[fraser] 



PACIFIC SALMON 



201 



The scales showed distinctly the difference in condition. In the 

 case of the Rivers inlet fish the scales were removed readily and were 

 perfect at the margin, so that there was no trouble in calculating 

 growth, while the scales of the Comox fish could be removed only 

 with difficulty and when 'they were removed many of them were so 

 disintegrated at the margin that little of the last year's growth re- 

 mained. It was with much difficulty that enough of them sufficiently 

 perfect could be found to make calculation of growth rate worth while, 

 so much so, that out of 1500 from which scales were taken, only 500 

 were used for calculation, and even among these there were many 

 for which accurate calculation could not be vouched. They were the 

 most unsatisfactory lot of all the scales examined. On that account, 

 instead of having 2,000 to report upon as was intended, there were 

 only 1,000, 500 of which were from Rivers inlet and 500 from the 

 vicinity of Comox in the strait of Georgia. 



All humpbacks examined were of the sea type. In Departure 

 bay, the fry appear somewhat later than the dog salmon, but as the 

 district is not specially partial to humpbacks, it may be different 

 where they are more abundant. They are much the same size as the 

 dogs and feed on anything that may be swallowed, as the dogs do. 

 They disappear from the shallow water about the same time as the 

 dog salmon fry do and as far as I am aware, nothing is seen of them 

 until they come back again the next year on the way to spawn. Since, 

 like the sockeye and the dog salmon, they do not take spoon or bait 

 while they are in the inside waters, they probably spend the greater 

 part of their feeding period in the open sea. Those coming in to spawn 

 were all in their second year, hence they come to normal maturity 

 earlier than any other species, and to prepare for it they grow more 

 rapidly than any other species. Although they are the smallest of 

 the species at normal maturity, they are larger than any other fish 

 at that age. 



in those examined, the sexes in both localities are almost of the 

 same number, with the males very slightly predominating. The fol- 

 lowing table will show the ratio: 



