The daily sentinel., 1901-08-23

1t is declared that the royal Chin
ook, the king Of the salmon tribe, ts
in danger Of being extermipated unless
the supply can be kept up by artificial
propagation. There are a half dozen
or more species of salmon recognized
as food fishes and they are found in
all streams along the Pacific Coast
from the Sacramento river in Cali
fornia to the northernmost parts of ex-
pfored Alaska; but the royal Chinook,
the finest of them all, is taken only in
the Columbia river, and few minor
streams emptying into the Pacific
along the Oregon coast. Here in the
quaint little city of Astoria. says an
Oregon correspondent Of the New York
Bun, Is the center of the salmon fsh-
Ing industry Of the coast, and the dis
appearance of the Chinook is a danger
not lightly viewed. In earlier years
the river teemed with fsh. More were
caught than could be handled. With
the adoption Of improved appliances
for handling them and with the in
markets of Europe. the supply has sell
dom eQualled the demand in late years,
and the river has practically been
fished out. In former days the run in
April. May and June was the best Of
the seasons pack, both as to quantity
and quality. Now canneries are work.
ing on short time, fishermen are dis
couragsd and tine industry seems seri-
ously affected.
A species of the Chinook is found as
far south as the Sacramento, but Its
flesh Is not so firm, and its flavor not
SO dainty as in the salmon that leave
the ocean along the Oregon coast The
latter alone are honored with the pre-
fix royal" The Oncorhynchus ts
hawytscha, the name given the royal
Chinook by fchthyologists. has an aver
age weight of 20 pounds, but indi-
viduals weighing from 70 to 100 pounds
are occasionally taken. In the spring
the body Is silvery, the back dorsal fin
and the caudal fin having more or less
round black spots, and the sides Of the
head having a peculiar tin-colored
metallic lustre. Its flesh is of deep
pink color and the oil is extra rich.
1t is to the persistent use OF fixed ap-
pliances and stationary gear for taking
the salmon that the present situation
Is due. Fish wheels and traps that can
catch tons daily during the heavy runs
have resulted in the threatened exter-
mination. Particularly are the fish
wheels dangerous to the spawning OF
the fish. 1t Is we'll known that salmon
in ascending a stream select the chan
nels where the swiftest currents are
found The fish wheel. On the plan OF
an ordinary water wheel with series
of nets, is placed directly in the cur
rent and as a rule not = fish escapes
while the wheel is In operation. The
result Is that the salmon cannot as
cend to the spawning grounds and the
natural propagation 10 defeated. AT
the last session Of the Oregon legis-
lature several bills were introduced to
prohibit the fixed appliances, but they
failed to pass A similar condition OF
affairs existed on the Sacramento river
in California some years ago and the
wheels were legislated out OF the river.
Extensive artificial propagation was
carried on by the state and the result
was seen during the season just over.
The Columbia has been practically
barren Of salmon, while on the Sacra-
mento more were caught than could be
handled, and hundreds Of tons were
shipped to Astoria to be handled by the
cold storage plants and later to be
shipped to European markets as Col
umbia river Chinooks. The salvation
Of the industry apparently lies in arti-
ficial propagation and the states OF
Oregon and Washington maintain fish
commissions and appropriate large
sums annually for this purpose. Last
year nearly 30,000,0O0 Chinook salmon
eggs were taken on the Columbia river
and these fish will be turned out this
fall. In addition millions Of the eggs
of inferior varieties were taken at the
hatcheries. Some idea of the extent
Of the industry may be gained from
the statement that in 1900 the value Of
the salmon packed on the Columbia
river alone was nearly 100000.
Wanted-Girl for general housework.