BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 309 



the tank are foiiud to pair quite readily with one another. Fish in cap- 

 tivity yiekl their ova much later than they do when in a wild state, but 

 of every thirty subjected to artihcial existence, only one is, on the 

 average, found to be barren. [From the Popular Science Monthly, New 

 York, November, 1886, p. 143.] 



Salmon in Scotland and shipments to New Zealand. — Mr. 

 John Anderson, writing to Prof. S. F. Baird from Deuham Green, Edin- 

 burgh, Scotland, on July 30 and September 6, 1886, speaks of the tak- 

 ing of salmon eggs in Scotland and of shipments to New Zealand, sub- 

 stantially as follows : 



For many years we in Scotland have been taking our salmon ova, as 

 I thiuk, too late. There are five runs of salmon to each river during 

 the year — coming in March, May, July, October, and December — and for 

 forty years all the eggs have been taken in December. Now, it is im- 

 possible that ova taken from a salmon in December should ever turn 

 out early fry or salmon. It is not reasonable to look for early fry, if 

 we hatch eggs only from late fish. I have also advised a change of 

 breed from one river to another ; and have suggested means for pre- 

 serving a greater percentage of the spawn and fry than is done under 

 the present natural or even artificial conditions. 



I have just heard from New Zealand, that the 29,000 salmon smolts, 

 9 to 11 inches long, raised from what Mr. Farr took out last year from 

 the river Tweed, were planted in the Southland Eiver in June, 1886, 

 and are doing well. The salmon eggs sent out by Sir James Gr. Mait- 

 land, which were taken from large salmon in December, 1885, were so 

 paralyzed with cold (I suppose) that when the shells broke the fry 

 could not stretch themselves out, but continued in a circular state for 

 some time and then died. It is thought that the cold on the voyage 

 was too severe; while perhaps the eggs were not far enough advanced 

 on being shipped, or were taken from too late fish. 



Codfish on the North Pacific Coast in 1886.* — The last of this 

 season's codfish fleet arrived on October 11. This was the schooner 

 Czar, which has made three trips this season, as she also did last year. 

 Though not the first vessel off this year, she was the first to return from 

 the fishing-grounds, because her owners have established a fishing-sta- 

 tion at Pirate Cove, at one of the Shumagin Islands. There are small 

 vessels engaged in fishing off the islands all through the season, and 

 the Czar is used simply for transporting the fish from the islands to 

 San Francisco. Lynde & Hough, who have long been in this trade, 

 have also this year established a fishing-station at the islands, the ma- 

 terials for which were sent up by the Arago last January. As a result, 

 one of their vessels, the Dashing Wave, made two trips this season. 

 There were eleven vessels employed in the trade this year, against 

 twelve last year ; but there were fourteen cargoes received in each year. 

 The Shumagin Islands are 2,500 miles northwest of San Francisco; the 



* For statistics for I8S5, see Fish Commission Bulletin for 1866, p. 89. 



