REPORT OF STATE BOARD OF FISH COMMISSIONERS 21 



left behind in fresh water, where they get stunted and do not make well-developed 

 salmon. This way of handling the fry seems to be the most natural, as the instinct of 

 the spawning salmon is to ascend the fresh-water streams as far from the ocean as pos- 

 sible, and there deposit their eggs, so that when the fry are ready to start on the way to 

 the ocean they may be prepared by a diet of fresh-water food (insect larva-, both land 

 and aquatic varieties) before entering brackish or salt water, where the food is too coarse 

 for them in their earlier stages, or when they first begin to feed. A second reason for 

 believing that the present system is the most perfect, is that the delicate condition of 

 the young salmon when it first begins to swim will not allow it to enter salt water, and 

 a certain time must elapse before it becomes hardy enough to make the change. This 

 has been demonstrated by actual experiments, and the best reason is the fact that as 

 soon as the present system was adopted the salmon soon made a remarkable increase in 

 the Sacramento River, and will undoubtedly continue to thrive so long as the Bureau of 

 Fisheries and the California Fish Commission work in conjunction, and with the same 

 skill and good management that bave been employed in collecting and eyeing the eggs 

 at the Bureau of Fisheries Stations. 



The work of hatching the large number of salmon eggs received at this station for 

 the last two years was greatly facilitated by the installation of an electric lighting 

 plant. It furnishes the light< for the three hatcheries, as well as for the dwellings and 

 grounds. The use of the electric lights is of great advantage to the work. The work 

 of handling the eggs at night during the hatching period is now as easy as in the day 

 time, and the night crew keep the eggs and fish in as good condition as the men do who 

 work in the daytime. Thiswayof working the eggs and embryos at night keeps them 

 in good order, and prevents the delicate embryos from getting smothered and injured. 

 This is a great improvement over the old way of hatching salmon eggs, when the work 

 was all done in the daytime and the eggs left without any attention at night. During 

 the last two years we have increased our pond system. Two years ago we had 19 

 rearing ponds, 3 spawning ponds, and 10 nurseries, a total of 32. At the present date 

 (September 30, 1906) we have 29 rearing ponds. 1 spawning ponds, and 12 nursery ponds, 

 a total of 45. We have several more planned to be built the coming season. 



There are 93,050 fish in our ponds, divided as follows: 



10,000 Adult Rainbow trout. 



4,500 Two-year-old Rainbow trout. 



4,000 Yearlings, 6 to 9 inches in length. 

 20,000 Fry, 2 to 2>< inches in length. 

 38,500 Total Rainbow trout. 



4,500 Eastern Brook trout, adults. 



3,000 Two-year-old Eastern Brook trout. 



4.000 Yearlings, Eastern Brook trout, 4Vo to 8 inches in length. 

 15,000 Fry Eastern Brook trout, 2 to 2% inches in length. 

 26,500 Total Eastern Brook trout. 



500 Adult Loch Leven trout. 



4,000 Thirty months old. 



3,000 One year old, 4 to 9% inches. 

 10,000 Fry. 

 17,500 Total Loch Leven trout. 



500 Three- ear-old Steelhead trout from Eel River. 

 5,000 Bream or Shiners. 

 4,000 Sunfish. 



200 Golden-Rainbow trout, 3 to 6 inches in length. 



700 Red-Rainbow (select stock, a series of experiments). 



600 Graylings, two years old. 



500 Land-locked Salmon, two years old. 

 50 Adult Dolly Yarden trout. 

 4,000 Land-locked Salmon fry. 

 93,050 Total number of all varieties of fish. 



