408 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



Shasta, at an elevation of over 4000 feet above the sea, to 

 reach which they must have passed through nearly fifty 

 miles of almost continuous rapids; while the same fish, in 

 order to reach the Snake River, make a journey of over 1000 

 miles. 



We regret that there is no satisfactory information as to 

 the precise intervals between the time when the salmon reach 

 the rivers of California and the period of spawning and hatch- 

 ing respectively, as this would be of much practical import- 

 ance in reference to the question of the best method of ob- 

 taining the ova for stocking the Eastern waters. 



The commissioners point with commendable pride to the 

 success of the enterprise of transporting young shad from the 

 Hudson, and placing them in the Sacramento, during the past 

 year, the operation having been successfully performed by 

 Mr. Seth Green. There is every reason to hope that at a 

 proper period say at the expiration of about three years 

 from the date of the experiment shad will be found making 

 their appearance in the lower Sacramento, and moving up- 

 ward to their spawning ground. They propose to continue 

 the experiment during the present season, but we have not 

 learned whether this has been actually accomplished. Em- 

 braced in their plans for the future is the introduction of 

 whitefish into lake Tahoe, and black bass, eels, and lobsters 

 into suitable localities. Biennial Report of California Com- 

 missioners, 1870-71. 



REPORT OF CALIFORNIA FISH COMMISSIONERS. 



An abstract of the Report of the State Commissioners of 

 Fisheries of California has just appeared in the San Francisco 

 papers, and exhibits a commendable degree of zeal and en- 

 terprise on the part of these gentlemen. We have been so 

 much impressed with the extraordinary abundance of the sal- 

 mon, trout, and other fish in the waters of the Pacific slope 

 and Pacific Ocean, that it is hard to realize that any scarcity 

 is possible ; but we learn that the trout and salmon especial- 

 ly have suffered very materially, and that the most stringent 

 measures are necessary to prevent their comparative exter- 

 mination, at least in California. 



The efforts of the commissioners appear to be directed not 

 merely to renewing the stock of native fish, but also toward 



