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-7 ^^' 
 
 SALMON OF THE PACIFIC COAST 
 
 •BY- 
 
 R. D. HUME, 
 
 With engravings, sliowing the apparatus used for their artificial propogation, aud the operations of Salmon Fishing 
 and Canning as conducted at Gold Beach, Curry County, Oregon, U. S. A. 
 
 1893. 
 

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 188261 
 
:V' 
 
-TO- 
 
 THOMAS L. FELLING, Esq. 
 
 By whose efforts the Canning Industry has received its greatest impulse. 
 This little work is respectfully dedicated 
 
 BY 
 
 THE AUTHOB. 
 
 I 
 
t 
 
 ■ 
 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 To call the attention of both producer and consumer to the danger of the total 
 exHnction of this most valuable of food fishes, and provide a simple method for their 
 preservation is the object of this Little Work. 
 
K i 
 
mjmi^m^i^T^i^nmi^mrf'^^^^namrj^m^w^^^^^^^^'mrft 
 
 WS| 
 
 m 
 
 THE SALMON OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 
 
 I. Their Influence upon the Industries and Share in the 
 
 Development of the Northwest. . 
 
 By K. D HUME. 
 
 To GIVE the reader a clear idea of the salmon 
 industry of the Pacific Coast, and the influ- 
 ence it has had in the development of the North- 
 west, it will be necessary to give a brief history of 
 the salmon canning business, the advent of which 
 practically begins the salmon fishing era of the 
 Pacific Coast; although prior to that time the 
 taking of salmon had been done to considerable 
 extent to supply the market with fresh fish, and 
 a moderate quantity had been salted. But in 
 comparison with the canning business, the quan- 
 tity taken for these purposes was of little import- 
 ance. 
 
 The business of canning salmon on the Pacific 
 Coast was begun in the spring of 1864, at the town 
 of Washington, Yolo county, California, on the 
 banks of the Sacramento river, opposite the foot 
 of K street, Sacramento city, by the firm of Hap- 
 good, Hume & Co., the firm consisting of Andrew 
 S. Hapgood, George W. and William Hume, with 
 the writer as "sub" under small pay, but with 
 large expectations of a partnership interest, to be 
 realized whenever the business should prove the 
 success anticipated. The pack of the first year 
 amounted to about 2,000 cases, and the trials and 
 difficul'ies attending their production are almost 
 
i ! 
 
 impossible to realize and describe, after the lapse 
 of twenty-nine years, considering the improved 
 methods of to-day. The business being in the 
 form of an experiment, and the tools used being 
 of the most primitive character, made the work 
 necessarily slow and difficult, and the product 
 defective. As I cast my mind backward to those 
 early days of the business, I wonder that it was 
 not given up in despair. At least fifty per cent 
 of the product spoiled at the cannery from the 
 effect of defective work as we had at that time no 
 process for testing for leaks, as at present; conse- 
 quently all leaky tins were lost; and there were 
 many also in addition to those so imperfectly 
 made that they burst in cooking. To these 
 troubles were added the difficulty of disposing of 
 that part of the product that was good, the article 
 being new to the merchants of San Francisco, 
 they would have nothing to do with it for a long 
 time, and in the interim the firm were very much 
 discouraged and were on the point of breaking 
 up. At that time a few hundred dollars would 
 have purchased all their interests in the business. 
 Just at the darkest time, however, a merchant of 
 San Francisco advanced shipping charges on the 
 lot and found r market at good prices, which 
 
 awakened a new enthusiasm, and the business 
 went ahead again. 
 
 In the next two years the amount packed per 
 annum was not much increased, on account of the 
 scarcity of salmon in the Sacramento, and in the 
 spring of 1866 William Hume went to the Colum- 
 bia i^ see what could be done. Upon his return 
 with favorable reports, G.W. Hume also went to 
 the Columbia, for the purpose of selecting a site 
 and building a cannery and other necessary build- 
 ings, that should be ready for the reception of 
 the others, who went there some time in October 
 of that year. The point selected by him was iit 
 Eagle Cliff in Wahkiakum county, Washington, 
 and part of the cannery now owned and operated 
 there by Wm. Hume is the original building erod- 
 ed by him. During the winter of 18G6-G7 we put our 
 machines in order and made the nets and cans 
 for the spring season of 1867, at which time we 
 packed 4,000 cases of 48 cans each. 
 
 At the time of our arrival there was but little 
 business done on the Columbia river below Port- 
 land, and in fact Portland itself was a small town, 
 all of the business houses being located on Front 
 and First streets. The business of the lower Co- 
 lumbia river was done at St. Helens, Baiuier, Oak 
 
 -'.■aSi 
 
 8 
 
W^Wt: ^ 
 
 Salmon Flsliinff at Roitue River. 
 
 J 
 
Point, Cathalamet and Astoria, which town 
 boasted one small wharf, and that was in a chron- 
 ic state of dilapidation. The steamboat service 
 was performed by a small side wheel steamer, 
 called the John H. Couch, which made tri-weekly 
 trips between Portland and Astoria with the 
 mails, touching at each of the [points mentioned 
 above. Sometimes she would get a achooner to 
 tow, and then the routine was broken, as it would 
 take her two days to get from Astoria to Portland. 
 At this date her passenger list, at times, would 
 consist of a solitp.ry soldier from Fort Stevens, 
 who had been discharged or granted a furlough; 
 and the freight, a case of condemned cartridges 
 from the same place. At this time the business 
 of the lower Columbia cut but a small figure — a 
 wheezy old mill at Astoria and a dilapidated affair 
 of the same kind at each of the other places on 
 the Columbia, except Cathalamet, which had 
 nothing in the way of manufactures, comprised 
 all there was to furnish a livlihood for the labor- 
 ers of that section, except that furnished by the 
 few engaged in salting salmon, and that work 
 was mostly done by Indians. 
 
 In a lapse of ten years, what a change ! 
 Portland has by thig time become a city of im- 
 
 10 
 
 portance, and Astoria has stretched itself along 
 three miles of water front; while instead of four 
 small landings along the main Columbia, between 
 Astoria and Portland the number has increased 
 to more than forty, and instead of one small 
 steamer making tri-weekly trips, we have four 
 elegant steamers running between these places 
 daily, besides about a dozen running in the lish 
 carrying trade for the use of the canneries, and 
 in plpi^e of a product of 4,000 cases of 48 tins 
 each, we have a product of 450,000 cases, of the 
 same number of tins, and we have our wheezy 
 and dilapidated old mills running night and day 
 to supply the demand for lumber to build new 
 canneries, and where desolation ruled Y- "fore we 
 find signs of the greatest activity. We find all 
 trades and professions plunging to get a whack 
 at this new El Dorado, all seeking a fortune to 
 be made from the capture of the sgaly beauties. 
 What a mine of wealth, that even all who might 
 plunge might be enriched. But pll good things 
 which nature has furnished havd a capacity 
 beyond which they cannot be strained, and the 
 year 1883 brings Columbia its maximum, when 
 the vast quantity of 630,000 cases was reached; 
 and from this time begiua the decline of the 
 
tself along 
 »ad of four 
 ia, between 
 
 increased 
 one small 
 have four 
 ese places 
 in the fish 
 lories, and 
 of 48 tins 
 ises, of tbe 
 ur wheezy 
 tit and day 
 build new 
 
 V^fore we 
 ^e find all 
 t a whaok 
 fortuue to 
 T beauties. 
 vho might 
 )od things 
 capacity 
 I, and the 
 lum, when 
 ,B reached; 
 .ne of tiie 
 
 Gold Beacta Cannery from tlie Sea. 
 
 i 
 

 salmon product of that wonderful Btream. Mean> 
 while the streams of British Columbia have been 
 developed, until 1882 marks to the o edit of that 
 section a product of 255,000 cases, and at the 
 same time Alaska began to make a showing, with 
 a pack of upwards of 20,000 cases, which grad- 
 ually increased until 1892, when it produced 
 more salmon in cases than the Columbia ri^^r, 
 and its output, added to that of British Columbia, 
 the Columbia river and other rivers of Oregon, 
 brings the total pack of 1892 up to 1,323,000 
 cases, which represents in value, i\pproximately 
 $6,549,000. 
 
 What a contrast between the years 1867 and 
 1892, as regards the industry. At the first date 
 one cannery, with its small product, having 
 great difficulty in obtaining sufficient employees 
 to prosecute the business, while in 1892, in 
 addition to the large number of canneries in 
 British Columbia and on the Columbia river, 
 which were employing thousands of people, there 
 was not a stream putting into the ocean along the 
 Oregon and California coast, which can be 
 entered even by the lightest draught vessels, that 
 has not one or more canneries located on its 
 banks, forming a nucleus from which radiate the 
 
 development of other industries; while along the 
 whole coast, from California to Alaska, the 
 business has become an important factor in the 
 development of such sections as have heretofoie 
 been considered almost inaccessible, by offering 
 inducements which have sent the pioneers ahead 
 to begin the work of civilization, that in a few 
 years will furnish, in addition to the large number 
 now engaged, homes and employment to a vast 
 number of people, if rightly fostered, without the 
 stimulating influence of which these sections 
 would remain desolute for centuries. 
 
 The salmon industry of the Pacific coast has 
 furnished lucrative employment to thousands, 
 and has been both directly and indirectly the 
 means by which very many have made for- 
 tunes, and who without its benefits would per- 
 haps find themselves out of employment and 
 lighter in pocket. 
 
 In view of the great importance of this iudits* 
 try, it would seem the imperative duty of all en- 
 gaged or in anywise interested in the business to 
 protect and preserve, so far as is possible, the 
 source from which the essential factor springs, 
 namely, the salmon of the Pacific coast; aud the 
 best efforts of the minds of those who are in any 
 
 12 
 
along the 
 aska, the 
 ;or iu the 
 leretofore 
 
 offering 
 
 3ers ahead 
 
 in a few 
 
 fe number 
 
 to a vast 
 
 ithont the 
 
 sections 
 
 coast has 
 bousnncis, 
 rectly the 
 made for- 
 ould per- 
 aeut uud 
 
 his iudiis- 
 of all en- 
 isineHs to 
 sible, the 
 r springs, 
 ; and the 
 •6 in any 
 
 Jt'* '-V 
 
 Hi ..apP^^ ^.y:- J^jS ! ^ 
 
 IfOOklnfc to tlie Sea. 
 
manner familiar with the conditions which are 
 favorable to that end should be turned in that di- 
 rection. The writer, firmly believing in the prin- 
 ciples set forth in this section, although well 
 aware that there is much yet for him to learn re- 
 garding the matter, proposes to give to the public 
 as the result of the observations of a lifetime, a 
 series of articles, wherein will be contained a 
 history of the experiments made and experience 
 
 gained by constant contact with the business in 
 its various forms, hoping thereby not only to add 
 his mite to the general fund of knowler''"^ of the 
 subject, but also to call forth from o ra such 
 information as may have been gaine.. yy their 
 experience, in order that, ere the streams of our 
 State have been exhausted, and while such infor- 
 mation may be of practical use, that the public; 
 may receive the benefit. 
 
