ALASKA FISHERIES AND FUR INDUSTRIES, 1911. 79 



During the winter 10,350,000 fry were planted in near-by waters, 

 but the release of part of the fry in the two small rearing ponds 

 adjoining the hatchery is of doubtful value, as many are destroyed 

 by trout lying in wait off the mouth of the outlet for the young salmon 

 as they work out into the lake. 



For the season of 1911-12, egg-taking began August 24 and by 

 October 2 the hatchery was about filled with a collection of 11,000,000 

 red-salmon eggs. The largest single day's take recorded in the his- 

 tory of the station occurred wSeptember 6, 1911, when 1,122,000 eggs 

 were secured. These computations, however, were based on the 

 assumption that each female produced an average of 3,000 eggs, a 

 method which will henceforth be supplanted by the more modern 

 plan of actual measurement by a receptacle the capacity of which 

 will be determined by actual count. Hereafter, also, the eggs will 

 be taken by the method of incision rather than the obsolete plan of 

 expression by hand. Upon examining a number of females that 

 had been stripped as clean as possible by hand each fish was found 

 upon opening to contain from 100 to 400 good eggs, which might 

 have been removed by means of the abdominal cut in the first place. 

 The taking of the eggs hereafter by the so-called "dry" metliod — 

 into a pan merely moistened instead of into a pan half filled with 

 water — will also be an improvement. 



The hatchery is a single-story structure 81 by 18 feet in size; 12 

 feet of the building is partitioned off for livuig quarters. The ecpiip- 

 ment consists of 30 troughs of two lengths arranged in lengthwise 

 series of 5 troughs each and containing 162 baskets with a maxmium 

 capacity of about 12,000,000 red-salmon eggs. The interior arrange- 

 ment of the hatchery and its equipment are of approved type. 



The station is in actual operation some seven months each season, 

 or from about July 15 to February 15. Two men are employed con- 

 stantly during this period, while a thu'd is engaged during a portion 

 of the season. 



ETOLIN ISLAND. 



Although Capt. John C. Callbreath's hatchery, on waters tributary 

 to McHenry Inlet, Etolin Island, has been closed since 1906, his plan 

 has been followed of lifting over the dam each season the red salnion 

 endeavoring to ascend to the spawning grounds. During the period 

 from July 22 to September 20, 1911, a total of 2,627 adult salmon 

 were lifted over, tliis number being made up of 1,487 males and 1,140 

 females. Over 75,000 red salmon have been thus handled siace the 

 beginning of the operation in 1892. A few cohos have also been 

 passed over the barrier, but the less desirable dog and humpback 

 salmon have been carefully excluded. Likewise trout have been 

 kept out so far as possible. 



