26 Report of the American 



in the winter over twice that area of meadows. The muddy character of 

 the bottom is believed to be of positive advantage, since it tends to deter 

 the salmon from spawning in the pond, and impels them to seek the 

 brooks where they can be easil}' caught. The pond lies about a mile 

 from the Penobscot river, and as the brook through which it discharges 

 its waters is small and has falls too steep for even salmon to climb, it is 

 necessary to carry all the breeding salmon from the river to the pond on 

 a dra}'. This is of course a disadvantage, but it does not appear to be a 

 ver}' serious one. 



The hatching house is near the outlet of the pond, and is supplied with 

 water from the stream. No available spring could be found in the 

 neighborhood, but the absence of spring water is less to be regretted 

 since the majority of the eggs collected here are sent away to be hatched 

 in other places, and since general experience seems to indicate that it is 

 better to set young salmon at liberty as soon as they begin to feed than to 

 attempt to rear them in artificial ponds with artificiall}- prepared food, 

 for which purpose spring water would be desirable. 



The proximity of Buck^ort to the most productive salmon fisheries of 

 the Penobscot renders it the best point at which to collect breeding sal- 

 mon. There are within five miles of Bucksport village about fifty weirs 

 that yield not far from four thousand salmon per year. In case they were 

 wanted probably three quarters of these could be obtained for breeding 

 purposes. Thus far a small part of these weirs have furnished all the 

 salmon necessary. 



The weirs being made for the purpose of catching alewives, menhaden 

 and other small fish as well as salmon, the nets are of so small a mesh 

 that salmon never catch in them, and swim to and fro until they are left 

 b}' the retreating tide on a board floor. In taking them for breeding pur- 

 poses, it is necessary to anticipate the fall of the tide b}' dipping them 

 carefully out and placing them carefully in perforated boats in which they 

 are convej'ed to Bucksport. At Bucksport the}' are dipped from the 

 boats and placed in boxes in which they are carted to the pond. Of 

 course with the most careful handling the salmon are sometimes fatall}' 

 injured before the}' reach the pond, and die soon after. In 1872 one 

 hundred were found dead in the pond in the course of the summer, and 

 nearly all these in June and July, while the collection was going on, and 

 -within two weeks after its close. In 1873, out of 652 bought, only 

 seventeen were found dead, owing, it is thought, to improved apparatus, 

 greater care and increased skill in the persons who handled them. 



Each year preparations have been made to confine the breeding salmon 

 within a small enclosure. The first season, 1872, the hedge made for 

 the purpose proved quite inadequate, and the salmon being scattered 



