TWENTY-SKVKNTll lUKNNIAFi RKPORT. 83 



iho Buroaii of T^ishcrics rjiilcd lo <^ct tlic Mpproju-iMlions iicfcssary to 

 I'arry on tlic work of its tcclmolotiical lal)Ofator-i('s. Its (ishcry prodncts 

 laI)orator\' at Wasliiii^toii City of ncccssilN- i-cniiiiiicd pntctically idle; 

 dnrins^ the ycai' and the Inlxn'iiloi^- ;it S;iii I'cdro would have Ix'on 

 abandoned had not the State Fish jiml (lame (!oniinission a<,'reed to 

 carry the expt'nse of the lal)ora1(tfy for l!ie yaw. 'I'hc liiireau of 

 Fisheries and this Connnission have eoojx'rated J'or niiitiy years in 

 fisheries conservation work. This eoopei'ation ])ecfaii when the bureau 

 established a salmon hatchery in this state on the ]\IeCloud River about 

 the yeai" 1875. A few years later when tlie l)nrean, then the United 

 States Fish Connnission, was short of funds, the Fish aiul Game Com- 

 mission, then the State Fish Commission, financed and ran the bureau's 

 hatchery through several seasons. Later, in 1897, the State Commission 

 in turn being- short of funds, the bureau took over, by purciiase, the 

 state's salmon spawn-taking station on l^attle Creek and an agreement 

 Avas entered into which has been continued to this day, under which 

 the two cooperate in the propagation of salmon. The bureau main- 

 tains all of the salmon spawn-taking stations in the state, with the 

 exception of the one near PTornbrook on the Klamath River, which 

 was recently turned over by the bureau to the State Connnission, and 

 the state has carried on the bulk of the salmon-hatching operations at 

 its Mount Shasta Hatchery. 



In other words the bureau is assisting the state by spending annually 

 more than $25,000 in salmon propagation. State and federal employees 

 have also assisted each other in the salmon investigations and this 

 mutual help has been most beneficial. Under the circumstances it was 

 natural that the United States Bureau of Fisheries, when it failed to 

 get the appropriation necessary to carry on the work of its San Pedro 

 laboratory should call upon the Fish and Game Commission for aid. 

 Not only would the laboratory have been lost to the state but a large 

 part of the work of the first year, if left uncompleted, would be lost. 

 The Fish and Game Commission, therefore, agreed to carry on the 

 work of the laboratory for the year, or until the bureau could get an 

 appropriation for the purpose. 



The work of the laboratory during the fiscal year 1920-1921, was 

 partly devoted to completing the experiments on methods of canning 

 little used varieties of fish as well as the varieties already being canned. 

 Satisfactory methods were developed for practically every species of 

 fish studied. The information thus gained should be of future value 

 to the industry and obviate the necessity of individual canners wasting 

 their energy and time on experiments for which few of them are 

 equipped. 



A large part of the laboratory's work was devoted to a study of 

 sardine packing methods and a study by the chemist of the sardine 

 fry baths with the object of cleansing and rectifying the oil or devise 

 means whereby the fry bath might be entirely done away with. ]Much 

 valuable information was gained which is resulting at the present 

 time in improvements being made in the processing of the larger, 

 "pound oval" sardine. The chemical changes which take place in the 

 fry bath were published by this Commission in 1922 as Circular No. 1 



