol bad established the foundations of a large preserve, wherein 1852 they operated numerous fecundations by means of a hatching-box which in no respect differs from that of Jacobi. They assert that they have there obtained a cross of the trout and salmon. t The minister of agriculture directed M. Coste to visit the new estab- lishment. In a report, favorable to the labors of MM. Berthol and Detzem, t the professor of the College of Prance asked for and he suc- ceeding in obtaining a considerable development of the fish-preserve, OT 2)iscifactory, as he proposed to call it. He brought into use on a large scale a hatching-apparatus, which we shall have to describe, adopted all the measures which he thought most fit; and in bis memoir upon the means of restocking the waters of Prance, he undertook, before the Academy of Science, to make a delivery in June, 1853, of six hun- dred thousand trout and salmon, large enough to be thrown into our rivers. We have not visited the establishment of Huningue, and know * Artificial Fecuudatiou of Fish : Society of Emulation of the Donhs, p. 18, 1851. I Report upon the facts proved at Himiugue from May 8, 1351, to May 7, 1852. t p] actical Instructious iu Pisciculture, p. 9G. 484 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND- FISHERIES. not whether it is organized in a way to fulfill a part of the promises which its foLiuders have often put forward 5 but from the iuformation w^hich has reached ns from several quarters, it wonld seem that their success has not always been as complete as was hoped for at first. It is then nuich to be feared that after four years, and even more, the establishment of Huuiugue will not have succeeded in alone restocking with fish all the waters of France, and in making them produce the nine hundred millions of francs promised b}^ MM. Berthol and Detzem. However this may be, the relations established between this piscifac- tory and the College of France have furnished to M. Coste an opportu- nity of making some curious observations on the transport of the eggs, and the duration of their vitality after having been taken from the water. Some eggs of salmon and trout, sent from Mulhansen by the diligence, were hatched in great numbers at the College of France. The precaution had simply been taken of surrounding them with moist aqua- tic herbs in a tin box pierced with holes on the u[)per side.* Other eggs, artificially fecundated, arranged in layers with wet sand in a pine box, remained thus two months in a cold chamber. At the end of this time they were only corrugated; but having placed the box in water to moisten them through the sand, M. Coste savr them soon resume their natural appearance, and they hatched soon after. To render possible in his labratory the experiments which he had undertaken, ]\I. Coste had to adopt an apparatus occupying but little space, and for which a simple thread of water would sufiice. The arrangements which he chose are very simple. This apparatus, which, by the way, we have often seen in operation, is an assemblage of little trou"'hs arranged like steps on each side of an upper trough which serves to supply all the others. The botto;n of each trough is covered with a bed of gravel. A stop-cock lets fall a continuous thread of water into one end of the upper trough. A current is thus created toward the other end, and there an opening at the sides giving it passage to right and left, it breaks into two falls. of water which go to feed the two troughs l^laced immediately below. These last have also openings by which the water falls into the lower troughs, the number of which may be increased at pleasure. After the hatching obtained by this apparatus, M. Coste was able to inclose two thousand young salmon into a canal of baked earth, having fifty-five centimeters in length, (twenty-one inches,) fifteen in breadth, and eight in depth, Avhere, says he, the current is kept up by a simple thread of water of the size of a straw. He gave them for nourishment a paste formed of muscular flesh reduced to fine fibers, in preference to the boiled blood of which Re my and Gehin had made use. A salmon raised in this manner in an artificial pond two meters in length, (eighty inches,) and fifty centimeters in breadth, (nineteen and one-half inches,) was, at the age of six months, larger than those of the same age taken * Couiptes-rendus of the Academy of Sciences, vol. xxxiii, p. 124, 185-3. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 485 in the Scottish rivers, and represented in the work published under the assumed name of Ephemera.* Such are the principal results to be ascribed to M. Coste. He has recently collected his memoirs and reports into a volume, under the title of " Practical Instructions upon Piscicul- ture." He sets forth in these instructions the knowledge previously acquired, and those which he has drawn from his personal experience, and he adopts some of the improvements introduced by ISL Millet in the practice of the new industry. We regret that the author of this little work, written with much elegance and clearness, has not oftener citefl the sources from which his information is taken. The same day upon which M, Coste presented his work to the Acad- emy of Sciences, M. de Quatrefages read before this learned body some researches upon the milt of certain fresh- water fish.f The question here treated of is fundamental ; and before it had been resolved, it was impos- sible to use the necessary precision in artificial fecundations; This labor is then of great importance in the double point of view of compar- ative physiology and the application of zoology. We know by the experiments of Prevost,of Geneva, and of M. Dumas, that the milt owes its physiological properties to the presence of animalcules, which move in a manner very peculiar, and that all feoundating-power disap- pears the moment that these animalcules die. Now, M. de Quatrefages shows that the duration of these movements is extremely short in the case of fish, even in the most favorable circumstances. Thus, in the milt of the brocket, diluted with water, all vitality ceases after eight minutes and ten seconds; the animalcules of the mallet are all dead after three minutes and ten seconds ; and those of the carp after only three minutes. This period of activity is still more limited for the perch and barbel, since it only reaches two minutes forty seconds for the for- mer, and two minutes ten seconds for the latter. Neither is it equal for all the animalcules of the same fish, and half of them perish in much less time. Besides, the preceding figures are taken at the degree of heat most favorable to the duration of these movements, and even slight variations above or below this point destroy them with great rapidity. The temperature which maintains longest the vitality of the animalcules is, for winter-fish like the trout, forty-one to forty-eight degrees of Fah- renheit; for those of the early spring, fifty to fifty-five degrees ; for those of later spring, as the carp and the perch, sixty-three to sixty-eight ; and for the summer kinds, seventy-seven to eighty-seven. When the temperature somewhat exceeds these limits the increase of energy on the part of the animalcules compensates, to a certain extent, for the shorter duration of their vitality. These results apply to those which are disseminated through the water; when they remain united in small * The Book of the Salmon, by Ephemera, [E. Fitzgibbou,] assisted by Arthur Young. See also the Agronomic Annals, vol. i, p. 234, 1851. t Comptes-renclns of the Academy of Sciences, session of May 30, 1353, vol. xxxvi, p. 936; Annals of the Natural Sciences, third series, vol. xix, p. 341., 1853. 486 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. masses they die much more slowly. The peculiarities of the milt may thus be preserved for a much louger time when it is not diluted, and especially when it is kept at a very low temperature. It may even be frozen without causing in all cases the death of the animalcules. "M. Millet, who has aided me in all these researches," says M. de Quatre- fages, "has thought of putting the milt with ice into a tin box, so that the water may run out as the ice melts, and then to arrange this box in a second wooden one, pierced with very small holes, and itself filled "with ice." Thanks to these precautions, the learned academician has been able to preserve the milt in a serviceable condition during sixty- four hours. It is worthy of remark that the fecundating-property dis- appears first in that part of the male organ where the liquid is most completely elaborated, and endures some time longer in the deeper parts. These facts taken together will explain most of the failures resulting from operations apparently well conducted. They show that the manip- ulations must be accomplished with great quickness, and careful atten- tion must be paid to the temperature of the water. We may conclude from them also that the season of spawning in certain localities must vary in accordance with the atmospheric phenomena; that the short vitality of the milt is one of the causes which oppose the crossing o* the different species in nature ; and that the hitherto unexplained instinct which leads the trout and salmon to mount to the sources of water- courses is owing to the need felt by these animals of finding a degree of temperature suitable to the fecundation and development of their eggs. M. de Quatrefages has also deduced from his researches data of great value for i)ractice, and eminently suited to regulating the methods of artificial fecundation.* The results contaiued in the memoir of M. de Quatrefages give to these methods a scientiflc regularity, which they have wanted hitherto, and tend to endow pisciculture with fixed and precise rules. To complete the summary picture of the progress which pisciculture has made from antiquity to our time, and to show its present condition, it remains to point out the numerous and important improvements which are owing to M. Millet, inspector of waters and forests.t * Since the male liquid, completely elaborated, loses first its fecundatiug-properties, only that should be used in doubtful cases which is pressed from the milt itself. The vitality of the animalcules not being destroyed by cold iu the male organ, the frozen milt is not to be rejected as useless. If the fecundation cannot be made till after the death of the animal, it is well to take out the milt and preserve it in a wet cloth. In view of the extreme shortness of life of the animalcules, and of the obstacles which the swelling of the envelope may oppose to fecundation, it is useful in the case of cer- tain species to pour the eggs and the male product simultaneously into the same vessel, and thus to render the contact iustantaneous. Of course, the water must never be first impregnated with the milt. t Report to the director-general of waters and forests upon the repopulating of the navigable and floating water-courses, by M. de Saint Ouen, administrator of the forests, March, 1853. Annals of the Forests, pp. 272 and 429, July and August, 1853. Inde- j)endently of the various memoirs upon pisciculture which we have hitherto cited, it THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTUllE. 487 It is a well-known fact that fish do not deposit all their spawn at once The eggs do not all arrive together at a state of maturity. When left to herself, the female returns several times to the place of spawning, where the male always follows her, ami it is only after a certain number of days that the delivery of the eggs is complete. Although it has been already remarked that only the ripe eggs leave the ovary and find their way into the abdominal cavity, yet the advice was always given to effect the artificial fecundation at once by forcing out the spawn by pressure on the sides of the belly of the female. Without doubt, this practice, in many cases, was attended with a violence as injurious to the develop- ment of a great number of the products as to the health of the animals thus operated upon. Struck with these inconveniences, and convinced of the advantages always following from a strict imitation of nature, M. Millet took pains to gather the eggs only in portions and in several days, as they became completely ripe, and to let them fall into the water simultaneously with the milt of the male. As captivity has often a bad effect upon the genera- tive functions of fishes, M. Millet only takes them at the moment of making the fecundations, and restores them to the river immediately after, at the same time tethering them with a pack-thread passed through the gills. They li^e very well in this condition, and do not perceptibly suffer from it. M. Millet has also sometimes made use of artificial spawning holes, which call to mind those of Lund, but are more lierfect. These are a kiu(J of double-bottomed cages, the first consist- ing of an open frame-work of bars, the second of a movable sieve of metallic cloth. The females, hy rubbing against the bars, let fall their eggs, which drop upon the sieve. The males being introduced into the apparatus at the same time, it generally happens that the fecundation is effected naturally. This method of gathering has the advantage of losing no portion of the eggs, while there is risk of this in holding the female by a cord in rivers. The hatching-apparatus used by M. Millet varies a little with circum- stances, but remains always simple, convenient, and economical. If the development of the egg is to take i)lace out of the water in which the parents live, whether in an apartment or under a shed, a vessel of any description is taken, having a capacity of thirty to thirty-five litres, may be useful to consult the report of a commission of tbe King of Holland, having for title, " Handliedung tot de kunstmatige Veremenigouldigen van Vischen, 1S53 ;" some notes of M. de Camnont in the Xorman Annual for 1850, and in the same collection an Essay upon the Multiplication of Fish in the department of La Manchi, by M. G. Sward de Becunlieu, 1854, as -svell as some letters of the Marquis of Wibraye and the Count of Pontgibard, 1854; in the Analytic Sketch of the Labors of the Academy of Eouen, a note by M. Bergasse on Artificial Fecnndatiou applied to the Salmon, 1853 ; and some Eesearches into the Natural History of the Salmon, by M. A. de Bignon, 1853; finally various observations of MM. Gohiu, Eichard de Behagne in the Bulletin of the Agii- cultural Society of Paris, vol. vi, pp. 461 and 469, 1851 ; of M. Noblet, ibidem, vol. vii, p. 403, 1852, and M. Quenard, ibidem, vol, viii, p. 95, 1853. 488 REPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. (eight to nine gallons;) and on the bottom of this gravel, sand, and char- coal are heaped up so as to constitute a filter. A purified water runs from this reservoir by a stop- cock situated underneath it, and falls into troughs placed like steps, which may be multiplied at pleasure. This arrangement is entirely similar, as we see, to that which M. Coste had already chosen ; but M. Millet has added an improvement, which, we hasten to say, the learned professor of the College of France has at once adopted in his turn. However pure running water may be, it always bears with it and deposits at the bottom which it covers foreign particles, which, if they rested upon the eggs, would finally surround them with a sort of slime favorable to the development of byssus and mold. To meet this objection, M. Millet thought of suspending the eggs a little below the surface of the water. M. Vogt* had already taken the precaution to place them in a muslin bag, permeable on all sides, which he threw into the lake after having fastened it to a stake, or kept it in place by a large stone. Starting upon the same principle, M. Millet has arrived at a surer and more complete result. He places the eggs upon sieves, which little rods, sliding on the edges of the tubs, hold at the desired height. This skillful experimenter has successively employed sieves of various substances, of hair, of silk, of willow, &c., and 'has finally given the preference to galvanized metallic cloth, which have more solidity and durability, do not spoil, are easil}' cleaned by the help of a brush, and are only very rarely attacked by sea- weed. The expense of outfit of such an apparatus is quite insignificant. The working consists merely in filling the reservoir every morning and evening, in moving the sieves once a day, and taking away the eggs which may become opaque. For many years the eggs of trout, of sal- mon, of the umber, &c., have been developed in this way, and hatched in considerable quantities in the same apartment which the experimen- ter occupies at Paris, in the middle of the rue Castiglione. When the process can be carried on in the water of a stream itself, of a lake, or of a pond, M. Millet recommends the employment of double sieves of metallic cloth, which may be kept at a suitable height by the help of floaters, and which follow all the changes of the level of the water. For the species which spawn in sleeping water, he lines the double sieve with aquatic plants, or limits himself to placing the eggs in large shallow tubs 'with plants, which prevent the water from corrup- tion. When the fecundated eggs are to be transported to great dis- tances, M. Millet advises placing them in a flat box, in quite thin layers, between two wet cloths. In this state he has sent them to Florence, where they have reached the hands of M. Yaj and the Professor Cozzi, after a journey of twenty or twenty-five days, and have not failed to hatch soon after. The use of moist linen is preferable to that of aquatic * Euibryologie des Salmones; Histoire Naturelle des Poissons d'eau douce do L'Europe ceutralc, by L. Agassiz, p. 16, 1843. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 489 plants ; the liuen dries less rapidly, and facilitates the unpacking-, which, in the other cases, requires much time and care. The Marquis of Yi- braye, to whom the Sologue owes so many useful improvements, and who has already introduced on his estates numerous trout produced by artificial fecundation, has also made use, with advantage, of small wadded cushions. When the eggs to be dealt with are very delicate, and are to be transported during the summer, M. Millet sometimes employs the little portable ice-box, of which we have already given the description. As soon as the young fish have completely absorbed their umbilical vesicle, that is to say, some weeks after the hatching, the author of these curious experiments is of opinion that it is best not to try to nourish them in captivity, IJut to dismiss them at once into the waters where they will have to live, taking care, however, to i^lace them suit- ably where they will find the spawn of frogs, lymneas, planorbis, &c. They should commence at 'once to seek for their prey, and thus avoid the suffering from change of water, of nourisbment, and of liabits, to which they will necessarily be subject, if raised artificially in basins not communicating with the waters whicli they must inhabit. It is principally in the departments of the Eure, the Aisne, and the Oise that M. Millet has put in practice these various methods. Affi- davits emanating from the local authorities bear witness to the iaipor- tant results wliich lie has obtained. M. Millet has conducted, at the same time, a series of delicate observations, which have already led to some happy applications.* He has examined the action of salt or brack- ish water on the eggs of fish which leave the sea to spawn in fresh water, and he has seen that it is injurious to their development in ordinary cases, which gives the practical reason of the emigration of these animals. ISTevertheless, salt, which would destroy the healthy eggs, has the singular property of liealiug them when attacked by white spots. These spots, which probably spread from the surface to the center, and would lead to the destruction of the eggs if allowed to increase, disappear in water very slightly salted ; and wben they are taken in time, the young fish may thus be saved. It results also, from the observation of M. Millet, that the mortality of tlie eggs always reaches its maximum at the epoch when the embryo begins to form ; accordingly he advises transporting them only when the eyes become visible, or rather immediately after the fecundation. He has remarked, finally, that the white spots on the one hand, and the sea-weed and byssus on the other, attack much more rarely the eggs of trout and salmon, at a low temperature, than in one which exceeds fifty-four degrees. Here terminates the rapid exposition of the applications furnished by zoology to the economy of ponds and water-courses, and of the prog- * Comptes-rendus of the Academy of Sciences, vol. sxxviii, session of December 26, 1853. 490 KEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. ress wliicli this braucli of industry lias made of later years. The labors of Eemy and Gchin, and those of M. de Qiiatrefages, of M. Coste and M. Millet, represent the present state of this department of agricultural science. To them belongs the honor of having regulated and perfected the methods, and of having determined the basis of a cultivation before A'ery vague and precarious. III. The processes which we have analyzed are not all equally adapted for easy and profitable application. It remains then to compare the respec- tive advantages of them, to determine the combined measures which pisciculturists ought to adopt. The first care to be taken when it is desired to stock a river or pond is to learn what species of fish will best adapt themselves to the circum- stances whicli happen to be united there. To escape the danger of cer- tain failure, it is first of all necessary that the nature, the ordinary tem- perature, the depth, and the various qualities of the waters to be en- riched should agree with the instincts, habits, and way of life of the animals to be developed there. These recommendations are found in all books upon the subject, but cannot be too often repeated. It is most certainly from the neglect of these proprieties, and want of appreciation of them, that certain pisciculturists have seen their attempts miscarry when they were otherwise skillfully executed. When, therefore, the ground, as it were, has been studied in advance, and it has been determined what sort of fish has the best chance of prospering there, the individuals necessary for the multiplication of the chosen species should hot be procured except at the very season of spawn- ing, since very often the products are spoiled in the bodies of fishes which are condemned to close captivity. This inconvenience does not present itself if the animals can be placed in reserve in inclosures near the rivers or ponds in which they have been caught. Otherwise they may be held by a cord in the same places where they have lived. It is important, before effecting the fecundation, to pay attention to the temperature of the water, which has so great an influence upon the properties of the milt, as M. de Quatrefages has so clearly shown, and probably also upon the vitality of the egg itself. Although M. Vogt has seen the eggs of the palee* prosper after they had been taken in ice, this extreme cold is generally sufficient to destroy them. The gathering of the male and female elements should be made on diflerent occasions and in several days. It seems useful, in many cases, to guard the products from all exterior influences, and not to take them from their natural medium. For this purpose a male and a female are taken and inclined near each other at the surface of the water. They are then bent gently upward, which produces a strong contraction, and *A species of wbite-fisb {Corefjonus paJni.) THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTUKE. 491 generally serves to create a flow of the ripe products. If the exit offers any difficulty, it may be assisted by passing- the finger under the belly but without any effort. The simultaneous or almost simultaneous mix- ture of the eggs and the milt is necessary iu most cases, since with cer- tain fish, as the trout, the animalcules of the milt do not live even a moment, and with others, as the carp, the mucilaginous envelope of the egg swells rapidly in the water and, then opposes itself to the impreg- nation. For the last reason, it is important always to refrain from wash- ing the eggs before fecundation, as some persons had advised doing. The eggs once fecundated are placed in an apparatus like those of M . Coste and M. Millet ', but it appears to us preferable in all cases, when possible, to employ the double sieve or floating insulator of the last experimenter. The fecundation is then effected in the lower part of the sieve, placed in a tub full of water ; and after the cover is put on, the Tvhole is transported to the river which is to be furnished : in this vray the spawn undergoes no change of water, from its exit from the belly of the female to the period of its development. If the eggs are unencum- bered, they are allowed to fall to the bottom of the sieve. If they are adherent, likes those of the carp, the tench, or the barbel, care is taken to introduce beforehand into the sieve some aquatic plants or twigs. The little apparatus is furnished with floaters, and fastened to stakes by a cord, by which it is easy to draw it to the bank, when it is to be exam- ined. After the young fish are hatched, and their umbilical vesicle is completely absorbed, the sieve is opened, and they are thus dispersed in the very places where they are to live. With this view, shallow ptlaces are chosen, which the fry generally prefer, and which are not frequented by the large fish, or rather inclosures near the water-courses. The fish of this early age have great agility, and commonly escape the pursuit of their enemies by squatting among the pebbles, and concealing them- selves in the grass or the roots of trees. They then feed naturally upon lymueas, planorbis, small worms, or the spawn of frogs, but it soon be- comes useful to throw them the refuse of the shambles or the kitchen, and, generally, as M. Coste has advised, all animal substances which are not made use of. It would seem, however, that some of these substan- ces may become injurious to the fish, and M. Sivard de Beaulieu has remarked that his trout always died after eating earth-salamanders. The putrefaction of the substances which are not eaten offers no inconve- nience in a mass of water frequently" renewed like that of a brook, while for this reason, and many others, the artificial nourishment of young fish in narrow reservoirs is almost impracticable. They should, there- fore, always be dispersed after the absorption of their vesicles, without attempts to raise them painfully in small apparatus. These various operations are, as we see, very simple and easy, and may, be brought to a good result by anybody with little outlay of time and expense ; but it is evident that success depends greatly upon the tact and foresight of the operator, and that here, as iu all branches of Indus- 492 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. try, iuclividual skill will always have great influence upon the result. Without doubt, also, a prolonged and sufficiently extensive experience will soon attain to further improvements in the application of the new methods, and reduce greatly the chances of failure. Everything, then, ^ives reason to hope that at an early period pisciculture will be natur- alized among the useful sciences, and that it is destined to solve one of the important terras of the great problem of cheap living. This result, so desirable, would be greatly expedited if the Govern- ment should decide to take some energetic measures. It should cause to be completely revised, by competent men, the legislation of the fluvial and marine fisheries, and should bring the system of artificial fecunda- tion into operation in all the fresh waters of France, at the same time that a service of observation and vigilance should be organized upon our coasts. In uttering this wish, we are only the echo of all the learned men and economists who have touched upon this question. Alreadj', indeed, the state has made a first step in the path where we should like to see it wholly enter. It has decreed the piscifactory of Huniugue. We are far from denying the services which this establish- ment may render by its consequences ; but it is clearly proved that it will never suffice for entirely restocking the waters of France, and meets very imperfectly the present wants of pisciculture. If there are too great obstacles to putting this vast trial in practice over the whole sur- face of the country, it would at least be easy for the state to undertake it in more limited though still considerable proportions, and without charging the budget with any new burden. For this purpose it need only profit by the resources offered by the administration of waters and forests. In tact, this administration disposes of a surface of canals and brooks which reaches nearly 8,000 kilometers, (5,000 miles,) and has a personal force quite ready and trained to the various i^ractices for the husbandry of the waters. The number of its simple fisheries police amount to 427, without counting the general police, sub-inspectors, and inspectors which direct the others, and who are all prepared, by their previous studies for applications of this kind. Here is a service extens- ively organized, which would be admirably adapted to experiments of pisciculture on a large scale, and which would not, even thereby, be turned from its legitimate functions. It is to be hoped that those who are interested will not fail to be struck with these easy advantages, and that they will try to attain to at least a part of the results promised by the new industry. Eelying upon their own resources, the proprietors have not hesitated to undergo the risks of the trial; but apart from their isolated and limited efforts, does it not belong to the state to give prosperity and extension to the methods devised by Jacobi, and already carried by men of science in France to so high a degree of perfection ? THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 493 B— REPORT ON THE PROGRESS OF PISCICULTURE IN RUSSIA. Bv Theodore Soudakevicz. [Prepared for the Yieuua Exposition of 1873, and translated from the French by H. Jacobsen.] 