 14 
 
if 
 
 2. Their Value as a Food Product and the Proper Methods 
 
 for their Protection. 
 
 FOR many years prior to the advent of salmon 
 canning on the Pacific Coast, owing to the 
 scarcity of these fish in other parts of the civilized 
 world, salmon had become a luxury of which 
 none but the wealthy could partake, and the writ- 
 er, when a small boy, heard two of the wealthiest 
 citizens of his native town (Augusta, on the Ken- 
 nebec river, in the State of Maine) argue for half 
 an hour as to how a salmon of ten pounds weight 
 should be divided so that each should get a fair 
 proportion of the fat, and which should have the 
 head part; and finally, after appealing to the large 
 crowd of bystanders for their opinions regarding 
 the question, at length settled the matter by cut- 
 ting the fish on an angle, from belly to back, so 
 as to give the one with the tail portion a fair share 
 of the belly; and then paid $1 per pound for their 
 portion, and went home with smiles on their faces 
 and eyes glistening in anticipation of the glori- 
 
 ous feast they were to have on the morrow. 
 At this time, which was about the year 1853, 
 the catching of a salmon at this point on the Ken- 
 nebec river was of rare occurrence, usually the 
 catch for a season being three or four, and a half 
 dozen being a large take for the year. At this 
 time the principal supply of salmon for the mar- 
 kets of the United States was procured from the 
 Penobscot river in Maine and the waters of the 
 British provinces, namely: Mirimichi river, and 
 the rivers putting into the bay of Chaleur; and 
 these could be obtained only in limited quantities, 
 and at a great expense to the consumer. Up to 
 the age of eighteen, the time the writer left home 
 for the Pacific Coast, although some of his family 
 were engaged in the fishing business, it had never 
 been his fortune to taste salmon but once, and it 
 is doubtful if but few in that State of his age had 
 ever seen one. What a blessing came to the poor 
 
 15 
 
with the establishment of the salmon canneries, 
 and with their progression, an increasing benefit, 
 to that extent that in 1892, allowing one can for 
 two persons, which is amply sufficient, one hun- 
 dred and thirty-five millions of poor people could 
 enjoy, once in a year, such a luxury — and con- 
 sidering the amount of nutrition and ability to 
 satisfy the appetite, at less than the price of any 
 kind of fiesh food. 
 
 In the early days of the salmon business 
 South America and Australia furnished the con- 
 sumers for the product, but as the supply increas- 
 ed a market in England was sought, which at first 
 did not take kindly to the American product; but 
 by the persistent efforts of a few of the principal 
 dealers in food products (one of the most active of 
 which was the firm of Felling, Stanley & Co., of 
 Liverpool, now one of the largest distributors of 
 canned salmon in the world) the article became 
 known, and the people of Great Britain in a short 
 time became the principal consumers. A great 
 deal of the prosperity enjoyed by the business is 
 due to the efforts of these gentlemen, who were 
 pushing, progressive people, their perceptions be- 
 ing alive to the fact that in this new product was 
 embodied a nutritious food supply for the masses at 
 
 the lowest possible cost, as compared with the 
 products of other descriptions. I well remember 
 the story of Mr. Felling in regard to his experience 
 with the first lot of 500 cases of salmon that he 
 had purchased — of his efforts to get his customers 
 to take a few cases for trial, and his arguments to 
 them that canned salmon were to furnish Great 
 Britain a cheap and nourishing food for her la- 
 boring population — his failures to get buyers to 
 take hold of the new goods, and his daily walks 
 around the pile of cases to see if any had been 
 disposed of; his discouragement when observing 
 that, though a long time had elapsed, the pile 
 seemed as large as ever. But after a time by pa- 
 tient and continuous effort, allied to the fact that 
 the article had the merit claimed, brought the con- 
 sumptive demand of Great Britain up to 450,000 
 cases per annum. Not much effort was made to 
 create a demand in the United States until the in- 
 crease of the pack had overloaded the other mar- 
 kets, at which time a new factor came upon the 
 scene, in the person of J. K. Armsby of Chicago, 
 who now occupies much the same relative position 
 in the United States, as regards the distribution 
 of canned salmon, as^does Felling, Stanley & Co., 
 of Liverpool to the same line in the English 
 
 16 
 
market. To Mr. Armsby is due in a great meas- 
 ure the rapid extension of the demand for this 
 article in the United States, although there are 
 many other prominent dealers. 
 
 In view of the fact that the salmon supply is 
 a matter which, as a figure in the food question 
 of so many millions, is of much importance, as 
 well as being the source of so much wealth to 
 the Pacific Coast, it certainly would seem strange 
 if the people of this country did not feel disposed 
 to foster both the business and the source from 
 which it derives its life. It is the desire of the 
 writer to present such facts for the consideration 
 of his readers as will shed some light upon a 
 question which, although it has been treated in 
 various forms by very able writers for more than 
 forty years past, still, in view of the success made 
 by the operation of any plans laid down in the 
 various works upon the subject, or benefits 
 derived from legislation upon the matter, seems 
 yet to the great majority as being in an experi- 
 mental state. The first point to consider in this 
 connection is the question. What were the con- 
 ditions of the various streams when the salmon 
 supply was most plentiful. ? And it is easily 
 answered: There is no question but salmon were 
 
 most plentiful before civilization had begun its 
 work, and when dams, traps and other obstruc- 
 tions and hydraulic mines were unknown, when 
 the sources of the river were unsettled and 
 undefiled by the sewerage of the cities, the, 
 forests at the head waters still untouched by man,i 
 and the country yet in its natural state. 
 
 The effect of a change of conditions can be 
 best indicated by a description of the situation 
 on a few of the salmon streams that have been 
 either wholly exhausted or rendered practically 
 useless for commercial purposes in this branch 
 of industry, and those that are rapidly approach- 
 ing that condition. 
 
 Taking the Kennebec river, which was a fine 
 salmon stream at the early settlement of the 
 country, a ■' reflecting upon the possibility of 
 the supply being maintained under the conditions 
 which were in effect in the year 1853, the mind is 
 easily satisfied as to the causes which led to the 
 almost total extinction of these fish. By this, 
 time cities were located within a few miles of each 
 other all along the banks, discharging their sewer- 
 age and waste from gas and dye works into the 
 stream, while at Augusta was situated a dam 
 which was impassible for any sort of fish, no 
 
 17 
 
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 proTliIon for ft fish ladder hating been made, un- 
 til through the exertions of Seth Green (who has 
 been justly termed the father of fish culture in 
 America) about 1857 one was constructed, but was 
 soon allowed to get out of repair, and was of no 
 practical use. There were also a large number of 
 sawmills delivering their sawdust and other waste 
 into the river, the timber was being rapidly re- 
 moved from the tributaries which formed the 
 headwater and spawning grounds of the stream, 
 while the lower part of the river, in Merry Meet- 
 ing bay and other favorable locations, was lined 
 with traps to such an extent as to render the es- 
 cape of a fish almost an impossibilty, and only a 
 very narrow channel was left for the passage of 
 steamboats, and this running in such a serpentine 
 course as to require a skillful pilot to work the 
 vessel through. 
 
 The Sacramento river, prior to the introduc- 
 tion of hydraulic mining in 1853 was, during the 
 running season, so plentifully stocked with sal- 
 mon that no use could be made of but a moiety of 
 the supply, and we have an illustration of the des- 
 tructive force of this new agent when we consider 
 the fact that eleven years after its introduction 
 the Sacramento river was practically rendered use- 
 
 less for commercial purposes as a salmon stream. 
 
 The Klamath river furnishes another illus- 
 tration of the destructive action of hydraulic min- 
 ing upo.i the salmon streams of the coast. In 
 1850 in this river during the running seasons, 
 salmon were so plentiful, according to the reports 
 of the early settlers, that in fording the stream it 
 wf.s with difficulty that they could induce their 
 horses to make the attempt, on account of the river 
 being alive with the finny tribe. At the present time 
 the main run, which were the spring salmon, are 
 practically extinct, not enough being taken to 
 warrant the prosecution of business in any form. 
 The river has remained in a primitive state, with 
 the exception of the influence which mining haa 
 had, no salmon of the spring run having been tak- 
 en except a few by Indians, as a reservation by 
 the government has been maintained, until with- 
 in a few years, and no fishing has been allowed 
 on the lower river by white men; and yet the 
 spring run has almost disappeared, and the fall 
 run reduced to very small proportions, the pack 
 never exceeding 6,000 cases, and in 1892 the river 
 producing only 1,047 cases. 
 
 The next and most important river on the 
 coast to receive consideration is the Columbia, and 
 
 19 
 
i ( 
 
 this, though not yet exhaufited, has shruaken its 
 output since 1883, in the number of cases pro- 
 duced, more than one-third, and according to good 
 authorities the product of 1892 was but litde more 
 than 150,000 cases of true adult Chinook nalmon, 
 the balance of the pack being steel-heads;, blue- 
 backs, and a small salmon of a variety which will 
 later receive attention. This, if true, would show a 
 fearful decrease in the past nine years, amounting 
 to more than three quarters of the supply of the 
 quality packed when at i:s best; and from both 
 packers and fishermen comes the cry that, al- 
 tho'.igh the demand for the article is good, they 
 are unable to make living profits from the pro- 
 secution of the business. A contemplation of 
 this proposition leads one to inquire what have 
 been the conditions that have brought about such 
 a result, when since 1883 the number of canneries 
 on that river have decreased considerably, and 
 during the time a hatchery has been in operation, 
 which has turned out millions of young salmon 
 every year. 
 
 Prior to 1879 traps and fish wheels cut a small 
 fif^ure in the methods of taking salmon on the Col- 
 ixmbia river, the few traps in operation beiug 
 mostly in the viciuity of Oak Point, the lower river 
 
 about Astoria being free from their influence. 
 Since 1883, however, the number of traps at 
 Astoria and fish wheels on the upper river have 
 rapidly increased, with a corresponding decrease 
 in both the quality and quantity of the salmon 
 packed on that stream, as well as a rapid falling 
 off of the profits of the business. The question 
 will naturally be asked, in view of the diflScultiea 
 surrounding the proposition, can the supply be 
 maintained in such a manner as to protect the in- 
 dustry? This I answer in the affirmative, if tlie 
 operations toward stocking the rivers are main- 
 tained in a proper manner, and the right sort of 
 legislation is had upon the question of taking tbe 
 product of the rivers. 
 
 While I quite agree with my contemporaries 
 upon many of the questions regarding the vari- 
 eties, culture and habits of salmon, there are some 
 of the most vital points upon which I shall be 
 compelled to take issue with them, the first of 
 which is the question whether all the small salmon 
 taken by the traps and fish wheels are a distinct 
 species; the second being whether they are all 
 male salmon and all perish after making the lirst 
 trip to the spawning grounds; and the third, do 
 all adult salmon die after spawning? 
 
