28 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



inclosure and transferred in tubs and pails to the hatchery. Salt 

 solution was employed to remove infertile eggs, and the stack-tray 

 system was effectively utilized for holding fi-y through the yolk-sac 

 stage. 



More silver salmon entered Baker Lake than in any year since 1915. 

 Of a total of 4,000 adults of tliis species taken from the trap be- 

 tween September 22 and November 1 there were 2,009 females, which 

 produced 5,750,000 eggs, an average of 2,862 per fish. Following the 

 policy of the past two years the eggs were held at Baker Lake until 

 the eyed stage of development and were then transferred to Birds- 

 view substation, the losses in the meantime amounting to 4^ per cent. 



BIRDSVIEW (WASH.) SUBSTATION. 



Fish-cultural work at Birdsview included operations with four 

 species of the Pacific salmon and the steelhead. All fry hatched from 

 eggs collected at this point were reared to fingerlings before being lib- 

 erated in the principal tributaries of the Skagit River, in locations 

 that appeared to afford the best protection from predatory birds and 

 animals. A lot of 37,980 young chinook salmon carried over from 

 the previous fiscal year were fed until September 20 and liberated 

 in the No. 3 fingerling stage. As there was not sufficient water in 

 Grandy Creek during September to permit chinook salmon to enter, 

 the majority of the run spawned in the Skagit Biver below. Conse- 

 quently, the egg collections declined in numbers as compared with the 

 preceding year, the total for the season amounting to only 313,000. 

 This stock was augmented by the receipt of 250,000 advanced fry 

 from the Washington State fisheries department, and the fish result- 

 ing from both sources were liberated as fingerlings in tributaries of 

 the Skagit River. A lot of 746,500 young silver salmon that were 

 being carried in hatchery ponds on the first of the year were liberated 

 during July, August, and September in the Nos. 2 and 3 fingerling 

 stages. Silver salmon, believed to be the result of plants from eggs 

 transferred from the Baker Lake station, appeared at the trap early 

 in September. Their appearance indicated that fully a month would 

 be required for the full development of their eggs, and, as there were 

 no facilities for holding the fish, they were liberated above the trap 

 and allowed to work their way farther upstream. 



Between the 16th and 24th of September 141,000 eggs were collected 

 from the run of humpbacked salmon in Grandy Creek. Though 

 small, this number is nearly twice as large as that obtained from this 

 stream in 1919. The majority of the humpbacked salmon entering 

 Skagit River make their ascent during August and September, when 

 the streams in the vicinity of the hatchery are at a low stage. Con- 

 sequently, most of the fish proceed up the river some distance above 

 the station before spawning. The principal spawning ground of the 

 humpbacked salmon in the Skagit River lies between Rockport and 

 Marblemount, from 15 to 20 miles above Birdsview. On May 17, 

 40,000 young sockeyes that had been carried over from the previous 

 year were liberated in Grandy Creek, Though the fish received but 

 little care during the winter and their diet Avas confined to canned 

 and spawned-out salmon, the losses on the lot from the beginning of 