1. — THE DECREASE OF FOOD-FISHES. The fact that basins which, formerly abounded in fish show a decrease does not admit of any doubt, and it is even asserted with good reason that this is not an accidental phenomenon, which might be explained by unfavorable and passing circumstances, but that we have to face a constant and general fact. In view of the great importance of the fisheries in regard to the question of food and economy, this decrease of fish must necessarily occupy not only scientists and naturalists, but also governments. Ob- servation and experience have shown that the ciuse of this fact must not be looked for in a weakening of the reproductive powers of fish, which probably are as extraordinary at this day as they were in former times ; * it must, therefore, be due to other influences, especially to those which are brought about by man's own doing. The basis on which a rational system of pisciculture is founded is very simple, and can be limited to the following rules : 1. Preserve the natural conditions of those places where the fish spawn, conditions which favor the spawning-process, and tend to pre- serve the spawn and protect the first development of the eggs ; thus, e. //., everything which diminishes the supply of fresh water; everything which changes the quality of the water or the character of the bottom; everything which hinders the growth of aquatic plants; in fact, every- thing which at its very source can destroy the wealth of fish of a whale basin, 2. Leave a free passage for the fish to pass to the places which are favorable for spawning, at least as much as is necessary for pre- serving the species in suflicieut quantity ; for the best natural condi- tions for spawning would be useless, if nearly all the fish which went there were caught and destroyed during their journey. 3. Protect the young generation, so that it can arrive at the age of maturity and contribute its share toward^the increase of the species. If these conditions are observed, every large sheet of water, inland seas and large lakes, may become as rich ii^ fish as the quantity of nutritive substance contained therein will permit. Certain hurtful influ- ences such as, epidemics, or the too great development of animals which feed on spawn, can doubtless diminish the number of certain "Thus, the codfish deposits 9,000,000 eggs at one time; the tench about 350,000; the perch, 300,000; the carp contains 50,000 eggs to every pound of weight; the pike, 40,000; the sahnon, 25,000, &c. 494 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. species ; but this will soou be rectified agaiu, and mau aloue, with the 1)0 werf 111 means at his disposal, has the power to destroy this order for ever and to his own great detriment. Buthumauinfluenceitself varies considerably according to local condi- tions. In the oceans and large seas man cannot injure the spawning- places of those fish which deposit their spawn in the sea itself or at a great depth, as for instance, thecod,norcau he prevent the fish fromreach- iug these places. He can neither destroy the spawn nor, as a general rule, catch those young fish which have not yet attained the age of maturity. These young fish escape and spread over the immense extent of the sea. In rivers, lakes, and other limited sheets of water, the fish are brought within the reach of man's influence under very different conditions ; here we find that the basis of a good system of pisciculture mentioned above is wanting either entirely or in part. This fact is also established in Kussia, not only with regard to the lakes, but also to the inland seas, such as the Caspian Sea and the Sea of Azov. The abundance offish in these seas is truly astonishing, and surpasses everything which is known of the most celebrated fisheries of the ocean, such as the Newfoundland Bank,* the Dogger Bank, or the Westflord in Norway. But this large number of fish depends to a great extent on man's action. In the Sea of Azov, the principal and almost only source of, what is there called the " white fish," {Lucloperca Sandra, Cuv., Lcuelscus Heclielii, Nordm., and Ci/prinus carina, L.,) is the delta of the Kaubau, which combines all the most favorable conditions for spawning. Throughout its whole extent enormous fisheries are carried on, the young fish are saved, and all the regulations tending to protect the cir- culation of fish in the net- work of lagoons, in the branches of the delta, and the bed of the river are carefully observed. If, however, this sys. tefli of pisciculture at the mouths of the Kaubau was not modified, it might have a bad influence, not only on the river-fisheries, but also on those of the Sea of Azov, on account of the transformation of the vast lagoons, where millions of fish spawn, into salty marshes. In the Volga and in the other rivers which fall into the Caspian Sea, the distribution of the water in the delta is not hindered in any w^ay. The fishing of young fish by means of nets with narrow meshes is not in vogue ; but, on the contrary, it is not very long since the whole space extendingbefore the mouths of the Volga was encumbered by innumerable lines of fish- ing-apparatus, and the free circulation of the fish which had entered the river was hindered by tlfe constant use of draw-nets, and by the river being filled with hooks, nets, leaps, and crawls. Consequently an insuffi- cient number of fish was allowed to pass on to the spawning-places. The law of 1865, with its new regulations, has abolished this abuse. In the inland lakes of Eussia, which cover a vast area in the northw^est, *The number of tish cau^^ht at XewfouuiUaiul is scarcely half that of the Caspiau Sea. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 495 especially iu the sliallbw lakes, whicli are well known for their wealth of fish, the third conditiou of rational pisciculture mentioned above would often have been disregarded, L e., people would have fished the young fish before the age of maturity if nets with narrow meshes had not been prohibited. 2, — PISdCULTURE. The decrease of fish in consequence of a bad and destructive system has attracted the attention of the governments, nearly all of whoiu devote more or less considerable sums to the encouragement and devel- opment of the fisheries, in order to diminish the destruction of fish by means of various i^rotective measures. The decrease of the Russian fisheries has led the imperial ministry of domains to make a series of statistical researches with regard to the fisheries, with a view of throw- ing light on all the causes of this decrease. These researches, com- menced in 1859 and finished iu 1872, have been made iu the Baltic, the Polar Sea, the White Sea, the Caspian. Sea, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azov, as well as in the more important lakes. The result of these investigations has served as a basis for the new legislation, and has led to administrative measures looking toward the itroteetion and develop- ment of the fisheries. In Paissia, as well as in other countries, the government has been aided in its efforts by a new science, which in our days has become of the greatest importance as a branch of national industry. The labors of various distinguished scientists, who have devoted them- selves to the study of icthyology, have led to interesting discov- eries, several of which have proved of the greatest practical use. One of the most important among these last- mentioned discoveries is the artificial impregnation of spawn, which, as experience has shown, enables us to multiply the most valuable species iu the most favorable localities; or to renew the wealth of fish which had been exhausted by a destructive system of fishing. This discovery can be traced back to the middle of the eighteenth century, but its practical application as a branch of industry dates only thirty years back. The artificial raising of fish is in our days encour- aged and aided by government, has developed extensively, and has rendered the most valuable services to the public well-being. Pisciculture, or the art of propagating fish, was known to all civilized nations even in the most remote times. In the beginning, the following method was observed : At the spawning-season, fagots and branches . were placed in the rivers and their tributaries, forming hedges, on which the fish deposited their roe as on a natural bottom. After the roe had been impregnated, it was gathered and taken to those places where one wanted to introduce fish or multiply them. In the fifteenth century other methods of propagating fish were employed. Long wooden boxes were prepared, open at the top, and their straightest sides being composed of osier or reed trellis ; at the bottom of 496 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. tliese boxes a layer of fine sand was placed to serve as a receptacle for the roe ; on this bottom the impregnated roe was placed, and the whole apparatus put in a place where the roe was exposed to a constant stream of fresh water. The development and hatching of the roe usually took Xilace after three weeks, but a month was required for hatching all the eggs. This invention, which was a progressive step in the art of pisci- culture, w\as improved in 17G1 byTa new hatching and incubating proc- ess. At that time artificial hatching-boxes were introduced, consisting of wooden boxes with perforated sides, in which branches were stuck. At the spawning-season, fish of both sexes were put in these boxes ; thereupon the spawners were taken out, aud the branches covered with the spawn Avere placed in boxes in sucli a manner as to avoid all con- tact between the eggs. The discovery of artificial incubation belongs to a Frenchman, Dom Pinchon, (Bulletin of the Imperial Society of Acclimatization, 1854, p. 80,) and the construction of artificial spawning-boxes was invented by a Swede, (Lund, of Linkoping;) the third and most important dis- covery, viz, that of artificial fecundation, was made by Ludwig Jacobi, a land-owner of Lippe-Detmold, (ITll-'Sl,) who has left us an account describing his method very much in detail. This work may serve as a manual of practical pisciculture. The process of fecundation discovered by Jacobi, and known as "moist fecundation," is at the present day in vogue in most of the foreign establishments of pisci- culture. In Russia the so-called process of "dry fecundation" is mostly employed. Both will be described below. Jacobi's discovery w'as very little known till 1840, when a strong impetus was given to this industry in consequence of experiments in the artificial propagation of fish made in France by the fisherman Joseph E6my and his friend Gehiu. These experiments attracted the attention of the government, which shunned no expense aud appropriated large sums for founding the establishment at Hiiuiugen, placed at first under the direction of Berthot and Detzem, and finally confided to the care of the celebrated Coste. Through the influence of this establishment, which soon placed itself on a commercial footing and made it an object to sell fecundated eggs and fry, pisciculture developed very rapidly; and there is at this day scarcely a country where this industry is not known and does not attract the attention of laud-owners. In Eussia, the number of piscicultural establishments increases every day, in spite of the country's great wealth of fish. Among these establishments, that of Nikolsky, located in the village of the same name, (province of Novgorod, district of Demyansk,) takes the first place, on account of its extent, its excellent technical arrange- ment, and, finally, by its method of fecundating eggs. The establishment of oSfikolsky belongs to the government, and is under the department of agriculture and rural industry. In order to get a clear idea of all the operations of pisciculture, it will be necessary to consider each separately. THE HISTOEY OF FISH-CULTUEE. 497 3. — SELECTION OF MALE AND FEMALE FISH. For artificial fecuudatioii it is indispensable to select fish which have attained their full reproductive maturity, and, as much as possible, at the very time when the spawn is ejected. This condition is very important; for fish, when it is at the natural height of its existence, is only with great difficulty kept in a condition favorable to reproduction. In order to follow the progressive maturation of the spawn of the female fish, so as to be able to use it at the proper time, one proceeds in the followiug manner-; Several male and female fish of one species, or of two species if one wants to cross the breeds, are i)laced in reservoirs large enough to allow the fish to move freely. Every species is placed in a reservoir specially arranged in such a manner as to let each one have the temperature and the kind of water which it prefers. The trout, for instance, the various kinds of salmon, and the sturgeon, which propagate in running cold water, must be preserved in reservoirs fed from sources of fresh water ; and if these cannot be had, the water must be changed frequently. Other species, such as the large pik.e, the carp, the perch, &c., which deposit their spawn in stagnant water, must be placed under similar conditions. In the establishment of Nikolsky the fish are preserved in ponds of running water, and a short time before the fecundation they are transferred to basins likewise supplied with running water, which are in the establishment itself. When it is impossible to get living reproductive fish, one may use dead ones. Thus, during the first time of its existence, the establish- ment of Nikolsky had frequently to use, and nearly always with success, dead female fish which came from St. Petersburg. During the trans- portation, the genital aperture was closed with bandages, and the fish, wrapped up in hemp, were laid on their backs. It has been positively proved that the milt, as long as it is contained in the reproductive organs, preserves its prolific qualities for a very long time, and does not even suffer from cold, but if diluted with water it loses its strength very quickly. According to the testimony of several scientists, (Quatrefages,) every movement of the spermatozoids is stopped in milt which is diluted by water, under the most favorable conditions, in the pike in 8 minutes 50 seconds, with the roach in 3 minutes 10 seconds, in the carp in 3 minutes, and in the perch 2 minutes 40 seconds. As regards the spawn, we have not yet exact data as to how long a time it preserves the faculty of receiving the influence of the spermatozoids according to the temperature and the species. ^Yhen the eggs and the milt have attained their full maturity, which can be seen by certain external signs, (the swelling of the belly of the female and the enlargement of the genital opening of the male,) one proceeds to fecundate, which is done in two ways, according to the spe- cies of fish. S. Mis. 74 32 498 EEPOKT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 4. — THE FECUNDATION OF SPAWN. Those fish which spawn on the sand, for instance, the tront, the lava- ret, and the whole family of salmon, prodnce eggs which are easily separated, and which do not stick to other objects ; but those species which deposit their spawn on aquatic plants — the carp, the pike, the l^erch, &c. — produce glutinous eggs, which adhere closely to the plants. The artificial fecundation of spawn of the first kind is also done in two ways : by the " moist" and by the " dry process." The " moist process," which is the more ancient, is followed in most foreign establishments of I)isciculture ; the "dry process," invented by the Eussian piscicultur- ist, Y. P. Yrasski, has been adopted in nearly all the Eussian estab- lishments, and has even been introduced into some foreign ones. The difference between the two methods is apparently very insignificant, but the results obtained by the " dry process" are by far the more advantageous. The "moist process" consists in taking a vessel of sand- stone, of porcelain, or of wood, which must be perfectly clean, and con- structed in such a manner as to have an opening equal in size to the bottom, or a little larger. The bottom must present an even surface, so that the eggs can be freely spread on it. Enough water is i)oured into the vessel to cover the bottom to the height of two or three inches. The temperature of the water depends on the species of fish. The most convenient temperature for trout and salmon is from 39° F. to 50° F. The same temperature is good for those species which spawn in winter. For the pike it must be 41° F. to 50° F. ; for the perch and the whole family of sturgeons, from 57° F. to 61° F. 5 and for those fish which spawn in summer from 68° F. to 77° F. In one word, it is necessary that the temperature of the water used for arti- ficial fecundation is as near as possible like the average temperature in which the species lives that is to be operated upon. A difference of 6° to 8°, more or less, may stop the fecundation completely. After this, one takes a female fish with the left hand and holds it per- pendicularly above the vessel, The eggs generally fall into the vessel by their own weight, but if this is not the case one presses the belly of the fish gently with the forefinger of the right hand from top to bot- tom. After having gathered the spawn of the female in the vessel the milt is extracted from the body of the male fish in the same manner. When the water assumes a turbid and milky appearance, the spawn is mixed with the milt by means of a feather or the tail of the male fish. After 5 or 10 minutes the fecundation has operated ; then the spawn is washed, the water in the vessel renewed several times, and the eggs placed in basins destined for their reception. In order to fecundate spawn a peculiar apparatus is also used, con- sisting of a sieve with a metal tissue narrow enough not to let the eggs pass through, nor to allow them to be entangled in the meshes. The sieve is plunged into a vessel filled with water 5 its sides can be either THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 499 of wood or metal ; but if metal, they must be the same as the tissue, in order to avoid galvanic currents, which might hurt the spa^^nl. This apparatus is convenient, for it dispenses with the necessity of changing the water containing the milt. After the fecundation, it runs out of itself through the holes of the sieve. The "dry process'' of fecundating spawn, invented by Mr. Vrasski, differs from the preceding by requiring two vessels, one for the spawn, which is put there without water, and the other for the milt, to which water is added to moisten the eggs. This method is extremely advan- tageous, for in using it scarcely 1 per cent, of the eggs escapes fecun- dation, while in the "moist method" 10 to 12 per cent, of the spawn may be lost. A little spoonful of milt is sufficient to fecundate 1,000 eggs. AVhat has prevented the spreading of this method in other countries is the very improbable opinion that it is not applicable to fish which spawn in autumn or in winter, or at a low temperature in general. The jjrincipal conditions of success- in the operations which we have just described are always : full maturity of the eggs and milt, a suitable temperature, and rapid execution. * The following is the method employed for fecundating glutinous eggs : It requires some bunches of aquatic plants, which are carefully washed, {Rmiunculus^ Glyceria aquatica, &c,,) a vessel of the shape and size of those used for the preceding operations, and a bucket. The manipula- tions require three persons. One of them holds the female fish, and extracts the spawn from it as described above, while the other extracts the milt from the male. The third person stirs the water with a bunch of plants, to favor the absorj^tion. The spawn sticks to the plants, which are left for two or three minutes in the water containing the sperm atozoids, so as to insure the fecundation of the eggs. Then the bunch of plants is washed with the spawn sticking to it, and put in the incubating apparatus. As the fecundation of glutinous spawn requires the aid of several persons, and as, besides, the species of fish which have this spawn do not cost very much, it is usually multiplied in arti- ficial iucubating-apparatus, which has the advantage of avoiding almost entirely the loss of spawn, which, in the natural course of events, is inevitable. Tbe construction of this apparatus varies very much. The simplest consists of two pieces of wood joined by several transverse pieces trimmed with aquatic i>lants. This apparatus is put in the water several weeks before the spawning-season; then it is taken out of the water. The plants are also taken out and placed with the eggs that are on them in the incabating-apparatus. 5. — THE INCUBATION OF SPAWN. After the fecundated spawn has by itself become detached from the fecuudating-boxes, it is put in an apparatus with compartments, where the incubation takes place. For this operation we may use a shovel, or we can also simply incline the vase which contains the spawn as near 500 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. as possible to tbe bottom of the box into which it is to go, and pour it directly mi this bottom. In this operation, care must be taken that the eggs do not lie on each other in layers. If among the eggs there is a little coagulated milt, it ought to be first washed out. The apparatus for incubation and the hatching of young fish are very different. Every pisciculturist has his own models made to suit local convenience and his own individual ideas. The apparatus also varies according to the species of fish ; the trout, the lavaiet, the salmon, for instance, requiring cold running water, the incubating-apparatus must answer these conditions. The article of this kind which is most used, on account of its answer- ing its purpose best, is that of Coste. It is about li feet long and 1^ broad and deep. The lid is formed of two parts, which open by hinges ; these two panels have each a square opening, closed by a net-work of metal ; the two straight sides of the box have also doors with openings like those of the lid, likewise furnished with the net-work of metal- Inside the box, at the ends and in the middle, there are cross pieces of wood, on which other frames' are placed, which are the most essential pieces of the apparatus; these frames consist of thin plates of glass in wooden frames ; as many as four of these are placed on the same cross- l)ieces, and the fecundated spawn is put on these glass plates. On the bottom of the box sand is put, in case some eggs should escape through the small spaces between the strips of glass. This arrangement has the advantage, above all others, of being easily cleaned, and not bringing the spawn into immediate contact with the metallic sides, which might make it cold, might tear its delicate skin, and might jeopardize the life of these frail creatures. For propagaMng fish on a large scale, the above-described apparatus, and other similar ones, are replaced by special iucubating-canals, into which water is led from a spring or a pond. The arrangement of these canals is very simple; the water flows through a series of wooden or stone basins, covered Avith a net-work, to avoid all obstruction. In these basins the spawn is deposited on glass grates. To incubate spawn in localities where there is no running water, other apparatus is used, the most common being that of Coste. This con- sists of a filtering-apparatus, which leads the water, through a pipe with a cock, into one or two basins made of sandstone or delf, on whose bottom gravel is placed; at the end of this basin the current divides into two, and, through small gutters, the water flows into troughs of sandstone, placed one over the other and parallel to each other ; every one is provided with a slope or gutter on the side opposite to that where the water flows in. In this manner the water which comes from the delf basin and which flows through this whole system of basins forms an artificial brook. After having flowed through this whole apparatus, this water is collected in a special reservoir destined for the fish which have just been hatched, and from there it flows out. