REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 17 
able in that field and now going to waste was again demonstrated by 
the collection of upward of 277,000,000 eggs of the former species. 
Owing to the lack of hatching facilities most of these eggs had to be 
sent to the State hatchery at Detroit for development. 
In response to the continued demand for Government aid in main- 
taining the supply of carp in the western end of Lake Erie, large 
numbers of eggs of that important fish were obtained for hatching 
in cooperation with the Ohio fishermen. 
PROPAGATION OF THE PACIFIC SALMONS, 
Hatching and rearing of the Pacific salmons are conducted in Cali- 
fornia, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska, and all of the five 
species, together with the steelhead, are usually handled, although in 
the past fiscal year no eggs of the pink salmon were secured. 
There was a good run of chinook salmon in the Oregon and Calli- 
fornia fields, and the only reason for not obtaining record-breaking 
collections of eggs was that very heavy floods occurred at the height 
of the spawning season, permitting the escape of the fish that were 
being held below the racks. The floods were especially severe in Cali- 
fornia, interrupting all, railroad and highway travel for a number 
of days. The work was therefore a practical failure at all points in 
those States. 
At the new location on Snake River, Idaho, a collection of 6,000,000 
chinook eggs from the spring run of salmon was made. The floods 
in this region during the fall of 1920 were in sharp contrast to the 
conditions encountered during the preceding fall, when the prevail- 
ing drouth and low-water stages in the spawning streams were such 
as to seriously handicap the work. 
Owing to the limited funds available for salmon work in the 
Washington field, the two substations closed last season were not 
reopened. The run of chum salmon in Hood Canal was considerably 
larger than last year, thus permitting increased egg collections at all 
the Federal stations in that region. This outcome is attributed to 
less extensive commercial fishing as a result of the decided drop in 
price. The operations at Baker Lake were even more favorable than 
last year, and the collection of sockeye salmon eggs, amounting to 
nearly 12,000,000, was the largest since the establishment of the sta- 
tion more than 20 years ago; these eggs were taken from 3,645 fish. 
The experiment recently undertaken at the substation at Quinault 
Lake for the purpose of demonstrating the relative efficiency of 
artificial propagation and natural reproduction has been temporarily 
postponed, as it was found that many of the fish passing through the 
counting weir were being gilled in the 4-inch mesh webbing used in 
its construction. Approximately 12,000 fish had been counted before 
the necessity for discontinuing the work became apparent. 
At the Yes Bay (Alaska) hatchery no egg collections whatever 
were attempted during the fiscal year, and fish-cultural work was 
restricted to the incubation of a limited number of eggs transferred 
from other points. This course was necessitated by the condition of 
buildings, water-supply system, and equipment. In order to prevent 
complete deterioration of valuable property, extensive repairs and 
improvements were required. No special appropriation for this 
70454—21 3 
