REPORT OF STATE BOARD OF FISH COMMISSIONERS. 21 



The output of this station during the past two years, its present pros- 

 perous condition, and its prospects for the future, are best shown by 

 the following report, made by W. H. Shebley, the Superintendent of 

 Sisson Hatchery, and we commend its careful perusal by those of our 

 citizens who are interested in this most important subject of fisli cul- 

 ture. While some of his statements may seem extraordinary, we assure 

 you that they are made by a conservative man, who is master of his 

 profession. 



Sisson, Cal., September 1, 1904. 

 To the Honorable Board of Fish Commissioners of the State of California: 



Gentlemen: I herewith submit a report of tlie operations of the Sisson hatchery for 

 the years 1903 and 1904; also a report on the salmon ova received at tliis station from 

 the United States Bureau of Fisheries stations in California, from the summer and fall 

 runs of salmon of 1903, and the distribution of the fry. This was the largest hatch of 

 salmon eggs ever made. It is the best record of any station on the Pacific Coast, and of 

 a commercial value second to none in the United States. 



This fine record could not have been made, as we would have been unable to take 

 advantage of the opportunities, were it not for the special appropriation made by the 

 last Legislature, whicli gave us the means to make the many improvements necessary 

 to put the station in order to do first-class work and to improve the pond system to such 

 an extent that we were able not only to hatch these eggs, but to dispose of the fry under 

 conditions that I believe will produce the very highest results. Without this additional 

 money our work would have been seriously handicapped, and young salmon represent- 

 ing hundreds of thousands of fish that are now swimming in our streams and coast 

 waters would never have been hatched. 



In addition to handling an extraordinary number of salmon eggs, our trout work 

 went steadily on and we shipped a larger number of trout fry from this station than 

 had been done for years. 



Early in the fall of 1903, when it appeared from the large run of salmon in the Sac- 

 ramento River that the fall run would be larger than the summer run, I planned an 

 auxiliary hatchery, to be built on the canal leading from the hatchery water system to 

 Cold Creek. This canal was dug tlirough the property of the Sisson estate, under an 

 agreement or lease for a term of years to allow us^ to run the young salmon through it 

 when they were large enough to plant. By distributing the young salmon in this 

 way, a great expense has been saved, and the fry are in better condition to descend the 

 stream to the river than when they are hauled out in wagons. This building is 35 by 40 

 feet and has a capacity of about 8,000,0(X» salmon eggs. It proved to be of the greatest 

 value to us during the hatching of this enormous take of salmon ova. 



This hatchery receives its water supply from a 6-inch iron pipe-line, put in this' 

 summer, connecting the division tank with the new hatchery and a branch line built 

 to give the nurseries and a C(iuple of rearing ponds an independent supply of water, so 

 that the fry can be kept free from zymotic diseases that are apt to attack them if the water 

 becomes foul. 



Eight new ponds and a nursery were built — five rearing ponds and three spawning 

 ponds. The rearing ponds were made by dividing the larger ones into smaller compart- 

 ments. These were made by constructing walls of 2-inch red fir plank firmly spiked to 

 4 by 6 inch posts driven deep into the earth, and placed 4 feet apart. These walls were 

 then braced by putting 2 by 6 inch scantlings diagonally across the walls from top to 

 bottom. A track was laid on top of the wall and from there to a pit 600 feet distant. 

 A car, with a cable attached to a steam engine, was used to haul the earth from the pit 

 to the walls. This arrangement worked very satisfactorily. Four hundred and sixty 

 feet of embankment .or walls were made, averaging 4 feet high, and 4 feet wide between 

 the planks. These ponds are now filled with different ages and sizes of fish that are 

 being raised for breeders. 



The spawniiig ponds were constructed entirely of plank. They were built to place 