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 501 During the period of incubation, tlie spawn requires the greatest care. The washing of the eggs immediately after the fecundation is rather difficult on account of their delicate outer skin, and this is precisely the time when they mnst be cleaned from all impurities ; for the development of parasites is fatal to them at this time. The cleaning of the spawn is done by means of the down of a quill or with a soft brush ; the spoiled eggs, which can easily be recognized by their pale-yellow color, are picked out with pincers similar to those used in anatomy, but differing in this respect that, instead of being denticulated, they terminate in a cavity which seizes the spoiled egg without endangering the others. If, on account of too strong a current of water, the spawn gets piled up in one place, which ought to be avoided, we must immediately diminish the current and spread the spawn evenly over the whole bottom ; using for this small glass tubes, which are made in the following manner : take a tolerably large glass tube, blow a globe at one of its ends, and draw out the other end to a fine point ; the large opening is closed by a stopper pierced lengthwise, through which a thin glass tube is passed. In using the tube, stop with the finger the thin end, and direct the the tube which passes through the stopper on the spawn, which, as soon as tfie finger is raised, jjasses rapidly, at the same time with the water into the globe of the tube. This instrument can be used not only for transporting spawn, but also for taking hold conveniently of small newly-hatched fishes. 6. — DEVELOPJIENT OF THE EMBRYO AND THE HATCHING OF FISH. The egg of a fish is composed of an inner bladder, which, as long as the egg is not put in the water, is in intimate contact with an outer cover- ing. The inner bladder and its covering are joined by a thin channel, which, on the outside, opens by an orifice called micropyle, through which the spermatozoids enter the eggs. This opening was first dis- covered on the egg of a small bream {Ahramis hlicca, C.) by a Eussian scientist, Mr. Baer, of the Imperial Academy of Sciences of St. Peters- burg, and was next observed on the trout, the salmon, and the pike, &c. As soon as the egg has been brought in contact with milt diluted in water, or simply with pure water, the outer covering swells, through endosmosis, and separates from the coating of the inner utricle. Dur- ing this absorption of water through the outer skins of the egg, it is absolutely necessary that a spermatozoid with fecundating liquid should,, through the micropyle, pass inside the bladder. If this is not the case, no fecundation takes place. During the separation of the outer skin of the bladder, the channel intended to introduce the spermatozoid into the egg breaks, and communication between the bladder and the outside is interrupted; so that, if the spermatozoid has not had time enough to penetrate into the bladder, it cannot possibly get into it afterward, and the egg remains barren. These observations prove that it is very important that the spermatozoids of the milt, diluted in water, should be 502 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. still in motiou wlien the process of fecundation goes on, and should be able to take their course toward the opening of the channel and pene- trate into the interior of the egg. We have seen that the movement of the spermatozoids cease rery soon after diluting the milt with water ; it is, therefore, highly important, for a successful fecundation, to dilute the milt and impregnate the spawn with the mixture as rapidly as pos- sible. The inner bladder of the egg contains albumen and yolk; this latter is at first spread throughout the whole bladder, but after fecun- dation it all collects on one point and forms a separate yolk, (vitellus.) Then the yolk divides into two hemispheres, which again are divided; then the vitellus occupies two-thirds of the bladder. Finally it is pos- sible to distinguish the head, the vertebral column, and the tail of the embryo ; and^about a month before being hatched the eyes can be dis- tinguished in the shape of two black spots. In the lavaret they can already be seen in January. The skin of the egg is soft before being fecundated, but after fecunda- tion it becomes thicker and so hard that it is almost impossible to crush the egg between the lingers. Toward the end of the development of the egg, the skin secretes a substance destined for forming the hard portions of the embryo, and then it becomes transparent, tine, like the web of a spider, and so delicate, that at the least outside pressure it tears on all sides. After the fish has come out, it carries with it the umbilical bag con- tainiug a supply of nutritive substance, which is absorbed by means of blood-vessels spreading all through the bag. After all has been absorbed, the young being has the perfect form of a fish, and is called fry, (" alevin ;") it now requires outside food. The hatching of fish is not done all at once, but gradually, under the influence of certain external causes, such as the temperature of the water, the quantity of oxygen contained in it, &c. It is necessary to watch the temperature and purity of the water very carefully. Dust floating in the air over the water, and various impurities which fall in the water and mix at the bottom of the basins with innumerable microscopic pieces of vegetable fiber, form tufts, in which, if the temperature of the water is higher than 50O-Fahr., myriads of infusoria develop. These tufts get iuto the mouths of the young fish, and, being ejected together with the water, obstruct the gills and produce suffocation. After having absorbed the umbilical bag, the fish seeks other food. The possibility of satisfying this want during the first time has a decided influence on the further development. The young fish shows by its first movements an innate tendency to seize food, just as mam- malia immediately after their birth instinctively seek the breast which is to give them food. As regards the most suitable food for young fish, the trout and the salmon family chiefly feed on animate matter, e.g., on the spawn or the young of the Cyprinm alburnus, Cuv.; on the Cyprinus leucisciis, Cuv., {or Aspius alburmis, Agass.;) or on fish of the species THE HISTORY OP FISH-CULTURE. 503 Coregomis, Cuv. The young lavarets first feed on insects ; but, arrived at a certain ago, tliey also eat the spawn and young of the roach and the ablet. Young trout aud young salmon require running water where insects cannot live, while the young of the lavaret requires more stagnant water, because the insects which form his food can there live and multiply. The spawn of the ablet and other small fish which form the food of the trout, the salmon, and the lavaret is obtained in every establishment of i^isciculture by means of artificial spawning. As the young fish during the first time of their existence, if thej^ were placed in ponds aud reservoirs to increase, would every minute meet with innumerable and unavoidable dangers, (fish, insects, &c.,) and would perish uselessly, one ought, before transferring the young fish to natural reservoirs, to raise them in fish-ponds, which are true- nurseries of fish. According to the extent of the pisciculturist's business, these fish- ponds may be merely boxes or ponds, or, in short, any reservoir where the fish can be placed under conditions that are favorable to its develop- ment, and where it can be protected against its various enemies while it is still too feeble to defend itself. 7. — TRANSPORTATION OF SPAWN. The most common way of transporting spawn longer or shorter dis- tances is the following: A wooden i^ail is used, the bottom and sides of which are covered with a damp cloth, which separates the layers of eggii ; this cloth is always kept damp, aud in its stead moss or certain aquatic plants may be used, between which the spawn is spread. In doing this, care should be taken that the eggs do not press against each other, and that the pressure of the upper layers does not injure the lower ones. The establishment of Xikolsky sends fecundated spawn in this manner through the whole of Russia. The glutinous spawn is transported with the plants to which it adheres in glass bottles, filled to three-fourths of their capacity with water, or in baskets and boxes wrapped up in damp cloths. The vessels in which fecundated spawn is transported, especially long distances, must always be wrapped in substances which areaslittle as possible conductors of heat ; moss, felt, etc. For th« difl'erent kinds of salmon the temperature must be 32° to 50° Fahr., while for other fish it must be higher. Whatever means of transportation be employed, spawn must not be shipped immediately after fecundation, as experience has shown that the best time for this is when the embryo has reached that stage of its development when two black dots can be observed in the place of the eyes. The transportation of fish depends on its age; the younger it is the easier it can be shipped. Young fish scarcely hatched are sent in glass vessels, the water on which must be changed every two or three hours. This frequent change of water may, however, be avoided by passing a 504 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. current of fresli air through it, which is done by meau^ of a tube dipped into the water of tlie vessel. Spring and autumn are the seasons most favorable for transporting fish. In the summer they are sent by night, being careful to keep the water constantly in motion, even when a halt is made. During long journeys the water in the vessels is renewed from time to time, and air is introduced by means of bellows and a tin tube. 8. — PISCICULTURAL, ESTABLISHlilENT AT NIKOLSKY. After having spoken of the technical part of pisciculture, we will give a detailed description of the arrangement and work of one of the largest establishments of this kind not only in Eussia but in Euroj)e. The work done at the establishment of !N^ikolsky will give us a great deal of information and furnish many instructive examples. This establishment is located almost on the boundary-line of the districts of Demyansk and of Valdai, (province of Novogorod.) on the high-road, 77 versts (about 48 miles) from the Valdai station on the jSTicholas Kailroad. The highest elevation of the Alaoune Mountains is in the districts of Valdai and Demyansk, and these districts are, therefore, crossed in all directions by high hills. The valleys formed by these hills inclose a large number of lakes, mostly fed by small and rapidly- llowing streams. The water of the lakes is pure and cold. This locality, as will be seen, combines many conditions favorable to pisciculture, especially for the breeding of valuable species, such as the trout. M. Vrasski, a rich landowner of this province, has made use of these favorable circumstances to found his establishment. After having examined the work done in France by Remy and Gehin, and after having studied the theoretical part of pisciculture, Mr. Vrasski, in the spring of 1854, made his first experiments on the spawn of eelpout and '■jaculus," and finally on that of the trout. The food of the hatched fish presented the greatest diificulties. Meat chopped fine, recommended by some foreign pisciculturists, was unsuitable, and inconvenient in various ways. The food of young trout during their first stage consists of aquatic insects, and, from an inborn instinct, they did not seize the pieces of meat except during their fall to the bottom, but never touched them when motionless. The meat consequently began to decompose, changed the character of the water, and the fish died. Mr. Vrasski then thought of feeding the young trout with the insects which swarm in stagnant water, and obtained favorable results. The trout produced by him in 1855 measured, two years later, 22 centimeters, and in some the milt Avas matured. After a long series of experiments, Mr. Vrasski achieved the most brilliant results in fecundating spawn, and his experiments led him to the discovery of a new method. In order to fecundate eggs, it is necessary, as we have said above, that the spermatozoids contained in the fecundating-liquid of the male fish should penetrate into the eggs laid by the female. For this purpose it THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 505 was necessary, accordiug to the manual which Mr. Yrasski followed, to press the spawn from the females into a vessel filled with water, to place the milt of the males in another vessel, and, after having diluted the fecuudating-liquid, pour it into the vessel containing the eggs. Mr. Vrassky had meanwhile observed that fecundation was less successful if there was any long interval between the time of extracting the spawn from the female and the time of its coming in contact with the milt. If this interval exceeded ten minutes, fecundation failed almost entirely. By numerous microscopic observations made with Pr. Knoch, a learned embryologist, Mr. Yrasski convinced himself that, in coming in contact with water, the spawn absorbs this liquid, and that the process of absorption takes no longer than half an hour; but that spawn placed in a vessel in a dry state remains a long time without changing, and without losing its property of absorbing water and of receiving spermatozoids. The spermatozoids of the milt, when brought in con- tact with water, make violent and rapid movements, which, however, last only one and a half or two minutes, while milt kept dry in a vessel or on a glass plate preserves its qualities /or several hours, during which time the spermatozoids show under the microscope the same rapid movements which they make in water the moment they leave the body of the fish. In making experiments with the river-perch and the Acer ina vulgar is, (J. , on milt that had not yet reached its mature state, he found that some drops of milt kept in a perfectly dry and well- closed' cylinder had not lost their original qualities, even after six days in the ordinary temperature of a room. By combining these data with the circumstance that spawn and milt when taken from the bodies of fish do not come out all at once, but run out gradually and slowly, Mr. Vrassky arrived at the conclusion that, by i^utting the spawn and the milt immediately in water, the larger portion of the eggs have time enough to get completel}' soaked, and that the majority of the sperma- tozoids lose their movements before the pisciculturist has time to mix the prolific water with the spawn. Then Mr. Vrasski commenced to put spawn and milt in vessels without water, and to pour the fecundating- liquid over the eggs immediately after having diluted the milt. The results were entirely satisfactory, for not a single egg remained barren. After having achieved such a brilliant success in fecundating spawn, Mr. Vrasski associated himself with two others, with the view of founding an establishment on a large scale. For this purpose he used the Pestooka, a river which joins Lake Pestow (1§ miles long) and Lake Velio, (about 4| miles long;) with the water of this river he fed several basins and fish-ponds, where the water could be made to rise or fall by means of water-gates placed farther up the river at the place where it leaves Lake Pestow. The building, built of wood, on stone foundations, is 12, sagenes (84 feet) long, and G sagenes (42 feet) broad. The water of a pond is conducted into the establishment by means of 506 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. a subterranean pipe, and flows into a tub called a " leveller;" this is made of two joists, is 7 feet bigh, and 4 feet 8 inches long- and broad. From this reservoir water is distributed through the whole building. Id the middle of the building there is a large basin fed with running water, which serves as a fish-T)ond for the male propagators and the females. It is made of planks, 49 feet long and 9 feet 4 inches broad ; it is divided into several compartments, into which propagating fish of every kind are placed separately during the period of fecundation. Parallel to this fish-pond there are, on every side, eight smaller basins, made of flagstones and supported by brick arches; each of these basins is 23 feet 4 inches long, 3 feet 6 inches broad, and 10^ inches deep. A pipe coming out from the bottom of each of these basins feeds them with filtered water, which is kept ^ of an inch high; after having flowed through these basins, it flows out through a common outlet-pipe. The water of these basins is so pure that it is possible to discern the smallest straw at the bottom. In these basins not only ^he fecundated spawn is kept placed in small square troughs, but also the young fishes, which, till the time of their being placed in the lakes and ponds, are there fed with larvte of insects and with young ablets, which are expressly raised in the establish- ment for this purpose. On every side of the " leveller" there are two square boxes for filtering water through layers of sand and flint stones ; from these boxes the water passes into a third filter, and flows into the boxes where the fecundated eggs are washed. For raising fish the establishment has, besides the lakes and the river, five ponds with running water, p ( ed one higher than the other. There the young fish which have reached a certain degree of development are transferred from the basins in the building; there, also, the propagating fish are kept. The developn ent of embryo is entirely successful; and this result is due as much to the " dry process" of fecundation as to the arrangement of the boxes with compartments, and finally to the low temperature of the water (35° F.) in which the eggs are devel- oped. In other countries the eggs of trout are kept in a temperature several degrees higher than that of the water in the Nikolsky establishment, which induces the development of i)lants and minute animals, which are injurious to the eggs. At Nikolsky the sand (which has been previously washed in boiling water to destroy all animal and vegetable germs) and the eggs are five weeks after fecunda- tion as clean as at the time tliey were deposited, while in foreign estab- lishments they are obliged almost constantly to clean them from the spawn ot parasitical plants and animals. At Nikolsky hatching goes on §lower thanin foreign establishments, which is but the natural result of the low temperature of the water ; but the slow development of the spawn has this advantage, that the embryo grows more regularly, and that the young come forth i^recisely at the time when insect-larvjB abound most, so that they are sure of their food. The trout and the salmon generally spawn in November, and .thus in foreign establish- THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 507 ments, at the comparatively liigli temperature of 43^ Fahr., tlie youug fish develop aud require auimal food as early as February, a season of the year at which it is impossible to get iusect-larvce ; it" is there- fore necessary to feed the fish on chopped meat, which, besides being expensive, changes the nature of the water aud occasions a loss of fish. In our establishment, however, the development progresses more slowly, so that the young fish, which at first requires no food (the umbilical bag, as we have said before, is during this first stage of development absorbed by it,) is hatched in April, and becomes a young fish in the middle of May, when a large variety and abundance of suitable food can be found in every sheet of water. This food consists of living aquatic animals and iusect-larvse, which are gathered with muslin nets. At the end of May the young of the ablet, {Cyprinus alburnus, L.,) taken immediately after being hatched, are added to this food. During the period of raising the young fish in the establishment, special care must be taken to prevent the drowsiness or sleep of the young fish. In a low temperature everything works well, but as soon as the temperature of the water is elevated, the young fish show a certain restlessness in their movements ; they gradually seek that part of the apparatus which receives the water fresh from the feed-pipe, and there they gather in compact masses ; their resi)iration is accelerated, the mouth remains open, and the gills move with an effort ; tien the tail and head grow pale, aud finally the fish dies. This sickness increases in proportion to the heat of the water; and the more sudden the tran- sition from cold to hot the quicker does' the young fish die. This circum- stance is explained in the following manner : Water, like all liquids, has the property of absorbing gases. The quantity thus absorbed increases when the teniperature gets lower, and is less when the water is hotter. This property of water is especially important with regard to oxygen, which is one of the elements of the air, and which can continually dis- solve in water. The absorption of oxygen by water has an immense influence on the life of fish. The young fish through its gills is con- stantly inhaling oxygen contained in the water, which passes into its mouth and decomposes its blood. At the same time it ejects with the water carbonic acid, which is a superabundant element in its organiza- tion. If the water contains less oxygen than is required to oxidize the blood, the gills change their lamellte, and their fringes agglutinate, de- compose, are covered with i^arasites, and the want of oxygen necessa- rily briugs about the death of the fish. The necessity of oxygen forces the young fish toward the place where the water has not yet become saturated with carbonic acid, viz, toward the opening through which the compartment is fed with water. Each fish seeks to drive away the other to get sooner to the fresh water ; the feebler ones have to give way, become still feebler, and perish on account of insufficient respi- ration. To avoid this suffocation of the young fish, the following methods are emi^loyed at Mkolsky : 508 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 1. Through' the box, with compartments at a certain distance from each other, and at a convenient height above the boxes, zinc pipes are placed, pferced by straight openings, joined to each other, and at their ends to other larger pipes. Some of the water coming from the filters in this way flows out into the box, through the openings of the pipes, in the shape of a fine rain. All these small drops of water j)ass through the air during their fall and become saturated with oxygen ; in striking the surface of the water, they refresh it with diminutive drops, which, rising and falling, increase the absorption of oxygen. 2. To renew in the water the oxygen destroyed by the respiration of the fish, air is also blown into it by means of bellows. This method is particularly useful, because the air, entering the water from above and below, only passes through it slowly, being retarded in its progress by the pressure of the upper layers. Moreover, the contact between the water and the air is more complete, and is brought about on compara- tively larger surfaces, which, of course, causes a greater absorption of oxygen. Ju following this method, care should be taken to blow air into the water for a tolerably long time; and if it is impossible to do it continually, it should at least be done in such a manner as to let this aerating process go on, not only in one place of the box, but throughout its whole extent. 3. As, independent of the respiration of the young fish, the decrease of oxygen is brought about by heightening the temperature, this incon- venience is remedied by putting ice in the filters or in the boxes, the ice being put in special receptacles, so that it cannot communicate its impurities to the water. Jointly with this method, the following is also employed : as soon as the temperature of the water commences to rise, the embryo, even if it should not yet have reached the state of young fish, is transferred to the ponds, where, as much as possible, it is placed in the bed of the Pestooka Eiver, which flows through all these ponds. The extent of the establishment enables it to fecundate annually 5,000,000 lavaret* eggs, 2,000,000 trout eggs, and more than 1,000,000 salmon eggs. The basins and nurseries are large enough to raise and feed every year more than 600,000 fish. Besides this, the establishment can prepare for the trade about 1,000,000 eggs which have reached that stage of their development when the eyes of the embryo can be dis- cerned through the skin. The establishment of Nikolsky, for the foundation of which, inde^ pendent of the personal funds of the founder, the government has granted a subsidy of 30,000 rubles, ($21,000 gold,) was, till the year 1868, under the dii-ection of a society of pisciculturists, but since that year it has become the property of the national treasury, and is at present under the department of agriculture and rural industry. As long as it was in the hands of private individuals, its aim was almost * White-fish, (Coregonus.) THE HISTOEY OF FISH-CULTURE. 509 exclusively a commercial one ; i. e., the sale of fish raised in the estab- lishment, particularly to the two capitals, Moscow and St. Petersburg. But after it became the property of the government, the establishment has in pisciculture assumed the same place as a model-farm iu agricul- ture, or an acclimatiziug-garden in horticulture. Three methods are known of propagating new species of fish : 1. The transportation of grown male and female fish to a certain given locality. By this means salmon and salmon-trout have, in 1852, been introduced in Lake Peipus; but by this means but a very limited number of fish can be propagated in a river or in a lake, as, on account of the vast extent of these natural reservoirs, there is very little chance of the two sexes meeting at the proper season and in a favorable place, so that this method is far from insuring the multiplying of the species. 2. The transportation of fecundated spawn by natural means from one reservoir to another. This method is often followed, and in many cases it leads to good results ; but it could not be applied under all cir- cumstances, for many fish spawn at a great depth, or iu inaccessible places. 