121 

 APPENDIX IV. 



Me. 

 Letter from David Milne Home, Esq., Chairman of the Tweed Commis- MILNE HOME. 



sioners, with Observations on Salmon Disease. 



Dear Sirs, Milne Graden, Coldstream, February 28th, 1880. 



I send back to London the proofs of my evidence given in the salmon 

 disease inquiry, which your secretary was so good as to allow me to revise. 

 I at the same time beg leave to offer to you some further information since 

 obtained by me, and which appears to throw light on the important and 

 difficult inquiry in which you are engaged. 



This information is not on this occasion from my own observation or per- 

 sonal experience, but is derived from the perusal of fishery reports published 

 by the Canadian Government. In these reports I find that the same fungoid 

 disease which has lately appeared in our rivers is stated to have been known 

 for some years in the Canadian salmon rivers. The reports appear to me 

 so instructive, as to the symptoms and causes of the disease, and as to the 

 remedies adopted for it in Canada, that I have made extracts, and desire 

 to offer them to you for consideration. 



The reports were sent to me by my brother commissioner Sir George 

 Houstoun Boswell, whose eldest son brought them from Canada a short 

 time ago. Mr. Boswell fully confirms all that is said in the reports, as to 

 the abundance of salmon in the Pestigouche river at present, but from 

 which river, a few years ago, salmon had almost disappeared. 



In the Fishery Report for the year 1877, I find the following statement 

 by Mr. Venning, inspector of fisheries (New Brunswick), in a letter dated 

 6th November 1877 : 



" I made searching inquiries of the men employed in catching the fish (for 

 " the hatcheries) as to the cause of the fungus growth, and was informed 

 " that a great many were thus affected at the time of their capture. I also 

 " inquired of old fishermen if they could give any reason for this, and was 

 " told that some seasons a great many salmon show those signs of disease, but 

 . " they were not agreed as to the cause. Some thought it resulted from 

 " injuries received in the set nets during their ascent of the river, others were 

 " of opinion that the cause was rough handling in capturing and conveying 

 " them to the hatching house ; while others thought they were caught too 

 " early, and kept too long in confinement. This last opinion is, to some 

 " extent, strengthened by Mr. Mowat's experience last year, when several 

 " hundred fish taken by him early in the season and kept in confinement, 

 " showed precisely the same symptoms, and had to be liberated before they 

 " were ripe for spawning. Both Mr. Hogan and Mr. Sheargreen (hatchery 

 " overseers) assured me that all care was used to handle and transport the 

 " fish as tenderly as possible, and that a very large number was affected by 

 " the fungus growth at the time of their capture. This statement is borne out 

 " by the fact, that of the 12 taken by me under your instructions, eight were 

 " more or less diseased, and covered by large patches of white fungus. 



" On 29th October last, overseer Hogan informed me, that he commenced 

 " fishing for salmon early in September. By the middle of October, he had 

 " secured over 50 parent fish. Part of these were placed in the pond and part 

 " in the reception house, where a good flow of water continually passed over 

 " them. In a short time, the greater part of these in both places, began to 

 " show marked symptoms of disease. Large blotches of fungus appeared on 

 " their bodies, which spread rapidly, and ended in the fish becoming hard, and 

 " finally dying. On opening several of those that died, the ova were found to 

 " be congested into a hard mass. As this disease appeared to be spreading 

 rapidly, and affected the healthy fish, Mr. Sheargreen was obliged to liberate 

 them, retaining only such as gave promise of maturing their ova." 

 In a letter dated 6th February 1878, by Mr. Samuel Wilmot the Chief 

 Superintendent of the Fishery Commissioners, addressed to the Honourable 

 Mr. Smith, Minister of Marine and Fisheries, the following statements 

 occur : 



" In the investigation that I made, the overseers gave it as their opinion 

 " that the death of the fish had resulted from some peculiar disease which 

 " had attacked the salmon not only in the ponds, but in the open river as well ; — 



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