BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 29 



tribution. To meet this emergency dec]) trays or baskets wove, devised, 

 in which, by placing them in a trough that the water had to force itself 

 upwards through, the eggs could be placed several layers deep, and as 

 many hatched over an area of 1 superficial foot as formerly required 12 

 superficial feet. These new trays or wire baskets,' after a little experi- 

 ence, worked to perfection and completely removed what had begun to 

 appear a very serious obstacle, viz, the difficulty of furnishing space 

 enough to carry such an enormous quantity of salmon eggs. 



The next difficulty that needed to be removed was the danger of in- 

 terference from outside parties. The station was on "Mild land," and 

 there was nothing to prevent a settler or any one else from camping- 

 down beside us and fishing where we were fishing. 



The next year (1875), General Grant, who was then President of the 

 United States, helped us out of this difficulty by very prudently making 

 a reservation of such a tract of land as was required for the operations 

 of the hatching station, and thereafter no trouble whatever has been ex- 

 perienced from intruders. Had it not been for this very opportune 

 action of General Grant I think some serious complications would have 

 arisen. 



Up to this time we had suffered no small inconvenience, owing to the 

 hatching operations being carried on at so low a level. The hatching- 

 apparatus was erected on the low bar above mentioned, to avoid the 

 risk and expense of raising the water supply any higher; but it became 

 necessary, of course, on account of high water, to tear up everything 

 before the rainy season began, and to carry apparatus, tents, and all 

 high enough up the banks to be out of the way of the winters' floods, and 

 the next spring to carry them all back-again, and put them in place on 

 the bar. This proved to be such an inconvenience that when the season 

 of 187(3 opened, a permanent wooden hatching house— a very solid struct- 

 ure — was built 15 feet above the summer level of the river, and a cur- 

 rent wheel, 27 feet in diameter, resting on solid piers, was erected in the 

 river, in place of the 12-foot wheel that had been used before. The new 

 hatching-house was a success in every respect, and so was the wheel 

 till a sudden rise in the river carried it off. The next year (1877) I built 

 a new wheel, and substituted flat boats for piers as a support for the 

 wheel. The boats worked perfectly, and, rising and falling with the 

 water, saved the wheel from all danger by floods. 



The next year (1878) this station reached its maximum of operations, 

 14,000,000 salmon eggs being successfully taken, two car-loads of which 

 were shipped to the Atlantic coast and several million to foreign 

 countries. 



The next year (187 ( J) was an uneventful one at the salmon-breeding 

 ranch, but during the season a trout-breeding station was established 

 on the east bank of the McCloud River, 4 miles above the salmon fish- 

 ery. In 1880, operations were conducted as usual at the salmon 

 fishery,' and without much change except that improvements of a 



