STONE OX THE SACRAMENTO SALMON. 193 



Question 64. Are the young of this fisli found in abundance, and in 

 what localities? 



Answer. The youug fish are found in great abundance in the neigh- 

 borhood of the spa^^Tiing-ground in May, and j^robably before. After 

 the month of May they suddenly and mysteriously disappear. 



Question 65. On what do they appear to feed? 



Answer. They probably feed on Crustacea, water-insects, and smaller 

 fish. 



I. — Artificial culture. 



Question 66. Have any steps been taken to increase the abundance of 

 this fish by artificial breeding ? 



Answer. !N"o steps have been taken to increase the Sacramento sal- 

 mon in the Sacramento river b}' artificial breeding. The United States 

 has a salmon-breeding station on the McCloud river, one of the tributaries 

 of the Sacramento, but the object of this station is to obtain salmon- 

 eggs for the Atlantic rivers, and not to replenish the Sacramento. Sev- 

 eral thousand impregnated salmon eggs were successfully sent to the 

 Atlantic coast from this place this fall, 1872, and have been hatched 

 successfully. The destination of these yoiuig salmon is the Susque- 

 hanna river. 



K. — Protection. 



Question 67. Are these fish protected by law, or otherwise ? 



Answer. The Sacramento salmon are protected by a law imposing pen- 

 alties on the use of weirs, pounds, or other fixed engines of captiu-e, giant 

 powder, and small-meshed nets. The Rio Vista and Sacramento fisher- 

 men wish for a law prohibiting salmon-fishing with nets, from the 1st of 

 June till the beginning of the winter run in November. This seems to 

 me to be a very judicious way of regulating the fishing, whenever it is 

 thought best to regulate it by law. During the time mentioned, from 

 June to November, the salmon are very poor, the fishermen make poor 

 wages at fishing, and tons of spoiled salmon are thrown back into the 

 river for the want of a market. 



The supply of the Sacramento salmon has a singular natural protec- 

 tion arising from the fact that the McCloud river, containing the great 

 spawning-grounds of these fish, is held entirely by Indians. As Ipngas 

 this state of thmgs remains, the natural supply of the salmon stock of 

 the Sacramento may be considered as guaranteed. That this j)rotection 

 is one of no slight importance may be inferred from the fact that the 

 appearance of the white man, on the American and Feather rivers, two 

 great forks of the Sacramento, has been followed by the total destruction 

 of the spawning beds of these once prolific salmon-streams, and the spoil- 

 ing of the water, so that not a single salmon ever enters these rivers now 

 where they used to swarm by millions in the days of the aboriginal 

 inhabitants. I earnestly hope that the policy which has been pursued 

 S. Mis. 71 13 



