The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-05-30

of concealment, to escape the trout and
other enemies lying IN wait to devour
him. It is believed that not more than
5 per cent of the eggs deposited on the
spawning grounds become matured FISH.
Gradually the young salmon works his
way down the many miles that lie be-
tween him and the ocean. growing all
! the time, until, perhaps at the age OF
six months. he enters the sea, when he
has attained size OF about six inches
in length.
It's Unknown Ocean Home.
One Of the mysteries of the sea is
the ocean habitat of the salmon. Where
1t goes, what it does. and what It feeds
upon for three or four years, no one has
ever discovered. That 1t finds some
place where there is plenty Of food is
evident by its splendid condition when
It again seeks the place Of its birth for
spawning. The deep-sea work OF the
United States fish commission has fall
ed to settle this question. and the sal
mon is entirely lost to sight from the
time 1t enters the ocean until 1t returns
to the stream of its nativity, That it
does return, full-grown fish, to the
same stream from which Il departed a
little more than lingering, is shown
by the fact that the same varieties
come Into the river year after year,
and some of them are not found In 9TH
er rivers on the same coast.
How long the salmon remains in the
ocean before returning is another UNI
settled point. 1t was formerly believed
that 1t returned the fourth year. The
general uniform size of Chlnook-the
great majority range from twenty to
twenty-five pounds-suggests that one
years spawning all return at the same
time, yet there are enough large fish,
some Of them Weighing over eight
pounds, to render this evidence unsat-
isfactory.
An experiment inaugurated in 1895
by H. D. Mcclure. then fish and game
protector of oregon, and Waldo F.
Hubbard, at that time superintendent
Of the government hatchery on the
Clackamas. has somewhat upset the
theories as to the four-year period and
the uniform size of fish. The adlpose
fin was cut of from 5000 young fry
when they were released from the
hatchery. This is little I'm at the
base OF the tail. and Is OF no particular
utility to the fish. A close watch has
been kept for these iish at the Gamer
les and hntcherIes.
The first were caught In 1898, three
years after being released. somewhat
upsettlng the four-year theory. These
weighed from twelve TO thirty-saven
pounds. The next year more were
caught, Weighing from twenty-five to
forty-elght pounds. None has been re-
ported thus far this season. The total
number reported is three hundred. This
shows that all the fish do not come back
the same year. and that all have not
attained the same growth. It apparent
Is proves that salmon vary in size I'M
der the same conditions, Just as large
and small men grow up side by side. 1t
also shows that no special instinct COM
pels all Of the salmon of one years
Matching to return at the same time,
Varieties Of Salmon.
There are a number Of varieties OF
salmon entering the streams Of the
Pacific coast from the ocean. Ehey
come In at different times during the
season, the run OF one variety generally
overlapping the run Of another, so that
during certain times two or more vnri-
cites may be running at the same time.
These FISH vary considerably in their
value for food.
BY FAR the best In every respect Is
the duinnat, known by various names
in dIfferent localities. This fish is more
widely distributed than any other va
rIety and enters all the leading
streams OF the coast from California to
Alaska. II forms the bulk OF the pack
in the Sacramento river, the Columbia,
puget Sound. Fraser river. and the
Alaska streams. However there is a
wide difference in the quality OF this
iish in various sections.
II has its highest perfection in the
Columbia river. where II is known as
the chinook. 1t Ia larger in size, dnr-
kcr red In color. and oilier than ~ other
streams. and consequently ia In hlghc:
demand in the market. at an advance
nrice over any other kind OF salmon, or
the same variety packed in other
n,areg. The Puget Sound "sock.eye"
approaches the Columbia Chinook more
nearly In this respect than any ether
and the next in quality is the kings
salmon Of Alaska. The Chinook ia the
ash which the United States ;ish com
mlssIon propngates. and II has stcnd-
uy declined to handle any other kind OF
salmon on the Columbia
The packers Of the Columbia river
are IN full accord with the eomminSiou
in this idea Of Matching nothing but
this variety Of salmon, and they were
not well pleased NJ the importation
from California Of the eggn taken from
the Sacramento river. because the
uulnnat In that stream Is smaller In
size and inferior In quality 10 the Chi
nook OF the Columbia. II Ia believed
that It will never again be necessary TO
import salmon eggs from other
streams to be Deposited In the colun-
bla.
The steelhcad SALMON Is the variety