REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. CIII 



a supply-trough placed agaiust the end wall. By this arrangement all 

 of the troughs are at a uniform height from the floor, and the manipu- 

 lation of eggs is much easier than where troughs of different heights 

 are set upon a level. The building is lighted by skylights in the roof 

 and by windows in the sides and ends. 



Very few fish were seen during August, but in September they began 

 to make their way up the river in considerable numbers. The first 

 spawning salmon were noticed on September 12, when fishing was reg- 

 ularly undertaken. Within three days afterwards over 1,000,000 eggs 

 had been collected. Various methods were employed in catching the 

 fish, some being taken with traps and others with seines. One trap 

 was built in the upper side of the rack, but very few fish were captured 

 in it. The seining was done in a pool below the rack and at various 

 points along the lagoon. The greater number of fish, however, were 

 caught in traps built on the riffles some distance below the rack, into 

 which the fish were driven by hauling a seine downstream and forcing 

 them into the trap. As soon as the spawning season commenced a 

 large force was employed and work continued night and day. By Sep- 

 tember 28 all of the hatching-baskets at the station were filled with 

 eggs, 11,286,000 having been collected ; and as there were many spawn- 

 ing salmon still in the river, it became necessary to provide additional 

 apparatus. Hatching-baskets were transferred from Clackamas Station, 

 and work was resumed on October 2; by the (5th these baskets had also 

 been filled, bringing the collections up to 12,649,000. The actual num- 

 ber of days on which eggs were taken was 22, making the daily average 

 575,000. The greatest number taken on one day was on September 22, 

 when 1,155,000 were collected. 



In order to simplify the handling of large females, they were knocked 

 on the head with a club before any effort was made to strip them. This 

 blow stunned the fish, and it was possible to express the eggs without 

 any struggling or muscular contractions on the part of the fish, thereby 

 saving much time and labor. The eggs were fertilized in the usual way, 

 four men being detailed to take the fish from the corrals, strip them, 

 impregnate, wash, and transfer the eggs to the hatchery. As a rule, the 

 eggs were allowed to remain in the pan about an hour before being 

 washed, but with the last million obtained this period was reduced to 

 a few minutes. These eggs were transferred to the hatchery, and proved 

 to be better than any of the earlier collections. 



The spawning season here lasts only a month, but during that period 

 the river is alive with fish, and it is believed that former collections 

 could be largely exceeded, as at no time was it necessary for the men 

 to fish more than a few hours a day. Fortunately the weather during 

 the hatching season was pleasant; otherwise the fish in the troughs on 

 the outside would have undoubtedly been killed by ice. Several severe 

 snowstorms occurred, but no damage was done. 



On October 18 Mr. Downing was detached from the station, and Mr. 

 J. A. Tolbert was placed in charge as foreman. As soon as the spawn- 



