FISHERIES OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 
11 
bilities when conducted intelligently and on a scale equal to the objects 
aimed at. It is believed by those competent to speak on the subject 
that the artificial propagation of salmon has been very beneficial of late 
on the Columbia River, although the hatchery on the Clackamas has not 
been long established and the magnitude of its operations has not, until 
quite recently, been commensurate with the important interests at 
stake. 
One of the best illustrations of the effect of fish-culture in the waters 
of the west coast is found at Rogue River. Here, for several years, the 
proprietor of the fishery at Ellensburgh, Mr. R. D. Hume, has been ac- 
customed to have a private hatchery. Salmon were kept in confinement 
until ready to spawn, when their eggs were taken and treated essen- 
tially as they are handled at other hatcheries. Every year more or less 
fry were put into the river. This has resulted in a continuous and grat- 
ifying increase in the abundance of salmon in the Rogue River from the 
first season when the effect of artificial propagation was observed, which 
was about four years after fry* were first hatched out at Ellensburgh. 
Thus the pack of canned salmon on this river has been more than 
doubled in a few years, due entirely to the increase in the abundance 
of fish. The supposition is that salmon would have continued to grow 
scarce in the river, as was observed before artificial fish-hatching was 
resorted to, until the supply became so much reduced that packing them 
would no longer have been profitable. It is a remarkable fact that 
Rogue River is the only stream on the Pacific slope which has shown an 
increase in the number of salmon entering it ; a result, however, that 
has only been noticeable since artificial propagation was begun there. 
The acclimatization or introduction of certain species into Pacific 
coast waters has been a most important matter. Among those so intro- 
duced are the shad ( Clnpea sapidissima) and striped bass ( Roccuslineatus ), 
two of the most delicious food species of the Atlantic region, and both 
auadromous. The shad is now widely distributed along the coast, and 
promises to become abundant in time. It is reputed to have changed 
its habits somewhat on the west coast because of local conditions ; in- 
stead of returning to the sea as soon as it has spawned in the rivers, as 
is its habit in eastern waters, some observers say it seldom enters the 
ocean, or at least does not go far, because of the cold waters of the Hum- 
boldt stream that sweep in along the coast ; it remains in the warmer 
waters of the estuaries and bays, and is taken at nearly all seasons. 
The striped bass is beginningto figure conspicuously in the markets; 
the newspapers occasionally notice the capture of large specimens, and 
there is reason to anticipate that it will attain prominence in time. 
The carp has increased greatly in numbers, and is a very common 
species in San Francisco and some other places. 
Among the recent efforts of the United States Fish Commission to 
introduce new species into Western waters has been the attempt to 
plant the Atlantic lobster (Romanis americanus) in the Pacific. This 