 20 
 
nfluence. 
 
 traps at 
 
 •iver have 
 
 decrease 
 
 I salmon 
 
 I falling 
 
 question 
 
 ifficultiea 
 
 lupply be 
 
 (ct the in- 
 
 ive, if the 
 
 are main- 
 
 ht sort of 
 
 ;aking the 
 
 mporaries 
 the vari- 
 3 are some 
 I shall be 
 ie first of 
 all salmon 
 a distinct 
 ley are all 
 g the lirst 
 > third, do 
 
 As a brief answer to these questions, which 
 will be treated more fully in a later article, I will 
 say that outside of the variety known as blue- 
 back, which is a distinct species of salmon, and 
 the young steel-heads, which are quite numerous, 
 the grown members of whose family are a valuable 
 adjunct to food supply, that the great bulk of small 
 salmon, as observed by me, are the young of the 
 true Chinook salmon; and I deny that it is a fact, 
 as is claimed by some very intelligent gentlemen, 
 that all young salmon takon by the traps and fish 
 wheels are males, and consequently might as well 
 be caught, but will state that in the female grilse 
 at the age of two years not even a sign of eggs can 
 be found, and that they could be easily mistaken 
 by a careless observer for males, unless the male 
 was very near the apawning time, when its seed 
 would have developed in such a manner as to 
 make such a mistake impossible. Neither can I 
 agree with the proposition that, conceding they 
 were all males, that all perish after having made 
 their first journey to the spawning grounds; and 
 I should feel obliged to any reliable gentleman 
 who has seen any number of the true Chinook 
 salmon, in their two year old form, without regard 
 to sex, lying dead about the head waters of the 
 
 Columbia or any other river on the Coast, who 
 world communicate the fact, as so far I have been 
 unable to obtain information of that kind. While 
 it is without doubt that in streams of great length 
 the adult salmon die after spawning, it is also a 
 fact that in the shorter streams very many return 
 to the sea after having done so, and it is unrea- 
 sonable to suppose that the Creator has so deviated 
 from the law which Ue has established with all 
 else in nature as to have created salmon with 
 such an excess of the male species, and that mill- 
 ions could be thus cut off prior to maturity with- 
 out damage to the perpetuation of the whol-^ class. 
 In view of this phase of the question, what other 
 remedy can be suggested than that during the 
 running season of the salmon grilse traps and 
 wheels should either suspend operations or make 
 some arrangement whereby the puiall salmon may 
 escape — s provision for which in their construc- 
 tion, could be easily made. In no river having a 
 spring run should be taken any variety of salmon 
 of less than five pound in weight. It would 
 seem an unprofitable proposition to undertake to 
 keep up the supply with hatcheries, if their out- 
 put is to be taken in two-year-old form, thereby 
 losing at least four-fifths of the weight which 
 
 ai 
 
might be gained in another two years of growth. 
 A strict observance of this rule, together with 
 a reasonable quantity from the hatcheries, would 
 keep up the supply at least, and would probably 
 increase it. 
 
 Another very important factor in the preser- 
 vation of the species would be the establishment 
 of stations on the lower river, where, after the 
 spawn had been taken and cared for at the hatch- 
 eries on the natural spawning grounds until the 
 eye spots were formed, and the eggs able to bear 
 transportation, where the final hatching and 
 turning loose could be done. In my estima- 
 tion, ten thousand young fish turned out 
 in a healthy state, at a time when they are able 
 to t:ike care of themselves in the lower river, just 
 above the influence of bracKish water, are of more 
 value to the river than one hundred thousand 
 turned out at the head waters, for the reason that 
 at the spawning and hatching time trout, and fish 
 of all kinds which prey upon the eggs and young, 
 congregate at the headwaters and gobble up both 
 eggs and <young fish by thousands. The turn- 
 ing out of large numbers in a small stream attract 
 their enemies of all kinds, beside giving the 
 young fish an insufficient supply of food, from 
 
 which lack many perish from starvation. By foL 
 lowing this plan the young salmon would be 
 where their enemies would not be able to find 
 them, as well as being able to obtain the food sup- 
 ply of the whole stream. 
 
 A careful attention on the part of the fish 
 commission of the State regarding obstructions 
 which prevent the salmon from reaching the 
 natural spawning grounds, such as dams and 
 traps, placed entirely across the streams, would be 
 a powerful factor toward the preservation of the 
 species; and the passage of a law which would 
 make it a crime for taking or having a gravid or 
 spawning salmon in possession, except for 
 spawning purposes, with the assistance of tho 
 other factors mentioned above, assisted by the 
 operation of such hatcheries as the importance of 
 the business seems to justify, would enable the 
 industry to remain as permanent a branch as that 
 of agriculture. 
 
 Professor Baird often said that •' one acre of 
 water was worth seven acres of land, if properly 
 cultivated," but lam convinced that the Professor 
 erred only in this, that I believe one acre of the 
 waters of any salmon stream in Oregon, if juJi- 
 oiouslj cultivated under favorable ciroumstances, 
 
 22 
 
and if not paralyzed by ignorant or vicious legisla- 
 tion, is worth more as a medium for the product 
 of a food supply than forty acres of the best land 
 in the State. The fact, however, that there are 
 many different streams which produce salmon 
 
 that have their runs at different times in the 
 year, and also that the same river may afford runs 
 of different kinds at various times in the year, 
 makes any laws heretofore passed, which apply to 
 
 the seasonB they have, sought to close, in- 
 applicable to the necessities of the case, and pro- 
 ductive of more harm than good. In view of 
 this position of affairs 1 would submit the follow- 
 ing plan to my readers, which to my mind, in 
 addition to the preceding sections, seems the only 
 way of taking a grasp of the whole question with 
 any certainty of realizing a benefit : 
 
 Let an act be passed by the legislature which 
 shall provide for the appointment of a Chief Pish 
 Warden for the State, who shall have deputies in 
 every county, whose duty it shall be to take note 
 of the different runs of Salmon and Trout in his 
 district, and report the same to the head of his 
 department; and an act which shall provide that 
 in parts of such streams, wherein lie the natural 
 
 spawning beds, no fishing for salmon or trout 
 shall be done for one month prior to, nor at any 
 time during, the spawning time of the different 
 runs, and making it the duty of the fish warden 
 to close such portions of the streani by posting 
 notices at various stations along the banks, denot- 
 ing such portions as shall remain closed to fishing, 
 and also to publish notices in the nearest news- 
 paper to the same effect, and any violation to be 
 punished by a heavy penalty. Also an act pro- 
 viding that no salmon of any variety in any of the 
 rivers of the Si.ate of Oregon should be taken by 
 traps, fish wheels or seines, of less than five 
 pounds weight. 
 
 I will add that unless some such steps are 
 taken, in less than ten years the packing of salmon 
 on the Columbia river will have become impossible 
 as a business proposition, and in much less time 
 the truth of this proposition will become apparent. 
 But by the passage of the laws mentioned, and the 
 adoption' of the suggestions herein contained, 
 the salmon supply would be kept up without in- 
 terfering with any other branch of industry, for 
 reasons that will appear in future treatment of 
 other branches of the salmon question. 
 
 23 
 
n 
 
 w 
 
 3. A Short Treatise upon the Commercial Varieties and 
 
 their Habits. 
 
 THE varieties of the genus salmo are classed by 
 many ichthyologists as being of fifty-two dis- 
 tinct species, which includes all varieties of the 
 trout family, but owing to the slight difference in 
 the appearance of many which are named, there has 
 been a great diversity of opinion in regard to the 
 question. The fact that in rivers which enter the 
 sea within a few miles of each other, as well as the 
 different tributaries of the same river, the fish will 
 have local characteristics which enable those who 
 are familiar with the various streams to distinguish 
 to which river or tributary they belong, should 
 cause little surprise that there was some confusion 
 in regard to the question. The character of the 
 water, alkaline or otherwise, temperature, color of 
 the gravel which forms the spawning bods, color 
 of the timber, light and shade at the headwaters 
 — all have their influence in the marking and 
 coloring of these fish. A consideration of the 
 
 character and habits of the whole family would, 
 however, call for more ability and occupy more 
 space than is alloted to the writer, therefore only 
 those varieties used for the purpose of canning 
 will receive attention. 
 
 First, and most valuable, are the Salmo 
 Quinnat, or Chinook salmon, which are to be 
 found at different times, according to locality, 
 between the months of March and October, in 
 varying quantities, in nearly all the rivers of the 
 Coast, from the Sacramento to Alaska, and are 
 known at the latter place by the name of King 
 salmon. The duration of their run alpo varies 
 with the locality, and their quality depends upon 
 the season in which they are taken, those of the 
 spring and early summer months being so much 
 superior in fatness and flavor as hardly to be rec- 
 ognized as belonging to the same species, when 
 prepared for the table. Certain conditions seem 
 
 24 
 
s and 
 
 ily would, 
 
 upy more 
 
 ■efore only 
 
 the Hftlmo 
 are to be 
 ;o locality, 
 )ctolier, in 
 vers of the 
 :a, aiul are 
 \e of King 
 alpc) varies 
 )euds upon 
 lose of the 
 g 80 much 
 y to be rec- 
 Bcies, when 
 itious seem 
 
 necessary to produce a spring run of Chinook sal- 
 mon, among which is that the river must take its 
 rise in the mountains of the interior which are 
 clad in everlasting snow, the melting of -hich 
 produces an early spring freshet, the f res t waters 
 extending a long distance into the sea, producing 
 a growth of feed that is favorable to their reaching 
 a high state of development, thus preparing them 
 for the long and arduous journey they must make 
 in order to reach the spawning grounds. The 
 only rivers of the Pacific Coast which seem to 
 furnish the conditions necessary for a spring; 
 run of salmon are the Columbia, Sacramento, 
 Ilogue and Klammath. 
 
 In these rivers Chinook salmon begin to run 
 during the month of March, and a few have been 
 taken even earlier, but are limited to small quan- 
 tities until about the middle of April, and gener- 
 ally continue until about the first of August, 
 although some seasons may cut off a few days 
 earlier or continue a short time longer. The 
 different runs, according to the date of their 
 arrival, have their particular objective point, those 
 comingearliest making for the extreme headwaters, 
 while, according to the order of their coming, 
 later arrivals fall into tributaries less and less 
 
 remote from the sea, until the last to come spawn 
 in the main river. 
 
