PROPAGATION OP SALMON ON THE PACIFIC COAST. 3S9 



tliere should be no question as to whicli should receive the attention 

 and protection of the Fish Commission. The Fort Gaston station is 

 on the Trinity Elver, a tributary to the Klamath. The liwsh appear here 

 early in the winter nionths and again in the spring to spawn. 



When the salmon enters the river and commences his long journey to 

 the spawning-grounds it is truly the eflbrt of his life, resulting in many 

 cases in death from accident or exhaustion. During this time he eats 

 nothing, a wise provision of nature, otherwise the spawn, Avhich is the 

 most attractive food for tish, would be consumed by the multitudes 

 which throng the streams during the spawning season. The salmon enter 

 the river in good condition, well fortified with fat, upon which they 

 maintain their strength, combijied with the constant supply of nutriment 

 from the destruction of the oil-bearing tissues which envelop the ovary 

 and the outside membrane covering, the latter holding the eggs and 

 oily essence surrounding them. Disintegration of the ovary adjuncts 

 and spermatic parts begins shortly after the tish enter the river, in both 

 male and female, but the supply is not so great in the former, because 

 the burden and exertion are less. 



The conjunction of natural causes in assisting the salmon in all his 

 movements and in the manner of depositing the eggs is as interesting 

 as it is beautiful. In the operation of spawning, from my own observa- 

 tion, the salmon on arriving at the place selected remains quiet until 

 recovered from the effects of the long journey from the sea, and for this 

 })urpose they select a ])ool where there is protection and concealment, 

 under driftwood or an overhanging bank. In pairs, male and female, 

 they build their nests generally in the swift water on the ripple above 

 or below the pool, the male guarding it with great jealousy by fighting 

 away all intruders. The pool serves as a plnce of concealment during 

 the day ; the spawning arid nest-making takes place at night or early in 

 the morning, continuing during the daytime if it is overcast and dark. 

 The act of spawning by the female may go on at intervals for a week 

 before all the eggs are deposited. 



Tlie construction of the nest is commenced by digging an elongated 

 hole, extending up and down the stream, and located in the swift water 

 above or below the i)ool, the fish using the nose and tins in making 

 the excavation, throwing out the sand and gravel in volumes in their 

 effort. The stones and gravel are carried just below the excavation by 

 tlie current, forming a nest covering a space sometimes more than (> 

 feet in diameter, the small particles of sand and dirt being carried far 

 <lown the stream. 



It seems strange that a collection of stones and pebldes should form 

 a fish nest, and it becomes a matter of speculation as to the nnxnuer of 

 secreting the eggs under a mass of stones. Yet nature has made it 

 very simple, and secured its results in a matter-of-fact way. The eggs 

 are deposited in the hole by the female and inqiregnated by the male. 

 During the fertilization, which takes from half an hour to fifty minutes, 



