REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. Ixix 



Eiay find them in so great abundance as to keep themselves in good con- 

 dition, and obviate the necessity of going elsewiiere in search of food. 



In the eastern portion of North America, in addition to the true Salmo 

 salar, some writers maintain the existence of a second species, which 

 they call Salmo haniatus, or hook-billed salmon, and which they distin- 

 guish by the development of a hook in the lower jaw. Whether there 

 be two species or not, there is no question that the true salmon has this 

 development during the spawning-season to a very great degree, and 

 therefore it cannot constitute a distinctive mark. 



4. — The tcestern salmon {Salmo quinnat ?). 



It is on the west coast of North America alone that salmon occur in any- 

 thing like the numbers which formerly prevailed in the East, though the 

 species are entirely distinct and peculiar to the Pacifio. The waters of 

 California, Oregon, and British Columbia boast of the possession of 

 several kinds, how many has not yet been ascertained, as the different 

 ages and sexes of one have in many instances been described as 

 two or more totally distinct species. One of the objects of the Fish Com- 

 mission is to solv^e the problem in question, by securing specimens of all 

 ages and of both sexes from all North American localities, and, by a crit- 

 ical investigation and comparison, to determine precisely the limitations 

 and relationships of each kind. Material for this will, with suitable 

 illustrations, it is hoped, be ready before long, which will be presented 

 to Congress for publication if it should be called for. 



The term salmon properly implies a fish of the genus Salmo, which 

 spends a certain portion of its time in the ocean, and then runs up 

 into the fresh waters to spawn. We know of no species of the genus 

 which remains in the salt water permanently throughout the year ; but 

 there are many that continually abide in the fresh water, and of these 

 North America has her fair share. 



An important memoir on the genus Salmo, by Dr. Suckley, was pre- 

 pared for the report on the northwest boundary survey. This, by 

 permission of the State Department and Mr. Archibald Campbell, 

 has been in charge of the Smithsonian Institution for many years, and 

 will be found in the appendix of this report, (page 91.) Although 

 many of the conclusions of Dr. Suckley are doubtless erroneous, yet 

 the amount of information and critical inquiry exhibited in the paper 

 is very great, and it will serve as an excellent basis for more correct 

 memoirs hereafter. The species given by Dr. Suckley, arranged in 

 certain indicated groups, are mentioned on page 92. 



In consequence of the fact that the waters of the Sacramento Valley 

 are much warmer than the ordinary salmon-streams of the United States, 

 the fish from that locality would seem to be especially adapted to the 

 more southern waters of the United States. Its precise species has not 

 been determined, but Dr. Suckley identifies it with the Columbia River 

 " quinnat," {Salmo quinnat, Rich.) 



