154 



ICENDALL: NEW ENGLAND SALMONS. 



On the other hand, if for any reason the plants of fish resulted in a small proportion 

 of fish to reach maturity, the average size of them would apparently be increased, 

 although all along the range of sizes might be practically the same. 



But when the fish increase both in number and size, where the size depends upon 

 artificial propagation, it indicates improved conditions in fish culture. This seems to be 

 what has happened at Grand Lake Stream in recent years. 



Green Lake. — (Stilwell and Stanley 1874, p. 13). 'About 12 miles from Bangor, on 

 the Calais road, is a lake known as Reed's pond. It is of some eight or nine miles in 

 length, extending to the city of Ellsworth, and emptying into Union River. This is the 

 lower Hnk of a chain of these ponds containing these fishes, of a size like those of Sebago 

 lake in Cumberland county, that compare with the Schoodic and Sebec salmon, as does 

 the huge Rangely trout with our ordinary brook trout. They are the same fish, only 

 developed to a greater size by the superior range and purity of water, and greater supply 

 of feed for both the young fry and the growing fish. The Reed's pond salmon have in 

 the past, been caught of great size and weight, viz., 22, 15 and ten pounds.' 



The Maine Central Railroad bulletins from 1915 to 1930 give the records for Green 

 Lake for only two years as shown by the following table. 



TABLE 26. 



Sebec Lake. — The Maine Fish Commissioners' report for 1874 (Stilwell and Stanley 

 1874, p. 13) says of the salmon of the Sebec region : 'They are all similar in size and general 

 appearance to the Schoodic shiner or salmon.' 



Records for ten j-ears from 1915 to 1929 (lacking those for 1923 and 1928) reported 

 in the multigraph bulletins issued by the Maine Central Railroad, show that the smallest 

 salmon caught weighed two pounds and the largest 8H pounds. The averages of those 

 for which individual weights were given range from about two to about S^'g pounds. 



Sebago Lake. — As stated elsewhere, Sebago Lake has long had a reputation for large 

 salmon. Possibly the earliest mention of the size of a Sebago salmon occurs in an 

 apocryphal diary attributed to Hawthorne in his boyhood, sometime prior to 1825, 

 while he resided with relatives in the vicinity of the village now known as South Casco. 

 The statement (Pickford 1897) is as follows: 'On the way from the Island to the Images 

 Mr. Ring caught a black spotted trout that was almost a whale, and weighed before it 

 was cut open, after we got back to uncle Richard's store, eighteen and a half pounds. 

 The men said that if it had been weighed as soon as it came from the water it would have 

 been nineteen pounds.' 