 Those which reach the headwaters spawn 
 during the month of August, and later runs in 
 their order during September and October. It 
 seems necessary for the maturing of the eggs of 
 this species that the fish should remain in the 
 fresh water about four months, and the writer will 
 state that for years past it has been the custom at 
 his hatching pond to hold salmon nearly that 
 length of time, to let the fish ripen for spawning, 
 even after they had been held in the river for some 
 time prior to being placed in the ponds, and this 
 without supplying them with any sort of food, 
 which seems to settle the question regarding their 
 taking food, while they are in fresh water for the 
 purpose of propagation. However, this is not 
 the case with the Silversides, as they will, while in 
 the bays, take a hook readily. The Chinook sal- 
 mon of the streams which take their rise in the 
 Coast Bange of Oregon, and those called King 
 salmon in British Columbia and Alaska, are (mak- 
 ing due allowance for the local influence of the 
 streams wherein they are caught) identical in 
 character. The running time of this branch of 
 the family also varies with different streams, 
 
 25 
 
those on the Oregon coast coming in during 
 August and September, but not ascending above 
 tide water until after the fall rains of the early 
 part of November, and spawning from the first 
 of December to the 15th of January; while on the 
 coast of California they are considerably later, and 
 in Alaska much earlier, iu some of the streams 
 running as early as June and spawning in July. 
 The most important of all, except the spring 
 Chinook, as regards quantity, and by many con- 
 sidered superior in quality to all except them, is 
 the Blue-back, as it is called on the Columbia 
 river, Saw quai in British Columbia, and Ked 
 salmon in Alaska, where they are found in large 
 quantities. The quality of these fish also depends 
 largely upon the locality where they are found, 
 the Columbia, Frazer, Skeena and Nass rivers 
 producing the best. This species of salmon 
 seems to seek, for spawning purposes, those 
 rivers that ure formed by the outflow of lakes 
 to which they can have access, and their 
 spawning time is from July to October, according 
 to locahty. The adult salmon of this species 
 weighs from six to eight pounds, and their flesh 
 is the richest red color of any variety used for 
 canning puri as. 
 
 The Silversides of the Oregon coast, or Silver 
 salmon as called in Alaska, are an excellent iish 
 for the table when fresh, but on account of their 
 pale color are not so highly esteemed in the mar- 
 kets when canned, as the public taste has been 
 educated to expect a bright color as evidence of 
 quality; but there are many engaged in the busi- 
 ness who prefer these to the red salmon of Alaska 
 for their eating. The greater portion of these 
 fish that find a market are packed on the coant of 
 Oregon, and their run begins about the middle of 
 September and lasts until the early rains, when 
 they leave the bays for the spawning grounds, 
 spawning from the middle of December until 
 February, although both running and spawning 
 seasons vary slightly in the different streams. 
 
 The Steel Head, or as it is variously called, 
 Sea Trout, Bull Trout or Salmo Trutta, ranges in 
 weight, when mature, from three to twenty 
 pounds, although some attain even a larger size, 
 and as regards quality are about on an ecpmlity 
 with the Silversides. This species may be found 
 iu the rivers at almost any season of the year, but 
 their principal running time is from January to 
 March, and their spawning season in April and 
 May. After spawning they return to the sea with 
 
 26 
 
it, or Silver 
 cellent fish 
 int of tbeir 
 in the mar- 
 ie has been 
 evidence of 
 n the busi- 
 n of Alaska 
 an of these 
 the coast of 
 le middle of 
 raina, when 
 g grounds, 
 3mber until 
 d spawning 
 streams, 
 lusly called, 
 ;a, rauf^'es in 
 to twenty 
 larger size, 
 an ecjuality 
 ay be found 
 he year, but 
 January to 
 1 April and 
 the sea with 
 
 Dressing and Cleaning Department. 
 
small loss in numbers from the effect of propaga- 
 tion. Having noted the different varieties used for 
 canning and the various seasons in Tvhich they 
 make their appearance, we, will now escort a 
 couple of the most royal of all classes, the spring 
 Chinook, to the headwaters, and endeavor to 
 trace out the object and result of their journey, as 
 well as some of the difficulties which they en- 
 counter. These fish make their appearance outside 
 the bar fof several weeks prior to entering the 
 rivers, drawing nearer as the time progresses, 
 as it seems for the purpose of gradually becoming 
 seasoned to the change from salt to fresh water, 
 which would seem necessary from the fact that a 
 salmon taken from fresh water and placed at 
 once in sea water will die immediately, and it is 
 reasonable to suppose that the reverse would have 
 the same effect. After having entered the fresh 
 water portion of the stream, they move up the 
 lower portion of the river at a speed ranging from 
 fifteen to forty miles per day, according to the 
 nature of the stream, but as they ascend the more 
 rapid portions at the headwaters their rate of 
 speed becomes greatly diminished. 
 
 After having arrived at the spawning grounds 
 they settle in some deep, shady pool, just below a 
 
 wide shallow riffle or gravel bar, where the water 
 is from one to two feet in depth, and runs with a 
 moderate speed and a straight current from bank 
 to bank, without eddies or obstructions, which 
 cause varying currents. There they remain, 
 comparatively quiet, until within about two or 
 three weeks of spawning time, when the male 
 moves up to the riffle and begins the formation of 
 the redd, or spawning bed. This he does by root- 
 ing with his nose and pushing away the gravel 
 with his powerful tail until he has made a hole or 
 pit several feet in depth. In his efforts he oflon 
 makes a sorry sight of himself, by having worn 
 bis nose until a good portion of the head is gone, 
 and the best part of his tail and fins have uIko 
 disappeared; nor is he left undisturbed to perform 
 his labor, as when he has nearly completed his 
 bed, after a severe battle, another that is stron<,'er 
 may drive him away and take possession, and he 
 is obliged to seek another place and build again. 
 After the redd is prepared and the female is 
 ripened, she moves up alongside where the male 
 is standing guard, and they deposit together the 
 eggs and milt, at the same time with a movcuioiit 
 of their tails sweeping the gravel over them to 
 protect them from the myriads of other fishes that 
 
 28 
 
 
CoukitiK: Departnieiit. 
 
I 
 
 "Si 
 
 are lying in wait to gobble them up, ami this they 
 can perform with only a small degree of Buccess, 
 as the trout are so persistent that in spite of being 
 fought away by the parent salmon they will return 
 and lie so close as to seize the eggs almost as fast 
 as dropped. After the work of propagation is 
 completed they still remain on guard, fighting 
 away any other fish which may go upon the 
 spawning beds, until, worn out with their exer- 
 tions they will float down the stream dead, with 
 the exception that when a sudden freshet comes 
 in the river some of the stronger ones may be 
 swept down to the brackish water, where, although 
 they arrive sick and sore, they take on new life, 
 their sores are healed, and in four months they 
 are as lively and plump as ever. 
 
 In verification of this proposition the writer 
 will state that at his hatchery the adult fish, after 
 spawning, have been marked and returned to the 
 river, and four months later have been caught, 
 and that they were in as fine condition as ever, 
 beside having increased considerably in weight. 
 I will also state that at the spawning time the 
 male fish had the hooked nose and long teeth, 
 which in some localities gain for them the name 
 of Dog salmon and that when they were first put 
 
 into the ripening ponds, and when taken the sec- 
 ond time (the following spring) they showed no 
 such peculiarity, the disfigurement being caused 
 by the wasting process incident to the preparation 
 for fecundation, and the fact that no food was 
 taken in the meantime, causing a shrinkage of 
 the flesh about the mouth, leaving the teeth ex- 
 posed, and a contraction of the muscles of the face 
 which draws the nose or beak into a hooked shape. 
 As we have now accompanied the lucky in- 
 dividuals back to the sea and noted the result, we 
 will now take another trip to the spawning 
 grounds, to see what has become of the object of 
 their long and arduous struggle. 
 
 The eggs, after having been deposited in the 
 gravel, if not disturbed by a heavy freshet, which 
 often sweeps away all of them to destruction, lie 
 secure from all enemies except those that can 
 work into the recesses where they are hidden, for 
 a period which depends upon the temperature 
 of the water. The higher the temperature the 
 more quickly they are hatched, but with the 
 temperature forty-fiye to fifty degrees they will 
 hatch in from forty to fifty days, while in Alaska, 
 with the temperature at from twenty-six to thirty- 
 five degrees, it has taken five months and a half 
 
 80 
 
Can IttaUliiK Department. 
 
 m 
 
1 11 1 
 
 before they began to break the shell of the egg. 
 After breaking the shell in which it was confined, 
 and with the umbilical or yolk sack attached, it 
 is a helpless little object, its only protection being 
 its instinct to dive into the sheltering depths of 
 the gravel, where it remains, without taking food, 
 until the yolk sack is absorbed, at which time it 
 ventures .forth in its search for food, and at this 
 time becomes the helpless prey of trout and many 
 other enemies. Another source of destruction is 
 a disposition on the part of the young fry to as- 
 cend every little branch or rivulet as far as they 
 can get, and these little watercourses often drying 
 up leave thousands of these little fish to die in its 
 bed. Herons, king-fishers, cormorants, and birds 
 of several other kinds gobble them up by hun- 
 dreds, and it is almost surprising that any escape. 
 It is estimated by good authorities that of the 
 number of eggs deposited, and upon which 
 different writers vary considerably, some placing 
 the number as high as 12,000 for an adult female, 
 not more than three per cent of which ever come 
 to maturity in the natural process of hatching. 
 While I have no doubt regarding the per cent that 
 mature, I am satisfied that the number of eggs 
 carried by the salmon have been much magnified, 
 
 as I have repeatedly counted the eggs of the 
 Chinook salmon at times when there was no pos- 
 sibility of any having been lost, and have always 
 found exactly four thousand — two thousand in 
 each roe. 
 
 About fourteen months from the time of 
 hatching, a portion of the young salmon start on 
 their journey to the sea, while the balance reniaiu 
 in fresh water another year, and many are caugbt 
 by line fishermen under the mistaken idea that 
 they are brook trout. Those that have desceiuled 
 the river on their way to the sea remain in the bav 
 for a short time, and then are lost sight of for 
 about four months, at the expiration of wliicli 
 time they return with such an increase in weight 
 as to appear almost incredible, leaving the river 
 when about seven inches in length, weighing but 
 a few ounces, and returning weighing from four 
 to five pounds, whilo a few reach a weight as high, 
 even, as eight pouiida. This, astonishing us it 
 may appear, has ha-i.i demonstrated at the Ciokl 
 Beach hatchery, which is situated near ludiau 
 creek, to which the young salmon migrate \vhen 
 turned out of the hatchery, and from which a 
 ditch is taken from the upper part to supply the 
 hatching ponds with water. About fourteen 
 
 32 
 
1 wtigbt 
 
 can Fining and SeaHnj? Room. 
 
I 
 
 h 
 
 I 
 
 months after hatching, unless the ditch is shut off 
 from the head on account of too much water, these 
 youngs salmon come down the ditch and into the 
 ponds from which they were turned the year be- 
 fore, and have been caught, marked, and turned 
 out into the bay, where they wsre again taken 
 four months later, with the result stated. Anoth- 
 er peculiarity is that while the young salmon, on 
 their first trip, remain but such a short time in 
 the sea before ascending to the spawning grounds, 
 the female does not show even a sign of spawn in 
 the roe, while many young males will become 
 fertile, and even the young males of the same 
 hatching that have not yet made the trip to salt 
 water, although but a few inches in length, will 
 get into the same condition. 
 
