STONE ON THE SACRAMENTO SALMON. 185 



Question 3. If resident, is it more abundant at certain times of the 

 year; and at what times? 



Answer. Salmon are most abundant in the Lower Sacramento in March, 

 April, May and August. In the McOloud, they are most abundant in 

 August. 



C. — ABUNDANCE. 



Question 4. How abundant is it, comi)ared with other fish ? 



Answer. Salmon in the Sacramento are much more abundant than 

 any other fish. _ 



Question 5. Has the abundance of the fish diminished or increased 

 within the last ten years, or is it about the same "^ 



Answer. The fishermen say that the salmon in the river are as 

 plentiful as ever they were, (although I see that the California fish com- 

 missioners report differently,) and that if anything* they have been 

 more abundant the last three years. The year 1866 was an exceptional 

 year. The salmon were then very scarce, the river being almost destitute 

 of them. The fishermen attributed it to the unusually muddy water of 

 the river, caused l)y the mining that jear. Some thought that there 

 was a falling off in 1861 and 1865, but they are not all agreed on this 

 point. In 1867, the salmon were as abundant as ever in the Sacramento 

 Elver, and have remained so since. 



It should be stated here that the salmon which used to abound in the 

 Feather and American Elvers have been whollj^ driven out by the min- 

 ing, without, however, appearing to affect the abundance of the salmon 

 in the main river. 



Question 6. If diminished or increased, what is the supposed cause 1 



Answer. See question 5. 



Question 7. What is the amount, or extent, of the change in abun- 

 dance ? 



Answer. See question 5. 



D.— Size. 



Question 8. What is the greatest size to which it attains, (both length 

 and weight,) and what the average! 



Answer. The greatest size to which the Sacramento salmon attain 

 is from 50' to 60 pounds. Mr. S. E. Jones, of Sacramento City, has seen 

 one caught at that point that weighed 51 pounds. He says he has heard 

 of one, at San Francisco, weighing 60 pounds. Salmon weighing be- 

 tween 40 and 50 pounds are not uncommon. The average weight seems 

 to be about 20 pounds for spring-salmon, and 23 pounds for summer-sal- 

 mon. The longest salmon that I saw, measured 38 inches. This length 

 is probably seldom exceeded much. I should judge the average length 

 of the salmon to be about 30 or 32 inches. 



Question 9. State the rate of growth, per annum, if known ; and the 

 size at one, two, three, or more years. 



