The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1888-07-31
THE CLACKAMAS HATCHERY.
In Charge Of The U. S. Fish CommissiG

| tWO lcct W1Vc anu blAtcou lc0b long
!, They are placed two together, foul
lengths Of them reaching the length
of the building. There are six rows
OF them, making total of forty eight
Each row will accommodate 1000.
600 of eggs, making total Of 6,000,,
600 in the room. It is the intention
of Professor Stone to stretch a tent
60x30 feet, in which will be placed
five rows of these troughs with an
accommodation of 100000 of eggs
In the house and tent there will be
placed 100000 eggs at the proper
time.
As the warm days of summer draw
near the salmon commence to travel
from the ocean to the mountain
streams, in whose cold and shallow
waters they may deposit their spawn.
The female, finding q suitable place
in the gravel, deposits her eggs. She
is followed by the male fish, who ex-
udes his milt over the eggs, impreg-
mating them. One-quarter of mile
above the hatchery these fish meet
with a barrier which is interposed by
the hand of man to prevent them 60
ing beyond. This barrier is con-
structed Of two-inch scantlings placed
at an interval OF about two inches
apart and slanting with the stream at
an angle of forty-five degrees.
Where it crosses the river there is a
small island dividing the rack, as it is
called, into two sections. Here at this
rack is seen one of the most interest.
ing sights that was ever the fortune
OF the writer to behold. Before ar
irving at the spot one can see the
caudal fins Of the salmon appearing
above the surface, and in many places
can be seen the backs of the largest
ones projecting from out the water.
Boards have been laid along the rack,
and, walking upon these, you look
down and see nothing but a mass OF
fish. In some places they are piled
up one above another to the depth of
four or five feet. They are quite
tame and remain almost in the same
position while You view them. In
their vain efforts to get further up the
stream, they run against the rack
with their noses, and nearly every
one of them presents bruised ap-
pearance. In many cases they force
their noses between the scantlings of
the rack, bruising their heads as far
back as the eyes, which seem in some
cases to be entirely out. The scene
beggars description, and must be
seen to be appreciated. Professor
Stone estimates that there are about
$4,000 worth of salmon who are
checked in their course. They will
not return down stream, and thus
they remain awaiting the time for
spawning. Crossing the river and
ascending to the summit of the bluff
mentioned above, one looks down
into the river below, and sees under
meath him three large dark spots of
salmon, one directly underneath,
another in the center of the stream,
and the other close to the farther
shore. They are thickest at the upper
end, and gradually taper down to one
at the lower end. Their appearance
may be compared to a flock of geese
in reversed position. The whole |
scene may be hkened to an army
drawn up in battle array. You have
the center and right and left
wings. On asking professor Stone |
how many fish there were there, he |
replied there were about 5000 in |
view.
The salmon are already beginning
to put on spotted appearance, the
colors Of the female growing darker,
and those Of the male assuming
brighter tint. In the early days of
August they will become ripe, then
the stripping process will commence.
A few days since Professor Stone
caused few to be caught, but it was
found that they were not yet mature.
A practiced eye can, by the appear
ance OF the fish, tell when thev are
ready to have their eggs taken from
them. When mature they are caught
in nets. The males and females are
Some may think this is a
difficult process, but they can be
readily told apart by the expert.
The female is first caught; a hand is
placed on her head and one around
her tail. She is held over a large pan
and a gentle movement OF the finger
along her abdomen causes her rapidly
to give up the eggs, after which she
Is returned to the water. A male is
then caught and subjected to the
same operation, exuding his milt over
the eggs. Then they are stirred up
in order to make the impregnation as
complete as possible. They are then
taken to the hatchery where they are
placed in open wire cages two feet in
length, covered with asphaltum.
They are then placed into the
Matching troughs, resting on small
cleats which are put in to prevent
them from touching the bottom.
These troughs are also subjected to a
coating of asphaltum. Asphaltum ia
used in order to prevent the growth
of fungi, which has deadly effect
upon the eggs. Everything is now
ready for the water, which is turned
into the fiume also treated with a coat
OF asphaltum. When it arrives at the
northwest corner of the superinten-
dents house it pours into large fl
tering vat, where it is filtered through
flannel cloths stretched on wooden
frames which are placed in grooves
along the side Of the vat. From this
vat 1t again emerges into the fume
by which it is conveyed to the hatch.
cry building. In this building it
runs through another filtering vat
before running into the troughs, In
the troughs are placed at each end of
every wire basket two pieces of zinc