94 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



a ditch and 100 feet of flume. The first eggs were secured March 7, 

 and the season closed May 11, with a total take of 530,000. Of these 

 315,000 were shipped to various points in the United States, 70,000 

 were lost in incubation, and the balance transferred to Clackamas on 

 May 24, when the Elk Creek Falls station was closed. 



Little White Salmon Station. Oregon (J. N. Wisner, Superintendent). 



The station was opened August 5 and preparations at once com- 

 menced for the capture of quinnat salmon. The channel of the 

 river was found blocked by a mass of debris, caused by the lumber 

 company fluming lumber down to the Columbia River. On Septem- 

 ber 2, after much correspondence and several interviews, the company 

 was induced to discontinue operations, so that in a few days salmon 

 began to appear in the river, and on the 10th fishing was commenced. 

 The daily catch increased steadily until September 25, when the num- 

 ber seemed to have reached its maximum. On that date 1,025,000 

 eggs were secured, the largest take of the season. 



The fish are captured by means of a downstream trap, which con- 

 sists of a box about 20 feet long by 8 feet wide and 18 inches deep, 

 made of slats placed 2 inches apart, anchored in midstream. The 

 end of the trap pointing upstream is weighted to the bottom of the 

 river and a dam or rack extends from its two sides to within a few 

 feet of either bank. The fish ascending the stream pass around the 

 rack to the spawning-grounds above, and as soon as a sufficient num- 

 ber have collected a seine is drawn downstream at a rapid rate. 

 Although salmon always swim against the current, when frightened 

 they turn and go rapidly downstream, and as a consequence they are 

 brought to a halt high and dry upon the lower end of the trap. They 

 are then quickly assorted and placed in pens near the traps, the males 

 and females being put in separate compartments. Most of the fishing 

 during the season is done at night, the best hauls being usually made 

 about an hour after dark. 



Spawning operations commence in the morning and continue until 

 all ripe fish have been stripped. The female is first taken from the 

 pen by the spawn-taker, and if found to be ripe she is killed bystrik- 

 ing her upon the back of the head with a club. She is then placed 

 in the spawning-box, which is raised to a vertical position so that the 

 eggs may be stripped into a pan held by an assistant. As soon as the 

 milt is added to the eggs the contents are gently' stirred until every 

 egg has come in contact with it. A little water is then added and the 

 pan placed aside for 1^ minutes, when it is handed to a third person, 

 who washes the milt and dirt from the eggs by immersing the pan in 

 water. The eggs are then carried in buckets to the hatchery, meas- 

 ured, and placed in baskets. The buckets hold about 15,000 eggs 

 each, and are carried in pairs by means of yokes, one man carrying 

 two buckets. The baskets to which they are transferred on arriving 

 at the hatchery hold from 25,000 to 40,000 each, depen^ding on the size 



