96 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
after they leave tke rivers, and quotes the following- from a previous eontributioii by 
himself ou the subject r 
There is a certaiu mj^stery about the habits aud uiovemeuts of the sea salmon, after it hasleft the 
fresh-water rivers iu which it spawns and gone down to the sea, that never has been satisfactorily 
explained. One theoi'3^ is that all the salmon of the rivers along a coast may journey down to the sea, 
aud then move nltimatehv in one great body southward along the coast until they iiud water of suit- 
able temperature, with an abundance of food, iu which to spend their time iu growing fat until the 
spawning instinct warjis them to return, when they proceed northward, each river school entering its 
own pariicular river as the main school arrives op])osite the river mouth. Another theory is that the 
salmon of each river, as they arrive at its mouth after descending from its headwaters, go out to sea 
sufhcientlj' far to hud the conditions of temperature and food which suit them, and there they remain, 
separate from the salmon of other rivers, until it is timo for them to return to fresh water. Consider- 
ing the certainty with which the salmon of any particular river return again to the stream of their 
birth, the latter tneory seems the more tenable of the two. 
Another object of this paper is to solicit correspoiideuce from fishermen, espe- 
ciitlly those engaged in the coast aud offshore fisheries, concerning the circumstances 
of the capture of sabuon iu their nets, and to bring to their attention the opportunity 
they will thus have of increasing the knowledge of the movements of the salmon, of 
aiding in the determination of the results of fish-cultural operations, and of ulti- 
mately if not immediately benefiting themselves by supplying information that will 
conduce to the most effective a])plication of artificial methods. To this end it is the 
intention to send the paper to fishermen engaged in the mackerel, menhaden, and 
other sea fisheries, and to operators of pound nets, traps, and other shore appliances, 
with the hope that instances of the capture of salmon may be communicated to this 
Commission and notes on the size, condition, movements, etc., of the fish be furnished. 
To aid in the identification of the salmon when caught by fishermen who Lave 
not previously met with the fish, a figure is jweseuted. 
In this connection mention may be made of the chinook or quinnat salmon of 
the Pacific coast (Oncorhynchns choiiicha), fry of which have been extensively planted 
in eastern waters by the U. S. Commission of Pish and Fisheries. Up to and 
including the year 1880, about 12,000,000 fry were deposited iu rivers and other 
waters triVurtary to the Atlantic. While a few relatively large examples have been 
taken, this office has no information to show that the attempts to acclimate this 
species-on the Atlantic coast have as yet been successful. In 1891 a few thousand 
yearling salmon were placed in New York waters tributary to the sea. The possi- 
bility of the survival and growth of some of these aud of the large early colonies 
jirompts this reference to the matter and suggests the publication of the accompany- 
ing figure of the species, to afford a basis for distinguishing the two kinds of salmon, 
which closely resemble each other. To further aid iu the identification of the two 
species the following key has been jirepared: 
Eaj^s ill anal bu, 9; scales between gill opening aud base of tail, 120; brancbiostegals 
(false gill opeuiugs), 11 Atlantic Salmon. 
Ea^'S iu aual lin, 16; scales betweeu gill opeuiug and base of tail, 150; braucbiostcgals, 
15 to 19 Pacific Salmon. 
Numerous instances might be cited of the taking of salmon iu the waters of the 
Atlantic coast iu recent years. Their occurrence in the traps and pound nets is in 
fact so common that it would hardlj^ be eutitled to notice at this time were it not 
for the circumstance that in regions in which salmon were already known there has 
been a decided increase in the number observed outside the rivers, and that the fish 
is now being taken iu localities iu which it was not previously found. 
