REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AXD FISHERIES. LTII 



by impregnating the eggs of brook trout with saibling milt, secure a hy- 

 brid which may possibly be of value. It is not thought that the saib- 

 ling is superior in value to our own native fish, although experiments 

 upon both the pure species and the hybrid will be continued. 



i. The California, Rainbo-w, or Mountain Trout {Sal mo irideus). 



The McClond River Station. — Mr. Livingston Stone retains the general 

 supervision of this station, but Mr. Loren W. Green was immediately in 

 charge. The spawning time seems to come a little later each year. 

 This season it lasted from December 18, when 12,300 eggs were taken, 

 to May 28, when 8,000 were obtained; and at tliis last date a number 

 of the females had not yet spawned, though the spawning season for 

 the males was entirely over. The eggs were slower in maturing in the 

 fish than usual, were of inferior quality, and about 200 less in number to 

 the fish than in former years. Much of this may be attributed to the 

 scarcity of food in the river during the fall, as the food supply for the 

 McCloud lliver was much diminished, owing to the blasting operations 

 near the mouth of Pitt River (into which the McCloud empties) by the 

 Central Pacific Railroad Company. 



During the latter part of January a heavy fall of rain caused a rai)id 

 rise in the river, and a landslide on the creek which supplies the trout 

 ponds made the water very muddy and killed 35,000 eggs in the hatch- 

 ing troughs, despite the utmost efforts to protect them. 



ISTot withstanding the difficulties experienced this year, 315^225 eggs 

 were taken ; of which number, 125,000 were sent to Washington, nearly 

 60,000 were lost, 35,000 were sent to Minnesota, Iowa, and oSTebraska ; 

 some were hatched and returned to the McCloud River ; and about 

 21,000 were hatched and the young fish kept at the station for breeding 

 purposes. 



The NorthviUe Station. — There was a marked improvement in the 

 quality of the eggs which were obtained from the breeding stock at the 

 NorthviUe ponds. In former years from 75 to 90 per cent of the eggs 

 were lost, but this season more than half were good. As the breeding 

 fish were fed much less than usual, this is thought to account for the im- 

 provement. The spawning season began on January 9, and ended April 

 24 ; and many of the later lots of eggs taken turned out as high as 90 

 per cent good. A few eggs were taken also from two-year-old trout, for 

 the first time at this station. 



During the season 111,100 eggs weie obtained from 126 fish. The 

 mortality during incubation was very large, only 47,500 eggs being 

 available for distribution. Small allotments were sent to the Deutsche 

 Fischerei-Verein (Germany), to the National Fish Culture Association 

 (England), and to the Howietoun hatchery (Scotland), some to the New 

 Orleans Exposition, and the rest were distributed to the fish commis- 

 sioners of Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota ; and 12,000 fry were hatched 

 and planted in a stream near NorthviUe, The eggs sent to Germany 



