184 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [May 11, 
gill-rakers, which are far more numerous than in any other 
species. It was by reference to this character that the young 
individuals before you were easily made out. 
The following brief key will serve to distinguish the species : 
Scales 200" ormore she. oa e ce ae ee . Gorbuscha. 
Seales about 150; 
Be LCS AIO ose oe Cor coe Meee Chouicha. 
B. ie 5: SER gh tk is BM a Be ai 5 Keta. 
Seales about 130; 
Gill rakers 23 Meat ining ave whale Renee ee ee eee Kisutch. 
Gilkirakerst3 oe) Oho ee, eet eee ee Nerka. 
' In the eight small examples here shown the gill-rakers vary 
from 33 to 38, and the lengths, to end of middle caudal rays, 
from 5? to 62 inches. 
The great size of some of the species of Oncorhynchus, the 
enormous abundance of individuals, and the surpassing value of 
the products of the salmon fisheries unite to increase the interest 
of the biologist and the political economist in this noble group 
of fishes. 
To illustrate, the average weight of the quinnat salmon is 
above 20 lbs., and individuals weighing 100 lbs., are authenti- 
eally recorded: At St. Paul, Kadiak, in 1880, Mr. BeG: 
McIntyre had one that weighed Ge 1 Ibs. , Without its viscera ; 
the fish must have exceeded 100 lbs. _ 
The abundance of the fish is best shown by reference to the 
statistics of the canning industry, and on this point I quote 
from Dr. Smith, W. A. Wilcox and other recent authorities. 
Dr. Smith says: 
“The chief objects constituting the products of the west 
coast fisheries are salmon, cod, “herring, flounders, rockfish, 
smelts, whales, fur seals, crabs, shrimps and oysters. Thesalmon 
are nearly as valuable as all of the other products combined. 
Chief among the fishery industries of the Pacific States is the 
canning of salmon, which is prosecuted on a large scale in Cali- 
fornia, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. In 1892, 56 canneries 
were in operation. These utilized 81,487,993 pounds of salmon, 
having a value of $2,376,037, from which 1,118,098 cases of 
canned fish, each holding 48 one-pound cans or the equivalent, 
were prepared, the market value of the canned goods being 
$5,294,032.” 
W. A. Wilcox, in Report, U.S. Fish Commission, 1893, states 
that: ‘“ From 1866, the year in which salmon canning began on 
the Columbia river, to 1893, inclusive, the gross weight of the 
salmon utilized for canning was over 658,000,000 pounds, and 