 In view of these facts, at what other conclu- 
 sion I. m we arrive than if adult salmon , which 
 enter the river in April, deposit their spawn in 
 the month of August, and remain until the 
 freshets of November force any surviving members 
 towards the sea, making due allowance for the 
 tima necessary for seasoning to stand the full 
 strength of the sea water, that these fish spend 
 but a short time in ihe ocean, and while there 
 take on a wonderful growth, therefort would not 
 
 be likely to journey far from the streams to which 
 they are common, and would account for the fact 
 that each river has salmon that are in some par- 
 ticular peculiar to itself. It would also appear 
 that were those who claim that all salmon die 
 after spawning correct, as well as those who claim 
 that all young salmon that ascend the river do the 
 same, it would necossarily follow that one trip of 
 each class would be an end to the whole of this 
 species that belong to that river. With many of 
 the theories that have heretofore been generally 
 accepted, both regarding the habits and culture 
 of salmon, I must disagree, as the light of my ex- 
 perience has shown their fallacies; and it is also 
 with astonishment that I hear persons at this day, 
 in view of the success made in other branches of 
 pisciculture, and with the knowledge of the des- 
 truction caused by the encroachments of (Mviliza- 
 tion, making the assertions that all that is required 
 to keep up the supply is to allow a portion of the 
 run to ascend to the spawning grounds, that Lave 
 been, or are in the process of being, destroyed by 
 every method known to civilization. 
 
 I contend that without reasonable exertion 
 for the erection and operation of hatcheries, and 
 the exercise of wise laws for the protection of the 
 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 31 
 

 Packliiic Room. 
 
M 
 
 
 spawning grounds, and regulating the size of 
 fish to be taken, the States of Oregon and Wash- 
 ington, which now enjoy a monopoly of the finest 
 quality [of salmoi in the world, will have soon 
 lost their heritage. The lack of interest mani- 
 fested by those engaged in the salmon canning 
 business on the Columbia, in the matter of their 
 propagation, is surprising, when very many are 
 aware how simple and inexpensive is the process 
 of mtrely hatching the eggs — in fact, so simple 
 that any cannery could have a small hatchery. 
 
 and by obtaining eggs in which the eya spots 
 were formed could finish the proesss, and when 
 the fish were well developed distribute them with 
 little trouble in the fresh water branches nearest 
 their location. They could also procure eggs, if 
 by concerted action they would establish ripening 
 ponds at the mouths of some of the small streams 
 that put into the lower river, similar in character 
 to those in use at Gold Beach, a description of 
 which will be given in a future discussion of the 
 subject. 
 
 '3? 
 
 it 
 
 («— 
 
eya spots 
 and when 
 them with 
 ties nearest 
 ire eggs, if 
 *li ripening 
 lall streiuns 
 Q character 
 cription of 
 Bion of the 
 
 4. The Art of Salmon Culture. The Apparatus Necessary 
 
 for Propagation. 
 
 I 
 
 N ORDER that any readers who may be stimu- 
 lated by what is herein contained to undertake 
 the propagation of salmon, may avoid the mistakes 
 and difftculties which were made and encountered 
 by the writer in his early attempts, and the very 
 considerable expense consequent thereto, a short 
 history of the early part of the undertaking may 
 prove useful, as well as furnish some evidence to 
 subHtiintiate the conclusions to which 1 have 
 arrived ir tomier articles regarding other branches 
 of the (>.;'•: !,icn. More than twenty years ago 1 
 sugf" tod t' the packers of the Columbia river 
 thit t- rU»:,f streams, which were formerly 
 abuiiJa),^' bupplied, had at that time become 
 pr-'.tloaiJy >' ^.usted, something should be done 
 toward utockiug the river; but I was generally 
 met, with the remark "that the salmon would last 
 as King as they would need any." A few years, 
 however, convinced them that they might be mis- 
 
 taken, and the result was the location of a hatchery 
 on the Clackamas river in Oregon, 
 
 Hearing that salmon of a fine quality were 
 very plentiful at the Rogue river, I purchased a 
 locatiou and built a cannery there the latter part 
 of 1870, and in the spring of 1877, much to my 
 surprise, packed only 3197 cases, which was all 
 tliat could be obtained by the utmost exertion, 
 which proved that the reports, except as to quality, 
 were but echoes of the past; and thus I was fur- 
 nished with the necessity as well as the opportun- 
 ity to put into practice those crude ideas which 
 had long been forming in my mind. As soon as 
 I realized how few salmon the stream afforded, 
 operations were begun towards stocking by ex- 
 cavating a pond for holding and ripening the 
 adult fish, on a little spring branch which afforded 
 about one thousand gallons per hour, during the 
 dry season, that put into the river about a mile 
 
 8T 
 
f 
 
 V 1 
 
 from the bar or enfrance, and a small hatching 
 house was built c!ose by the pond. After com- 
 pleting the pond and house I stocked the pond 
 with one hundred adult female salmon and fifty 
 of the male species of the finest specimens that 
 could be selected. After this was accomplished I 
 made a trip overland to the hatchery on the Mc 
 Cloud river, a tributary of the Sacramento in 
 California, for the purpose of observing the 
 operation of spn/^fning, etc., arriving therein the 
 early part of August, and althoujh the superin- 
 tendent was away the men in charge kindly went 
 through the operation for my benefit. After 
 making note of the various items of interest I 
 proceeded to San Francisco, where by the kind- 
 ness of mutual friends I was introduced to the 
 Hon. B. B. Bedding, then secretary of the fish 
 commission of the State of California, who proved 
 to be very enthusiastic on the subject of salmon 
 culture, and who, when I stated that I was in 
 pursuit of information upon the subject, advised 
 me to engage the services of a young gentleman 
 bv the name of Kirby B. Pratt, who had been 
 employed at the McCloud hatchery for a number 
 of seasons; and acting upon the suggestion I en- 
 gaged Mr. Pratt, and we at once made our way 
 
 to Rogue river, when Mr. Pratt took charge, and 
 B: / ^ 11 difficulties with which he had to con- 
 ten . pite of the fact that he had previously 
 had nil .^perience with fish that had been kept in 
 retaining ponds for the purpose of ripening, from 
 one hundred females, in the following spring suc- 
 ceeded in turning out three hundred and fifty 
 thousand healthy salmon. After turning out the 
 young fry, on account r* poor health Mr. Pratt 
 was compelled to seek a more genial climate, and 
 thus we were deprived of a valuable assistant in 
 our efforts. 
 
 Having made such a success in the beginning, 
 the next season I determined to so prepare, that 
 we should correct the weakness of our system of 
 the year previous and make a much larger output, 
 and with this in view made the pond larger, 
 planked and tarred it, increased the water supply, 
 cut away the timber that heretofore had shaded 
 the place, and made quite a clearing, beside muiiy 
 other, as we thought, improTements about the 
 place. When the season had arrived we pliiccd 
 a fine lot of salmon in the pond, but much to my 
 surprise in a short time they began to swim about 
 near the surface of the water, showing white 
 patches in various parts of their bodies, which 
 
 38 
 
kept growing worse until they were covered by a 
 growth of fungus, their eyes blinded, and finally 
 nearly all died, leaving only enough to give us 
 about fifty thousand eggs. At this result of what 
 I had considered would enable me to surpass any 
 previous efforts, I was much disheartened, but 
 finally concluded that the trouble came from the 
 planking with which the pond had been enclosed, 
 and that a liberal use of coal tar would correct 
 that, and then everything would go along in good 
 style. So the next year I tarred liberally, but on 
 placing the fish in the pond the same thing oc- 
 curred. By this time I was so much worked up 
 over the question that I determined to make a 
 radical change. I would no longer trust planked 
 ponds, but build with stone, and as there was a 
 point of solid ledge on the up-river side of the 
 cannery I had the earth piped away from a portion 
 of it down to the solid rock, and built a concrete 
 wall around, enclosing a space forty by sixty feet, 
 and turned iu a much better water supply than 
 ever before, believing that I had at last solved the 
 question, and in my mind's eye seeing many 
 young salmon ahead. You can imagine my dis- 
 appointment and disgust when, after repeating 
 the operation of the year before, the same result 
 
 occurred. To add to my eagerness to succeed, the 
 crop from the first year's planting came in that 
 year, and for a time the river seemed alive with 
 fish, while with all the force we could muster we 
 were not able to take care of half that might have 
 been caught. 
 
 The evidence of the value of propagation be- 
 ing so forcibly brought to my mind made me very 
 anxious to succeed, and I would spend hours on 
 the point above looking at the poor creatures pad- 
 diiiJg about the surface of the pond, and worry 
 myself sick in the effort to discover a remedy. 
 One day while occupied in this manner I began to 
 reflect upon the propositon, and asked myself the 
 question, under what conditions was the greatest 
 success of this undertaking made? And the 
 recitals of conditions came in this order: a little 
 pond, a little water, a great deal of mud, and so 
 much brush and trees that the place never got the 
 sun. "Eureka!" I cried, "I've got it! That is 
 what has been the trouble ! I at once began the 
 construction of a building over the pond that 
 would close out the light, and when completed 
 put in a new lot of salmon, with the result that 
 they showed no signs of the previous trouble. 
 When the building was closed the place became 
 
 89 
 
\ 
 
 1 
 
 il 
 
 BO dark that the fish remained perfectly quiet, 
 probably having the idea that they were in a deep 
 pool, while previously they were bruising them- 
 selves badly in their attempts to find an outlet. 
 If the letting in of the sunlight would produce 
 such an effect upon the fish that were in a poud, 
 the bottom and sides of which were constructed 
 from solid ledge and concrete, with the water at 
 a depth of ten feet, and fed by a pure stream, 
 would it not seem reasonable that the removal, of 
 the timber and undergrowth at the headwaters of 
 a stream would produce the same result ? Would 
 it not also indicate the origin of the so-called sal- 
 mon disease wL" :'i his afflicted these fish in the 
 rivers of Great Britain ? 
 
 Having shown some of the difficulties attend- 
 ing my first efforts towards propagation, before 
 dealing further with that question I will briefly 
 note some of my impressions regarding the work 
 at the McCloud hatchery, which is mentioned in 
 the early portion of this article. For several 
 years this hatchery was maintained by the govern- 
 ment of the United States, and from seven to 
 twelve millions of eggs taken each year, that were 
 distributed in almost every civilized country in the 
 world, but with no apparent beneficial result, 
 
 which to my mind has had the effect of discourag- 
 ing in a great degree the government from ex- 
 tending any considerable aid to the salmon 
 hatcheries of the Pacific Coast. That this experi- 
 ment should prove a failure should cause no sur- 
 prise when it is realized that the spring variety of 
 the Chinook salmon, or Salmo Quinnat, which is 
 common to only a limited area of our coast, and 
 in but a few of our longest rivers, is a creature of 
 conditions of such peculiarity as are found in no 
 other rivers of the world, viz; rivers of great 
 length, *hat take their rise in the everlasting snow 
 and How through a country of such temperate 
 climate that ice is seen in them but occasionally, 
 and then only for a very short time. I firmly believe 
 that like conditions must be had in order to bring 
 about like results, and that to transplant salmon 
 successfully they must be placed in rivers where 
 the natural conditions are similar to that from 
 which they have been taken. 
 