3. The transportation of spawn that has been fecundated artificially. This method answers the purpose best. The establishment of Nikolsky is in a locality which communicates with the basins of the Volga and the Ladoga. It is only one verst (five- eighths of ^ mile) from Lake Velio, which, through small rivers and a lake, communicates with Lake Ilmen. These rivers are the Yavon, the Polla, and Lake Seligher, which, through the Selijarooka Eiver, has a communication of about sixty miles. in leu gth with the Volga. Thus the establishment combines the climatic conditions of ^the basins of the Volga and the Ladoga — conditions which are very favorable to the accli- matization of fish from one basin to the other. The common lavaret, for instance, does not exist in the basin of the Volga, while it abounds iu that of the Ladoga; the latter, on the contrary, has no sturgeon, while these are very common in the Volga. The establishment has, therefore, made it its object to spread in the basins of Russia those species of fish which are wanting, but which, as far as the quality of the water and the climate are concerned, might be introduced there, and which, by their price, might offer great advantages to fishing-industry. With this view, the introduction of lavarets into the basin of tbe Volga was undertaken. Numerous species of this fish, as we have said above, are found in the basin of the Ladoga, while in that of the Volga only a single one is found, the large and excellent species of white lavaret, called in Russian "Belorybitsa." As the place of transportation. Lake Seligher has been selected, where every year several thousand lavarets one and a half vershock to three vershocks (two and a half to five inches) in length are let loose. The success of this attempt can no longer be doubted, considering that the fish loosened in the Volga constitute the second generation of 510 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. lavarets bred and raised in the establishment and completely acclima- tized in a locality midways between the basin of the Ladoga (the home of these species) and that of the Volga ; so that these fish in being transported to the latter do not undergo any material change of natural influences. Among the species of the sturgeon kind it is principally the sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus, L.) whose artificial breeding has long since attracted the attention of Eussian and foreign pisciculturists. The attempts at artificial fecundation of this valuable species made in Eussia in 1869 led to excellent results, and during the course of the year 1870 the ministry of domains was able, at tbe request of the British government, to send several thousand sterlet-eggs to Scotland ; these eggs arrived safely at their destination, packed in tinned copper vessels, and were placed in the rivers of that country. Since 1870 the piscicultural establishment of Nikolsky has made ex- periments in multiplying sterlets in lakes and ponds. The former experi- ments in multiplying these fish by letting grown fish loose had always failed. The fish lived, grew, but they did not increase ; which circum- stance induced the erroneous opinion that it is absolutely imj)ossible to multiply sterlets in ponds and lakes. The cause of this failure not having as yet been studied exactly, the belief may be allowed that this opinion does not rest on a solid basis. Of all piscicultural establish- ments, that of Nikolsky, being in Eussia, the home of the sterlet, has the exclusive opportunity of studying and of solving definitely the prob- lem of multiplying this fish in lakes and ponds; the exi)eriments which have been commenced for this purpose are still going on and will be continued till definite results have been obtained. In 1871 the establishment of Nikolsky commenced to sell fecun- dated spawn and hatched fish with the view of giving private indi- viduals an opportunity of introducing valuable species at a moderate price, into their own waters. The spawn is delivered by the establishment in that stage of development when the eyes can be discerned through the skin. From the time that the establishment has advertised the sale of spawn and of hatched fish, it has received orders from different parts of the empire amounting to several tens of thousands of eggs, as well as of hatched fish of the trout, the salmon, and the lavaret, delivered at a fixed price ; besides this, about 2,000 eggs are sent gratis every day to the Academy of Forestry and Agriculture at Petrovsky, near Moscow. Spawn is sent to the most remote provinces of the enipire, for instance, to the province of Stavropol, without undergoing the slightest change. It is remarkable that the spaw^n sent to the Academy of Petrovsky when the cold was severe, froze during the journey in spite of its being covered, and thawed in cold water on its arrival at Moscow, has not suffered in the least, and that of 2,000 eggs only ten were not hatched. Si)awn is transported partly as merchandise by express train, and partly, under the authority of the minister of the interior in the mail cars. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 511 The fisli are sold from tlie age of six weeks to two years ; tlie prices fixed for spawu and fish are the following : Gold. 1,000 trout or lavaret* eggs, fecundated, and having reached the stage where the eyes can be discerned $2 10 100 young trout, six weeks old and able to seek their own food. . 2 10 100 trout or lavaret, three months old 3 50 100 trout or lavaret, six months old 5 60 100 trout or lavaret, one year old 10 50 100 trout, a year and a half old 17 50 100 lavaret, a year and a half old 14 00 100 trout, two years old 24 50 100 lavarej;, two years old .• 17 50 100 trout, two years and a half old 31 50 100 trout, three years old 38 50 The sale takes place at the following dates : Eggs, from the 1st to the 13th of January to 15th and 27th of March ; hatched fish, from 1st to loth March to 1st and 19th of June ; trout and lavaret, one month old, in September and October. • 9. — PISCICULTURAL ESTABLISHMENT AT SUWALKI. We think it our duty to mention, after the piscicultural establishment of JSIikolsky, another establishment, founded by the government in the province of Suwalki, with the view of increasing the revenue from local fisheries. This establishment is located in the water system of Lake Wiczera, on the Gaueza River, which, near the town of Suwalki, flows through Lake Wiczera and falls into the Augustovo Canal. It commenced operations in 18G0, devoting itself chiefly to the breeding of trout, salmon, and the two very rare species of lavaret found in these lakes ; the " seja, " {Coregomis marama,) and the" seliava,"( Oore^'onMs «76?t?«,) species which are not so rare in the countries bordering this i^rovince on the west. The fish raised in the establishment either from spawn artificially fecundated received from other parts, or from spawn fecundated at the establishment, have been placed in the lake. The species to which they belonged have in this manner been introduced in sixteen lakes in the province of Suwalki belonging to the government. The labors of the establishment have exercised a favorable influence on the revenue derived from the fisheries on Lake Wiczera, so that the revenue from fisheries, which in 1860 brought 120 rubles. ($84) per annum, has risen to 700 rubles (8490) in 1869, while the amount of annual revenue from the Lake of Augustovsky has risen from 1,600 rubles to 3,300 rubles, ($1,120 to $2,310.) The lavaret has beeiS propagated to such an extent that at present this fish is sold smoked on the Warsaw markets, which never was the * White-fisli, (Congonus.) 512 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. case in former times. This fish, entirely unknown to the trade, was formerly only fonnd in very insignificant numbers in Lake Wygri. Among the private establishments we ought not to pass in silence that of Senator Zeumern located about 22 miles from St. Petersburg, ■wliich chiefly raises trout. 10. — PISCICULTURE IN FINLAND. In Finland, pisciculture has assumed vast dimensions ; there are at present in that country more than ten large establishments, which pro- pagate valuable species of fish, such as the trout, the salmon, and the lavaret. The man who has done most for pisciculture in Finland is the famous pisciculturist Holmberg, who, in 1862, became inspector of piscicul. ture in that country. He has personally contributed toward the found, ationof the following establishments: at Stokfors (province of Wyborg) on the coast of the Gulf of Finland; on the branch of the Kioiimeue Eiver called Soutte : in the town of Taramerfors, where the establish- ment is fed from the falls of the same name; and at Aborfors on a branch of the Kioiimene Eiver. This last-mentioned establishment .propagates the salmon of the sea^ Throngh the active and enlightened assistance of Mr. Holmberg, the establishments of Swarta (Province of Newland) have been founded on the river of the same name. There they principally propagate the lava- ret, the salmon, the trout, {Salmo fario, L.,) and the carp. It has been observed at this establishment that a salmon which measured 14i inches and weighed nearly li pounds in August, 18G3, had in the month of Octo- ber attained the weight of If pounds aud the length of 17 inches. It had, therefore, in two months grown in length 2^ inches, and in weight more than ^ pound. The carp intended for propagating have been brought from Lubeck in 1861. We may also mention the piscicultural establish- ment of Kroueburg, on Lake Ladoga. Those of Kioiimene, located at several points on the river of the same name, near the Gulf of Finland, that of Keksholm, on the Island of Sikkolauter, between the sources of Wokcha and the hills of Keksholm, &c. The fecundation of spawn in these Finland establishments has at first been carried on according to the " moist method" introduced there from Norway ; but since 1862 the "dry method," invented by Mr. Vrasski, has been followed with great success. Eegarding the raising of young fish, we must remark, that in the larger number of piscicultural establishments in Finland the young fish, remains only for a very short time in the building, and as soon as it lias absorbed the umbilical bag it is let loose in the rivers. As- food, the young of the Asinus alhurnus, Agass., are used, raised specially for this purpose ; the larvse and cocoon of the viviparous flj--, {/Sarcophaga carnaria Cuv. Musca carnaria, L.) and finally flesh of fish or meat chopped fine. The salmon are particularly fond of quite young ablets; thus in the THE HISTOEY OF FISH-CULTURE. 513 establishment of Swarta it has been observed that youug salmou would iu a few momeuts devour seven or eigiit little ablets. Independent of the establishments which are employed in the propa- gation of "winter fish,". there are iu Finland many other establishments which raise the several kinds of "summer fish," the perch, the bream, &c. Theses establishments are found throughout the whole interior of the country, and their number increases every day, for they require neither anj^ very great expense for starting, nor much care iu working them.. C— EEPOET ON THE STATE OF PISCICULTURE IN FRANCE AND THE NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES. By M. Bouchox-Brandely, Assistant Secretary of the College of France. ['Report to tlie miuister of public works in 1873, translated from the French by H. Jacobson.] 1. — Introductory remarks. Pisciculture, which, in the College of France, has developed so rapidly under the direction of our celebrated physiologist, M. Coste, and of M. S. Chantran, is a science which ought to have a place in the system of instruction. The mission which you have confided to me has enabled me to trace the outlines of an economical and. practical treatise, whicii I shall soon have the honor to present to' your excellency in complete shape. We know from the reports of Mr. Ash worth how much Great Britain has profited by the national enterprise of M. Coste, since as early as 1860 the salmon-fisheries of Scotland and Ireland alone amounted to more than £800,000. Germany, Belgium, and Holland have likewise profited from our establishment at Htiningen, which has been organized under the direction of M. Coste, thus putting to practical use a discov- ery in physiology. The countries which I have visited, Switzerland, AustFia, Italy, all equally show signs of remarkable progress, which is due to the lead taken by France. It would be very much out of place in our day to trace to the an- cient inhabitants of China and India discoveries t6 which they were perfect strangers. We must not confound pisciculture, properly so called, with the art of fishing, which at all times and in all countries of the globe has been held in great honor ; and Remy has certainly not got his idea of fecundating si)awn artificially from the annals of the celestial empire. Nor had the College of France to look for advice to India or China in making its first scientific attempts, which have been crowned with such signal success. Not much time was consumed iu developing this first great idea, and Htiningen was established. The S. Mis. 74 33 • 514 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. favorable results which had been obtained are at the present day in danger of being* lost. Tlie idea has been broached of replacing Hiiningen by an • establish- ment in France organized on the same plan, but j'our excellency will see from the coneluding part of my report that, in order to meet satis- factorily the demands of pisciculture, you ought to increase the number of establishments by diminishing the importance of each one. ' Professor Joly, of Toulouse, has, in 1866, published a report on river pisciculture in France, which gave rise to the brightest hopes. The dis- asters which have fallen on our unfortunate country have again made all this questionable ; but if we have lost Hiiningen, the laboratory of the College of France still exists and continues the work commenced at another period under such brilliant auspices. From that institution comes the impetus, and I had new proof of this during the tour which I have just made through Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. 2.-^SWITZERLAND. Switzerland, more thaii many other countries, has profited from the new science of pisciculture, and the* progress made in that country deserves to be widely known. The federal government, the cantonal governments, and private individuals saw that this science contained a new and fruitful .source of wealth far a country whose waters are of such excellent quality and are so well distributed. Pisciculture has made Switzerland its adopted country. Establishments have been founded by cantons and by private individuals. To these last men- tioned the State granted great privileges, and the fishing-laws protect them, and at the same time favor their experiments. .In Switzerland, as in France, the number of fish in rivers and lakes decreased rapidly, and in spite of their great wealth' of fish it Avas high time to remedy this matter. Artificial pisciculture has supplied the remedy, and at present the fish increase as fast as they are destroyed. Before reviewing the establishments which I have visited, I must mention a fact selected from a large number : the inhabitants of the village of Vallorbe, near Jougne, about twenty years ago lived from the fisheries in the river Orbe. By exhausting this river, which was espe- cially rich in the salmon kind, without ever replenishing it, the fishers and their families were reduced to absolute want. The observations of Eemy, confirmed by experiments made at the College of France, reached the ears of the schoolmaster of- the village ; he first studied pisciculture theoretically, and finally attempted some experiments, which were crowned with success. The inhabitants of the village anxiously but somewhat incredulously followed the different phases of the artificial hatching of fish-eggs, which went on under the most favorable condi- tions. The village became interested in these experiments, and several hundred francs were annually appropriated for aiding the schoolmaster in his enterprise. At the present day the river swarms with fish, and THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 515 according to the official report there are eiglity famiUes which live en- tirely off the fisheries. The first establishment which we visited in Switzerland is that of Dr. Yonga, a learned and conscientious man. Every pisciculturist knows Dr. Youga by reputation, and at the last scientific congress held at Lausanne a conference regarding his work was held, and was greatly appreciated by scientists. His method of artificial fecundation consists in placing the eggs in a vessel without water and then pouring in the milt. Of G,000 eggs which he thus fecundated last j-ear not one proved a failure. , The establishment of Dr. Youga has not yet been entirely organized, but it has already rendered excellent service^ and the river Keuss, which is farmed by' him, is now, through his- exertions, com- pletely stocked with fish. Mr. Hasler, of Interlachen, is an intelligent and practical maUj who by himself has learned all the secrets of pisciculture ; he makes many experiments on the nature of the water and its influence on the devel- opment of fish. His establishment is fed from a very pure spring and from the Lutschine, a stream formed by the glaciers of the Jungfrau. Mr. Hasler has carried on pisciculture" for four years only, and he pos- sesses the most remarkable specimens of fish, whicli he has bred dnd raised artificially. • The question of food constantly .occupies his atten- tion, and we believe that the system he has adopted, and which consists in putting the young fish in water which was but seldom renewed, allowing the iufusorire to develop, will prove very satisfactory in the end. The cantonal establishment at Zurich, located at Meilen, has been in operation for sixteen y^arsj it is destined to replenish the Lake of Zurich from the waters which feed it, and to improve the species found in that part of Switzerland. The government annually appropriates the sum of 3,000 francs for this establishment. Every year, in the mouth of October, the government orders the fish- ers to gather,, at the sources of the Ehine, salmon destined for. repro- duction. These salmon are placed five in a .cask filled with water and capable of holding from 400 to 500 liters, (87^ to 109 gallons.) They are sent to Zurich by railroad, and from there to Meilen by steamer. During the journey the water is renewed three times. At Meilen they are placed in water to await the time of maturity. In the reservoirs of the establishment very fine lake-trout are kept, with which a cross-breed is produced. The object of this crossing is to produce a variety of the salmon kind," having the shape and quality of the salmon, and preserving at the same time the habits of the trout, L e., it is desired to produce a stationary salmon, staying in the waters of the lake, without feeling the necessity of gx)ing into the sea. It is believed that this result has been obtained, and it is even thought that this cross-breed is capable of reproduction. The person who is at the head of this establishment has assured us that this is the case, and the experience of Mr. Samuel Chantran, of the College of France, has proved 516 REPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. it. The specimens shown to us were, without a single exception, very fine, and even if this were the only result obtained, it would be a great step toward improving the species. A million of young fish are every year thrown into the lake of Zurich, which, Avithout this iDrecaution, would not contahi a single trout -on account of tlie rapid increase of fish of prey, especially of pike. The establishment of Mr. Massart, of Berne, is one of the most com- plete and best organized which I have seen, and shows the great expe- rience of its proprietor in pisciculture. It is located on the banks of the river Aar, seven or eight kilometers (4 J to 5 miles) from Berne. The water which feeds the basins is of two kinds — spring water and river water; during summer the latter is used, becanse it is more abundant and carries with it more alimentary matter than spring water; it is besides just as fresh at this time of the year on account . of the snow melting in the mountains, which are very near. Spring water is used during winter and for hatching. The basins of the establishment are small but deep; the largest only measures 80 square meters and has a depth of perhaps 2 meters ; they are dng into the ground. Mr. Massart, like all pisciculturists who are obliged to experiment in order to learn, has, in the beginning, met with many failures; but by perseverance he has succeeded in averting the misfortunes which seemed especially to strike the young generations. It is well known that the most critical moment in breeding fish is that which follows immediately after the absorption of the umbilical bag. During this period, which lasts at least four to five months, the young fish are fre- quently attacked by what is commonly called malady of the gills, and at this moment the choice of food is a matter of the greatest importance. Mr. Massart places his young salmon, two weeks before the absorp- tion takes - place, into a large basin, which is not very deep, and but sparingly fed with water, and which remains almost entirely dry for seven or eight months of the year. During this time the infusorise have time to develop, and when the young fish are placed in the basin they there find a food which is suitable for their age. Mr. Massart actually raises 20,000 trout every jear, and besides fur- nishes the Prussian administration at Hiiningen with- millions of eggs, ■ which are from there sent to different parts of Enrope. Large numbers of white-fish live with the salmon, and serve them as food. Mr. Massart adds to this boiled corn made into a paste. It will scarcely be necessary to say that pike or perch, as soon as they show themselves in the waters of the establishment, are immediately killed. This piscicultural establishment is destined to a great development, and will render great service to the city of Berne. The government has given Mr. Massart the right of fishing at every season of the year, and keeps a close watch over his property. A neighbor, who was convicted of having taken two trout out of his basins, was arrested by the can- tonal police, and had to pay very dear for this transgression. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTUKE. 517 Since that time Mr.'Massart lias had nothing to fear from trespassers. Fishers Avho catch iish which have not yet attaiped their regnhir size must throw them into the basins of the establishment if they are alive ; if dead, they are confiscated and given as food to other fish. Mr. Massart has also made interesting experiments with a view of determining the influence of different waters on the development of fish. From the specimens which can be seen with him, one arrives at the conclusion that rapidity of current and fresh water are essential conditions for raising salmon. In concluding our Swiss review we must briefly mention the establish- ment of M. de Loes, at Aigle, in the canton of Vaud, and the measures which the cantonal government has taken for replenishing-their rivers. M. de Loes, like Dr. Youga, is a corresponding member of the Acclima- tization Society. His experience is very valuable, and the federal government hJis' understood this so well that it has intrusted to M. de Loes the entire administration of pisciculture in the canton ; and, thanks to his exertions, there will soon be no lack of fish in the lake of Geneva, in the river Ehone, and the rivers of the canton; At the request of M. de Loes, the government has established two fish-ponds at Lay, near the banks of the Ehone, where those fish are kept in reserve which are destined for reproduction. A government commissioner has to examine the fishing, and retains those fish which are to form part of this reserve. As fishing in this part of the river can only take. place during the spawning-season, since salmon and trout only come there at that period, suitable fish are easily selected. Later, these fish are returned to their owners, who would lose all their privileges if tliey would refuse to submit to this arrangement. This excellent idea, somewhat modified, has been i)ut into practice in two rivers of the canton of Vaud, the Thiele and the Arno, and the .persons who rent the fisheries are obliged every year to deposit some fecundated eggs in the fish-ponds established near each of these rivers. . M. de Loes is subject to tlie same conditions as regards the canal running parallel to the Ehone, in which he is authorized to fish during the whole season. His hatching-establishment is well organized, and enables him to fill all the orders sent to him. After having procured all the fish he wants, he places them in his basins, waiting for the moment favorable for reproduction. The eggs are then placed on aiU apparatus, which receives water from an excellent spring in th^mouutains. The hatching-process, which is always entirely successful, is conducted partly on sand and- partly on clay. The establishment for raising fish, located somewhat lower in the val- ley of the Ehone is fed from a very abundant spring, forming a brook, which M. de Loes has developed to the length of one kilometer, (f of a mile,) by making it twist several time« in a square, each sitle of which does not measure more than 100 meters, (328 feet.) Small lakes are 518 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. iirranged at certain intervals, and deep and well-sliaded holes serve as a place of refuge to large numbers of fish of everj^ <^ge. .The results obtained by M. de Loes are very remarkable; and this learned pisciculturist has not yet said his last word in the matter. From time to time piscicultural meetings are held in the cauton, in order to make known all the secrets of this new science,- which is des- tined to be of the greatest importance for Switzerland. We must con- fess wo would like to see this.practice introduced in France. Numeroussocieties have been formed, especially at Fribourg, through the exertion of M. de Boccard, and in the neighborhood of Aigle, of which I w411 speak in another place. 3.