BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 379 



more cordial delight. The fishing season, of course, dissipated all fears, 

 and the dim eye was soon exchanged for the glance of joy and the 

 sjiarkle of pleasure, and the dry, sunken cheek of want assumed the 

 plump appearance of health and plenty." 



BEJTIARKS OIV THE SCARCITV OF 1TIAI.X: AlVD aRII^SE SAIilTIOIV IN 

 THE KIVERS OF OIVTARIO, CAIVADA. 



BY SAMUEL WILMOT. 



[Letter to Prof. S. F. Baird, U. S. Commissioner, Fish aud Fisheries.] 



Dominion of Canada — Piscicultural Establishment, for the 

 Artificial PuoPAaATioN of Salmon, White-Fish, Trout, Bass, 



ETC. 



Newcastle, October 30, 1880. 



Dear Sir : I desire to acknowledge with many thanks the receipt of 

 some 50,000 California salmon eggs. They arrived here in first-class 

 condition, and are now all hatched out. I also notice with much pleas- 

 ure the arrival at New York, and shipment to Europe, of a very large 

 lot of these ova, all of which were reported to be in very fine condition. 

 This success in your efforts in connection with fish-culture, whilst it 

 must be very gratifying to yourself, is likewise pleasing to me, and 

 no doubt to all others engaged in the industry of artificial fish culture. 



I have to record a most peculiar circumstance in relation to our On- 

 taiio salmon this autumn. I speak more particularly of those which 

 have come into my stream here. The same falling off in numbers is felt 

 here as has been the case in all the rivers and streams on the Atlantic 

 coast. My reports received from the several ofl&cers in charge show a 

 wonderful falling off. At the Saguenay, where formerly our requisite 

 supply of some 300 parent salmon were easily obtained in a few weeks 

 in June and July, only some 75 could be captured during the whole sea- 

 son ; on the Eestigouche, the most famous salmon river we have, only 

 some 600,000 salmon ova could be gathered, whereas in former years no 

 difticulty was experienced in getting one and a half to two millions. At 

 the Miramichi and Halifax nurseries the result is not known ; no reports 

 have as yet come in, but I fear a similar falling off will take place 

 there as well. In connection with the reduced numbers of salmon at 

 this hatchery, strange to say, only three males have yet been found in 

 the stream ; all that have been captured or have entered the reception 

 house are immensely large females. We have enough of these on hand 

 at present to give us 250,000 eggs, but we have not, nor can we find in 

 tlie whole stream, a single male fish to impregnate these eggs with, should 

 we strip them. What we shall do i)uzzles me very much; add to this 

 the fact that the season is about over for fish to enter the stream. To- 

 day I went down the creek with one of my men and caught some 18 

 magnificent female fish on the beds in the open stream in broad day- 



