54 



America and the most widely distributed. Its great size 

 and the good quality of its flesh render it a very important 

 si^ecies wherever it is known. This is one of the most 

 variable of the North American trout in color, and much 

 confusion has arisen from this circumstance. Individuals 

 from the Kuwuk are similar in appearance to Labrador 

 specimens, differing only in being slightly darker. 



The rainbow trout of California (Plate IV, flgs. 10 and 11), 

 appears to extend northward into southeastern Alaska, but 

 is very little known in the territory, and, consequently, is 

 not of much importance there. One sj)ecimen of this trout 

 was taken at Sitka by Cai)tain Beardslee about ten years 

 ago. 



Gairdner's trout (Plate IV, lig. 12), known also as the 

 steel-head salmon, or " soomgali'" of the Russians {Salmo 

 gairdneri), reaches a very large size in Alaska, and extends 

 northward at least to the Bristol Bay region. At Sitka 

 this species is called '-'• Ali-slmt^^ by the Indians. We 

 found gravid females at that place in June. This trout 

 generally flnishes its spawning before the arrival of the 

 salmon, and is charged with the destruction of salmon 

 eggs in large quantities. The species has not much im- 

 portance, commercially, although it reaches so large a 

 size, attaining to the proportions of the Atlantic salmon, 

 which it resembles in shape and color ; but small quan- 

 tities are dried by the natives and at the various fish- 

 ing stations. This is the trout which is shipped from the 

 Columbia River early in the spring to markets on the east 

 coast, and sold in the fresh state nnder the trade-name of 

 " Kennebec salmon." It will undoubtedly become an im- 

 j)ortant species before many years. At the present time it 

 is i)ractically a waste product of the salmon fisheries of 

 Alaska, and the same may be said of the dolly varden. 



Clark's trout, Plate V, flg. 13, recently styled the red-throat 

 {Salmo purpuratus), is very abundant in Alaska, extending 