— Italy. The necessity for replenishing rivers has not.yiet been felt in Italy. as much as in other countries of Europe, This" country, on account of its geographical position, offers exceptionally fine opportunities for fishing, and the seas wliich surround it o]i nearly all sides supply all the wants, of its population. As in Switzerland, so there are also in Italy, many lakes containing various kinds of excellent fresh water, but Switzerland has no sea-fisliiug, possessing only its lakes, which would soon be ex- hausted if they were not constantly bein.g' replenished. The rivers and brooks of Italy are, with ifbw exceptions, dry during a great part of the year. Those water-courses which never dry up entirely experience such a large increase of water at the time wheii the snow melts, that it would be useless and even imprudent to found piscicultural establishments. They do to-day what they have done for centuries. At Venice as at Naples, nothing'is changed, iit Commachio the same plan is followed as that which has been s'o well described by M. Coste. In the cities of the Adriatic and the Mediterranean, Ancona, Beri, Brindisi, Givita-. Vecchia, Leghorn, Genoa, &c., the resources of the sea are inexhaust- ible. But it is none the less tru6 that the persons who are at the head of the administration fully understand the necessity of revising the fish-' ing laws, and a project for doing this will. soon be laid before the Italian Parliament. In Italy also the laws have become insufficient for i)rotecting the fish- eries ; and waste, the use of hurtful fishing instruments, and the conse- quent destruction W fish, have made protective measures necessary. There is only one step from this to understand the necessity of replen- ishing those rivers Mhich offer favorable conditions for so doing; and sooner or later the government will be obliged to interfere in the mat- ter. 4. — Austria. Artificial pisciculture has only been introduced -into Austria during the last eight years. The imperial government has taken the initiatory stepjj by founding on its domains hatching-establishments from which THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 519 « every year mauy tliousands of young fish are supplied to' the lakes and neighbgriug rirers. The first establishment was that of. Salzburg, founded in 18G5., The governmeut at first granted it a considerable annual subsidy, but for the last three years it ha-s been able to cover its expenses, hy raising from 10,000 to 15,000- young fish, and sending 3,000,000 of fecundated e'ggs to the different provinces of Austria, to Switzerland, Holland, and even to nUuiugen. At i)resent every province of the empii-e possesses its own piscicultu- ral establishment. . . . - In upper Austria two' societies have been formed, one at Linz in 1870, and the other at Ische in 18GG ; the former numbering 93 members,- and the latter 29. ' . ■ In the province of Salzburg the society has the namo.of " Central In- stitute of Artificial Pisciculture," and numbers 96' members. In Tyrol a society was formed in 1869, consisting of 9 members ; and another at Tarbole in 1873, numbering 42 members. In Bohemia a society has been formed at N^chod, numbering 43 mem bers. In the province of Bukowina a society is being organized under the direction of 31. L. Licdes, and the minister of agriculture has just granted him the sum of 800 florins. We must here also mention the piscicultural establishments of the Princes Schwarzeuberg, who have sent a number of specimens to thei Vienna Exposition ; the establishment of Baron Washington, the larg- est pisciculturist of Austria, at Wildon near Graz ; and M. Pammer at Graz, who furnishes tbe river Murr with fish. The Saliiburg establishment, the largest of all, has been founded on the plan of the one at THiuingen. The hatching apparatus of the College of France is used in a somewhat improved shape. Tiiese apparatus hatch eveiy year 3,500,000 eggs. ♦• The establishment is located near the imperial castle at Salzburg, at the foot of the Alps, only two and a half miles from the city. The basins to the number of fifteen are all fed by spring-water ; they are partly covered so as to afford places of refuge for the young fish • The spring is in the house of watchmen and in the very place wherg the hatching takes place ; a large basin of this fresh water surrounds the house, and in this. those fish are kept which are destined for repro- duction. The other basins, in which there are fish of every age,- are com - paratively small; that in which 20,000'young fish have been pTaced this year is only 2^ meters long, (nearly 4 feet,) 1 meter 20 centimeters broad, (about 3f feet,) and 35 centimeters (about li feet) deep. Two other basins are reserved, one foi* carp and the other for aquarium, fish, which increase with an almost incredible rapidity, and being in proportion to the size of the establishment, whose area is about 30,000 square meters. The food consists of white-fish and horse-flesh ; 'and at the expense of about 2.J francs per day, 30,000 fish of all sizes are fed. 620 eeport' of commissioner of fish and fisheries. 5. — Munich. Bavaria has not remained bebindbaud, and pisciculture, "wbicb num- bers many experts in that country, has made considerable progress. The fishing laws are very rigorous, but are very little regarded. The public markets are under strict superintendence, and considerable fines are imposed on those who repeatedly transgress the laws. The craw- fish is numbered among that kind of fish whose capture is prohibited during the spawning season;* females bearing eggs must again be thrown into the water, and none can be taken before they have reached their full size. There are at Munich different establishments, that of M. Kiiffer afford- ing great interest on account of the simplicity of its arrangement, the small space it occupies, and the great results obtained. I have there seen more than 200 trout, two years old, weighing on an average 350 to 450 grams (somewhat more or less than 1 pound troy) in a single stone vat 1^ meters long, (almost 5 feet,) 75 ceiltimeters (2J feet) broad, and 60 centimeters (about If feet) deep, . In another compartment 2J meters (about 8 feet) long, 1^ meters (alm'ost 5 feet) broad, there are more than 6,000 crawfish, the finest of which weigh 250 grams (3,750 grains) aud'more. Salmon to the number of six, and weighing on an average 10 to 12 .kilograms (about 25 to 30 pounds,) are packed so closely in one of these small vats, that it is impossible for them to turn round; yet they do not seem to suffer from this position, which they have occupied for a long time. These remarkable results have been obtained by constantly reuewing the water, and by providing good and abundant food. The experiments of M. Kiiffer have been specially directed to the acclimatization of the Salmo hncJw, a variety of salmon which is peculiar to the waters of Bavaria, and which after the experiments made by the College of France could easily be acclimatized in France. This fish, which to the characteristics of -the salmon adds the station- ary habits of the trout develops in a very short time ; it can be accli- matized in every water, and does not suffer from a change of tempera- ture ; it is easily fed with white-fish and salt horse-flesh, after a new system which has stood the test of experience." M. Kiiffer carries on all his hatching-operations on sand. In Bavaria I have made some observations which deserve attention. A number of species which serve as food, and which are very scarce in France and Switzerland, are very common in the lakes and rivers of Bavaria; carp, pike, and i^erch are almost given away in the Munich market. The' question is naturally asked, why have those Bavarians who occupy themselves fo much with pisciculture not endeavored to de- stroy the pike and perch, which are the sharks of the fresh water f I have learned the following regarding this matter. The pike and perch live THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 521 in rivers where tliere are no fisli of the sahnon kiufl, but only white- fish; and on the other hand, fish of the salmon kind, live in water which contains neither pike nor perch, but white-fish, on which they feed. Unfortunately, this is not the case in France, where fish of prey are found in all the riverg, which to a'great extent depopulates them. The necessity of a good law regulating the raising of these species is being more and more felt as an essential condition for successful pisciculture. In France, we must confess, there has recently been a time when but little was done ; this time has been filled, it is true, by the progress of some establishments founded in the Puy-de-D6me, in the Pyrenees, in Creuse, in- Savoy by M. Costa Bauregard, in the department of Haute- Vienue, &c., and by the interesting publications of De la Blanchere, Haso, Millet, Jourdier, Wallon, Koltz, Oarbonnier, Chabot, Maslieurat^ the Viscount of Beaumont, Lamy, Chenu, Blanchard, and the various communications made to ^he Academy of Sciences, &c., besides the societies of oyster cultivators which have been formed, and whose serv- ices will be appreciated at no distant period. Several general conferences have favored private enterprise by extend- ing financial aid; this ought to be followed up, and new resources should be given to France. The essential point, as M. Coste has shown, is to preserve by artificial fecundation that innumerable quantity of eggs which are lost before being hatched, or in an embryonic state. In order to carry on these experiments on a large scale and to furnish an abundant supply of this " manna" to serve as food for the human race, the government ought to found four large establishments, in the four principal basins of France, into which the rivers of our country are divided, and which would develop 'pisciculture to its greatest possible degree. A committee appointed by the government and composed of experts and engineers should examine the rivers, and in each basin designate the most favorable place. These establishments would afford the advantage of replenishing the rivers of the country with those species of fish that could live there, and would endeavor to acclimatize those species which on account of the changes of temperature are not accustomed to live in our climate. These studies might be accompanied by experiments with apparatus and the different systems of raising fish, and all these different experiments should be under the control of the College of France. The programme should embrace the influence of the nature of the water on the develop- ment and acclimatization of different species, experiments which are im- Ijossible in laboratories, which are generally only supplied with water of one kind ; the different systems of food should also be studied. The administration of bridges "and roads would, on account of its admirable organization, be naturally destined to be at the head of this whole under- taking and superintend it. 522 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. The reason that France has not advanced so rapidly in pisciculture as one had the right to expect after the conviucihg experiments of M. Coste, is that great ignorance prevails regarding the means to be em- ployed. Many well-meaniug persons have made and are makiug experi- ments yielding only a partial result. This is very obvious ; not knowing the well-known processes, they are obliged to try everything, to learn everything, and to do a great deal by guess-work ; those who are* not discouraged after experimenting for two years, do not always possess the means to meet the new expenses which would be required. If they could acquire the knowledge they are in want of in model-schools of pis- ciculture, such as these four great establishments mentioned above would be, in the same way as the agricultural farm-schools, they would be sure to succeed, and would not shrink from sacrifices for which they would most. assuredly in the end reap their reward. These model-schools would doubtless be a great success and would greatly increase the resources of France. _ / 6. — THE GEEAT BASINS OF FRANCE. The basin of the Seine, which measures 4,327,000 hectares, (10,817,500 acres,) on an area of 800 kilometers, (500 miles,) and which is watered by the Aiibe, the Marne, the Oise, the Yonne, the Eure, &c,, offers a most favorable location for the first of these establishments, viz, the basin "of Settons, located in Morvau, and proposed by M. Coste, In the basin of theLoire,. which- comprises one-fourth of France, and whose principal tributaries, the Mayenne, the Sarthe, the Allier, the Cher, the Indre, and the Vienne, traverse more than 1,100 kilometers, (687 miles) it would be easy to place a second piscicultural establish- ment, either between Orleans and Tours, or near Clermont-Ferrand and the neighboring lakes, especially Lake Pavin, called the "Dead Sea" of Auvergue. The third establishment should be placed in the basin of the Garonne, the Dordogne, and the Gifonde, to which the secondary basins of the Charente and the Adonr would belong. As regards the basin of the Rhone, whose course in France is 520 kilometers, (325 miles,) the fourth establishment ought to be placed above the junction of the Ehone and the Saone. The fera, {Coregonus /era,) found in large numbers in the Lake of Geneva, through which the Ehone flows, could be acclimatized in the waters of Bourget, or in the lakes near the Puy-de-D6me. What a fine field for experiments could be opened to human industry in France, and what immense resources could be opened for supplying the people with food! The following conclusion is easily reached: By the side of the labora- tory of comparative embryogeny of the College of France, from which most of the physiological prizes come which are given by the Academy of Sciences, the Laboratory of Pisciculture is placed, which, up to the THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 52.3 present time, has always given information and advice, and wliicli pop- ularizes the progress which science makes every year. The four establishments which we desire to see founded would -not cost more than the single establishment at Huningue, and would spread a knowledge of and a taste for pisciculture ; it would be their duty to apply practically all the discoveries which have been made ,* they would spread life and abundance in the four great basins of France ; they would greatly develop the river-fisheries, and would create the necessary reg- ulations; they would replenish with fish the Seine, the. Loire, the Gar- onne, the Rhone, and their tributaries; they would point oul the species most suitable for each part of ihe country, and would open out vast resources, of private industry by the founding of smaller establishments. This is th-e object we aim at, with good chances for success, and which we will doubtless obtain if the government will -aid tis in our eiforts. D— THE PROGEBSS OF FISH-GULTUEE IN THE UXITED STATES. By James W. .Milnee. 1.— THE IMETHODS EMPLOYED IN FISH-.CULTURE. There are three methods in use for the increase of fishes ; the first two employed from a very early day, and the other of quite recent origin. As all- of these methods have been apj)lied in the United States we will consider them in order. The first is the transfer of living fishes from their natural haunts to new waters, or to a confined area in their own stream, lake, or arm of the sea, where they are either left to de- pend on such food as the water may afford, or else are supplied with it from elsewhere. The second method is the gathering of eggs naturally impregnated and deposited, and placing them in ponds or streams, or caring for them during the period of incubation in suitably-arranged aj^paratus. The third method, and the one by which the more important .results have been attained, consists, primarily, in the artificial fecundation of the ova, (expressing the eggs and milt from ripe fishes together in a vessel ;) and secondly, in caring for them in suitably-dcTised apparatus through the egg-stage, and as far along during the embrj'ouic life of the fish as their welfare requires, when they may either be turned out to shift for themselves, or else kept in i^roperly-arranged ponds or other- wise, and fed as occasion requires for an indefinite period of time. It has been quite a usual habit in writing on the subject of fish culture to attribute the origin of tbe art to the Chinese, and many have been led to believe from the frequent assertions to that effect that the artificial fecundation of fish eggs was practiced by the Chinese, who 524 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONEK OF FISH AND FISHERIES. thus anticipated tlie Europeans. The principal data relating to fish propagation in China ar6 to be found in the publications of the Societe WaccUmatation of FraucCj and in a large work published in Paris in 1872 entitled '■'■La pisciculture et al peche en Ghine,^^ by P. Dabry de Thiersant, witli an ^^Introduction snr la pisciculture chez les divers peu- ples,'^ by Dr. J. L. Soubeiran. A "History of the Chinese Empire," by Father Duhalde, a Jesuit missionary, also contains a reference to pisci- culture. Special inquiries have also been made by Mr. George Shepard Page, of New York, through^ the State Department, and satisfactorily answered. All authorities agree with reference to the antiquity of the practice by the Chinese of the first two methods described, but no evidence is pro- duced that they have now or ever had any knowledge of artificial fecundation of the' eggs of fishes as employed by Europeans. At the present day a certain class of the Chinese devote their time at the proper season of the year to the capture of quantities of embryo fishes, which are carried to ponds, streams, and lakes, and turned loose in their waters to increase their stock of fishes. These embryos are found in holes orpookets in the beds^of the rivers, and are obtained by divers. Ova are also obtained in large quantities in the rivers, by straining the current through nets or mats, and intercepting the eggs as they are carried' down stream. 2. — TRANSFER OF LIVING FISHES. The pilce or piclcerel. — The transfer of fishes early gained the at- tention of the people in this country as well as in Europe, and it is a singular coincidence that in Central Europe as well as in different parts of the United States the same species, the lake pike, or pickerel, {Esox luchis,) received favor in this direction, both countries having afterwards had reason to regret its distribution. This fish, the merits of which are sometimes defended in regions where it is the principal species, is not only very destructive of other fishes, but is of indifferent flavor and full of bones. In Maine, IsTew Hampshire, and other States its introduction is now regarded as a mistaken enterprise, and the same expressions of regret that are found in the rej^orts of the fish commissioners of some of the States, at its distribution in the waters, occur in papers on the fishery interests of Germany, and in certain English publications. The disposition to introduce this species into new waters has been rec- ognized, and its fatal error is so well understood that in some of the States laws have been enacted inflicting a fine upon any one convicted of hav- ing introduced the pickerel into waters where it does not exist. TJie musTiclhmge. — About 1840 this species [Esox nohilior) was placed in a pond near Bellows Falls, Vermont^ from which it escaped into the Connecticut River, and has maintained its presence ever since. THE HISTOEY OF FISH-CULTURE. 525 Tlie hJaclc hass and Osicego bass. — The fisli that before the days of artificial fecuudatiou of fish eggs have been i^erhaps the most exten- sively introduced are the black basses of the species Mic^'opterus sal- moides and the Micropteriis nigi'icans ; the former being the one better adapted for clear streams and lakes, and the latter for grassy and com- paratively shallow lakes and ponds. Mr. Thaddeus iSTorris relates in his volume' on American angling that when a boy he knew of the stock- ing of a pond in the vicinity of Eichmond, Ya., with the black bass, {Mlcropterus salmoides.) Among numerous records of their introduction, in very few instances discriminating properly between the two species, we give the following : In 1850 twenty-seven live bass were brought by Mr. Samuel Tisdale, of East Wareham, Mas 5., from Saratoga Lake and put into Flax Lake, near his home. In the years 1851 and 1852, others were brought to the number of two hnndred and reared in ponds in the vicinity. The matter was kept quiet and fishing discour- aged for fiv« years, when the fish were found to have increased very rapidly. Some twenty-five ponds were stocked in the same county after Mr. Tisdale had initiated the experiment. Afterward black bass from Mr. Tisdale's ponds were supplied to a lake in Xew Hampshire in 1867, and to waters in Connecticut and Massachusetts. In 1866 the Cuttyhuuk Club, of Massachusetts, introduced the black bass into a pond in their grounds. In the year 1869 the commissioners of the State, together with private parties, stocked several x^onds and the Concord Kiver with black bass, and in the following year other waters were stocked. In Connecticut, in the winter of 1852-'53, the black bass was introduced into Waramang Lake, in Litchfield County. They were brought from a small lake in Dutchess County, New York. A few years later they were said to have increased greatly. Another lake in the same county was stocked not long afterward. Saltonstall Lake, near Xew Haven ; East Hampton Pond, in Chatham ; Winsted Pond, in Winchester, and many ponds and lakes of the State, l^articularly in the northwest portion, were stocked with the black bass l)revious to the year 1807. In the years 1869, 1870, 1871, and 1872, thirty-seven lakes and ponds in different parts of the State were supplied with black bass. As early as 1864 or 1805 black bass had been put into Rust's Pond, near Wolf borough, New HamiDshire; in 1868 a few were brought to Charlestown and lakes Massabesic, Sunapee, Pennacook, and Echo, and Enfield, Wilson's, and Cocheco Ponds were well stocked ; in 1870 and 1871 the New Hampshire commissioners introduced tlie black bass from Lake Champlain into the waters of the State at Meredith, Canaan, Webster, Canterbury, Harrisville, Munsortville, Hillsborough, War- ner, Sutton, New Loudon, Andover, Loudon, Concord, and in Croy- don. In Massabesic and Sunapee Lakes, where they had been intro- duced, in 1868 and 1869, they were found to have increased, and, on the authority of Dr. W. W. Fletcher, they have become exceedingly nu- merous in Sunapee Lake. 526 EEPGET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHEllIES. The commissioners of tbe State of Ebocle Island, since 1870, have stocked thirty ponds or small lakes in different parts of the State with the black bas^s. In Maine, in tbe fall of 1869, the State commissioners and the Oquossoc Angling Association introdncedfrom IsTewburgh, N. Y., ^ quantity of black bass. The water's of Duck Pond, at Falmoutb ; Fitz Pond, in Dedham ; Newport and Phillips Ponds, Oochnewagan Pond in Monmouth ; Cob- bosseecontee Lake, in Winthrop and adjoining towns, were stocked, and a few years afterward were reported to have increased largely in numbers. Since the year 1871 black bass {Microi^terus salmoides) and Osweg, bass {Micropterus nigricans) have been put into seventy lakes, ponds, or streams of the State of New York by the commissioners. They had made their way of their own accord through the canals connecting Lake Erie with the Hudson into that stream. Private citizens of Pennsylvania introduced the black bass {^licrop- terus salmoides) into* the Susquehanna about 1809, at Harrisburg. In 1873 the tributaries of the Susquehanna, the Potomac, and Delaware Eivers were supplied with black bass by the commissioners at thirty- five different points. ' In the year 1854 Mr. William Shriver, of W heeling, Va., planted in the canal basin at Cumberland) Va., his former home, a number of the black bass, [Micfopterus salmoides ;) from the basin they escaped into the Potomac River, where they have increased immensely at the present day. They were moved from the waters of the Ohio River to their new locality in the tank of a locomotive. Numerous cases have also occurred of transfer from one locality in the Southern States to another. There have been very many transfers of these valuable species that have not been recorded, as they are easily kept alive while being moved from one place to another, and propagate surely and rapidly in ponds, lakes, and rivers. These details are given because they show the facility with which comparatively barren waters may be stocked to a considerable extent with good food-fishes, and they exhibit the general interest and attention that have been given to this mode of propagation. The wall-eyed or glass-eyed pilce. — The wall-eyed pike [Stizostedium amerimnum) is another species that has received favor for this purpose. It is a fine-flavored fish, somewhat predatory in its habit, and not so generally adaptable to waters of all characters as the black bass. In" the great lakes and rivers, where it finds a favorable home, it multiplies to a much greater extent than the latter species. It had been introduced In some of the lakes of New Hampshire, New York, and other States. The eel. — The eel, {Anguilla hostoniensis,) appreciated in some localities and much vilified in others, is another species that has been frequently transplanted. It is pretty evident that it never existed naturally in the THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 527 cliain of great lakes any liigher up than Niag;ara Falls, altliongh speci- mens have been taken in Lakes Erie and Michigan. Their existence there is with little doubt traceable to artificial transportation. A captain of a lake- vessel informed' me that it was quite a common thing, some years ago, to carry a quantity of live eels in a tub on the deck of a vessel while on Lake Ontario, and thiey were often taken in this manner through the Welland Canal. He said that it was a fre- quent occurrence on his vessel when they had become tired of them, or had procured better fishes, to turn the remainder alive into the waters of Lake Erie. In 1S71 iMr. A. Booth, a large dealer of Chicago, had an eel of four pounds weight sent him from the south end of Lake Michigan, and a few weeks afterward a fisherman of Ahneepee, Wis., nearly two hundred miles to the northward, wrote him that he had taken a few eels at that point. It was a matter of interest to account for their presence, and a long time afterward we learned that some parties at Eaton Eapids, Mich., on a tributary of the lake, had imported a number of eels and put them in the stream at that place, from which they had doubtless made their way to the points where they tvere taken. The unfortunate aqitarium-car in June, 1873, by meaiis of the acci- dent that occurred at Elkhorn Eiver, released a number of eels into that stream, and about four thousand were placed by the United States commission in the Calumet Eiver at South Chicago, 111., two hundred in D.ead Eiver, Waukegan, 111., and three thousand eight hundred in Fox Eiver, Wisconsin. " The aleicife. — The ale wife {PomohMs pseudoharengus) has in numer- ous instances been largely multiplied by carrying the parent-fish above the dams that i^revented access to their favorite spawning-grounds, or even to new waters. According to General Lincoln, an experiment of this kind was made successfully as long ago as 1750. This has been a common practice in the shorter rivers on the Massachusetts coast, gen- erally with good results. The smelt. — The introduction of the smelt {Osmerus mordax) into new streams and lakes has been attempted by New Hampshire and Mas- sachusetts. In New Hami)shire three lakes were stocked in 1871, and in Massachusetts it is said that Jamaica Pond was stocked near the close of the last century, and that they have existed there ever since, without access to the sea. In 18G9 they were introduced by the com- missioners into Flax Pond, in Wareham. The ichite fish. — Mr. L.. J. Farwell, of Madison, Wis., formerly governor of the State, transferred in 1854 a number of white fishes, {Coregonus albus,) together with the brook-trout, (Salmo fontmalis,) to the lakes around Madison. As the white-fish are only taken with nets their pres- ence .in the lake was only manifested when suitable, nets were made use of. Elizabeth Lake, in Oakland County, Michigan, was stocked with this 528 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. species many years ago, and it has since increased to a very large extent, and affords a considerable income to the owners of the property on the lake who control the fisheries. The salmon or lake trout. — A considerable number of this species, {Salmo namaycusli,) obtained in Lake Ontario was introduced into Newfound Lake, New Hampshire, in 1871, by the State commissioner. In 18GG a number of land-locked salmon, {Salmo sehago,) had been brought to this lake from the St. Croix River. The hrooJc-trout. — The brook- trout, {Salmo fontinalis,) the favorite of anglers, ha«, of course, received much attention in this direction. There are numerous instances related of their being introduced into new waters from neighboring streams. Even in the interior of the coun- try they have been transferred southward among the drift ridges and prairies from the more northern rocky streams of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Generally this has been done for the purpose of stock- ing breeding-establishments. A stream at Lake Forest, in Northern Illinois, flowing from an arte- sian well, was supplied with live trout brought from Wisconsin, biit none of them lived, probably because of the high temperature of the water. The distribution of this species from breeding-establishments has been very extensive. .3. — THE TRANSFER OF NATURALLY-DEPOSITED EGGS. Spawning races. — Of the second method there has been comparatively little application in the United States. The experiments in hatching black bass by placing the pairs in a box similar to the one used by Lund in 1760, and the methods employed f©r obtaining trout-spawn originated by Ainsworth and Collins, are of this character. The simple apparatus employed by Mr. Ainsworth was merely an ad- justable section in a narrow raceway constructed in such a situation as would induce the trout to enter from the deeper water for the purpose of digging their nests. A screen of coarse-wire cloth covered loosely with gravel constituted a false bottom to this box, through which the eggs, on emission, fell to the real bottom below. The Collins apparatus was an improved modification of this principle, inasmuch as it obviated the necessity of disturbing any portion of the raceway, the eggs falling through the upper screen upon a revolving apron, or wide belt of wire cloth beneabh, when, by turning the drums on which it rolled, the eggs were carried to one end, and fell over into pans placed to Catch them. The greater percentage of fertile eggs from artificial impregnation has induced, in later years, very little use of these methods, except where it is regarded as desirable to avoid the cold and often severe exposure to the person impregnating eggs in cold weather. