SALMON, AMERICA’S MOST VALUABLE FISH 
201 
Photograph by Shirley C. Hulse 
AN UNUSUALLY FINE MALE CHINOOK SALMON: WEIGHT, PERHAPS 60 POUNDS. 
THIS IS THE MOST MAGNIFICENT OF ALL THE SALMONS 
terial they can use. The next year the 
species is so scarce as to be practically 
absent. 
In 1907 the Puget Sound canners pre¬ 
pared 433,423 cases of Humpbacks, but 
in 1908 they were able to secure only 
enough fish to make 6,075 cases. In 1909 
the pack was 370,993 cases, while in 1910 
only 108 cases could be filled. Again, in 
1911 the pack was 1,046,992 cases while 
in 1912 the total was but 700. This 
alternation has continued to 1923 which 
was a year of abundance resulting in a 
pack of 475,849 cases. 
This periodicity is an indication of the 
age of the fish when mature. In the case 
of the Blueback, a large run, with the 
deposition of a large quantity of spawn, 
