REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. LXIX 
prevented by both natural and artificial obstructions. In case these 
obstructions are overcome by the building of fishways, there is every 
reason to suppose that the Hudson will in time become a natural salmon- 
producing river, a result which it is very desirable should be consum- 
mated. Preliminary steps in that direction have already been taken, 
and it is to be hoped that they will soon be followed by more active 
measures. The first impediment met by the fish in their movement 
up the river has been the State dam at Troy, but this has already been 
provided with a suitable fishway. The second obstruction is a dam at 
Mechanicsville, at the foot of which salmon were seen jumping in 1888. 
Above this place there are ten or more falls and dams, the uppermost 
being Rockwell Falls, at Lucerne, and the most formidable Palmer 
Falls and Dam, at Jessup Landing. Appropriations have been made 
by New York State for fishways over the Mechanicsville Dam and over 
the next one, at Fort Miller. Their construction will open up a con- 
tinuous run to Fort Edward, 45 miles above Troy. Here there is an 
old dam which will soon have to be rebuilt, and in so doing a fishway 
will undoubtedly be added by the owners, a law obliging such construc- 
tion now being under consideration by the State legislature. Next 
follow Baker and Palmer falls, both of which present many difficulties, 
but it is probable that they can be surmounted, if sufficient money is 
made available. It is probable, however, that with the river opened 
up to Fort Edward or Baker Falls, the salmon will find good spawning- 
grounds in some of the lower tributaries. Mr. Olieney, of Glens Falls, 
N. Y., is confident that such will be the case, and his wide acquaintance 
with the region in question entitles his views to every consideration. 
The following remarks upon this subject are abstracted from a letter 
written by him since the completion of Mr. Mather’s survey: 
The Moseskill comes in on the left bank of the Hudson about 5 miles below Fort 
Edward. Above and below it are smaller streams. Snookill, a good spawning 
stream runniug back 7 or 8 miles, comes in on the right bank below Moseskill. The 
Battenkill, or “ Lovely Ondowa,” is a good trout stream that runs up into Vermont; 
it comes in below Thompson’s Mills. Below this is Hoosick River. I believe that 
when the salmon find that the State of New York has not provided a way for them 
over the falls, they will go into some or all of the streams above mentioned, and 
there spawn. I, for one, will feel quite easy about the salmon when the two fish- 
ways are built at Mechanicsville and Fort Miller. Without doubt, the salmon have 
spawned in the river below Mechanicsville, and many more ascended the dam at 
Troy than has generally been supposed. The adult salmon evidently tried to get up 
the Mohawk River, and spawned below Cohoes Falls. 
From Mr. Mather’s investigation it is, therefore, evident that the 
results of salmon planting in the Hudson River have been very satis- 
factory, and promise to repay the outlay of time and money which have 
been applied to it. With proper legislation, the removal of further 
barriers, and the added efforts of fish-culture, this important stream 
should eventually provide good salmon fishing upon a commercial scale. 
