REPORT OF STATE BOARD OF FISH COMMISSIONERS. 29 



jioor; tlie flesh is almost white. When collected in the pools above the 



trap they take the fly readily. The salmon fly are here by the 



thousand. 



[Under date of 8isson, ^lay 15, 1892.] 



Hon. Ramon E. Wilson, Secretary State Board of Fisli Commissioners: 



Sir: I herewith transmit a statement of the salmon spawn hatched 

 during the season of 1891-92: 



These salmon eggs were received from Superintendent G. B. Williams, 

 of the United States Fishery, on the McCloud River, with a per cent 

 loss in shipping, as follows: 



September 30, 1891 454,750. Loss .018 percent. 



October 2, 1891 450,000. Loss .02 percent. 



October 6, 1891 460,000. Loss .025 per cent. 



October?, 1891 460,000. Loss .03 per cent. 



Octobers, 1891 332,000. Loss .015 per cent. 



October 10, 1891 440,000. Loss .02 per cent. 



December 1, 1891 255,000. Loss .033 percent. 



The entire shipment of salmon eggs was hatched at a loss of 7 per 

 cent, or about 200,000 eggs (not fry). Regarding the loss of fry dur- 

 ing the months of October and November, I selected four compartments 

 at random from the forty compartments containing the same number, 

 70,000, of fry. The loss was as follows for each day in the six weeks: 

 200, 150, 50," 30, 65, 76, 176, 102, 120, 140, 155, 140, 125, 123, 35, 76, 54, 

 82, 90, 45, 33, 46, 54, 30, 25, 37, 73, 29, 70, 41, 29, 20, 18, 21, 27, 15, 30, 

 22, 12, 8, 21, 7; total, 2,800, or, for the forty compartments, 28,000, 

 which is less than 1 per cent. 



All of the fry in this loss were mostly malformations. You will notice 

 that the loss gradually decreases from day to day to the end of the six 

 weeks. The following six weeks I made a second test of the loss; every 

 fifth day I made a careful count of the loss of the fry in all of the forty 

 compartments, and found the loss to be 221.5 on an average for each day, 

 or 9,303 for the six weeks. 



This loss is less than one third of 1 per cent for these six weeks. This 

 would give a loss of 1^ per cent for the three months up to the time 

 when we commenced to distribute the fry. 



When we commenced to distribute the fry in the streams, and make 

 the transfer to the nursery ponds, the number on hand was changing 

 and diminishing every day, and it was difllcult to get at the exact per 

 cent loss, but it was much less than one half of 1 per cent for the re- 

 maining time, and I have allowed If per cent, which is more than the 

 actual loss for that time, or a total loss of fry of about 3 per cent. 



There never were over 500,000 fry in the nursery ponds at one time, 

 as a few were allowed to escape each day, while others were added from 

 time to time to make up the difference. 



The fr}^ in the nursery boxes are not so large as fry reared in the 

 nursery ponds. The fry in the nursery boxes are never at rest from 

 the constant current, which is gentle, but continuous. In the ponds 

 they can seek still water to rest, which they will do a portion of the 

 day. I made the first transfer of fry to the nursery ponds on Novem- 

 l)er 30, 1891. The fry were transferred to the nursery ponds as follows: 



