XCVIII REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Early in the spring, immediately after the fry liad been planted, the 

 old hatchery was torn down, and by April 15 everything had been 

 cleared away and the grading of the site for the new hatchery com- 

 menced. This building, which was completed on June 29, is a frame 

 structure 120 by 40 feet, with side walls 12 feet high; it has 36 windows 

 on the sides and ends and 12 skylights in the roof. The sides and ends 

 are sheathed with rustic lumber and the tloor is of U by 6 inch yellow 

 pine laid half an inch apart. The studding and rafters are of spruce. 

 The building is covered with redwood shingles and is equipped with 

 sufidcicnt troughs to care for 20,000,000 eggs. A new centrifugal pump 

 was imrchased and the water-wheel rebuilt to insure an abundant 

 supply for the new hatchery. Contracts were also entered into for the 

 erection of a steam plant, which will furnish several hundred gallons of 

 water per minute, in the event of an accident to the wheel. 



At the close of the year the rack Avas again placed across the river. 

 It was noticed that the run of salmon which usually makes its appear- 

 ance in the McCloud Eiver about the last of March did not appear this 

 season. In the pool below the rack on June JO, where there are usually 

 several thousand fish, only a few were found. This scarcity was attrib- 

 uted to the discharge of refuse from the smelters at Keswick, and as 

 thousands of dying fish were observed, the matter Avas inve.stigated by 

 the California Fish Commission, who reported that the mortalit}^ was 

 not caused by the discharge of silt from the smelters, but from poison 

 in a spring near Keswick. 



The following shows the number of fish and eggs handled during the 

 summer run : 



Date. 



Aug... 

 18. 

 19. 

 20. 

 22. 

 23. 

 24. 

 25. 

 26. 

 27. 

 28. 

 29. 

 30- 

 31. 

 Sept. 1. 



2. 



3. 



4. 



Date. 



Sejit. 5 



6 



7 



8 



10 



11 



12 



13 



14 



15 



16 



17 



18 



20 



22 



Total 



Fish 

 spawned. 



138 

 113 

 233 

 144 

 148 

 111 

 97 

 103 

 77 

 38 

 64 

 70 

 21 

 30 

 19 



Eggs 

 taken. 



Eggs lost. 



617, 100 

 511, 800 

 1, 082, 300 

 684, 500 

 703, 901) 

 495, 000 

 435, 200 

 443, .500 

 348, 200 

 156, 500 

 273, 100 

 296, 300 



86, 200 

 118, 500 



72, 100 



2,888 13,445,900 



43, 225 



75, 498 



113, 150 



352, 700 



394, 500 



2,700 



32, 675 



46, 050 



20, 375 



15. 880 



19,645 



19, 825 



7,917 



9,700 



2, 350 



1,467,150 



Battle Ckekk Station, California (G. H. Lamhson, Supkrintendent). 



The station was opened September 10, and steps were at once taken 

 to repair the racks and weirs and to equip the hatchery for the recep- 

 tion of eggs. By the middle of October the main rack across the creek 

 and the two retaining racks at the mouth had been completed. The 

 main rack, which is 273 feet long, was built in 1897, at an expense of 



