BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 421 
and the water between them is a splendid series of salmon pools and 
rapids. It was at the foot of this dam that several salmon were seen 
jumping by a Mr. Greene, residing there, and where a 12-pound salmon 
(not elsewhere reported) was found dead by George Baxter. The bed 
of the river here, as well as above and below, is a slate formation. The 
dam is 15 feet high, built of stone laid in cement. I looked the dam 
over, in company with Commissioner Henry Burden, and settled on a 
place where a fishway could be placed. Later Mr. Burden visited the 
dam and wrote me as follows : 
Troy, N. Y., August 18, 1888. 
Mr. Fred Mather : 
Dear Sir : We found a new place to locate a fishway in the Mechanicsville dam, 
and that is alongside of the stone wall forming the canal from which the mill-wheels 
take water. The gates at the head of this canal are always open, so that fish could 
get through to the river above. If there is no pollution in this canal I think a fish- 
way could be built as cheap, if not cheaper, thau the one at Troy. It would be out 
of the way of ice, and would not cut into the main dam. 
Sincerely yours, 
Henry Burden. 
Stillwater . — This place has a dam made of logs, with an 8-foot per- 
pendicular face, and it is 3 miles above Mechanicsville and 15 miles 
below the Fort Miller dam. Although the dam is 8 feet high on the 
west side of the river, it is not a foot high on the east side, and before the 
dam at Mechanicsville was built suckers and river herring (alewives) 
went over it in the spring. No fishway is needed here, because in or- 
dinary seasons, while fish are running, they can pass this dam. Surely 
a salmon will have no trouble with an obstruction which a sucker can 
pass. A fishway at Mechanicsville would give the salmon a clean run 
from Troy to the next dam, a distance of 27 miles. 
Thompson’s Mills ( P . 0 .). — The Saratoga State dam is at this place, 
2 miles below the Fort Miller dam, and it is of stone, 824 feet long, 
feet high, with an apron of 10 feet. There are no falls here, only u riffs,” 
or swift water, below. In stages of high water there is moderately 
deep water below, which would serve as a resting place for salmon. 
Fort Miller . — The dam here is a wing-dam, 10 feet high at one end 
but only 18 inches at the other. It is of wood, with a square face, and 
would not obstruct the passage of salmon. It is 2 miles above Thomp- 
son’s Mill. 
Fort Edward. —There is an old wooden dam here, made of log cribs, 
which will soon require to be rebuilt, as it is much decayed. The dam 
is 16 feet high. There are good pools just below it, which have 14 feet 
of water in them at low water. There is a “ spill-way ” in the dam, 
through which all the water goes when the river is low. This is for 
the passage of logs in summer. Below the dam is a great bed of saw- 
dust, on the east bank. 
Balter’s Falls and Ham.— These falls are at Sandy Hill, a few miles 
below Glens Falls. It is said that before there were any dams on the 
river the shad came up as far as this, but could go no farther. I heard 
