The morning call., 1893-05-14

are devoted TO fishing and shooting. Some
authorities contend that the strelhead Is
salmon, while others give various reasons
to prove that 1t is trout DR.. Jordan oil
the Stanford Jr. University Of Palo Alto,
in paper recently published relative 10
Pacific Coast fishes. makes the following
statement relative to stcelheads, that Is,
from scientific point of view:
Another California trout is the So
called steelhead. more usually known in
California as salmon tTOu', fish sutl-
GENTLY like the salmon trout of Europe,
but the name steelhead seems to me pre-
ferabie because it is given to no other fish.
Its scientific name is Salmo gairdneri,
named for DR.. Gardner of Astoria The
fact that these fish are spent ~ the spring
would indicate spawning time later than
that of the salmon. probably midwnter.
Comp ring the steelhPads with the rain
bow trout we find no differences other than
that the former is of much larger size and
has Larger mouth. and its edudal I'm Is
truncate instead of forked. But the tail
becomes more truncate and the mouth
larger with age in all species OF salmon
and trout. 1t is not at all unlikely that
the steelhead is simply rainbow trout
which has descended into the seaand which
has grown larger and cOarser and acquired
somewhat @ ffeTent form and habits on
account of lis food and surroundings. If
this be true the very young sieelheads
would not be dlstinguIshabie from the
young rain bow trout, and | do not know a
single structural character of any kind by
which the two may be separated. In every
other case there IS some mark, some differ
ence in the number of scales or bones by
which we can tell the species of trout, tie
one from the other; but in the case of the
steelhead there is absC lutely no such diff
ference. In every Internal re-
spect. in every bone and every part of its
structure the steclhe0d and the rainbow
trout agree, and so it Is ODe of the I'M
settled problems connected with the fish,
cries OF California whether the stPelheaG
is a distinct kind of trout, or whether any
rainbow trout, placed in the ocean or the
river mouth, and allowed 10 feed on the
rich food which the salmon gets, would
not, in time, develop into a steelhead
regardless Of the form of is parents.
The evidence, 50 far as il is in, is con-
tlicting. There are some things which 90
to show that the two are distinct fishes
Other evidence would show that they are
simply forms of the same thing, aud a
thorough study Of the coastwise streams
of this State is necessary before this point
can be settled. The remaining
trout of this coast is the species known as
the cutlhroat trout, or SalmO mykiSs. This
is the longest known Of the American
trout, having been discovered first by
Steller. who gave it the Russian name
OF myEiSs, which science has preserved.
1t is subject to very great variations
according to the character of the water,
according to the food which it receives,
and according TO various other less known
circumstances. 1t is, however. in all this
region, substantially the same fish In
some places it reaches a weight of twenty
i've or thirty pounds. 1t has
much smaller scales than the rainbow
trout or the steelhead. IL fact, it has
smaller scales than any other of the known
species OF trout, although much larger
than the scales OF any of the CHAIRS"
The Fish Commissioners received a
letter from resident of Monterey on
Thursday which stated that a real live
lobster was caught in Monterey Bay few
days ago and is now ready for shipment
10 this city, that Is, provided a reward OF
$50. which is said to be offered for the first
lobster caught in Pacific Coast waters, Will
be given to the lucky fisherman. Chief of
Patrol Babcock has doubts about the fish,
which he thinks must be "a spurious
article"