BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 65 
Vol. Til, No* «>. Washington, I>* €• June SO, 1887* 
21.— BEST SEASON FOR PACKING SALMON ON THE PACIFIC COAST.* 
By LIVINGSTON STOWE. 
There can be no question about the flesh of the California salmon 
(Oncorhynchus quinnat) being better for canning in the spring than in 
the fall. It is incomparably better. It is so much better that it has 
always been universally admitted to be so, and I have never heard a 
doubt expressed about it before. In the spring the salmon are well- 
fed, plump, handsome, fat, silvery fish, covered with bright and hard 
scales. In the fall they are, at the best, thin, slab-sided, with nothing 
in their stomachs; their silvery appearance is entirely gone, the fat 
has disappeared from their flesh, and they are covered with a slimy 
skin instead of hard scales. In the spring they are fresh from their 
feeding-grounds in the ocean, and are in as fine condition as a salmon 
can be. In the fall their stomachs have been empty, sometimes for weeks 
and months, and all this while their flesh has been deteriorating. 
The difference between the flesh of the spring salmon and that of the 
fall salmon is the difference between the flesh of an animal in prime 
condition and one in an exhausted condition. The explanation of the 
difference is at the same time a proof of the existence of it, for the sal- 
mon spawn in the fall, and this sufficiently explains why they are not 
in good condition at that time, and is also unquestionable evidence 
that they are in poor condition. I have handled hundreds of thousands 
of salmon in the fall and am thoroughly familiar with them at that sea- 
* This article was written as a response to the following letter of inquiry from Mr. 
F. N. Barrett, editor of the American Grocer, of New York, dated April 27, 1887, ad- 
dressed to Prof. S. F. Baird, and by him referred to Mr. Stone : 
“ During the winter a very animated discussion was carried on among certain 
packers of salmon regarding the relative merits of spring and fall packed fish. It is 
claimed by some that fish packed in September or later are unfit for food. I have 
before me, from the Portland (Oreg.) News, of March 25, 1887, a statement from Mr. 
Samuel Elmore, of Astoria, Oreg., a salmon packer on Tillamook Bay and Siuslaw 
River, who says that fall salmon are a good and eatable article. He claims that sal- 
mon caught late in the fall are freely eaten in a fresh condition, and that if good in 
that way they are equally good for canning. It was claimed that salmon were caught 
and packed up to December 1, 1886, on Tillamook Bay, and that fish taken so late in 
the season are exhausted, sickly, and slimy. Others hold that if a salmon has 
strength enough to return from the spawning ground and seek the ocean, it is just 
as good for food as salmon taken and packed during April, May, June, or July. Can 
you give me the opinion of your expert regarding this question ? Is there any notice- 
able difference in the texture or flavor of fish taken during October, November, or 
December, as compared with those taken during May, June, or July ? The opinions 
on this subject obtained from the salmon packers differ widely and are colored by 
interest, while the question is now one of great importance to the trade.” 
Bull. U. S. F. 0., 87 5 
