REPORT OF STATE BOARD OF FISH COMMISSIONERS. 53 



of the milt, as is shown by dissection. The males have (1) the pre- 

 maxillaries and the tip of the lower jaw more and more prolonged, both 

 of the jaws becoming, finally, strongly and often extravagantly hooked, 

 so that either they shut by the side of each other like shears, or else the 

 mouth cannot be closed. (2) The front teeth become very long and canine- 

 like, the growth proceeding very rapidly, until they are often half an inch 

 long. (3) The teeth on the vomer and tongue often disappear. (4) The 

 body grows more compressed and deeper at the shoulders, so that a very 

 distinct hump is formed; this is more developed in Oncorliynchits gor- 

 huscha, but is found in all. (5) The scales disappear, especially on the 

 back, by the growth of spongy skin. (6) The color changes from silvery 

 to various shades of black and red, or blotchy, according to the species. 

 The Blue-back turns rosy red, the Dog salmon a dull, blotchy red, and 

 the Quinnat generally blackish. The distorted males are commonly 

 considered worthless, rejected by the canners and salmon salters, but 

 preserved by the Indians. These changes are due solely to influences 

 connected with the growth of the reproductive organs. They are not in 

 any way due to the action of fresh water. They take place at about the 

 same time in the adult males of all species, whether in the ocean or in 

 the rivers. At the time of the spring runs all are symmetrical. In the 

 fall all males, of whatever species, are more or less distorted. Among 

 the Dog salmon, which run only in the fall, the males are hook-jawed 

 and red-blotched when they first enter the Strait of Fuca from the out- 

 side. .The Humpback, taken in salt water about Seattle, have the same 

 peculiarities. The male is slab-sided, hook-billed, and distorted, and is 

 rejected by the canners. No hook-jawed females of any species have 

 been seen. It is not positively known that any fully hook-jawed old 

 male survives the reproductive act. If any do, the jaws must resume 

 the normal form. 



On first entering a stream the salmon swim about as if playing. They 

 always head towards the current, and this appearance of playing may 

 be simply due to facing the moving tide. Afterwards they enter the 

 deepest parts of the stream and swim straight up, with few interrup- 

 tions. Their rate of travel at Sacramento is- estimated by Stone at 

 about two miles per day; on the Columbia at about three miles per day. 

 Those who enter the Columbia in the spring and ascend to the mountain 

 rivers of Idaho, must go at a more rapid rate than this, as they must 

 make an average of nearly four miles per day. 



As already stated, the economic value of any species depends in great 

 part on its being a " spring salmon." It is not generally possible to 

 capture salmon of any species in large numbers until they have entered 

 the rivers, and the spring salmon enters the rivers long before the 

 growth of the organs of reproduction has reduced the richness of the 

 flesh. The fall salmon cannot be taken in quantity until their flesh has 

 deteriorated; hence, the Dog salmon is practically almost worthless, 

 except to the Indians, and the Humpback salmon is little better. The 

 Silver salmon, with the same breeding habits as the Dog salmon, is 

 more valuable, as it is found in the inland waters of Puget Sound for a 

 considerable time before the fall rains cause the fall runs, and it may 

 be taken in large numbers with seines before the season for entering 

 the rivers. The Quinnat salmon, from its great size and abundance, is 

 more valuable than all the other fishes on our Pacific Coast taken 

 together. The Blue-back, similar in flesh, but much smaller and less 