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 629 Hatching from the offal of dead fishes. — There exists qnite a prevalent notion that the stock of fishes may be protected from diminution to a considerable extent by returning the oft'al from fishes dressed for salt- ing, containing the ov^aries and spermaries, to the waters from whence the fishes are taken. This is done to a large extent at Sandusky, Ohio, on Lake Erie, where the white-fish {Coregomis albus) is taken in large numbers in the spawning-season, and the fishing-grounds are so- far off from the curing-houses that but little damage is done by the presence of the decaying matter. That the ova from fishes dead for a short period of time may be fertil- ized and hatched has been proven by experiment by embryologists and fish-culturists. Jacob), in his early experiments, found that young fishes could be developed from the eggs and milt of fishes recently dead. M. de Quatrefages, in referring to the fertilization of fishes, says the fecundation should follow soon upon the death of the male fish, and the second clause of his directions saj'S, " Since the fecundation should take place within a day or twelve hours after the death of the fish, the spawn should then be taken." In Carl Yogt's essay on artificial fish-breeding he says, in speaking of the fertilizing power of the spermatozoa : " At low temperatures this power is retained for hours and even days if the milt remains in the organs by which it is secreted. In the Lake of ISTeufchatel (Switzerland) the palee, {Coregonus palea,) a fish of the trout family, is taken, during the winter months, by night or at suuset.- I have often received these fish stiff-frozen, and succeeded perfectly in impregnating spawn with the milt taken from the genitals of the male the day after." On page 497 of this report is a reference to the success the Eussian fish-cnlturists have had in hatching the eggs from dead females impreg- nated with the milt from dead males, the claim being made that the milt retains its vitality for a long time if left within the reproductive organs. Mr. Atkins (see pp. 285-'86) gives the percentage of eggs fecundated taken from dead females, as follows : From a salmon that had been dead two hours, at .58^ ; of eggs from two dead females, at .67^ ; of eggs from two dead females, at .35; of eggs from dead fish, .92^; of eggs from dead fish, .30; of eggs taken from dead fish the day before, .12^ ; of eggs taken on November 11 from specimens killed on the 9th, .0 ; from a fish that had been dead fifteen hours, .0. The experiments with eggs from live females, to which the milt from dead males was applied, gave the following results : Female ripe and good, milt, about a teaspoonful, from a dead fish taken before the eggs, .2^ ; eggs kept in a pan without water thirty hours, milt from a male that had been dead two days, .0 ; from eggs kept the same length of time, treated with fresh milt, .87^-; eggs kept without water four days, milted with milt from dead fish, .0; eggs kept four days without water, then milted with new milt, .12 J. S. Mis. 74 34 530 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONEE OF FISH AND FISHERIES. The iudicatious from these few experinieuts are that the eggs retain their vital powers much, louger thau the milt witbiu the dead bodies of the fish. The experience of fisli cultiirists is certainly iu favor of the immediate use of the milt from the liviug male fish, their experiments indicating that the vitality of tlie milt continues for but a few minutes when diluted with water, and even undiluted its certainty of effect rapidly decreases to zero. That eggs and milt retain sufficient vitality when removed from fishes but a short time dead to produce a liviug embryo may be true, but there is also quite a possibility that there would be less vigor in the embryos and in the growing fish thau iu the case of eggs and milt from a live fish. Oue of the investigators of the incipient embryonic developmeuty studying the process in the amphibia,* as one of his conclusions, makes the following statement: "Partial impregnation is shown in imperfect segmentation of the yelk, and is due to the spermatozoa being insuffi- cient in quantity, or in duration of contact, or inefficient through dimin- ished vitality; and it may also result from diminished susceptibility in the ovum." It will readily be admitted that some of these unfavorable conditions are very liable to occur when the spermatozoa or ova from dead fishes are used. The small per cent, of fishes produced from a quantity of eggs where there is the slightest lapse of care and attention on the part of the breeder is convincing evidence to all who have had even a slight ex- perience that no large results could be expected from this practice. Where the fishes are taken near the curing-houses and are dressed within a short time after death, in all probability a small portion of the ripe, eggs would develop into fishes ; but iu localties where many of the fisheries are situated, the fishing-grounds are so far away that the fish are dead for several hours before they reach the shore, and the per- centage of fishes produced from the si^awn would be very small, if any- thing. 4. — ARTIFICIAL FECUNDATION. Introductory remarks. — The evidences advanced to prove a knowledge of the third method referred to, before the time of Jacobi, are not, so far, sufficiently definite, and the data produced by Baron de Montgau- dry to show that Dom Piuchou was the inventor of the art, iu so far as it involves artificial fecundation, are very unsatisfactory.! The description he gives of the apparatus proves Dom Pinchou's process iu caring for the eggs during the period of development to have beeu the * On the Impregnation of the Ovum in the Amphibia, arid the direct agency of the spermatozoon ; Proc. Roy. Soc. June 17, 1852; George Newport, F. R. S., &c. t Bulletin de la Soci6t6 Zoologique d'Acclimatatix)u. Fondoe le 10 Fevrier, 1854. Tome premier. Paris, 1854, p. 80. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 531 orig'iual of the trongli metliod. Tiie manner of procuring' of the eggs is not referred to ; he merely explains how he prepared the bed of sand upon which to deposit the eggs which he had previously made fecund.* The baron based his statements upon the manuscript found at Eeome, without quoting from it, and leaves his readers in ignorance as to whether the mode of obtaining the eggs is described in the original. In the absence of any publication of the manuscript the only data to support the claim are the statements made by Baron Montgaudry and the reference in a foot-note of Jules Haime's paper on pisciculture (see page 472) to the method employed for obtaining the eggs ; this informa- tion on the subject afforded b^^ Baron Montgaudry, and referred to in the foot-notes, was probably imparted in conversation, as there is no record of it in the papers published in the Bulletin or in the report of the P races- verba ux des seances of the society from the time of Mout- gaudry's references to Dom Pinchon to the date of publication of Jules Haime's paper. The publication of the manuscript, if it is still in existence, would clear up the uncertainty and afford a definite record for the history of this important advance in the art of fish culture. To J. L. Jacobi, lieutenant of Lippe-Detmold, a German principality, belongs the credit of discovering and making public in a journal pub- lished in Hanover in 1763, the methods in the art of fish culture now used in modified and improved form. The description of his box -accords in general form and proportions with the trough in modern use. It was 12 feet long, 6 inches deep, and 18 inches wide. It lacked the cleat partitiou& now used that divide the troughs into nests, the eggs being sheltered from the force of the current by hollows and cavities in the bed of gravel in which they collected. The water supplied to the trough flowed through a screen or grate of brass wire, and the outlet was guarded by a similar screen. T-iie screens would be considered of rather large mesh for use in the hatching estab- lishments of the .present, as they were about eight wires to the inch. Jacobi regarded covers to the troughs as a necessity, but not for the purpose they are now deemed essential. There is no evidence from his letter that any building or roof was thought of in connection with liis troughs, and tight covers were necessary to protect the ova from their natural enemies, the one he most dreaded being the water shrew ; this use of a screen under the supply- stream being more with regard to pro- tection from this animal than for the purifying of the water. Spring- water from a rocky, pebbly locality he considers to be the best. The supply of water to each trough, he asserts, should be an outflow of a pii)e one inch square, with one or two feet head, and should * II prdparait une legere profondeur dans la couche de sable pour ddposor les ccufs, qu'il avait pr^alablemeut fait fdcou'der. 532 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. cover the gravel one or two inches deep. In tbe use of several troughs he x^rovides for a main pipe, conducted across the head of the troughs, with outflows into each. "This done, you have all the apparatus neces- sary for breeding trout and salmon." Jacobi understood that only a small quantity of the milt was necessary, because it contained vast numbers of the spermatozoa, and would fertilize a large number of eggs. His manipulation of the male and female trout, stirring the milt through the eggs, and the addition of fresh water after impregnation of the eggs, is very similar to modern practice. The necessity of sepa- rating the eggs in the troughs was well understood, though, instead of a feather, he, by means of a thin paddl<^ of wood, produced an eddy iu the water that spread the eggs over a larger surface. The fine, downy fringe of the conferva growth was a difficulty he had to contend with as well as modern workers iu the art, and the little trout of ancient times had the same tendency to hide themselves in the gravel when young that they do at this day. His gratings did not prevent the egress of the young fishes, and he provided them with nurseries at the end of the troughs. Monstrosities, iu the shape of double-headers, he seems to have been familiar with, and found them short-lived. Jacobi seems to have been a man of intelligence and application. Some of his conclusions, however, have since been entirely disproveu by investigators in embryology. The progress made iu the methods and' apparatus of fish culture has been very great, as the result of the experience of many experts, and in certain lines is entirely new and novel ; but the present graveled trough method for hatching trout and salmon is only an improved modification of the boxes and troughs used by Dom Pinchon and Jacobi. The necessity of filtering the water through screens, the advantage aftorded by dividing the troughs into nests, by means of cleats, so that the bed of gravel may be kept level, and i^revent the tendency of the eggs to collect iu heaps, the shutting out of light from the eggs, the immense reduction of loss from the removal of dead eggs and fungus growth, the transportation of partly-developed eggs, and feeding young fish with prepared food, were all entirely unknown to the earlier authors; as also the numerous improvements in the mauipulations, the guard- ing against the ills incident to the eggs and young fishes, that have grown up in the experiences of the numerous workers in the art. Jacobi, indeed, does not seem to have carried forward his discovery to any ex- tensive practical result, although an establishment at Nortelem was sustained for a short time, and the English government had sufficient appreciation of his work to afford him a pension. xldanson, in a course of lectures delivered in Paris in 1772, made the statement to his. auditors that the art of fish culture was prosecuted with success on the river Weser, in the Palatinate of the Ehine, and iu some of the higher mountainous portions of Germany. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. b66 The Abbe Spallanzani, au Italiau, in 1768, employed artificial fecun- dation in his studies of the embryology of the frog, and Monro liusconi, also an Italian, in 1824, artiticuilly fecundated and hatched the eggs of a cyprinoid fisb, the tench {Tinea vulgaris) while prosecuting investiga- tions in embryology. In 1837 John Shaw practiced the art with tlie salmon in the river Mth of Scotland, and made use of his experience to extend the knowl- edge relating to the growth and development of the young salaiou. Joseph Remy, a fisherman of the department of the Vosges, France, discovered and applied, about 1842,* the methods of artificial fecunda- tion on the trout. Afterward uniting with him Antoine Gehin, they continued the work with ample success in the rivers of their region. It was from the work of Remy and Gehin that the great impetus and ex- tended efforts in fish-(;ulture had an origin, when it had been brought to the notice of the world by the French scientists. The artificial i)ropagatiou of fishes is now extensively practiced in Great Britain, France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Germany, Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain, in Canada and in our own country, while India, Java, Australia, and Tasmania have instituted investigations by fishery commissioners and have imported valuable species of food-fishes. In the United States the first published record of an experiment in artificial fecundation was made by the late Rev. John Bachman, D. D., the naturalist, of Charleston, S. 0., who was associated with Audubon in his work on the quadrupeds of North America.t In 1855 he read a paper before the State Agricultural Society, at Columbia, S. C, describing his successes when a boy, in the year 1804, in impregnating and hatching the ova of the corjjoral., probably the Semotilus corporalis, (known in Pennsylvania as the fall fish,) and of the trout, {Salmo fontinalis.) In his paper he states that the eggs of both species were artificially fecundated and hatched, and that the trout attained some growth while confined in the ponds he had constructed. The trout was the fish selected in the United States from the first as the favorite for artificial culture. In 1853 Theodatus Garlick, M. D., and Prof H. A. Ackley, of Cleveland, Ohio, incited by their knowledge of the interesting results of the fish-culturists in France, began an exper- iment with the brook-trout, ( Salmo fontinalis,) in which they were quite successful. In 1857 Dr. Garlick published a treatise on artificial propa- gation of fishes, appearing first in a series of numbers of the Ohio Farmer, and afterward gathered into a volume. | * See the foot-note referring to the claim of Gottlieb Boccius, to have preceded Remy in the practice of artificial fecundation, on page 477. tThe Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, by John James Audubon, F. R. S., and the Rev. John Bachman, D. D. New York: Published by J, J. Auduljon, 184b, 4to, t See title at foot of page 536. 534 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. To these gentlemen shonld be ascribed the merit of inaugurating" the interest in fish-culture in this country. Mr. E. C. Kellogg, of Hartford, Conn,, and Mr. D. W. Chapman, of New York, began breeding operations at Simvsbury, Conn., as early as 1855, and published their results before the Connecticut State Agricul- tural Society in 1856. . A number of trout were captured and confined, the eggs fecundated and placed in boxes with gravel on the bottoms, through A^hich a stream of water was led. At this first attempt seventy- five trout were hatched ; some of them were taken from the pond the next season. In 1856 Mr. Kellogg's efforts were not very encourag- ing, because, as he believed, the eggs were not sufficiently mature, and arrangements for hatching in the cellar of his house at Hartford were imperfect. In 1857, with the apparatus in his cellar, and using water from the regular city supply, he hatche^ four hundred trout. In 1859 Colonel Colt, of revolver fame, made very complete arrangements for trout-hatching, of which Mr. Kellogg took charge, and about four thou- sand eggs were impregnated and placed in the hatching establishment In 1857 the State of Connecticut passed an act affording certain pow- ers and control of Saltonstall Lake for the purpose of fish-breeding, and increase in the interest of Mr. Carl Muller, of New York, and Mr. Henry Brown, of New Haven. They also obtained certain riparian privileges from the owners of property bordering on the lake. A stream tributary to the lake was selected as the breeding locality. In May of the same year they are said * to have artificially fecundated twenty millions of eggs of the wall-eyed pike, {Liicioperca americana,) and to have transported them from Lake Ontario to the lake, where they were placed in the bed of the stream referred to and on the lake botcom, but the young fishes were all supposed to have been destroyed by a sudden freshet. In November of the same year they visited Lake Ontario, and taking" males and females of the salmon trout, {Salmo namaycush,) and the white fish, {Coregonus aWus,) aXive from the nets of the fishermen, they impreg- nated a large number of eggs, estimated by them at five millions for the trout, and one million for the white fish. They were packed in al- ternate layers with fine, wet sand.t The eggs were said to have the appearance of being in good condition when they arrived and were de- posited, the white fish ova upon the sandy spots and the trout ova upon gravelly places in the stream-bed. In the March and April following the young were said to have been seen in large numbers. In the autumn of 1858 ten millions ova of trout and white fish were again obtained and placed in the lake and stream, and considerable nu-m- bers were believed to have been hatched. Trout are said to have been taken afterward partly grown. * Report of the Commissioner of Patents for the year 1859. Agriculture, Washington , 1860. Article iish-breetling, by J. C. Comstock, of Hartford, Conn., p. 227. t Probably largely overestimated in both cases. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. . 535 In 1859 Mr. Steplieu H. Ainsworth, of West Bloomfiekl, N. Y., began operations with the brook-trout in a sitiall stream and with good snc- cess. His successes and his generous spirit toward all who visited him, or sought information by letter, have largely influenced the spread of the interest throughout the country. Seth Green's establishment, at Ca;ledonia Springs, near Eochester, erected in 1864, was the tirst hatching-house in this country large enough to prove the importance of fish -culture as a pecuniary investment. It took but a short time to establish the fact, and from the interest excited, by his very marked successes, among the newspapers and magazines, the art obtained its great impetus in this country. The brooJc-trout. — As stated, attention was at first, and it is equally true that it remained for a long time, concentrated almost entirely upon the brook-trout, {Scdmofontinalis.) This fish is a general favorite, be- cause it combines all the desirable qualities demanded by sportsmen, epicures, and others. It has beauty of color, form, and movement ; is adapted to scientific fly-fishing, being sufficiently shy to be tempted only by skillful and experienced anglers, and, when hooked, fighting long and pluckily against the attempt to lift it from the water, and, withal, supe- rior in flavor, moderately prolific, and adapted to small streams and ponds if sufficiently cool, so that owners of such waters may have it as a pos- session almost as much under their control as their cattle or horses. This general demand for the living fish has made it much more profitable than if merely propagated as an article of food, as the sale of ova and young fishes bring better prices with smaller outlay than where the fish are retained and fed and cared for until they are mature. That it is possible to raise them profitably merely as an article of food has, however, been established in one or two instances wh&re the facilities for breeding large numbers and procuring their proper food in abundance and cheaply have been afforded. The breeding of trout among the different and widely separated cul- turists does not seem to have developed lately any marked or novel im- provements in apparatus, though valuable modifications of methods have been attained. The graveled troughs are in most general use, though a few prefer the apparatus invented by M. Coste, professor of embrj^ology in the College of France, the Coste hatching-trays, with glass grilles or parallel rods, upon which the eggs are placed. As already stated the advances in the art of fish-culture in general both in America and in Europe, have been largely the result of eiforts at multiplying the brook-trout of the two countries respectively. Whether we consider Bachmau or Garlick as first to initiate the work in the new world, it was with the trout that the labors of both were con- nected. A comparison of the claims of these pioneers may result in giving Doctor Bachmau the priority in time, but his labors have had little or no influence in developing interest in or adding to the kuowleclge of the 53^ REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. art. In fact, the doctor, who is remembered by his friends and acquaint- ances as a man of amiable qualities and modesty of disposition, makes no claim to having published any account of the matter prior to 1855, two years after Doctors Garlick and Ackley had begun their work. An account was first given by Doctor Garlick, in the Ohio Farmer, of the methods of trout-breeding etopioj^ed by himself and Doctor Ackley within two or three years after beginning their experiments; and in 1857 these jiapers were reproduced as a manual,* which has had a wide circulation. Their experiments with the trout, as also those of S. H. Ainsworth in 1859, were of the utmost importance in initiating the interest in pisciculture in the United States. Seth Green began the famous establishment near Eochester, 'N. T., in 18G4, and from the first exhibited especial capacity and genius for the art. More than those of any other person in the United States, his labors have popularized the subject and extended the new industry throughout America, at the same time greatly improving and perfecting methods of work. In 1870, he published in connection with Mr. A. S. Collins, a manual of trout-culture,t which is still in demand. In 1867, Dr. J. H. Slack purchased the establishment at Bloom sbury, N. J., founded by Thaddeus jSTorris, author of a work on fish-culture,| and who as far back as 1865, in his book on angling,§ devotes a chapter to fish-breeding. Doctor Slack built up a successful establishraentin a fewyears^aud in 1872 published a manual || on trout-culture, which contained the most correct history of the prosecution of the art in the United States that had been written, and a list of the works in the French and English languages, relating directly to practical fish-culture. His knowledge of * A Treatise on the Ai'tificial Propagation of Certain Kinds of Fisb, with the description and habits of such kinds as are the most suitable for pisciculture, by Theodatus Gar- lick, M. D., Tice-presideut of the Cleveland Academy of Natural Science, giving the author's first experiments contained in a paper read before the Cleveland Academy of Natural Science; also directions for the most successful modes of angling for such kinds of fish as are herein described. Cleveland, Thomas Brown, publisher, 1857. t Trout-Culture, by Seth Green, published by Seth Green and A. S. Collins, Caledonia? N. Y. Eochester, N. Y., 1870. t American Fish Culture, embracing all the details of artificial breeding and rearing of trout, the culture of salmon, shad, and other fishes, with illustrations. New York ; 12 mo., 1SG9. § The American Angler's Book, embracing the natural history of sporting fish and the art of taking them, with instructions in fly-fishing, fly-making, and rod-making ; and directions for fish-breeding, to which is added Dies Piscatorial, describing noted fishing-places and the pleasure of solitary fly-fishing. New edition, with a supplomeut, containing descriptions of salmon rivers, inland trout fishing, &c.,&.c. By Thaddeiis Norris. Illustrated with eighty engravings on wood. Philadelphia, E. H. Butler & Co.i London, Sampson, Low, Son & Co., 1865. II Practical Trout-Culture, by J. H. Slack, M. D., commissioner of fisheries of New Jersey; natural historj' editor of " Turf, Field, and Farm," New York; proprietor^f Troutdale Pond, near Bloomsbury, N. J. "We speak that we do know and testify hat we have seen." New York: George E. Woodward; Orange Judd & Co., 245 Broadway, 1872. