44 American Fisheries Society 



renders artificial impregnation particularly easy, and the species 

 of Salmo have always occupied the first place in the annals of 

 fish culture." This statement, like every published statement per- 

 taining to the subject, in anatomical, zoological, ichthyological 

 and fish-cultural works, is simply the acceptance of the erro- 

 neous conclusions of earlier writers, particularly those to whom 

 I have referred. Briefly stated, these conclusions were in effect 

 that the salmonoid fishes were exceptions among teleosts in that 

 they did not have closed ovaries and lacked oviducts, excepting 

 certain stated vestigeal remains and the "funnels" in the smelt 

 described by Huxley. The ovaries were stated to be platelike 

 organs with perpendicularly arranged egg-bearing laminae not 

 covered by membrane on the outer surface facing the lateral 

 abdominal wall. From these laminae the ova, as they ripened, 

 were deposited loose in the abdominal cavity and extruded 

 through a genital pore behind the anal opening. Some members 

 of this Society may recall that at the Washington meeting in 

 1914, I called attention to an apparantly closed ovary in an im- 

 mature brook trout [Salvelimts fontinalis), and mentioned that 

 I had seen in the Sunapee char what I regarded as possible ovi- 

 ducts. At that time I remarked that I had not had time for 

 thoroughly investigating the subject, but hoped that I or some- 

 one might soon settle the question. 



Six years have since elapsed, and I feel some satisfaction in 

 being able to announce that I believe that I have settled the 

 question. I have examined many individuals of salmonoid 

 fishes, comprising four species of Pacific salmon, the Atlantic 

 and landlocked salmon, rainbow, steelhead, redthroat, brown. 

 Loch Leven and other trouts, various species of chars, white- 

 fishes, ciscoes and the grayling; as well as hundreds of Atlantic 

 smelts, both marine and fresh, water. The salmons, trouts and 

 chars are essentially alike in their visceral structure and ar- 

 rangement. The abdominal cavity is separated from the ante- 

 rior chamber containing the heart, gills, etc., by a diaphragm- 

 like partition through which pass the esophagus and certain 

 blood vessels. Continuing from the esophagus, the alimentary 



