XXXII REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



the offered reward was renewed in the spring of 1875, and resulted in the 

 return of seven or eight of the marked salmon of 1873, now iu prime 

 order, weighing from 16£ to 24J pounds. Unfortunately the aluminum 

 tag had fallen off, and we could not trace the individual salmon, but 

 the wire remained to attest the date of their liberation and return. The 

 salmon set free in autumn of 1873 in poor condition returned in good 

 condition in 1875, and not before. Probably a much larger number of 

 these salmon were caught that were never reported, for the wire was fine 

 and not easily seen ; indeed, two marked salmon were placed in the 

 pond without discovering the mark till the spawning season. 



The experiment has been renewed in 1875, with a change in the 

 material, platinum being substituted for aluminum in the tag. 



7. — THE WHITE-FISH. 



The white-fish (Coregonus albas, Les.,) of the Great Lakes is a fine table- 

 fish, and as it is produced in considerable numbers in favorable waters, 

 some attention has been given to its propagation. In 1872, arrange- 

 ments were made with Mr. K. W. Clark, of Clarkston, Mich., to hatch a 

 half million of eggs of this fish. About the middle of February, 216,000 

 were shipped to San Francisco, Cal., but being left to the care of the 

 express messenger, beyond Omaha, Nebr., they suffered from the changes 

 of temperature incident to a car with a fire in it, and arrived iu very 

 bad condition. On March 10, another shipment of 116,000 was made, 

 which arrived in good order. In 1873, 25,000 more were transmitted 

 and hatched, and the young fish placed in the waters of Clear Lake, from 

 which partly grown ones were afterward taken. Iu 1874 an additional 

 20,000 were sent by Mr. K W. Clark, late of Northville, Mich., which 

 were hatched at Berkeley, Cal., and put into Tulare Lake. On March 

 8, 1875, there were shipped to San Francisco, Cal., 100,000. and March 

 23, 100,000 were sent to the Lakes in the Indian Reservation at Keshena, 

 Wis. The States bordering on the Lakes and Canada have now begun 

 the propagation of this species, by which means they intend to keep up 

 the stock of the Great Lakes. 



8. — THE CARP OF EUROPE. 



After considerable inquiry and investigation we are disposed to be- 

 lieve that there are varieties of the European carp of superior value, 

 because of their table qualities, and that the idea entertained by many 

 that the carp is a very inferior food- fish has arisen from the testimony 

 of those who have been so unfortunate as to have eaten only those of 

 inferior quality. 



Admitting its value as a table-fish, or even that it is of average excel- 

 lence, it should be considered a desirable acquisition to the waters of 

 the United States, for it has other characteristics which render it val- 

 uable, and which are not known to be possessed by any American 

 species, among which are its fecundity and adaptibility to the most 