 To begin a description of the process of pro- 
 pagating salmon artificially, the first to be notel 
 is the ripening ponds, although if eggs can be 
 obtained from fish at the natural spawnin^r 
 grounds these would not be necessary, althou[;li 
 very useful as feeding ponds for small fish. At 
 
 40 
 
Qold B«aoh we hsTa two ripening pondt, about 
 forty bj sixty feet each, and ten feet in depth, one 
 of which extends into the river to low water mark, 
 which enables us at high water to come alongside 
 with the racks or crates which contain the adult 
 salmon and dip them into the pond without much 
 trouble. The second pond is located upon the 
 bank above, and first receives the water supply, 
 which falls a distance of about thirty-five feet, and 
 afterwards discharges through the waste way into 
 the lower pond with a fall of about fifteen feet, 
 which aerates the water suflSciently, so that two 
 hundred miner's inches will keep Hve hundred 
 ripening salmon, if divided equally in the two 
 ponds, in good condition for the purpose of 
 propagation. The pond nearest the river ie built 
 ou a solid ledge bottom, with walls of concrete, 
 while the upper is of concrete altogether, and 
 each being separately covered by a low roofed 
 building, arranged to shut out as much light as 
 possible. 
 
 The hatchery building is eighteen by forty- 
 eight feet, with the walls about eight feet in 
 height, and is constructed in such a way that by 
 cloHing the shutters it can be made quite dark in- 
 ■ide. On the banks above the hatchery, and con- 
 
 nected with the water main by a pipe through its 
 bottom, is a tank for filtering the water which is 
 used in the hatchery, which tank is twelve feet 
 long, four feet wide and three [feet deep, with a 
 partition in the middle which extends from the 
 bottom to within six inches of the top. In the 
 space where the water first enters is a filter made 
 of alternate layers of coarse gravel and charcoal, 
 while in the next are three flannel screens in 
 frames that slip into slides which set on an incline, 
 so that the pressure of the water will hold them iu 
 place. The water, flowing up through the char- 
 coal filter and over the partition, passes through 
 the screens and is carried by a flume to another 
 tank of the same size and kind, except that it has 
 no ciiarcoal filter. This is set across the end of 
 the hatchery building, and has two outlets, six 
 by twelve inches, one of which discharges into 
 a distributing tank, fourteen feet long and eight 
 inches deep by twelve inches wide, inside measure- 
 ment, and the other into another distributing 
 tank of the same size just below the first, each out- 
 let having gates or slides to shut oflf from the 
 filtering tank and divert the water from the upper 
 to the lower tank, or the reverse, as desired, for 
 the purpose of cleaning out any sediment that 
 
 41 
 
II 
 
 I 
 
 migbt be deposited without stopping or interrupt- 
 ing the flow of water through the hatching tanks 
 or troughs. These extend lengthwise of the 
 building and join on in pairs to the lower dis- 
 tributing tanks, the end of the hatching trough 
 having a partition which comes flush with the 
 sides, and set on an angle to suit the incline of 
 the trough, and butts up to a joint against the 
 distributing tanks, which has a notch three inches 
 long by one and a half inches deep cut in its side 
 to match a corresponding notch in the end of the 
 hatching trough, where it butts against it, for (he 
 purpose of letting the water flow into the hatching 
 troughs. The extreme length of each set of 
 hatching troughs is fifteen feet seven inches, and 
 they are placed in a grade of three inches for their 
 length. These are followed by another set placed 
 in line on the same grade, which receive the water 
 which passes through the first set. The troughs 
 are nine inches deep and twelve inches wide, in- 
 side measurement, with partitions six inches high, 
 to form a series of dams or rifiles, and set in two 
 feet six inches apart from centre to centre. 
 About six inches from each end of the space en- 
 closed by the partitions a rod of iron one-quarter 
 inch in diameter passes through the trough aLout 
 
 three-quarters of an inch above the inside of tlio 
 bottom, for thepurpo-eof forming a testing place 
 for the hatching baskets, so that a space may be 
 left between the basket and the bottom of the 
 trough, so that as the young fish are hatched out 
 they may work through the mesh in the bottom 
 of the basket into this space. The obj< ct in mak- 
 ing the troughs so much deeper than the partitions 
 is to prevent the young salmon, after the sack is 
 absorbed and they become lively, from jumpin^j 
 out, and that of placing the troughs in double 
 lines is to save room tn I make a good passageway 
 between the difi'erint lines of troughs, so they can 
 be easily worked in picking out dead ef,'g9. 
 We have three double lines, two sets in lengtli, 
 with passages on all sides, and these have the 
 capacity to turn out one million five hundred 
 thousand fish, if worked to the fullest extcn*. 
 After the water has passed through the hatching' 
 troughs it falls into a long flume, which forms the 
 waste way which comes from the end of the dis- 
 tributing tank, where there is a gate to regulate the 
 pressure of the water that passes into the hatching 
 troughs, and the surplus runs into the waste way, 
 and this discharges into a lank on the floor or 
 scaffold in the ripening pond, a portion of which 
 i'i (See cut page opposite.) 
 
»,...« ■»mtrlbutiiie Cans, HatclilMK ana D l8trIbatlM|f 
 Interior of Hatcliery, sho^inK Pans, '>'*'*'^'|*"""~ ^'^ 
 
 Tanks, or TroujfUS- 
 
m 
 
 is floored over on a level with the wall for the 
 purpose of handling the fish when spawning. 
 This tank is about six feet long by four wide and 
 two feet deep, and discharges into the pond. All 
 tanks, troughs and waterways are given a good 
 coat of tar every season, both inside and out, as 
 well as all flumes leading to filtering tanks. The 
 hatching baskets are two feet long, ten and a half 
 inches wide by six inches deep, the mesh of which 
 is one-eighth of an inch wide by three quarters 
 of an inch long, and an excellent one is made 
 after the writer's model by A. S. Hallidie of San 
 Francisco. 
 
 Next comes the tables (with their dumb clocks 
 on the wall back of them) upon which to set a 
 dozen six-quart pans which hold the impregnated 
 eggs, one pan under each clock, which is set for 
 the time that each operation has to be passed 
 through, so that when the time has arrived which 
 agrees with that marked by it the next manipula- 
 tion takes place. Close by the table is a small 
 sink or shallow tank about three feet long by two 
 feet wide and six inches deep, and a tap to draw 
 water as required for washing the eggs after im- 
 pregnation. Next comes the midwives, which on 
 account of their peculiar shape are difficult to 
 
 describe. These are made of white cedar or spru ce 
 sides attached to a back piece that is hollowed out 
 to fit the back of the fish, and the sides are cut 
 away to leave the belly exposed, tapering f rem the 
 tail end toward the head for about three-quarters 
 of its length, the balance being left squa re. A 
 head piece is made which fits over it, and can l)c 
 telescoped back and forth to suit the length uf 
 the fish, and fits over his jaws, while the tail is 
 held in place by a strap. This, although but a 
 crude description of the apparatus, may serve fis 
 a hint to the beginner, who may, by the exerciwe 
 of a little inventive ability, construct what lie 
 needs for the purpose. (See cut on opposite page. ) 
 A couple of dip nets of fine twine and small 
 mesh (the smaller the better), about three feet 
 deep, and hung in a hoop of steel made of three- 
 eighths rods, and two feet across, attached to a 
 pole or handle about ten feet long, and three cr 
 four five gallon oil cans with the tops cutout ami 
 a piece of wood nailed across the inside of the to}) 
 part to serve as a handle, and with a couple of 
 holes cut on opposite sides, with some pieces of 
 fine mesh wire web soldered over them to permit 
 the escape of surplus water and prevent fish from 
 getting out when water is added in transporting 
 
 44 
 
[Spawning Floor in Ripeiilnic: Pond, with MldMrlves. 
 
"A 
 
 I 
 
 the young fish from the hatchery to adjacent 
 streams, 'with the exception of a few brooms and 
 
 buckets, completes the list of articles necessary for 
 the purpose of salmon culture. 
 
 11 
 
 ^^=^f(^^^^^^,. 
 
 ■^ i * 
 
 ^m 
 
 -r^ 
 
 
 46 
 
5- The Art of Salmon Culture. Propagating the 
 
 Fish. 
 
 VKTB.EN the spawning time arrivos^, the first to 
 VV be done is to turn on the water through the 
 filtering tanks into the hatching troughs, and put 
 •n place as many baskets as is considered noces- 
 sarj for the amount of eggs expected to be taken 
 during the day. When all is in order and the 
 tank that receives the waste is filled and over- 
 flowing, two of the operatives with the dip nets 
 begin the search for ripe fish, and when one is 
 secured they place it in the midwife, then put the 
 midwife with the salmon in the waste tank, where 
 it will keep alive and in good condition for a few 
 hours. They then resume the search for another 
 salmon of the opposite sex, and when they have 
 secured one, place that also in a midwife. While 
 one operator siezes the one in the waste tank and 
 sets it on end with the vent of the fish down, tie 
 other does the same with the last one caught, 
 while the third operative holds one of the pans 
 
 under the vents o.' both fishes, which have been 
 brought as near as possible to each other. The 
 manipulators then gently press the bellies of the 
 fish with a stroking motion, from the throats 
 downward to the vents, to discharge the eggs 
 and milt simultaneously into the pan; and at the 
 same time the person holding the pan, with the 
 end of his fingers resting on the bottom of the 
 pan, in order not to jam the egge, gently s!i s the 
 eggs and milt to_'ether. When the fish are well 
 ripened this operation consumes but a couple of 
 minutes, and it is very essential that the operator 
 should be particular not to undertake to spawn 
 unripe fish. It is very easy to select ones that 
 are lipe, as in the female the eggs have been sep- 
 arated from the roe when ready for spawning, 
 and when the fish is set on the end with the vent 
 down, the eggs will settle toward it like shot to the 
 bottom of a sack, which will cause a shrinkage of 
 
 47 
 
the upper part toward the throat; while the male, 
 when ripe, if handled will eject the milt with a 
 spurt. After this operation is performed the pan 
 is placed gently on the table and allowed to re- 
 main quietly from fifteen to twenty minutes, after 
 which water is poui . ' gently down the side of 
 the pan until the eggs are covered to the depth of 
 an inch or two . i.ey then are allowed to remain 
 in this conditio/ 'i.r an hour, during which time 
 the milt, which in the first operation has formed 
 a curd, fastening all the eggs together, will have 
 become separated. 
 
 The operator then takes the pan to the wash- 
 ing tank, which has been filled with water from 
 the tap, and a constant stream kept passing 
 through it, gently dips the pan into the water with 
 B swinging motion floats the milt or curd over the 
 edge of the pan, until the eggs are well cleaned 
 from it. It will then be discovered that while the 
 eggs when first taken were of a pinkish color, now 
 that impregnation has taken place they have be- 
 come the color and have the appearance of rich 
 ripe currants. After the washing is done the 
 operator takes the eggs to the basket which is in 
 the hatching trough, and places the edge of the 
 pan in the water close to the up-stream end of the 
 
 basket, and with a gentle sifting motion toward 
 the other end deposits the eggs. This may be re- 
 peated until the basket contains from sixteen to 
 twenty thousand eggs, the smaller quantity being 
 the better, as it provides for the spawn of four sal- 
 mon, and gives better results in hatching, besides 
 making more room for the young fish, as they 
 hatch out and drop through the bottom of the 
 basket into the space below, where, if too much 
 crowded, they do not thrive so well. 
 
