American FLsJiericfi Society 101 



question throws any light u})on the probable origin of the salmon 

 whether of fresh or salt water origin. 



Prof. Ward: Dr. Evermann's question is one of extreme im- 

 portance and one reason why I omitted mention of it in the 

 paper was that I did not want to have to give an opinion on it. 

 The total inventory of this fauna is so extensive that I am not 

 quite sure about the fact 1)ut the conspicuous species arc of salt 

 water character. I have not yet carried to ultimate identifica- 

 tion all of the forms. The amount of material is rather large 

 and the amount of Avork associated with its exact comparative 

 determination also great. 



I think that this may be said: I did find in salt watci- lisli 

 in the estuary, some of the same parasites: but 1 did not find in 

 fresh water fish in the lakes, any of the same parasites with the 

 possible exception of that one little distome which I mentioned. 



^Ir. Charles G. Atkins: It migiit be of interest to mention 

 liere some of our ol)servati()ns on the lial)its of the Atlantic sal- 

 mon in AmiTican rivers. We have been at work cultivating them 

 in the Penobscot river for many years. During some of the 

 early years, at the request of the oi-iginal t-onnnissioner, we made 

 some observations on their food. I had the market men in the 

 town of Bucksport save for us the stomachs of the salmon they 

 were cutting up, and I sent about one lumdred of them to Wash- 

 ington, and the experts rejjorted that in the whole hundred they 

 found nothing which could be called food. Those fish were 

 bound for the spawning ground at that time. Every year from 

 that time we have confined some hundreds of these fish captured 

 in May and June, alive in a small enclosure till late in Octobci' 

 in a fresh water stream, l)ut never offered them food. Occasion- 

 ally, if any of them died, we would examine their stomachs and 

 see in what condition they were, and they did not seem to l)e 

 capable of taking any food at that time. The stomachs would be 

 much contracted ; the walls very thick and solid, so that it seem- 

 ed impossible for them to swallow food and manipulate it as 

 usual in the stomach. 



Dr. P. P. C. Hjoek, Holland : In regard to the comparison 

 of the ])arasites of the Ehine and Pacific coast salmon, the dis- 

 cussion is very interesting; but there remains a little point that 