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTUEE. 537 French enabled him to gather in the vahiable points in the experience of French calturists, which, in the true scientific sx)irit, he imparted to the pul)lic. Doctor Slack invented a vessel for the transportation of fishes, which he called the " Trontdale trausit-tank." This is a can of galvanized sheet- iron, holding ordinarily about twelve gallons, having a pau with a per- forated bottom fitting into the top, to contain ice for the purpose of reducing the temperature of the water. In the top of the pan is inserted a high cover, having windows of perforated tin, surrounded by a belt or cylinder of the sheet-metal, arranged with openings corresponding to the windows, so that drawing the belt for a short distance around the top closes them. On the outside an air force-pump is attached, with a hose leading through the bottom of the tank to a rose that divides the air into fine particles before it ascends through the water, thereby aerating it in a most eifective manner. This is a most invaluable ar- rangement where fresh supplies of water are diiScult to obtain. This apparatus is described in his manual with an illustration, and its use tendered to the public, no patent having been secured upon it. In 1866 Mr. Livingston Stone began the work of trout-culture at Charlestowu, IS". H., making his efforts successful after a short experi- ence, and in 1872 he published a manual* on the culture of the trout, embodying the most detailed directions and the most complete compen- dium of the methods resulting from experience in trout-culture that has thus far appeared. The results of Mr. Stone's experience have been made very valuable in his book, not so much by the devising of new methods and appara- tus as by the scieutific manner of his study of the questions and diffi- culties that present themselves to all culturists. His accounts of the ills and diseases that prevail with trout and eggs, whether the remedies advocated are in all cases efficacious or not, are of great importance as describing their causes and defining their symptoms and consequences, the first step to a discovery of remedies. The knowledge of their character, of course, affords in a great degree i)recision in experiment and effort for their remedy and j)revention. The tonic effect of fresh earth placed in the troughs under certain circumstances is probably of effi- cient value and has been indorsed by other culturists. The supposed discovery of parasitic animals in the confervoid growth on injured fishes was probably the observation of certain reproductive stages of the Aclilya prolifera. Mr. N. W. Clark, of Clarkston, Mich., began a trout-establishment in 1867, and continued it a few years with success, until his time and * Domesticated Trout : liow to breed and grow tlieni, by Livingston Stone, A. M., deputy United States fish-comtnissioner, proprietor of Cold Spring Trout-Ponds, secre- tary of American Fisli-Cnlturists' Association, and editor of fish-culturists' department in "New York Citizen." " Purpurisque salare stellatus tergora guttis."— Ausonius, Idyl Tenth. " Make assurance doubly sure."— Macbeth, Act lY, Scene 1. Boston, James E. Osgood & Co., 1872. 538 KEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. attention became entirely engrossed in the propagation of other fishes. By his active interest in the art of fish-calture, and continual contribu- tions to the press of Michigan, as well as a widely-circulated pamphlet* ou the subject, he created a wide-spread interest in Michigan that has been largely influential in bringing about the judicious and efficient action ou the part of the State government for the multiplication of food-fishes. In treating of the progress in trout-culture, only those culturists are here referred.to who have made their experiences and discoveries avail- able to all by publication, and only those publications have been men- tioned that were written by those pratically engaged in the work of trout-culture, and whose writings and teachings were derived from original experience. The summary of advances made by the application of the art of fish- culture to the brook-trout in the United States may be repeated as fol- lows : (1.) The establishment and development of interest in the work. (2.) A practical knowledge of the metho«ds employed in the art. (3.) Diagnosis of the diseases and ills incident to the artificial propagation of fishes and the suggestion as to prevention and remedies for some of them. The s«i»io?i.-— Previous to the autumn of 1866 the efforts in fish-cul- ture in America had been entirely in the direction of extending a luxury, as the brook-trout is properly considered in this light, its qual- ities, as before enumerated, adapting it rather to the appreciation and enjoyment of the fortunate few, than constituting an extensive food resource for the good of a large population. In this year, however, the attention of the Canadian provinces and the New England States be- came concentrated upon the salmon [Salmo salar) as there were the most apparent evidences of its decrease and of its probable extermina- tion at no distant time in the streams where it formerly abounded. At the period mentioned the propagation of the salmon was com- menced in Canada on a thorough basis, a small building erected, and arrangements made for hatching out the eggs. Mr. Samuel Wilmot, of Newcastle, Canada, on Lake Ontario, undertook the direction of the work. He obtained fifteen mature salmon, but was deprived of eleven of them by the act of a band of marauders who feared that his presence on the stream would prevent their killing the salmon, contrary to the laws re- serving and ijrotecting them in the stream for spawning j)urposes. He was able to obtain and impregnate about 15,000 ova, of which a large proportion was hatched the following spring. The next year a somewhat larger number was obtained and hatched, with moderate success, and some of the smolts from the i^receding year found. * Pisciculture, or Fisli-Farming: an address before the legislature of Michigan on the artificial propagation of fish and the restocking of public waters of the State, deliv- ered at Lansing, February 28, 1871, by Hon. N. W. Clark, of Clarkston,Mich. Detroit) 1871. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 539 In 18G8 a hatchiug-liouse of larger dimensions was built, and the experiment of using stream or surface water attempted, the liatcliiug- establishments of America, with scarcely an exception, using water di- rectly from springs. Mr. Wilmot's experiences have proved the entire success of stream-waters. He has continued to hatch large numbers of salmon from year to year, and has succeeded in amply stocking the streams of his vicinity. He is quite confirmed in the belief that the salmon of the tributaries of Lake Ontario never go to the sea to spawn, but make the depths of Lake Ontario their home when they are not in the spawning streams. For a few years he sold quantities of spawn to commissioners of fisheries and private citizens of several States ; but the successes of this industry within our borders soon stopped the demand for imported ova. In the year 1871 Mr. Wilmot made the experiment of planting a few thousands of young salmon in the waters of Lake. Simcoe, tributary to Georgian Bay and Lake Huron, believing they would adapt themselves to these bodies of fresh water. During the same year he imported a number of the charr {Scilmo unibla) from the breeding establishment at Keswick, England, receiving fifty of them in good condition, and placed them in the waters of his vicinity. In the fall of 1866, when the salmon operations were begun in Canada, the commissioners of fisheries of the State of New Hampshire* made the initiative movement for the restoration of salmon by sending Dr. W. W- Fletcher, of Concord, to the Miramichi Eiver, New Brunswick, to obtain salmon ova for the benefit of the Merrimack Eiver. fee returned with about 20,000 eggs, a few of which were hatched in a spring near Concord, and the remainder placed in artificially-preijared beds in the bed of the river, where their development could be observed^ and it was estimated that 90 per cent, of them hatched. In the following season the parrs were frequently seen. The attempts at procuring eggs in New Brunswick were continued by Dr. Fletcher in 1867, and by Mr. Livingston Stone, of Charlestown,N. H., in 1868. The latter gentleman was sent under the patronage of the States of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and established ahatching-house on the Miramichi in company with Mr. Joseph Goodfellow, of New- castle, N. B., and under a permit from the Canadian department of marine and fisheries, on condition that half of the young fry produced should be returned to the streams of New Brunswick. Through delay in receiving the official sanction of the government they were prevented by the local authorities from tak^jig salmon, it being the close season on the river. This, however, came in time for obtaining nearly a half million of eggs, about one-half of which were transported to the United States, and distributed to hatching-houses in New Hamp shire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. From 1869 until 1872 salmon ova were purchased by the New England States from New Brunswick culturists, and from Mr. Wilmot, and in 1871 * For a full history of salmon culture iu the United States, see page 226. 540 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. the attempt at obtain ing eggs from salmon within the boundaries of the United States was begim* by Mr. Atkins, of Bucksport, Me. The method adopted, by him for procuring seed-fishes is by far the most efficient and certain of large results of any iu use. The salmon, during the whole season prior to spawning, are obtained from the nets of the fishermen by purchase, and are moved by means of wells or live-boxes to the ponds prepared for their reception, where they are retained until the ova are ripe. By taking advantage of their instinct for seeking suitable spawning places they are at this time enticed into raceways, where they are easily taken by the operato];s, and the spawn and milt expressed, when they are returned alive to the ponds. Several experiments were made to discover what character of water was required to preserve salmon in good, healthy condition while confined in the ponds. The conditions of temperature below a maximum of 73°, or the depth above a minimum of four feet, did not seem to affect them as much as the penetration of light into the body of water, as the experiments made in water darkened from the coloring l)roperties of vegetation through which it ran were more successful than in very clear water, even where the depth was slightl}^ increased and the temperature much lower. During his first year's experiments Mr. Atkins employed the dry method of fecundation, which had been brought to the notice of Ameri- can fish-culturists by the translation from the Bulletin de la Societe (VAccUmatation, August, 1871, of the observations of Vladimir Pavlo- vitche Vrasski in 1856. By reference to the essay on fish culture, by Carl Vogt, the embryologist, of Geneva, Switzerland, of which an abridged translation was published by George P. Marsh in 18o7,t it will be seen that Vrasski was anticipated by him in the announcement at least, if not the discovery of this method.f In describing the process of artificial impregnation, Vogt says: "The eggs and milt should be received iu a shallow vessel containing barely * See page 233. t Report on the Artificial Propagation of Fish, by George P. Marsh, Burlington, Vt., 1857. t The studies of the euibryologists from the tiiue of Von Baer discovered the fact that the spermatozoa of many animals retained the power of movement for a longtime while subjected to a microscopic examination. In ftict, Von Baer believed them to have a separate, independent life from the animal to which they belonged. This view was confirmed by others, and it was carried so far as to regard them as possibly infusoria, and as in their habit entozoic or parasitic, within the organs of animals. The fact of their independent life was first disputed by Treviranus, who believed their movement to possess no voluntary 'character, and that in their structure and properties they were analogous to fibrils and particles in the pollen of j)lauts. The later physiologists are inclined to accept the latter view, so that their -possession of life is as a part of the animal from which they are thrown oft". They have a cajiacity for sustaining vitality for a time after separation, somewhat as the blood-corpuscles do in the operation of transfusion, or as iu epithelial cells. They thus become the medium for the transmis- sion of a portion of the life of the male to the egg of the female, which previously is inert. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 541 water enongli to cover the eggs ex])ected to be obtained, and a little ex- perience will enable the operator to estimate the quantity accurately enough. An excess of water is injurious because it dilutes the milt, dis- perses the seminal animalcules, and diminishes the chances of impregna- tion." On another page he says : " Since, then, the egg completes its ab- sorption rapidly, and the currents attracted by it very soon cease, and since the seminal animalcules speedily lose their vitality in water, it is a matterof great practical importance to perform the processes for facilitat- ing impregnation with as little loss of time as possible. The best method is doubtless to mix the milt with water and then immediately drop the spawn into the mixture, as the attraction arising from the absorption of water by the egg serves to direct and facilicate the movement of the animalcule toward the orifice, and this conclusion is abundantly estab- lished by observation." It has been stated that Seth Green early applied these principles in fecundating eggs, and it is regarded as largely the secret of his success. If so, however, he kept his method a profound secret, not exercising it in i)ubiic, ov making any reference to it in his work. In 1872 Mr. Wilmo.t, in his report* to the Department, asserts that ex- perience taught him each year to use less and less water, and, finally by experiment, that his greatest results were attained without water, and in 1872 he adopted the system of dry impregnation. The American system of dry impregnation, which from present record would seem to have been originated by Mr. Atkins t in 1871, diiiered from that of Vogt and of Vrasski, inasmuch as he did not dilute the milt or allow water to come in contact with eggs or milt until a full ap- plication of pure milt had been made. The contact was secured by moving the eggs rapidly in a pan, the milt and eggs being thus thor- oughly mixed, after which water was poured into the mixture. In the fall of 1872 Mr. H. F. Dousman, of Waterville, Wis., extensively engaged in trout-culture, applied the dry method of fecundation and frequently with this modification, that, instead of obtaining contact of eggs and milt by stirring them together, he trusted entirely to the per- sistant impulses of the spermatozoa to move directlj^ forward, and cov- ering the bottom of a pan with ripe trout-eggs, applied the milt in several spots, when, after a few minutes, it could be detected by its milky appearance to have diffused itself among all the eggs. Mr. Livingston Stone, in his operations in California in 1872, while l^rocuriug spawn of the Sacramento salmon, {Salmo qninnat,) continued putting eggs into the impregnating pans until they were half filled be- fore he applied the milt, and then stirred them with his hand until thor- oughly mixed before he x)oured in water. He succeeded by this method in impregnating nearly 100 per centum of the eggs.| * Annual Report of the Department of Marine and Fisheries (Canada) for the year ending '.iOth June, 1872. Appendices of the Fisheries Branch of Department Marine and Fisheries, p. 96. t See page 239. t See page 173. 542 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. The experieDce of all indicates tliat the continuation of vital functions after removal from the living fishes or while retained in the body after death, is retained much longer by the eggs than by the milt. When in Mr. Atkins's experiments they were taken at the same time, it was found that the eggs could be fertilized with fresh milt long after the stale milt had lost all pov^-er. The series of experiments in dilferent methods of fecundation by Mr. Charles G. Atkins* prove the dry method to be much superior in its results to the use of water at the time of express- ing eggs and milt. This seems to be the uniform testimony of all who have tested it. The apparatus used by Mr. Atkins, in 1871, was the ordinary trough, but instead of covering the bottom with gravel, upon which to place the eggs, he arranged strips of glass transversely in frames, which were set all along the length of the trough, and about an inch above the bottom. Upon these the eggs were placed, arranging themselves in parallel rows, and having a free circulation of water on all sides. In 1872 a large building was erected,! troughs put in, and wire- cloth screens or trays, on light wooden frames arranged about five- eighths of an inch from the bottom, were fitted to the troughs. These devices were improvements, though not the first in use,| upon the ordinary graveled troughs. The breeding establishments in different parts of the country received the salmon-eggs from places where they were procured and partially developed, and in this way they were distributed over a considerable extent of country, the most extensive distribution being made in 1872, under the direction of the United States Commissioner of Fisheries. In the first experiences of the culturists having the salmon in charge, the young were retained for several weeks and even months after the yolk-sac was absorbed, in many cases a heavy per cent, of losses occur- ring during the time. A general conclusion was arrived at that it was better to turn them loose much earlier, and this has become the usual custom. In 1872 the operations for procuring the eggs of the salmon of the Sacramento River were begun by the United States Commission of Fislieries, Mr. Livingston Stone being deputized for this work. The l^rincipal results of his experiences benefiting the art of fish-culture were the method of impregnating eggs in considerable masses and free- ing them from the growth of conferva by washing them in a mixture of sand and water. Mr. Stone attributes the origin of this suggestion to Mr. Woodbury, a fish-culturist of California, whom he had employed to assist him. The transportation of the impregnated eggs eastward, and planting the young fishes in the eastern rivers in large quantities, which has been undertaken by the United States Commission of Fisheries, is an * See pp. 259 aud 282. t See uote, p. 247. t Referred to ou a subsequeut page. THE HISTORY OF FISH-CULTURE. 543 extensive aud novel work compared witli all previous enterprises in fish- culture; and as far as the rivers of the Atlantic coast southward from the Connecticut are concerned, salmon will experience no change in con- ditions that will prevent a successful result, except possibly the great numbers of nets that may hinder the ascent of the salmon in the rivers at the spawning-season. A summary of the very important results that have been developed in the culture of salmon, enhancing the interest of fish-culture, would begin with — (1.) The oflicial attention of States to the restoration of inland fisheries by artificial propagation, which began in Massachusetts in 1856, but took- practical shape in 1800, when Dr. W. W. Fletcher, of Concord, was sent by the State of New Hampshire to obtain salmon-eggs from the Miramichi Eiver of New Brunswick. In the same year the government of Canada began a like enterprise, and in Canada and the United States it has been continued and become a successful and more am}, more extensive enter- prise yearly ; aud since 1872, under the auspices of the United States Commission of Fisheries, an extensive distribution of this valuable species has been carried out. (2.) In the culture of this species by the Canadian government and the State of New Hampshire, the first application in America of the arti- ficial propagation to a commercial fish of wide demand and extensive sale in the market was instituted. (3.) An improved method in impregnating, resulting in the fertiliza- tion of almost the entire quantity of eggs, and that is essentially an American method ; as in the so-called dry method in Europe, in all in- stances it is provided that water should be used, though in small quan- tity, while the method first used by Mr. Atkins, aud afterward by many fish-culturists of the country, makes no application of water until after the eggs aud milt have come thoroughly into contact. (4.) Mr. Atkins's manner of obtaining seed-fishes by purchase through the whole of the period of immigration into the rivers prior to spawning aud preserving them in ponds, is an original method for obtaining an unlimited quantity of eggs, not, I believe, before adopted iu any country. In Switzerland living salmon have been transferred to new locations for natural spawning, or those about to spawu have been transferred for a short time to ponds, and the eggs taken; but as far as we cau iearn, Mr. Atkins was the first, at least on a large scale, to secure salmon in the spring, on their entrance into the river, and keep them for four or six months. (5.) The arrangement by Mr. Atkins of troughs having trays placed at a distance above the bottom was a decided advance in apparatus, from the facilities afforded in manipulatiou of the eggs and removal of sediment. The shad. — In 1867, it was determined by the commissioners of some of the New England States to attempt the restoration of the shad by 544 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. artificial propagation, and the aid of Seth Green was obtained in the matter. He began his experiments at South Hadley Falls, on the Con- necticut Elver, using the ordinary methods and apparatus in trout- hatching, which failed entirely to answer the purpose, because of the low specific gravity of the eggs and the coldness of the water used. He then attempted to hatch them in floating- boxes with wire-cloth bottoms, which proved for a long time failures, because of the difficulty of producing a current inside of the boxes that would keep the eggs in motion, until happily he tried the experiment with a box having the bottom tilted at an inclination toward the ciu-rent, when he found the eggs were gently and continuously stirred by the entering waters, and the proper construction of apparatus indicated. The quantities of young shad released into the river made a consider- able impression on the fisheries three years afterward. This seems to have been the first attempt to artificially fecundate and hatch the eggs of any species of this family, {Clupeidcc,) which con- tains species aflbrding a very large proportion of the resources repre- sented among the commercial food-fishes of the world, including the Astrachan herring of Russia, shad, alewife, herring, sardine, anchovy, menhaden, sprat, &g. The three first named are anadromous, and for these only, in the present state of fish-culture, will the art be available. There has been no instance in the history of fish-culture where its application to the restoration of a species has so quickly and certainly afforded evident results as in the experiments of Seth Green upon the shad of the Connecticut Kiver. Mr. Green continued his work the succeeding" year, using the same model of box, which has not been improved upon since, though experiments with other models have been made by other fish-culturists on the Merrimac and Androscoggin Rivers. In 1869 he began on the Hudson River, under the auspices of the State commission, and a yearly increase of the species has resulted. In 1871 he successfully moved a quantity of shad to the Sacramento River, California, and in 1873 the United States commission transferred a large number to the same river. A few have since been taken in the river, and the State commissioner thiiiks that others have been captured, and the fact concealed, on account of the penalty imposed upon any one taking them during five years after their first planting in the Sac- ramento. The Kew York commissioners have had considerable numbers put into the Genesee River of Lake Ontario, and an extensive distribution into the tributaries of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and great lakes has been carried out by the United States. The hatching of shad is prosecuted each year by Massachusetts, Con- necticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and by the United States commission. Full references to these State and national operations will be found elsewhere in the present report. THE HISTORY OF FISH CULTURE. 