[3 J OPERATIONS AT COLD SPRING HARBOR. 723 



Delaware, and if the effort to do so succeeds, it must be done in this 

 manner. Allow me to congratulate you on the success, so far, of this 

 experiment. 



" I am yours, etc., 



"F. M. WARD, 

 "New Jersey Commissioner of Fisheries, 



in charge of Northern Neio Jersey. ," 



Mr. Ward wrote again on the subject of salmon, as follows: 



"Newton, N. J., April 29, 1887. 

 "Fred Mather, Esq.: 



"My Dear Sir: I wrote you, some months since, that in May and 

 June of last year there were taken from the Paulinskill, in the head- 

 waters of which you caused to be placed some of the salmon fry two 

 years ago, what I supposed to be young salmon, from 5 to 6 inches long. 

 For a few weeks past they have been taken in small numbers, at the same 

 point, from 8 to 9 inches in length, but, on examination, 1 doubt their 

 being young salmon, the sides having the bright red spots of our brook 

 trout, and all the other marks of the oquassa or Dolly Varden trout, as 

 described in recent reports by the U. S. Commission of Fisheries. Pre- 

 suming that you might be interested in this unlooked-for development 

 and may be able to account for it, I have been induced to write you 

 in relation to it. 



" Yours, etc., 



"F. M. WARD, 

 " Commissioner of Fisheries for New Jersey." 



To which I made the following reply : 



"Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y., May 2, 1887. 

 "F. M. Ward, Esq.: 



"My Dear Sir: I have yours in reference to some fish taken in 

 Paulinskill, where we planted the salmon fry two years ago, and which 

 were then from 5 to 6 inches long. You now say that for a few weeks 

 past they have been taken in small numbers from 8 to 9 inches in length, 

 but doubt their being young salmon because of the sides having little 

 red spots like a brook trout. Now, the fact is that young salmon have 

 these red spots during the first year or 'parr' stage, but they can easily 

 be distinguished from the trout on account of the forked tail. The sec- 

 ond year they assume the ' smolt' stage, and are then silvery, the red 

 spots having gone never again to appear. But I should think that they 

 would have gone farther down the river by this time; but your letter 

 is a very valuable contribution to their life history, and I am exceed- 

 ingly obliged to you for it, for I have not the slightest doubt that the 

 red-spotted fish were young salmon which had not yet taken on the sil- 

 very coat. I should much like to have a specimen, if possible. 

 " Very truly, yours, 



"FRED MATHER." 



