CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME. 



129 



lower reaches of Eel River. The upper 

 reaches of Eel River will be stocked with 

 salmon fry by the Fish Commission's dis- 

 tributing car this season. Owing to the 

 large number of salmon that ascended 

 the river during the early fall freshets, 

 the natural propagation will be larger 

 than usual. The storms raised Eel River 

 before the fishermen had a chance to take 

 many of the salmon from the pools in the 

 lower river, consequently a larger number 

 of mature salmon ascended the river to 

 spawn than usual. 



The Fish and Game Conunission is 

 planning a hatchery for the district sduHi 



markets from Portland and Eel River and 

 the old question arose, Were they salmon 

 or steelhead? 



The usual characters by which salmon 

 and steelhead are distinguished are the 

 size of head, shape of tail and number of 

 rays in the anal fin. In the shipments 

 these identification marks had been re- 

 moved. The fish were dressed and the 

 heads, tails, and' anal fins removed, very 

 evidently for the purpose of preventing 

 identification. As it was lawful to have 

 salmon, but unlawful to have steelhead in 

 possession, the question was a vital one. 

 A microscopic examination of the scales 



Fig. 32. — Interior of new hatchery (E) at Sisson. This building contains 148 



hatching troughs. 



of the Tehachapi. It is the intention of 

 the board to establish a hatching station 

 in southern California to propagate 

 enough fish to stock the streams in the 

 southern part of the state, if a suitable 

 site can be found. It will be more eco- 

 nomical to hatch and distribute the fry 

 from a hatchery located in the south 

 than to ship the fish from the northern 

 stations. W. H. Shebley. 



IDENTIFYING FISH BY THEIR 

 SCALES. 



The Fish and Game Commission has 

 been making practical applications of the 

 knowledge gained in the last few years 

 in the study of fish scales. Shipments 

 of fish came to San Francisco and other 



showed conclusively that they were steel- 

 head, and gives the evidence upon which 

 the violator can be prosecuted. 



The concentric rings of growth on the 

 scales of trout and salmon show winter 

 and summer growth, much as do the rings 

 of growth on a tree. Also, the growth in 

 fresh water can be distinguished from the 

 growth in salt water. Steelhead, after 

 hatching from the egg, spend from one to 

 three years in the stream before going to 

 sea, but the great majority of individuals 

 remain two years in fresh water. The 

 salmon, on the other hand, spend one 

 year, or less, in fresh water and then 

 pass out to sea. Scales from the fish in 

 question showed two years' residence in 

 fresh water, which is proof enough they 



