Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1905-06-29

timely death Of thousands of royal
chinook salmon. The exhibit is
shown AS located in the center Of the
forestry building. A monster log has
been followed out TO represent the
bed CT a stream. Running water
flows through this log all day long,
while salmon minnows give a living
demonstration Of fishing methods. The
wheel Is only one Of number Of de-
vices for catching this valuable fish.
Two kinks Of wheels are shown,
bJth operating on the same principle.
The wheel, resembling in appearance
a mill wheel, Is built generally near
projects from 1t for perhaps a hun
dred feet. The bulwark, constructed
after the manner Of a breakwater, Is
encountered By the salmon in their
course to the spawning grounds in the
upper river, and the fish are divert
ed from their course. aad steered into
th. wheel. The fish wheel is fitted
with several large, baslet-like scoops,
and when 1t reyolves these lift the
salmon from the water. In one type
Of wheel the scoops have an opening
at one side, through which the fish
fall into a barge moored alongsi lie the
wheel. In the other type the fish
are carried clear around. and dumped
onto a platform as the scoop Is in
Vcrte1 after it has reached the top
and started down again.
While the fish wheels prove the
principal attraction, the other methods
Of catching salmon are also interest
ing In the spring Of the year, when
the fOur-year-old salmon return to the
Columbia in vast schools, 500 fisher
mel from Astoria float down with the
tide and capture thousands by means
of giIl-nets Tnc gill-net Is equipped
with lIoats and weights, 50 that 1t
stan Is like IA wall with pn% end on
land Each fishing boat has crew
Of two men, one Of whom remains on
lend and watches the lanlward end,
while the other gradually draws in the
net, finally bleaching mis- boat and haul
ing the salmon onto the shore The
gill.netS are shown in the exhibit,
while miniature models Of fishermen
aud their craft add realism to the
scene SEEMING salmon Is praGtlCed in
the shallow waters, number Of men
holding up the edge of the net while
horses draw it in and throw the Chi
hooks Mapping on the sandy shore. a
net about foot across, with little
men no larger than clothes.pins shows
how this is done.
A large number of salmon minnows
compose the living features of the
unique illustration of salmon-catch.
ing methods, and the practicabllity Of
a fish trap which Is shown In NINA.
ture Is demonstrated by the fact that
several minnowS are firmly imprisoned
wlthln Its meshes. The fish trap has
an arm extending into the stream to
divert the salmon from their course, /
and the fish swim into the trap as a |
fly walks into one Of the ny-traps com
mon to butcher shops. The same pin
ciple Is involved, the only difference
being that in the fy-trap the cone
stands on It's base. while In the fish
trap 1t lies on its side SO that the fish
naturally swims through the small
hole. and very rarely discovers the
hole again In constructing the fish
TAPS, the net wall is held upright by
small piles driven into the river bot
tom.
The exhibit is completed nv the
presence of small models of salmon
cannelies ana cold storage houses, and
Is ma1e attractive by watcr2rasses
and by green lawns which reach down
from the leg hillsdes to the stream
Hundreds OF visitors gather about 1t
daily ana watch the little salmon
swimming about In the clear water.
Tho salmon for the demonstration are
obtained from Matching troughs in the
same building, where thousands Of
fish are shown in all stages, from the
egg to the fish three inches long.
An idea of the importance of the
salmon Industry Is obtained from the
statement that In 1904 mere than
twenty million one-pound cans were
pat NJ, while the cold storage pack
amounted to nearly 5000 tons Shi.
nook salmon usually weigh IS to 40
pounds and measure tire, feet long,
but several specimens exhibited in the
forestry building are six feet long and
weigh 90 pounds