290 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Saiut John's, and its larger tributary, the Aroostook, Saiut Croix, Den- 

 ny's, Penobscot, and Kennebec. Beside the rivers regularly visited by 

 them, tbey are occasionally observed in the Machias, Narraguagus, 

 Sheepscot, Androscoggin, Presumpscot, and Saco ; but in all these, as 

 well as the remaining fifteen rivers, the ancient brood of salmon was long- 

 ago extinguished, and the rare specimens occasionally observed must 

 be regarded either as strays from some of the better-preserved rivers, 

 or as early-returning members of the new broods established by arti- 

 ficial culture in several rivers. The latter appears to be the most 

 probable explanation of the recent occurrence of salmon in Southern 

 New England. 



The disappearance of salmon from so many rivers appears to have 

 been entirely the result of artificial causes, chief among which is the 

 obstruction of the way to their breeding-grounds by impassable dams. 

 Excessive and ill-timed fishing has had a due share of influence in de- 

 pleting the original supply and in preventing its speedy recovery in 

 cases where other circumstances were favorable, but, unaided by the 

 formidable works of the manufacturer, the fisherman's nets and spears 

 and pounds would hardly have sufficed to extinguish the brood of sal- 

 mon in a single river. Commonly these two classes of destructive agen- 

 cies co-operated. The dams held the fish in check while the fisherman 

 caught them out. This has been the case for many years, and is the 

 case to-day with the Saint Croix, Denny's, Penobscot, and several others, 

 where, though impeding the ascent of salmon, the dams have not wholly 

 prevented it. There are, however, other rivers, where the dams alone 

 would have sufficed to exterminate the species. As instances may be 

 mentioned the Androscoggin, Saco, and Merrimac, where the dams so 

 completely exclude salmon from all suitable spawning-grounds that, 

 without the intervention of any other agency, they would have ex- 

 tinguished the broods that naturally frequented those rivers. 



2. — TRIBUTARIES OF THE SAINT JOHN RIVER, 



Salmon ascend the Saint John as far as Grand Falls, where they find 

 an impassable obstacle to their further progress. Nearly all the trib- 

 utaries below this point, on both sides, were originally frequented by 

 them, and in these their spawning-grounds are supposed to have been 

 mainly situated. The complete closing of some of these tributaries by 

 dams, and the partial closing of others, has tended to the decrease of 

 the species. But large numbers are still found in the main rivei- and 

 such of the tributaries as are accessible. Of the tributaries lying partly 

 in the State of Maine, the Aroostook, Presque Isle, and Meduxnekeag 

 were naturally frequented by salmon. With regard to the Aroostook 

 and Meduxnekeag, there is no doubt of their having ascended both 

 streams beyond the border-line. Such was probably the case with 

 the Presque Isle Eiver, as is assumed by Mr. Yenning, inspector of 



