38 FISHES AND FISHING IN SUNAPEE LAKE. 



The reports of the Bureau of Fisheries show that in 1909, 15,000 

 fingerlings ( ?) were planted in Sunapee Lake. None has as yet been 

 reported, although it is possible that some of the supposed small 

 chinooks may have been silver salmon. 



The fish may be readily distinguished from the landlocked salmon, 

 or any other eastern salmonia, by the larger number of anal rays, but 

 this character may not mfalUbly distinguish it from the chinook. 

 The silver salmon has 13-14, the chinook 15-17 anal rays. Those 

 accustomed to seeing and handling the fish can readily distinguish it 

 by its general appearance and coloration, but this would be rather 

 difficult for one more or less unfamihar with either the chinook or 

 silver salmon. The color is thus described by Jordan and Ever- 

 mann in Fishes of North and Middle America: 



Bluish green; sides silvery, with dark punctulations; no spots except a few rather 

 obscure on top of head, back, dorsal fin, adipose fin, and the rudimentary upper rays 

 of the caudal; rest of caudal fin unspotted; pectorals dusky tinged; anal with dusky 

 edging; sides of head without the dark coloration seen in the quinnat [chinook]; 

 males mostly red in fall, and with the usual changes of form. 



One who has the patience to count the scales in the longitudinal 

 series immediately above the lateral line will find from 125 to 135 

 in the silver salmon and from 138 to 155 in the chinook. The most 

 conspicuous internal difference is the number of pyloric coeca, which, 

 in the silver salmon, is from 50 to 80 and in the chinook about 140 

 to 185. 



Landlocked Salmon (Salmo sehago). 



The attribute ''landlocked" is a misnomer, first applied to this 

 fish owing to the early theory that the fish was derived from the 

 anadromous sea salmon having been confined in the lakes by some 

 upheaval shutting off return to the sea. The fact stated briefly 

 seems to be that like many other fishes of the salt and brackish 

 water ascending to fresh water to spawn, some remained in fresh 

 water, thus establishing a fresh-water race or species, if this fish can 

 be considered a distinct species. Without entering into a discussion 

 of this question, it may be said that there seem to be sufficient con- 

 stant differences to permit of its being so considered. The differ- 

 ences are no more pronounced than they are among other recognized 

 species of salmonids, but they are as recognizable and, so far as has 

 been determined, are real and constant. 



Distribution. — The landlocked salmon, for which a better name 

 would be fresh-water salmon, naturally occurred in only a few known 

 localities. The New England fish originally was found in only four 

 river basins, i. e., St. CroLx, LMon, Penobscot, and Presumpscot. In 

 the St. Croix it occurred in some of the lakes of both branches, but 

 the western branch at Grand Lake is the best-known water for it 

 now. This is the source of the "Schoodic salmon" of fish culture. 



