752 REPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



I ought to add here that the water is too cold for white men to endure 

 swimming and diving and remaining in it as long as is necessary to 

 drive the salmon from the rapids. Indeed, the mere work of examining 

 and spawning the salmon is altogether too severe an exposure for white 

 men, and almost every one of my men gets more or less prostrated with 

 sickness the lirst week of the spawning season. And it is not to be 

 wondered at, for we run the seine every night until twelve o'clock, and 

 the water and night air are sometimes 80° colder than where the men 

 have been accustomed to work during the day. For instance, after 

 hewing timbers or building a corral in a sun temperature of 130° in the 

 daytime, they will frequently work in the water and night air in the 

 evening in a temperature of 50°, their clothes wet through all the time. 

 Here the difference in temperature is just 80°. This is obviously ex- 

 ceedingly trying to the most robust constitution, and the result always 

 is that most of the men get sick the first week, though it is also true 

 they usually rally — that is, those who can stand it fd; all — and are all on 

 duty the next week, attacking their work with renewed zeal and vigor. 



The actual spawning of the salmon this year was conducted on the 

 same general plan as last year, except that I made arrangements for 

 doing the work somewhat more systematically, and on a scale corre- 

 sponding to the great number of eggs which we hoj^ed to take, and 

 which we actually did take. I think other salmon breeders will be in- 

 clined to smile an incredulous smile when I say that we fi'equeutly took 

 fi'om 700,000 to 900,000 eggs and upwards in one day before four o'clock 

 in the afternoon. Yet this my men actually accomplished several times. 

 The physical exertion requked to do it is enormous. 



On the evening of the 18th day of September all the eggs were taken 

 and placed in the hatching-houses in good order, the whole work of the 

 spawning season having been done this year, notwithstanding the large 

 number of eggs taken, more smoothly and easily than ever before. 



Maturing and hatching the eggs. — The maturing and hatching of the 

 eggs also passed off more smoothly this year than usual. No disasters 

 or drawbacks occurred during the whole season that I remember. 

 Everything worked well, and when the time came for shipping the eggs, 

 there were as fine a lot in the hatching-houses as was ever collected 

 together. There was not an egg shipped, that I am aware of, that had 

 been in the least degree injured by fungus, sediment, insufflcient air, or 

 any other cause whatever. All were in a perfect condition of health 

 and vitality. 



In confirmation of the above statement I quote below from some of 

 the letters which I received from consignees of the eggs concerning the 

 condition of the eggs on arrival at their destinations. 



