REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XXV 

 C— THE rEOPAGATIO:N^ OF FOOD FISHES. 



5. — WORK ACCOMPLISHED IN 1878. 



The Quinnat or California Salmon (Salmo quinnat). 



The McCloud liiver /Station. — The heavy rains of the winter of 1877- 

 1878, and during the spring of the latter year, caused great damage in 

 the valley of the McCloud Eiver, and especially to the works on the 

 United States Salmon Eeservation. Many of the buildings were swept 

 away, and the dam and works for raising water to the hatching-house 

 were entirely ruined. A special allowance of $2,500 was made to Mr. 

 Stone for restoring the station to the proper condition ; and, reaching the 

 ground on the 9th of May, he immediately went to work to reduce the 

 disorder and render the works satisfactory for future operations. 



The establishment by the Postmaster-General of the post-office of 

 Baird, on the reservation, on the 3d of jVfay, 1878, was of very great 

 service to the Commission in keeping up its communication with the 

 outside world. Previously the nearest convenient post-office was that 

 of Eedding, 22 miles distant, and the party at the works was dependent 

 upon the courtesy of the stage-drivers for bringing along the mail. 

 This act proved of service, not only to the reservation itself, but to the 

 settlers scattered around, who api)reciated the advantage to them in 

 diminishing their travel. 



As in previous years, there were various alarms in regard to lawless 

 whites and Indians who threatened to raid the establishment and burn 

 the buildings, as also to take possession of the penued-up fish, and thus 

 nullify the work of the Commission. An application made to the War 

 Department for arms was met by the issue of eight Springfield rifles 

 and eight hundred cartridges. This equipment, supplemented by the 

 detail by General McDowell of some soldiers, placed the establishment 

 in a satisfactory condition of defense, and no violence was attemj^ted. 



The season of 1878 proved to be the most productive in the history of 

 the establishment, and the number of eggs obtained, fourteen millions, 

 was truly enormous, far exceeding those taken in any one season by all 

 the salmon establishments in the world put together. According to Mr. 

 Stone's estimate 18,000,000 could easily have been secured if desired, 

 but the take was limited to the number applied for by the State com- 

 missioners and those needed to maintain the supply in the Sacramento 

 Eiver. 



The first eggs of the season were taken on the 20th of August, and 

 from that time until the 5th of October, when the last car was loaded 

 wdth salmon eggs, the time of Mr. Stone and his assistants was employed 

 without intermission. The fish were unusually abundant, thousands 

 being often taken at a haul. 



A notable feature in the season was the small size of the parent fish, 

 these averaging less than nine pounds, some of the mother fish, full of 



