f i UK i:ri,ACHON. 547 



Tin: Mi I.ACHON THALEICHTHYS PACIFICUS (Uichanlson) Oinml. 



This species, common in I In- Ninth Pacific, resembles the < '.i|.elin. ami is usually known by the- 

 Indian name " Knlaclion," or Otilaclian," more coin nn inly pronounced " hoolakins" by the English 

 al Victoria. Those salted and sent south arc commonly called "Caudle-fish" by the trade. In the 

 Columbia Uiver and elsewhere southward it is known as u Smelt," being confounded with the other 

 species. It readies a length of less than .1 I'oot. It rouges from Oregon northward to Kamtc.hatka. 

 It occurs in some abundance in the Columbia Uiver, where little notice is taken of it. In Frazer 

 Uiver and streams to the northward it runs in enormous numbers in spring. The Kulachon run 

 up the rivers and deposit their spawn on gravel beds at no great distance from the mouth of the 

 stream, probably not above thirty miles. Their run is from the last of March to the middle of May, 

 probably varying in dill'erent streams. During the run they are beset by all sorts of enemies 

 halibut, sharks, sea 'birds. Indians, porpoises, and all manner of predatory fish, some of which 

 chase them in the ocean only ; others pursue them up the rivers. Even the sturgeons and the rays 

 have their stomachs full of them. 



The Eulaehon is greatly valued on account of the oil which permeates its flesh. As a pan- 

 fish it has no superior. A factory has been established on the Noss Kiver for the manufacture 

 of eulachon oil, which is intended to be used as a substitute for cod-liver oil. It has the drawback 

 of becoming solid and lard-like at ordinary temperatures. 



^'Nature," the chief London journal of science, stated, May 12, 1881: "A new medicinal 

 oil has just been introduced into this country by Messrs, liiirgnyne & Burbridge, the well-known 

 chemists of Coleman street. It is known as Oolachian oil, and is said to be scarcely distinguishable 

 from cod-liver oil. It is obtained from a fish called by the North American Indians 'Oolachau,' 

 or ' Candle-fish,' from the fact that when dried the fish itself can be used as a candle, on account 

 of the large quantity of oleaginous matter it contains. . . . In America the oil has already a 

 great reputation as a valuable and efficient substitute for cod-liver oil, and there is every prob- 

 ability, as it becomes known in th s country, of its taking a prominent place as an important, 

 medicine." Diligent inquiry fails to briug to light evidences of any extensive use of this oil .is 



yet in the United States. 



V - = ?.;- ctr - :: TI ,f.:/> "":.> f1 i!:; r "*-! .' 



171. FAMILIES RELATED TO THE SALMON ID JE. 

 THE SCOPELUS FAMILY SCOPELID.E. 



The species of this family are small and pelagic, and are found throughout all the temperate 

 and tropical seas. They are so numerous that the surface net, when used in a night of moderate 

 weather, in mid ocean, scarcely ever fails to inclose some specimens. They come to the surface at 

 nii: hi only; during the day, in very rough weather, they descend to depths where they are safe 

 from sunlight and from the agitation of the water. 1 



In the Western Atlantic there are five or six species, which are catalogued in the check-list 

 In California there is only one, Myctophum crenulare, a single specimen of which was taken from 

 the stomach of an albicore at Santa Barbara. 



THE HANDSAW FISH FAMILY ALEPIDOSAURID^. 



The fishes of this family inhabit very deep water, and are never seen at the surface. The 

 Handsaw Fish of the Pacific, Alepidosaurvs borealig, is occasionally found along the coast from 



'GU.NTHKR: Study of Fishes, p. 585. 