 After having placed the eggs in the hatching 
 troughs the hatchery is kept darkened as much as 
 possible, and they are allowed to remain witbout 
 being disturbed in any manner until twenty-four 
 days^have elapsed, at which time they are examin- 
 ed and any dead eggs pi^'ked out. As this is a 
 gre^t de^jarture from the rules laid down by 
 many auiLcritie«, who insist on picking out the 
 dead eggs as fast as they appear, I will say that 
 my experience would tend to show this mode of 
 operation to be wrong, as we formerly operated in 
 that way and I have seen baskets of eggs that were 
 properly impregnated destroyed by being picked 
 over before the eye spots and yoke sack were fully 
 formed, they dying faster than the operator could 
 pick them out, although there seemed at the be- 
 
 48 
 
ginning lo be rery few dead ones in the basket. 
 Since adopting the plan of leaving the eggs un- 
 disturbed until the twenty-fourth day after 
 spawning, our losses have been less than one and 
 one-half per cent, which is a better result than I 
 believe can be shown by any other method of 
 operation. 
 
 Another departure from the old style of hatch- 
 ing trough that we have made, is that instead of 
 having a double set of partitions^ the water pass- 
 ing over one and under the other, causing a boil- 
 ing or e-' ly in the section where the baskets arc 
 placed, we use only one, the surface of the water 
 passing over the eggs with a natural riffle, they 
 lying undisturbed below, while the water does not 
 deposit so much sediment as in the old style 
 trough, besides allowing the uso of a greater vol- 
 ume of water. While in full operation our hatch- 
 ery is using in the first stage of development about 
 Bixty gallons of water per minute. After the 
 twenty-fourth day the flow of water may be increas- 
 ed to seventy-five gallons per minute with good 
 results. While the eye spots are to be seen in from 
 ei^'hteen to twenty days, the membrane which 
 forms the yolk sack does not become firm enough 
 to permit handling the eggs with safety until past 
 
 the twenty-third day, while after the thirtieth day, 
 by being kept cool and moist, and being packed in 
 wet moss, they may be kept for several days and 
 transported hundreds of miles, and when again 
 placed in the hatching troughs will go on with the 
 process of hatching. Someiimos in picking over 
 the eggs to remove the dead ones, some that were 
 good have accidentally fallen on the d«imp floor of 
 the hatchery and lain for several days; wlitn pick- 
 ed up, and again put in the basket have hatched out 
 as well as any. The appearance of the eye spo^s, 
 as well as the hatching of the fish, depends on 
 the temperature of the water, the time mentioned 
 above being with the water at a temperature of 
 forty-five degrees, and the beginner will be gov- 
 erned by any variations of temperature, but must 
 not disturb the eggs until four days after he has 
 discovered the eye spots, which willaijpear as two 
 little black specks close together on one side of 
 the egg. 
 
 After the dead eggs have been rcnoved. 
 which will b' easily destinguished on account of 
 their having turned white, all that need to be done, 
 is to kee} the water passing with regularity 
 through the hatching troughs, keeping the light 
 shut out of the hatchery, and look at the eggs 
 
 48 
 
3 
 
 Once every two or ttree days, picking out any that 
 may have been injured in the first operation of 
 picking. When the eggs begin hatching and the 
 young fish commence to work through the bottom 
 of the basket, it is well once a day to gently tilt 
 the basket, first at one end and then the other, to 
 allow them to work down through the unhatched 
 eggs into the space below. When the eggs begin 
 batching, place fine mesh screens on the outlet of 
 the waste tank, so any of the young fish that may be 
 carried by the current over the partitions may not 
 be lost. After all in the basket are hatched, which 
 will sometimes take several days from the time 
 they begin breaking the shell, let them remain 
 undisturbed in the hatching troughs, and in about 
 thirty-five days, with the water at forty- five de- 
 grees, the yolk sack will have become absorbed, 
 and they are ready to take feed, which must be 
 given sparingly and pulverized finely. After 
 being fed a week or longer, according to the 
 quantity on hand and supply of food to be con- 
 veniently had, they are ready, if desired, for dis- 
 tributing, which is done by shutting off the water 
 flowing through one line of troughs at a time, and 
 placing one of the five-gallon cans mentioned 
 under a vent in the bottom of a seclion where the 
 
 baskets rested, then by withdrawing a plug which 
 is driven in the vent from the under side of the 
 hatching trough, draw the water and young fish 
 into the can, which will safely transport twenty 
 to thiry thousand young fish, with proper manage- 
 ment, although if any distance is to be made, a 
 less number is easier to manage. After as many 
 as are required for the day's planting have been 
 drawn off, the water is again turned through the 
 hatching trough, the cans are placed in a gkiff, 
 the best sort having a platform in the stern, with 
 a bulkhead to keep the water out of the body of 
 the skiff and permit the overflow from the cans to 
 pass overboard. If the river is fresh, the person 
 having the fish in charge keeps dipping the water 
 from the stream and pouring it into the cans, and 
 if salt, the can must be set in large tub of water, 
 which can be dipped from, poured into the caus, 
 the tub receiving the overflow, the water being 
 aerated by letting it fall in small quantities at a 
 time from a height of one or two feet. Arriving 
 at the mouth of some fresh water stream the 
 young fish are turned out above the action 
 of salt water, when they at once begin their 
 journey up the stream and our labor is over. 
 It has been the practice at the Gold Beach 
 
 60 
 
hatchery to turn out but a portion of the hatching 
 in the manner above mentioned, while of the re- 
 maining portion the larger part are kept in the 
 hatchery until the spring run of salmon begins, 
 and in the meantime are fed njjon canned salmon 
 taken from what are called do-over cans, that 
 have been left from the year before. \V hen the 
 cannery starts in the spring we turn out the 
 young fish,wliich,as the water in the bay is per- 
 fectly fresh at that time of the year, remain near 
 the cannery wharf and feed from the waste which 
 is thrown out after canning their relatives. As 
 soon, however, as the river gets low and the 
 brackish water begins to encroach upon them they 
 move off up the river and into tlie adjacent tri- 
 butaries. The young fish remaining in the hatch- 
 ery are turned into the ripening pond and are fed 
 with the immature eggs taken from the salmon 
 while canning, upon which they thrive wondci- 
 fully, growing in the same length of time to four 
 times the size of the young cf the same hatching 
 that were turned into the tributaries, and become 
 so fat and plump that they are nearly equal in 
 measurement in all directions. When they are 
 four or five inches in length, by taking a sharp 
 razor a person who is of delicate touch can cut off 
 
 the dormant fin, which is located on the back 
 nearest the tail, in that way making them so that 
 they may be easily recognized when caught after 
 returning from the sea, which has been done at 
 the Gold Beach hatchery. The same process as 
 is herein decribed for the propagation of salmon 
 will also apply to the culture of trout, if the ap- 
 pliances are reduced in proportion to the size of 
 the fish and operated in the season when their 
 natural spawning time comes. The product can 
 be kept in retaining ponds of like character, and 
 when grow'i taken as required. 
 
 In this brief treatise on the art of salmon 
 cult it has been my endeavor to place before 
 the . r, ;i plain and simple statement of those 
 methoiirt which in my experience have been found 
 most practical :iud producing the best results, 
 without such a com "lication o' description as to 
 befog the mind of, and render tiie work of no prac- 
 tical use to, the beginner in the art' " pisciculture, 
 but rather a safe guide to any who may tlosire to en- 
 gage in the undertaUing f' i their own benefit, as 
 well as that of the community in which they are situ- 
 ated. While the writer does not la N claim to having 
 accomplished any great result- .mpared to what 
 might have been easi y possiuie, a recital of the 
 
 61 
 
 168261 
 
adverBe conditions nnder which the work has 
 been carried forward will enable the reader to 
 understand under what difficulties we have 
 labored. One of our greatest troubles was the 
 water supply, which at its best is limited to a 
 email quantity, and in the time it is most required 
 nearly drying up. The Gold Beach hatchery is 
 also located within three-fourths of a mile of the 
 ocean, hundreds of miles below the natural 
 spawning beds of the earliest spring Chinook 
 salmon, which adds greatly to our difficultj^^s, as 
 when the salmon have just entered from the sea 
 they are very delicate, not bearing any rough 
 handling, besides retaining in ponds for such a 
 length of time as is required for them to ripen, 
 calls for constant watchfulness in order to keep 
 up a steady water supply. To thic is added t1 
 difficulty of obtaining the adult salmon alive to 
 put in the ponds, as the fishing on the river is 
 done entirely by gill nets. The fish taken by 
 them cannot be used, as when the mesh of the 
 net gets into the gills the fish are sure to die; 
 and in order to get fish for the ripening ponds we 
 have to use seines and fioat the fish in crates for 
 several miles, besides handling them several times 
 when they are the least able to endure such treat- 
 
 ment. It would seem that in view of the simplicity 
 of the methods and certainty of success of salmon 
 cultivation, good evidence of which is shown by 
 the operations of our neighbor in the Dominion 
 of Canada, who in 1887 had established nine 
 salmon hatcheries, by which they have kept up 
 the supply in the various sections of their country, 
 togvHher with the showing made by the writer, 
 whose work has increased the supply of spring 
 salmon in Bogue river nearly four fold, in spite 
 of very adverse circumstances, the record showing 
 that it is the only river in the world where fish- 
 ing has been done steadily each season that has 
 shown such an increase, while the fall run in 
 the same river, which has not been propagated, 
 has fallen off in as great a proportion, should 
 satisfy any reasonable mind as to the value of 
 salmon culture, and stimulate not only those 
 engaged in the business of canning, but the 
 State and general government, to assist and 
 encourage in every way possible the cultivation 
 of this excellent fish. If the writer, by the feeble 
 efforts which appear in any of the preceding 
 pages, is able to awaken any to the importance 
 of, and necessity for speedy action, he will have 
 been amply repaid for his exertion. 
 
 13 » 
 
 ♦ ? 
 
 62 
 

 SChmiot I (.CO S P 
 
MARK 
 
 EMPIRE BR ANg 
 
 SCHMIDT L At CO.S.F. 
 
A- DOZEN 
 
 FRESH 
 
 N91TINS 
 
 
 ''"if JCARLUKALASKAs'^ 
 
 R.D.HUME. 
 
 • CNMIOT.L.L CO.S.F. 
 
<o^^Pm^^^ 
 
 SALMON 
 
 12 
 
 R. 
 
 i s 
 
U.D.H0)IIE&CO. 
 
 SALMON PACKERS 
 
 AND 
 
 • • 
 
 (^ jaiiBaii- KiiF -' 
 
 -^ 
 
 122 DAVIS STREET, 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 AGENTSj 
 
 R. D. Hume's Crown, Empire, Royal and Globe Brands. 
 
 OREGON SALMON. 
 
