314 RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 



caught while ou their way out to sea, with fine nets in the shal- 

 low waters of San Francisco Bay. The Quhinat salmon is fat 

 when it enters the fresh waters from the ocean, but gradually 

 grows lean, and the color, which is light yellowish-red, changes 

 to a deeper shade as it ascends the rivers. The meat becomes 

 leaner, poorer in flavor, and redder in color in proportion to 

 the length of time that it remains in fresh water; but the 

 little ones, which have never seen the salt water, have a more 

 delicate meat than the larger ones fresh from the ocean. No 

 attempt has yet been made to breed fish for our rivers, though 

 it might evidently be done to a profit in many of the streams ; 

 but whether in the Sierra Nevada, where the mud abounds, is 

 doubtful. Yet the probabilities of success are sufiicient to 

 justify the trial. Fifteen years ago the salmon regularly as- 

 cended all, or nearly all, the mountain streams to points above 

 any of the present mining camps, where the waters are as clear 

 now as thev were in 1847. The rule is known to be sreneral 

 and sujoposed to be universal, that the salmon leave the ocean 

 in the stream from which they entered it; and it is supposed 

 further that they go to the very branch or brook in which they 

 were born. It is well known that there is a salmon in the Kla- 

 math River never seen in Humboldt Bay, and various species 

 in the Columbia never found in the waters of California, and 

 salmon in the Quiniault River, Washington territory, not found 

 yet in any other stream ; and the Indians of Oregon say that 

 certain tributaries of the Columbia have species never caught 

 in any other place. If then a million of eggs were hatched at 

 the head-waters of the Sacramento River, there would be reason 

 to hope that they would return to spawn there. 



The legislature has passed an act in regard to the salmon 

 fishery. It provides that the run of salmon shall not be ob- 

 structed by any dam, weir, fence, or fixed stop-net ; and that 

 no person shall catch with a net in the San Joaquin River, or 

 any tributary, in August, September, and the first half of Oc- 

 tober ; or in any other salmon stream of the state in August, 

 October, December, and January ; nor shall any person, save 



