REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. *21 



this mode of fishing tho eels were found to be very destructive, half 

 of the catch, as thrown into the boats, frequently consisting of heads 

 and back-bones of shad from which the flesh had been stripped by the 

 eels. 



The catch of fish in the Susquehanna by the seines and nets, although 

 much greater than that in the Potomac, was still vastly less than in 

 former years. Mr. Milner learned from residents of Havre de Grace 

 that in May of 1837, at a single haul of a thousand-fathom seine, 

 ] ,350,000 herring were taken (representing 2,700 barrels), and many thou- 

 sands of shad. 



The Connecticut River station. — This station was established on the 3d 

 of July, Mr. Milner placing Dr. A. D. Hagar in special charge of the pro- 

 duction of the fish. The first eggs were taken on the date mentioned ; 

 but the number was greatly lessened by the unprecedented warmth of 

 the water, this registering 83° on the 3d of July and reaching 80° by 

 the 20th of the month, a temperature at which the eggs Qf the shad 

 failed to develop, being, apparently, killed even in the ovary of the pa- 

 rent. A heavy rain about the 24th raised the river and reduced the 

 temperature to 70°. Soon tlie hauling was again begun and continued 

 until the 5th of August. 



The total yield was 1,958,000 young fish, of which over three-fourths 

 were returned to the Connecticut. Distant shipments were made to the 

 Alabama, the Sacramento, and the Mississippi Eivers. 



The entire season's work at the three stations resulted in the introduc- 

 tion into suitable waters of 5,877,500 shad. The details of distribution, 

 places of deposit, &c., will be found in the accompanying tables. 



The Caififornia Salmon. 



Columbia River station in 1875. — The abundance of salmon of several 

 species in the Columbia Eiver has long attracted astonishment and 

 admiration, the fish entering that river in such enormous numbers every 

 year as to make the possibility of its exhaustion appear entirely im- 

 probable. It is only within comparatively a few years that any attempt 

 has been made to utilize them on a large scale, this being done by salt- 

 ing and pickling in barrels, and subsequently by putting them up in 

 cans as fresh fish. This latter industry, as being more profitable, is now 

 the leading one, and the disproportion between the canned and pickled 

 fish increases every year. 



The belief in the inexhaustibility of the salmon in the Columbia re- 

 ceived a severe shock when it was found that the actual catch during a 

 given year was appreciably less than the preceding. This was at first 

 supposed to be accidental ; but when the decrease was found to con- 

 tinue, the canners took the alarm and, fully aware of the danger, 

 memorialized Congress for some legislation that should restrict the 

 unlimited taking of the fish and be accompanied, if possible, by some 

 provision for artificial propagation. The memorial was referred to the 