 R. D. Hume's Seward Brand— Red Alaska Salmon. 
 
 Klamath Packing and Trading Go's 
 
 Klamath River Salmon, 
 SPRING PHCK. FINEST QUALITV. 
 
 59 
 
W, M. OrifflD, Preit. K B. Skelley, V. Freit. 
 
 0. W, Or.fflD. Seo'jr and Treu. 
 
 (Jriffin \ pfilzi Company, 
 
 PACK BBS AND SHIPPERS 
 
 CALIFORNIA RAISINS, 
 
 Dried Fruit, Prunes, 
 
 — AND 
 
 RIVERSIDE ORANGES, 
 
 ii^ii 
 
 8an Francisco OfHee, • 132 Market Street. 
 
 PACKING HOVSESi 
 
 Riverside, Fresno, Armona, Han ford and 
 San Jose. 
 
 JOHN FINN, 
 
 MANUFACTURER AND DEALER 
 
 BABBITT METAL, 
 
 Coppersmiths' and Tinners' Solder, Tin, Copper, 
 Zinc, Lead, Etc. 
 
 Highest Price Paid for Solder 
 
 Drosses. 
 
 109 & 111 MISSION STREET 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO, - CALIFORNIA. 
 
 60 
 
I, 
 
 i) 
 
 I Copper, 
 5older 
 
 :et 
 
 OBNIA. 
 
 Alaska Improvement Co 
 
 9--11 MARKET STREET, 
 
 SKN FRKNCISCO 
 
 CKL. 
 
 S^rsi 
 
 Packers of CANOE BRAND 
 
 ENSIGN ; *' 
 
 a 
 
 ii 
 
 KADIAK 
 
 41 
 
 OF 
 
 RED AL-ASKK SALMON 
 
 ei 
 
^CANOE BRAND 
 
 i^r 
 
 m ■ ♦ 
 
 MW^ 
 
 RED ALASKA SALMON. 
 
 PACKED AT 
 
 Karluk, Kodiak Island, Alaska 
 
 BY THE 
 
 Alaska Improvemefit Company. 
 
3 
 
 i^r 
 
 ka 
 
 ^ENSIGN BRMND^ 
 
 RED ALASKA SALMON 
 
 PACKED AT 
 
 TJgasliik, Beliring Sea, Alaska, 
 
 BY THE 
 
 ALASKA IMPROVEMENT CO. 
 
 m KADIAK BRAND. 
 
 RED ALASKA SALMON. 
 
 PACKED IIY THE 
 
 Alaska Improvement Co. 
 
Selby Smelting @ bead Co. 
 
 ^16 TV^ONTGOMERY STREET. 
 SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 RKKINERS OF 
 
 vy 
 
 PIG L-EMD. 
 
 IMPORTERS OF AND DEALERS IN 
 
 Pig Tin and Slab Zinc. 
 
 MANUFACTUREU8 
 «-or-» 
 
 SOLDER 
 
 ♦- roR -» 
 
 CANNERS 
 
 OF ALL GRADES AND SHAPES 
 
 WIRE, DROPS, RIBBON, TRIANGUUR and HALFROUND STRIPS, 21b. BARS and 51b. BLOCKS. 
 
 Perfectly round and even Wire for Automatic Cappers. Y Hliape wire for VentH. 
 
 QUALITY GUARANTEED, AND BRANDED WHEN PKACTIOABLE. 
 
 64 
 
JAS. HAMILtON. 
 
 WM. LEACU. 
 
 
 BDILER UyDRKS 
 
 HAMILTON Jt LEACH, 
 
 Proprietors. 
 
 7VTKRINE KND STKTIONKRY BOILERS. 
 
 IRON TANKS AND PLATE IRON WORK. 
 
 OFKICK AND WORKS, Cor. Main and Folsoni St\ 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 -♦^♦» 
 
 Aln nil facta rcrs of Retorts, TaiikN, Coolers, Etc , for Packers of Salmon, Meats and Fruit. 
 
 KEPAIR WORK PROMPTLY ATTENDED TO. 
 
J. JL. 0. BOBBS. 
 
 J. G. WALL. 
 
 HOBBS, WALL & CO. 
 
 » > ♦ < ■ 
 
 (aANUFACTURBKS OF 
 
 314 to 324 SPEAH ST. 
 
 ->^>*<'- 
 
 OF BYE It Y YARIETY 
 
 fiet poisom and Haffison. 
 
 (^ SAN FRANCISCO. .^ 
 
 All kinds of Boxes on band and 
 
 Made to Order iwltli 
 
 Promptnemi. 
 
 SPRVCE I^VMBCR POR SAI.i; IN 
 
 QVANTITIBtt TO 
 
 »- SVIT. -» 
 
 REDWOOD CARGOES SAWED TO ORDER. 
 
 — »*^<4 Proprietors ELK RIVER MILLS, Creacent City . ^>f«-- 
 
 OIHce— Steamers Crescent City and Del Norte for Crescent City and Way Ports. 
 
 OWNINQ AMD OPiRATIMQ CRE8CENT CITY AMD SMITH RIVER RAILROAD, TelepHone Mo. ijy. 
 
llfBI@N SIMO^WFIO 
 
 ^^ 
 
 DEALERS IX 
 
 LUBRICKTING OILS. 
 
 Paints, Varnishes, Etc. Fairbanl('s Pure Lard Oil. Globe Packing. Nevada Lubricating Compounds. 
 
 'M«il«^a"n1S:iaL'L^^^^^^^^^^ Binghaiiiton Oil Refining Co, of New York. 
 
 No. 23 iS PEAR STREET. SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. 
 
 Telephone 6820. 
 
 
:▼.▼:¥.¥.¥; 
 
 WIL WiiiHOI 
 
 DiT.SIQNER, 
 And Manufacturer of all kinds of 
 
 Canfiifig CDaehifiery 
 
 jii 
 
 iMannfactnrer of 
 
 THE WEDGWOOD CAN CAPPER, 
 
 PATENTED MABCH 8tb, 1892. 
 
 Agent for tbn Burt M'f'g Co. CannerA* Tools of Itochester, N. ¥. 
 
 PRESSES, DIES, MOULDS and all Special Machinery. 
 
 BBPAIRINO DONE PUOMPTLY. 
 
 23 STEVENSON STREET. 
 
 MBAR FIRST, 
 
 SAM ritAMCISCO. 
 
mnmAM, oAiii 
 
 ^ SAT BIH C0» 
 
 IMCORPORATCD FEB. 7tll, I89J. 
 
 l7iAND 19 BEALE STREET, 
 18, 20, 22, 24 MAIN STREET, 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 ■IMPORTERS OF- 
 
 HARDWARE, IRON, STEEL AND BRASS GOODS, 
 
 RIILROID, CANNERS, MININ6 AND MILL SUPPLIES. IRON PIPE, TUBES, FITTINGS, ETC. 
 
 NEW YORK OFFICE, 107 CHAMBERS STREET. 
 
 WNION~ CMS ENGINB CO. 
 
 221 223 FIRST ST., 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO, GAL. 
 
 Manufacturers of GASOLINE ENGINES 
 snitable lor small scboouers, sloops, fiHhing 
 boats and launches. Enf^inos from 1 H. P. to 
 25 H.f. We have famished the following 
 racking Companies and Fishermen with our 
 Engines: — North Shore and Knappton Pack- 
 iug Go., Astoria; Jno. O. Hanthorn, Astoria; 
 P. J. McGowan k Co., Astoria; J. H. Lang 
 worthy, Astoria; John Arnqinst, Astoria; 
 Alaska Commercial Co., Alaska (6 boats); 
 bcbr. "Nettie Low," S. F.; Bohr. "Mary €,» 
 S. F.; Sohr. 'San Diego," San Diego, taiA 
 many others. BEND FOB OATALOQUE. 
 
KIRK. 
 
 N IARINE. ^'^Ij^^^^r- 
 
 GENERAL AGENT 
 
 M&niiheini In^nP&ncB do., Lt'd. 
 
 Capital SUMsk, $2,000,00i).00 
 Snrpliu, - 561,819.92 
 
 inanres Tesaels, Frelslits, Catrtcoem, Profits, 
 
 Jtea^Btered Mall to and fl^rom all parts 
 
 of ttie mrorld, and Policies 
 
 payable at destination. 
 
 Speoial facilities for placing large lines of Fire Insur- 
 ance on all classes of insnimble property, and assnred's 
 interests oarefally protected in the selection of Companies 
 and the wording and description of Policies. 
 
 Oorrespondenoe in aboT6 lines solicited. 
 
 Addnn: 182 Calif ornia St, San Franoimio, CtU. 
 
 DUTTOH 8t PAf^Tl^lDGE, 
 
 MANUFACTURING 
 
 STATIONERS, 
 
 GENERAL AGENTS 
 
 Fop all the Staodard 
 
 AMERICAN and FOREIGN 
 
 TELEGRAPHIC CODES 
 
 Suitable for Ganaers, Shippers, Hanafactarers and 
 
 Merchants, saving 90 per ct. in the cost of 
 
 TELEQKAPHIO COBRESPOND- 
 
 ENOE, with absolute 
 
 secrecy. 
 
 PROPRIETORS OF THE 
 
 D. & P. LETTER FILE, 
 
 The Strongest, Best and Cheapest In the 
 'World. Xannfactarcd In San Francisco. 
 
 212 and 214 California Street, 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO. CAL. 
 
[DGE, 
 
 rs 
 
 LEION 
 DBS 
 
 tarers and 
 ost of 
 
 ILE, 
 
 It In the 
 anclsco. 
 
 Street, 
 
 ESTABLISHED 1853. 
 
 E8,| G. M. JOSSELYN & CO. 
 
 DEALERS IN 
 
 SHIP CHANDLERY, 
 
 AND 
 
 HflVALi STOt^ES. 
 
 SOLE AGENTS 
 
 American Ship Windlass Co, 
 
 Taunton Yellow Sheathing Hetal, 
 Knssell Pnmps. Cost on Signals, 
 CoKon Sail Duck, Etc. 
 
 38 AND 40 MARKET STREET, 
 
 SAX FRAJVCISCO, CJL. 
 
 Jfilleif, ^\m \ ^colt, 
 
 INCORPORATED, 
 
 B aHPWare 
 
 Railroad, Mill and Mining Supplies, 
 
 Brass Goods and Steam Fittings. 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO, 
 
 \i% 
 
 CAL. 
 
 180 Stewart Biiildinir. New York. 
 
FIRE. 
 
 MARINE. 
 
 Cash Capital, $1,000,000. 
 
 Assets, $3,000,000. 
 
 INSWRKNCE ' C07VTPANV. 
 
 IB0TABI.ISKED X8«3 . 
 
 D. J. STAPLES, President. 
 B. FAYMONVILLE, Secretary. 
 LOUIS WEINMANN, Asst. Sect'y. 
 
 WM. J. DUTTON, Vice-President. 
 J. B. LEVISON. Marine Secretary. 
 S. D, IVES, General Agent. 
 
 HEAD office: 
 
 S. W. Cor. California and San some Streets, 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. 
 
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