REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OP FISH AND FISHERIES. Ixill 



From a very early period, the i)reservatioii of the salmon-fisheries 

 in Europe, or their restoration when exhausted, has occupied a great 

 share of attention. The problem has perhaps been most carefully worked 

 out in Great Britain, where in numerous localities, formerly exliausted, 

 this fish has been restored, to the very great profit of those who control 

 the streams. So far from beiug a luxury now, unattainable by any but 

 the wealthy, salmon have become a staple fish of Great Britain, and are to 

 be had in the season at prices very little more than are paid for ordinary 

 kinds. 



The history of the introduction of salmon into Tasmania exhibits an 

 instance of enterprise highly to be commended, especially when we bear 

 in mind the fact that it was necessary to transport the eggs over sixteen 

 thousand miles of ocean, during a period of many months, involving an 

 exposure to tropical heat ; but which was actually accomplished with a 

 percentage of loss scarcely greater than that at the celebrated estab- 

 lishment at Hiiniugen. The first experiment in this direction was made 

 in 1863, and, according to Mr. H. K. Francis, failed from an insufficient 

 supply of ice. The eggs were packed between layers of moss, in boxes, 

 which were suspended, in order to break the motion of the ship. A 

 small stream of ice-water was made to flow over them to keep them of 

 a proper temperature. They were thus maintained in good condition for 

 eighty days, during which time they passed through the tropics. But 

 the supply of ice failing, the eggs all died. 



Ultimate success was hoped for, however, from the result of an exper- 

 iment made in an ice-house in Loudon, where eggs, kept for periods from 

 forty-five to one hundred and forty-four days, were afterward hatched 

 out into vigorous fish. 



In 1804 a more successful trial of sending eggs to Tasmania was made. 

 The eggs were packed between layers of moss, as before, beiug strati- 

 fied with successive layers of moss, ice, and charcoal, in boxes perforated 



ior instance, in Connecticut River they set in beginning of May, and continue only 

 about thi'ee weeks ; in Merrimac River they set in beginning in Ajjril to spawn, and 

 lie in the cold, deep brooks until September and October, then silently, so as not to 

 be observed, and with dispatch, they retnru to the sea. In Chebucto, Cape Breton, 

 and Newfoundland they continue the greatest part of the year. 



t Williams, in his. History of Vermont, 1809, vol. 1, p. 147, remarks that "the salmon 

 begins to pass up Connecticut River about the 25th of April, and proceeds to the high- 

 est branches ; and that about the same time, or a little later, they are found in Lake 

 Champlaiu and the large streams which fall into it. When going up in the spring 

 they are round and fat, and of an excellent taste and flavor, and are taken in great 

 numbers from the first week in May to the second week in June. When they arrive 

 . at the upper parts of the rivers, they deposit their spawn and remain there during the 

 summer-season, but become very lean and flaccid. Toward the latter end of Septem- 

 ber they return to the sea, but so much emaciated that they are not taken or used for 

 food. Some of these salmon in the spring wijl weigh thirty-five or forty pounds. They 

 migrate only to cold waters. None of them are ever found to the south or west of Con- 

 necticut River. Those that go farther to the northward and pass up the river Saint La w- 

 renceare generally more large and rich than those which come from the southward." 



