18 



Sluggishness and lieedlessness ; an inclination to swim near the surface 

 of the water; a white lihny, appearance of the eyes, which seemed to 

 be accompanied or followed in many cases by blindness ; a white 

 fungoid growth on the abraded tips of the fins and wherever the 

 scales had been rubbed off; white blotches breaking out on all parts 

 of the body, even where there had l)een no marks of injury, particu- 

 larly on the head, proving on examination to be patches of white fungus 

 growing beneath the scales and pushing them from their place ; 

 finally death. 



The cause is to be sought for among the following peculiar con- 

 ditions to which these fish were subject : First, the greater part of the 

 water was from springs in the edge of the pond where salmon were 

 confined ; second, the temperature was consequently very low, ranging 

 (June 9 to 20) from forty-seven to fifty-four degrees Fahrenheit, wdiile 

 the common temperature of rivers and ponds at that date is from 

 sixty to seventy degrees ; third, the extreme transparency of the water 

 may have exposed them to too great an amount of light ; fourth, the 

 bottom of the ponds had not been covered with water for- several 

 years, and there was more or less vegetation on it. I am inclined to 

 think the latter circumstance the principal source of diificulty. 



I have no hesitation in advising that the operations with salmon be 

 continued in the same vicinity. They should be conducted on a larger 

 scale, which, with our present knowledge on the subject, is quite feasi- 

 ble. I think two or three hundred salmon might be bought at Bucks- 

 port next season ; and, wdth such success in keeping them as might 

 reasonably be anticipated, more than half a million of eggs might be 

 obtained. 



Fish Culture in California. 

 The great importance of fish culture in this State, as shown by the 

 first biennial report of the' State Commissioner of Fisheries, advance 

 sheets of which liave been kindly sent us, will attract public attention. 

 It is estimated that the area of the inland bays and fresh water lakes 

 adapted to fish culture exceeds 650 square miles. In addition, nearly 

 100 streams from the coast range of the western slope empty into 

 the Pacific, and several hundred water-courses unite in the Sacramento 

 and San Joaquin rivers. The whole forms a most remarkable water 

 surface, and, when properly stocked with fish, will be a source of 

 revenue to the State ranking next to our agricultural and mineral 

 resources. The importance of the development of our State fisheries 

 has not been properly appreciated, but enough has already been 



