The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-06-16

The schools of Dog salmon come in
to the stream rather late; in the Co
lumbia river and Puget Sound the run
extends from August to late in No
vember, and In Alaska the height Of
the season is about the first of Sep
tember
Now. whether the salmon travel I'm
the streams 1000 miles or 200 feet to
reach their spawning grounds, and re-
CARELESS Of their physical condition at
the time they arrive at the particular
places required for the proper devel-
Opment of eggs and young, every indi-
vidual of every species dies shortly
after spawning. This is the most
characteristic and remarkable event
in the life of the Pacific salmons.
Why this is the case is one Of ma
lures mysteries. 1t has its parallel
in some other fishes, in the may-fly,
which perishes after a few hours ex-
istence, and in the annual plants. One
can only say of such that they have
served their purpose and are no long
er needed.
Periods Of Abundance.
While the Pacific salmons run with
more or less regularity, year after
year, two Of the species exhibit, in
particular streams or regions, a
marked periodicity in abundance which
is so well established that it can be
predicted with certainty years in adj
vance.
The Blueback, or Sockeye, In GER
tain streams shows climax in abun-
dance every fourth year. This is es-
pecially marked in Puget sound and
Fraser river, where the years 1905 and
1909, for example, were characterized
by immense runs, while in 1906 and
1910 the abundance, as shown by the
catch, was only One-fourth or one-fifth
as great.
One of the most deeply seated and
widely entertained theories regarding
the salmons (and other species of sim
liar habits) is that by virtue of mys
terious faculty, which has been called
the instinct Of nativity, these fishes
return to spawn in the same stream in
which they were Matched.
The advocates Of this view find sup
port for it in some well-knOwn facts
in the life of the salmOns, such as the
occurrence of distinctive runs in par
ticular streams, the return of marked
fish, response to plants Of large num-
bers of young, etc. Without entering
into a discussion of this question, i.
DRY is borne out by facts, the latter
may be explained without the neces-
sity of investing the salmon and other
anadromous fishes with higher order
of intelligence than is possessed by
any other creatures.
1t is true as general proposition
that the fish Matched in a particular
stream return to that stream to spawn,
but this is largely because that is the
most natural and most accessible place
to go, and it is more remarkable when
they go elsewhere, as they frequent
ly do.
Artificial Propagation.
The artificial propagation Of sal
mon in the streams of the Pacific sea-
board began at a comparatively early
date and has continued with yearly in
creasing extent and Importance, so
that at the present time more hatch
cries are devoted to the Pacific sal
mons than to any other fishes of the
western hemisphere. The vast inter-
ests at STALE have appeared to war
rant and to require all the money that
could properly be expended by the
federal and state governments for sal
mon culture.
The first salmon hatchery in the
West was established in 1872, on the
McCloud river in California. BY Ex-
ecutive order there was set aside a
large tract for a "piscicultural pre-
serve" which was fittingly named
Baird, after the first national COM
missioner Of fisheries; and Living
stone Stone, pioneer fish culturist,
was placed in charge and continued
in that capacity for many years, over
coming many obstacles, undergoing
many privations, repeatedly subjected
to great danger from attacks of In
dams and outlaws, while devising
methods which showed the possibili-
ties of salmon culture and led to the
present extraordinary development of
this art.
The original Baird hatchery, still in
active operation, is now supplemented
by numerous other government sta
tons, which may be regarded as lineal
descendants.
The eggs Of the salmons are 2 to
.25-inch in diameter. and are the larg.
est handled by the fish culturist. They
are easily obtained by intercepting the
fish on their way to the spawning
grounds by means Of racks, traps,
seines, etc., and then, when exactly
ripe, by expressing by firm pressure
on the abdomen.
Not Easy to Handle.
The size and activity Of the salmons
make it necessary for two or three
men to work together in holding the
fish and relieving them Of their eggs
and milt, and the largest individuals
are most readily managed by putting
them in a strait jacket.
In view of the inevitable death Of
the salmon after spawning, an i'm
provement over the old method Of
forcible expulsion of eggs is the stun
ming Of the fish by blow on the head
and taking Of the eggs by abdominal
section. This, while greatly facilitat-
ing the work of the spawn-takers, adds
approximately 10 per cent to the egg
yield by the saving of eggs that would
ordinarily be left in the abdominal
cavity.