Prince. — The Red Flesh of the Salmons 55 



feeding grounds in the deep sea, it is difficult to under- 

 stand why one, the Sockeye, should be so uniformly a 

 rich deep red, while the other, the Quinnat, should vary 

 from a paler red to a light pink or even to a chalky white 

 color. 



Curious Case of Sockeye Variation. 



But even the Sockeye (so constantly of the attractive 

 deep tint sought by the great markets, and so uniformly 

 small in size as to be perfectly adapted for handling by 

 machinery set to clean, cut up, and rapidly utilize the 

 fish in the canning factories), shows some curious varia- 

 tions. Unusually large examples, nine to twelve pounds 

 weight, may occur, though five to seven pounds would be 

 the general average, and specimens showing striking dif- 

 ferences in color are taken. The Sockeye of the north- 

 ern rivers, the Skeena, Naas, and Alaskan, are usually 

 lighter in color than the Fraser River Sockeye; but one 

 astonishing exception occurs in the north, in a creek not 

 far from the estuary of the Skeena River, viz: a breed 

 of Sockeye salmon quite unlike either of the two types 

 mentioned. This peculiar local variety I have never en- 

 countered anywhere else, in all my extensive tours along 

 the Pacific Coast during the last twenty years. It has 

 not the usual vermilion or orange red color, but a deep 

 beef -red tint of rather a dull disagreeable shade. The 

 local canners know well this peculiar variety and have 

 never used it for canning purposes unless there was a 

 shortage of the usual Sockeye Salmon in the Skeena, the 

 Naas, or other northern rivers, and there arose urgent 

 necessity to add a few cases to complete the pack. 



Cases of Color Due to Vascularity. 



The same dull beef -red color in the flesh of the Tuna 

 is not due, however, to the same cause as in the Sockeye 

 Salmon; but as already pointed out, is due to the un- 

 usually rich network of blood-vessels in the great mus- 

 cles of the trunk. This abundant blood-circulation results 

 in a much higher temperature than that found in the 