545 The progress in the history of fish-caltare iu the Uuited States re&ultiug from its application to the shad may be summed up as — (1.) The foundation of a hatching-establishment by a State. Though a permanent building or even location is not an accessory of shad-hatching, still, the ownership of apparatus and the continuance of its use from year tc year in the waters of a State are very properly to be considered as the founding of a hatching-establishment, and in this Massachusetts took the lead in 1867. (2.) The shad-box invented by Seth Green was an advance of very great consequence, not only because it made it possible to increase the shad, its most important result thus far; but because it is adapted to, and in fact suggested the possibility of hatching the striped bass, and it was also found by Mr. Stone to be quite convenient in bringing forward the eggs of the California salmon when his hatching-house was found to be filled and plenty of eggs still to be obtained. (3.) In the fact that young shad are delicate and with difficulty kept alive during transportation, the large amount of experience that has been brought to bear in their extensive distribution has led to improve- ment in method and in a more explicit knowledge of the needs and requirements of young fishes during transportation. The tchitejish. — In November of 1857 Mr. Carl Muller, of New York, and Mr. Henry Brown, of New Haven, (see page 534,) having received from the State of Connecticut certain protective interests in Saltonstall Lake, near the city of New Haven, began a system of operations for stocking it with fishes, and the wall-eyed pike of the Ohio, the salmon- trout, and the white-fish of Lake Ontario were all transferred to the waters of the lake by means of eggs procured and impregnated artificially. The account of the operation indicates a rather crude knowledge and method in the art of fish-culture, and it is probable that why a small pro- portion of eggs was hatched. The estimates of the number of eggs are very large. They were packed iu moist sand and placed in the bed of the stream on their arrival, the white-fish eggs on a sandy shoal of less than three feet depth. The presence of young fish in great numbers in the following March and April was believed to result from the eggs, though the exceedingly common error on the great lakes of mistaking the schools of small cyprinoids for young white fish, which they very much resemble, except in the absence of the adij)ose dorsal, may have been repeated here. In the fall of 1858 the experiment was renewed. There has been no reference made to any permanent results from this experiment in the reports of the State commissioners. A more successful series of tests were begun in 1868 by Seth Green and Samuel Wilmot in applying artificial culture to this species, and iu the succeeding year by Mr. N. W. Clark, of' Clarkston, Mich. They were found to be very delicate and difficult to hatch iu the first few S. Mis. 74 35 546 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. years of experimenting, but methods were perfec'ted that made their production as certain and with losses nearly as small as in other species. The necessity of production of immense numbers in attempting to multiply the market species of fishes established the fact that the apparatus used in trout-hatching had to be extended over a wide area to accommodate them. The culture of the white fish and the salmon- trout induced modifications of apparatus at the New York State hatch- ing establishment. In 1872 wire-cloth trays were introduced within the troughs, placed one abo%^e another, four in depth. These trays were made of double lath on the sides and single on the ends, so that the current in the troughs passed through the narrow spaces at the ends, washing both the upper and lower sides of the wire-cloth on which the eggs were placed. A large supply of water was afforded each trough. The ordinary bed of gravel remained at the bottom of the troughs, in which the young fish were allowed to rest and hide themselves during the greater part of the yolk-sac period. This apparatus was in some respects superior to that of 0. Gr. Atkins, in the fact that it not only afforded facilities in manipulating the eggs, but afforded economy of space. In 1872, at the New York State hatching-house, a new device was invented (perfected in 1873) by Marcellus G. Holton, of Seth Green's staff, to obviate the defects of the ordinary graveled troughs, and even of the improved trough. The arrangement of wire-cloth trays within troughs afforded a ready manipulation of the eggs, and a better oppor- tunity for removing sediment and the omnipresent confervoid growth, {Achlya prolifera,) but did not afford in a sufiScient degree the great desideratum of economy of space. , This apparatus (see plate) consisted of an outside case or box of wood, with a pipe conducted from a reservoir of water into the bottom, and the top of the case being below the source of supply, the water, of course, filled and overflowed at the top ; within this case a series of wire-cloth trays were fitted, placed one above the other, from seven to eighteen in a case ; and in the largest size not more than eighteen inches square, and containing about 18,000 white-fish eggs to the tray, so that in a space about 4 feet in width by 8 feet in length, 2,000,000 of white fish may be hatched, while at the very least twenty-five of the ordinary graveled troughs would be required for this number of eggs, filling the space of a very large hatching-house. In 1873 a device to accomplish like results was made by Mr. N. W. Olark, of Clarkston, Mich., and patented in 1874. (See plate.) This arrangement employed the troughs, but divided them into com- partments by means of water-tight partitions or bulkheads 5 into each compartment a box containing a series of trays filled with eggs is placed and covered with a pan of perforated tin, upon which the water falls and descends through the i^erforations upon the screens and eggs be- THE HISTORY OF FISH CULTURE. 547 neatli, passing tliroiigh all' and escaping at the bottom, afterward flow- ing over the partition upon the cover of the next box, and so throngh- out the series of compartments until it escapes through the waste- way at the end of the trough.* E.y this arrangement a very small quantity of water is required for a very large number of eggs, and all the advantages of handling and removal of sediment and considerable economy of space are afforded. Another combination of the trough and tray methods is in use in Cal- ifornia, devised by Mr. John Williamson, of the California Acclimatizing Society. This is very similar to the one jnst described, except that the flow of water through the screens and eggs is from below iustead of from the top. This model was not the result of work in white-fish hatch- ing, as in the case with the two first mentioned. An experiment was made by Mr. X. W. Clark in the hatching of white- fish eggs, which were laid in singlelayers of woolen cloth stretched on very thin frames of wood, packed in a box imbedded in sphagnum moss within a refrigerator and the whole kept at a temperature a little above the freezing-point by ice. The eggs are left entirely undisturbed after they are first arranged, and the only care on the part of the attendant is to keep the temperature above the freezing-point. The presence of dead eggs does not seem. to contaminate the living ones in this condition, and very little confervoid growth appears. A quantity of eggs carried forward in this manner through the winter appeared to be in excellent condition, development progressing slowly, and a few taken from the cloths and placed in spring-water hatched out within a short time as well-developed embryos. If this method, after full and thorough trifil, should prove successful, it would make the work of hatching a matter of neither effort, care, or expense. It has been a matter of too short experience and of experiment on too small a scale to warrant its positive success. An improved case for the carriage of eggs long distances by railroad is another device perfected by Mr. N. W. Clark in 1872. It is a modifi- cation of the ordinary case containing circular cups, the cups being square, and in this form economizing space very much. The cups of tinned iron, about four inches square and two inches high, rest in trays, with low partitions forming low compartments that retain the bottom of each cup and hold it solidly in place. The trays are set within a square tin box, in which they fit with moderate tightness, and are placed, when containing the cups, eight or ten in the box, one above the other ; this box is set within another box of tin large enough to leave an open space on all sides, to be filled with sawdust ; a tube is inserted through the bottom of the inner box, piercing the bottom of the outer one, so as to permit communication with the air on the outside; the whole is then placed. for protection within a strong wooden box, in the bottom of which is a frame resting upon stiff springs which relieve the * For full description see plate and. explanation. 548 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. eggs from heavy jarring; rubber or cloth bumpers on the sides of the box iDreveut lateral swaying and jolting. A cover is fitted to the inner box, which may then be covered with sawdust to the level of the higher outer one, when the cover of this is to be shut down. The outside wooden box is fitted with handles and with a tight lid on hinges, which may be locked. Small auger-holes are bored through the outer or packing box and air may be admitted to the whole interior of the egg-case through the tube referred to in the bottom, the cups being pierced, with small holes, so that when in place they are directly over circular openings in the trays and a communication of air is established throughout. The eggs may be packed in moss, in the ordinary manner, in the cups which experience seems to prove to be the best manner for long jour- neys. The method of Mr. Atkins in shipping salmoh-eggs packed in moss, but with pieces of mosquito-netting laid above and below the eggs, is a great conveuieuce in unpacking them, and could just as well be applied in the cups. This, though less simple than the ordinary egg-carrier, is sufficiently simple for practical purposes, and possesses most important advantages for carrying eggs long distances and over rough roads, the small area of surface within the boxes preventing any tendency of the eggs to slide together at one side; the square boxes resting in trays are put together in much more compact form than the cylindrical boxes embedded in moss, and the springs beneath the boxes of eggs are of course an important addition. Mr. Clark believes the hatching-apparatus in the refrigerator to be as well adapted for the carriage of eggs as for hatching them. The use of surface or brook water in any permanent establishment seems to have been first employed by Mr. Samuel Wilmot, of New Cas. tie, Canada, the greater number of hatching establishments using spring-water. In tbe hatching of white-fish, Mr. Clark has contended for the use of brook-water in preference, because of its lower and evener temperature throughout the winter, and the consequent retardation of the hatching of the fish which he has contended is an essential provision in nature to tiheir welfare, and that the hatching them two months or more previous to the natural time under artificial conditions is a mistaken method that will not result in the maturing of any considerable numbers of the cold waters in which they are released. Though this view has not been es- tablished by practical observation, yet it raises a question of consider- able importance that merits a full discussion of its character and bear- ing on the practical work of fish-culture. A few extracts from a letter of Mr. Clark to the board of fish -commissioners of the State of Michi- gan, will advance his arguments in favor of brook or surface waters in preference to spring-water. Mr. Clark began his experiments with white-fish in 1869, hatching a small percentage of the eggs he pro- cured : THE HISTORY OF FISH CULTURE. 549 " In November, 1870, I started again for Ecorse for the purpose of procnriug- more spawn. Mr. George Clark, at his fishery, very kindly rendered me all the aid in his power, furnishing the parent fish for the purpose of trying further experiments in this new enterprise. I suc- ceeded in obtaining all the spawn needed for further trial, but he was so anxious to make it a success that he sent his man to me with an ex- tra lot which he thought might be in better condition. I succeeded in hatching a much larger proportion of them than the year before, but raising them with artificial food was attended with no better success. This second effort and failure led me to investigate the cause, and after much thought I came to the conclusion that if we ever succeeded in making this branch of pisciculture a success, we must study the princi- ples of nature more than had ever been done before. I became fully satisfied that by arranging so as to use water taken from a pond or lake entirely frozen over, it would retard the development of the eggs to the time required by nature, which proved by subsequent experience to be about April 1. I then consulted Messrs. George Clark and John P. Clark, and made known to them my convictions, and so strongly were they convinced that I had struck the key-note to insure ultimate success that they proposed to furnish all the necessary materials and a portion of the labor to enable me to go on and erect a large hatching establish- ment. This was located about 80 rods below the spring where we had been experimenting the two years previous with the unsatisfactory re- sults above stated. This location was supposed to be a suflBcieut dis tance below the main spring, so that by damming the water and raising a pond it would freeze over and remain so during the period of incuba- tion. " Our views proved to be correct, as the 500,000 of eggs which we placed in the hatching-boxes November 15 of that year were i^reserved in fair condition, and with one-quarter less labor in caring for them than formerly. They did not commence to hatch until April 1, audit was es- timated that we succeeded in hatching at least 50 per cent, of the eggs we had taken four and one-half months previously at the fishery of George Clark. " Of these young fry, some 100,000 of them were put in Detroit Eiver, at or near his fishery place, and no doubt at this time they are thriving finely in the waters of Lake Erie, which abounds with abundant natural food for them, and in a year or two more they will doubtless return to the same place where they were deposited. The balance of them we placed in three small lakes in 'Oakland County, some of which have been seen within the last few months, doing finely. " This experiment proved so great a success that again, the next No- vember, 1872, through the encouragement of the Messrs. Clark and the TJuited States Fish, commissioner, I doubled the capacity of this hatching- house and procured 1,000,000 ofthe ova from the same grounds, and pro- ceeded as before with some improvements I made in the modus operandi of 550 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. hatching- about February 20. Mr. Milner, deputy United States com- missioner, arrived at tliis place for the purpose of aiding me in packing and sliipping a lot of the ova, which were then in an advanced stage of incubation. We estimated from actual count that 66 per cent, were in such an advanced state that they were secure from any further mor- tality. We then shipped to San Francisco 216,000 in the most perfect condition. '• About March 10 I received an order from the commissioner at Wash- ington to send the same number again to the same place, which I should have done, but from the fact that the eggs had become so far advanced that I felt quite confident they could not be transported so great a dis- tance successfully, and only sent 116,000, which I am most happy to have heard arrived in excellent condition. Soon after this the weather became much warmer and the ice all thawed from the pond, and by the 20th of the month the eggs then remaining in the troughs commenced hatching. The water had then risen to a temperature of 45 degrees, which sudden change caused the eggs to turn white, and soon all were worthless. Quite a large number had already hatched out, and I removed part of thefn to the same lake where Mr. George Clark and myself had put in a large number the year before, and placed about 25,000 in a small lake at Olarkston Village. " This sudden change in the condition of these eggs I cannot account for, only from the fact of the change in the temperature of the water at this late stage of their development. I am fully salisfied that if the ice had remained in the pond as late as the previous year 1 should not have lost two per cent, from the time I made the last San Francisco shii)ment. "This experience satisfied me that spring- water, although it may not be used until it advances a long way down from its source, is not the place to hatch white-fish. Although this pond was clear from ice March 15, the ice remained in our lakes in this region until May 1. " This species of eggs, and especially those not good and not perfectly impregnated, placed in spring-water at a temperature of 40 degrees (which is about the same as all good springs) in winter, will start out a growth of vegetable fungi more than four times faster than if placed in water at 33 degrees, which is the temperature of ice-water, and it is nest to impossible to employ help enough to pick out the dead eggs (when in spring-water) when you have over a million, as I had the last two seasons. " Even in ice-water last winter, which preserved the eggs much longer than in spring-water, it required from eight to ten persons to keep them in fair condition, and then sometimes they were necessarily left too long- in an unfavorable condition. " These facts are conclusive proof to my mind that the ova of white- fish should be kept entirely away from the influence of spring- water, or any water which will be liable to change during incubation, and all THE HISTORY OF FISH CULTURE. 551 houses where white fish are to be hatched shoukl be constructed upon some lake or poud that freezes over early and does not thaw out until April 1. " It is stated as a reason why spring- water is better for hatching fish eggs than lake water, that it is generally more free from sediment, some kinds of which are highly detrimental to the successful hatching of the fish ova. Whereas our inland lakes freeze over early in the fall, and are not free from ice until late in the spring. This ice is perfect protec- tion against any agitation of the water, and gives an opportunity for any sediment that may be in it to settle to the bottom, where it mnst remain until spring, and until the eggs are hatched and dist;il)uted. Consequently the water in all of oui* inland lakes is, during winter, as clear as crystal. " You also wish me to give my views in reference to using Detroit River water. To this I will frankly say th%t I should much prefer it to any spring water in this or any other State for hatching white fish. But there are some objections which arise in my mind even to this water. I am aware that this species of fish are natives of our great lakes and rivers, and consequently it would be supposed that this water must agree with them, and that success would be certain if this water was used. But has it not occurred to all ijersons who have given this subject much thought that much the largest proportion of these fish run to the shoals of those lakes during spawning season to deposit their ova"? These shoals are the first to freeze over in the fall and the last to thaw in the spring. This keeps at nearly the same temperature during incubation. Although it may be said that during their migration from Lake Erie to Lake Saint Clair some deposit their spawn in the rivers ; it is not very probable that much of it is hatched. " I am aware that many hatch in and about the ponds where the fish- ermen preserve their fish for winter use. This tends to prove that the shoals are the place where they hatch most largely, as the ice remains in these ponds much longer in the spring than in the strong current in Detroit River. " If water is used from this river it must change in temperature many times during the winter, as it is well known that the ice leaves the river quite often during the four-and-a-half months of the period of incuba. tion. No one can gainsay the fact that in the hatching of fish ova, if the water is of a perfectly even temperature, it will be attended with more favorable results than when frequently changing, from any cause, even if such change is not more than two or three degrees. Is it not also a fact that the ice frequently leaves the lower part of Lake Saint Clair early in March ? If so, would not the westerly winds roll the water in the upper part of the river ? This sediment would be depos- ited on the eggs, and in consequence of its fine, clammy nature, would be injurious to them. I noticed this was the case in a little experimental arrangement of A. M. Campau, some two years since, where this water 552 KEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. was used. I exainiued these eggs several times during this process, and found a fine, clammy substance accumulating on them. They were gradually dying, and I do not think any were hatched. These eggs were taken from our hatching-boxes, and were in perfect condition, as they were so far advanced in development that the embryo fish could be plainly seen with the naked eye. For these reasons I am forced to the conclusion that there is more suitable water for hatching this species of fish-eggs than the Detroit River. " I wish, however, to have it distinctly understood that salmon, sal- mon-trout, and brook-trout should be incubated in pure spring-water, as they will hatch the latter part of January or early in February. They have an umbilical sack from which they derive their subsistence, and which takes about fifty days to absorb. They do not require food dur- ing this period. After this, by feeding them a few days, they will do to turn loose in water adapte^l to them, where they will find their own food. For these reasons it would be very desirable if your commission could find a location where both spring and lake water could be sup- I)lied in sufficient quantities to insure the success of breeding both kinds. " Most respectfully and truly yours, "N. W. CLARKE. " Clarliston, September 13, 1873." In conclusion, the advantages afforded American fish -culture from the cultivation of the white-fish as they have just been enumerated: These are; (1) more careful and perfect methods, resulting from the experiencein the culture of the most delicate and difficult species whose propagation has been attempted by culturists ; (2) the perfection of three forms of apparatus for hatching fish eggs, embodying the important improve- . ments of facility in handling the eggs and removing sediment and con. fervPB, and greatly economizing space ; (3) the contrivance of a superior case for the carriage of eggs; and, besides, a possibly successful, en- tirely new method in the hatching of eggs and the discussion of and practical tests of conditions of water suitable to the eggs of a species that we are not (at any rate thus far) able to supply with food. The Otsego bass. — Another species (?) of white-fish ( Oore^o?t?is otsego) has been successfully propagated at Cooperstown, N. Y. A large quantity of eggs were impregnated in the autumn of 1871, and in the following- March several thousands of young fishes were set free in the lake. In 1873 a larger number were released, and a quantity of eggs put into the hatching-troughs. The salmon-trout. — In the fall of 1857 and 1858 a large number of eggs of salmon-trout were obtained for Saltonstall Lake in Connecticut from Lake Ontario. The enterprise is referred to more fully on page 534. A minor experiment in hatching salmon-trout, or Mackinaw trout, iSaJmo wamfli/CMs/t,) was made by Mr. Samuel Wilmot, of Newcastle, Can- ada, in 1868. He also obtained a hybrid between a male Salmo salar and a female S. namaycush. The next published records we have of ex- THE HISTORY OF FISH CULTUEE. 553 periments are by Seth Green and by IST. W. Clark in 1870. Mr. Clark's was with but a few eggs. In an address before the legislature of Michi- gan, he refers to the fact of having young salmon-trout on exhibition.* The quantity of eggs taken by Seth Gtreen that year and hatched was very large ; and the fish proving to be a great favorite among the i^eople of the State, he has continued to breed it on a large scale, and it has been widely distributed throughout the State. The greatest drawback in the culture of this species is the difficulty and danger attending the jirocuring of the eggs. The spawning-places of the fish in the region of the hatching-houses is in the open lake ; and the time when the ova are ripe is in October, when there are frequent storms, so that going out in an open boat to the nets is a task of hardship and danger, and has resulted, in a late instance, in the loss of six men, one of them Marcellus Holton, an accom- plished fish-culturist and the inventor of the Holton hatching-box. There are however, points on the lakes accessible by steamer, though not con- tiguous to the breeding-establishments, where the salmon-trout spawn- ing-grounds are near the shore, and even entirely land-locked from wind and sea. The striped hass. — In connection with the work of the United States Commission of Fisheries, a successful experiment has been made which bids fair to be one of great importance in connection with the history of fish-culture. In 1873, Mr. Marcellus Holton, one of the men who were lost while obtaining the spawn of the salmon-trout on Lake Ontario, was employed by the United States Commissioner in the work of shad propa- gation on the Eoanoke River, Korth Carolina. While at the fisheries near Weldon, he procured and impregnated the spawn of the rock-fish, {Roccns lineatus,) and succeeded in hatching then. The appended letter gives his method and the extent of his success : • . " Weldon, May 22, 1873. "Dear Sir: I think, from indications observed, that the rock-fish spawn in the day-time. We find the eggs are much lighter and more delicate than those of the shad. We have afforded them similar treat- ment, using the shad-boxes, and I think it is evident that they hatch a little sooner, but do not feel sure on this point, as I was obliged to move the boxes, while containing the eggs, below the falls, and the water was very rough while passing the rapids. I was compelled to move them because of the rapid rising of the river, which threatened to. flood us out on the low shore, where we were encamped. It is quite possible that this hatched them prematurely. In twenty hours after impregnation, and before they were exposed to the rough water, the fish within the egg showed signs of life, and in forty hours kicked lively. * Pisciculture, or Fish-Farmiug : an address before tlie legislature of Michigan, &c. Delivered at Lansing, February 28, 1871, by Hon. N. W. Clark, of Clarkstou, Mich. Detroit, 1871. Page 21. 554 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. " They escape through the meshes of the wire-cloth as fast as they hatch. It will take at least tweuty-foiir wires to the inch to hold them, aud I think the eggs require less current than shad-spawn. "Yours, MAEOELLUS G. HOLTOK " Prof. Spencer F. Baird, " Washington, D. C." Mr. Holtou, in another letter, reported the eggs obtained from two spawners at 120,000, and out of these he estimated the number hatched at about 70 per cent., or 80,000 young fry. The female parents weighed six and eight pounds. The eggs were nearly equal in size to those of a shad; the newly-hatched fry were somewhat smaller. The fact that the ova were non-adhesive, unlike most of the percoid fishes that have been dealt with, was a matter of surprise. The weight of the spawning-fish is somewhat less than has usually been attributed to rock-fish in spawning-condition. If localities can be found where rock- fish may be taken in sufficient numbers in the breeding-season, the increase of this species is lirobably as sure to be effected as that of the shad has been. We append a list of the species already referred to, and also of those with which small experiments have been made, with varying success, in the United States. The perch, {Ferca flavescens ;) the wall-eyed or glass-eyed pike, {Stizostedium americammi ;) the rock-bass, {Boceus lineatus ;) the salmon, {Sahiio solar ;) the California salmon, {Salmo qiiinnat ;) the hvodk-tvoxit, [Salmo fontinalis ;) the Pacific coast brook- trout, (yiSa/wo iridea ;) the Utah trout, {Salmo virginalis ;) the land- locked salmon, [Salmo sehago ;) the salmon or Mackinaw trout, [Salmo namaycnsJi ;) the lake white-fish, [Coregonus alhus ;) the Otsego bass, [Coregonus otscgo ;) the lake-herring, [Coregonus clupeiformis ;) the gray- ling, [Thymallus tricolor ^) the shad, [Alosa sapidissima ;) the alewife. [Pomolobiis pseudo-harengus ;) the common sucker, [Catostomus com- munis;) the shiner, [Stilbe crysoleucus ;) the corporal or chub,( Semotilus corporalis.) Collating from numerous authorities on fish-culture in Europe, we are enabled to give the following list : The burbot or la lotte, [Lota vulgaris ;) the salmon, [Salmo salar ;) the sea-trout, [Salmo trutta ;) the river- trout, [Salmo far io) ; the lake-trout, [Salmo lacustris ;) the omhre chevalier or rothel, [Salmo umbla ;) the charr, [Salmo alpinus ;) the hucho, [Salmo hucho ;) the laveret, [Coregonus laveratus ;) the tera., [Coregonus fera;) the msbYsen-