COLLECTION OF EGGS OF SEBAGO SALMON. 777 



the following from the Maine Fisheries Eeport for 18G7 : "The average 

 of those taken in the fall is, for the males, 5 pounds ; for the females, a 

 little more than three pounds. A female 25 inches long Aveighs 5 pounds, 

 a male of the same length weighs 7 pouuds. Of two males 29 inches 

 long, one weighed 9 pouuds 14 ounces, the other 11 pounds 4 ouu(^s. 

 Some extreme weights may be given. One was taken the past season 

 (1867) at Edes Falls that dressed Hi pounds. The largest on record 

 was caught hy Mr. Sawyer, of Eaymond. Its weight was 17J pounds, 

 and is vouched for by Franklin Sawyer, esq., of Portland. These old 

 fish are seldom caught with the hook, and of those taken in the spring 

 and summer, when they are in season, the average weight would be less 

 than indicated by the above." I have been told of stilUargei- specimens 

 having been takeu, but am unable now to give any authority. Thus it 

 will be seen that the Sebago salmon average about one-third the size of 

 the sea-going Atlantic salmon and twice the size of the Schoodic salmon. 

 I am aware that from the naturalist's stand^joint the matter of size is 

 not important, yet with the fish-culturist it is of the very first moment. 

 It is not, perhaps, a very reUable characteristic, being so much influ- 

 enced often by the character of the range and feeding- ground, but in 

 the present case there are reasons for thiuking that the Sebago salmon 

 have inherited a tendency to rapid growth and the attainment of a 

 large size not possessed by those of the Schoodic Lakes ; for not alone 

 in the Sebago Lake and the Sango and Crooked Rivers are fish of such 

 large size found. Those of Long Pond are little, if any, inferior in this 

 respect to those of the Sebago, though Long Pond is a much smaller 

 body of water than several of the Schoodic Lakes, and is notkuown to 

 offer in depth, in the character of the water, or in food, any special ad- 

 vantages. 



In form and color the Sebago salmon approach more nearly to the sea 

 salmon than do the Schoodic or the Sebec fish. In the breeding season 

 the males are much brighter colored and the hook on the lower jaw is 

 more developed. The males, at least, judging from the few specimens 

 measured, are stouter in j)roportion to their length than any other 

 salmon I have ever examiued. The single specimen mentioned above as 

 weighing 11^ iiounds was 29 inches long. An average Penobscot male 

 salmon of an equal weight would have been 32 inches long. 



The habits of the Sebago salmon are identical, so far as observed, with 

 those of other fresh-water salmon. They dwell and feed in the lakes, 

 occasionally running into the larger streams after food, and at S[)awning 

 time, which begins the last of October, they seek the gravelly rapids of 

 the streams and there excavate nests, in which they deposit their eggs. 

 The old fish abstain from food at spawning time, but young males are 

 taken with eggs in their mouths and stomachs. The males are found 

 frequenting the spawning-beds when only G inches long, retaining still 

 the dark bars and red spots on the sides, and these little fish yield milt 

 abundantly. The females, however, are not found till well grown up. 



