July 8, 1911.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
53 
labored at their task. As night fell on the sec¬ 
ond day they had completed their task, the 
waters of the little stream, stopped hy the dam, 
formed a deep pool. By that time the town 
was a mass of fire, the deep narrow ravine a 
seething caldron of heat. Though these men 
had been working like demons for nearly forty- 
eight hours, they hurried about the town, 
rescuing women and children who were too 
frightened to seek the protection of the water. 
It was useless to seek refuge in a small 
stream. Many of the beleagured did this' and 
not one of them escaped. The water in small 
streams actually boiled. The bodies that were 
recovered from such places were found cooked. 
Some peculiar phenomena were witnessed. 
Grouse were seen to arise in front of the firg, 
beat their wings for a few seconds in an en- 
SCAI.E FROM AN ADULT MALE. 
deavor to escape, then turn and sail directly 
into the flames as though drawn by some in¬ 
visible force. Domestic animals and deer 
would invariably run into the fire instead of 
away from it. 
It had been dry for a long time, the air was 
surcharged with electricity, and when the fire 
came it seemed that all the reserve caloric of 
the air was added to that of the flames. At no 
time was it possible to approach within half a 
mile of the fire, even when the wind was blow¬ 
ing the flames away from you. It was a sight 
witnessed only once in a lifetime to see im¬ 
mense green pines blasted, their leaves and 
branches consumed in the twinkling of an eye. 
When the stoutest hearts were in despair 
came the blessed rain. A few scattering drops, 
then a dark storm cloud rolled up and deluged 
the earth with a four-days’ downpour. The 
fires flickered and went out, the air cleared and 
the sun shone brightly once more. The forest 
fire was over, but nothing could replace the 
villages, the farm houses, the great old trees, 
the human lives that had gone to feed its in¬ 
satiable greed. 
A Study of Salmon Scales 
By J. ARTHUR HUTTON 
A LITTLE more than a year has elapsed 
„ since I endeavored to give you some 
idea of the information we may obtain 
of the life history of the salmon from the study 
of the periodic growth of its scales. My main 
object in again addressing you on the subject 
is to draw your attention to the practical results 
which one can hope to obtain by a more thor¬ 
ough and more systematic investigation of the 
scales of the noblest of our fresh-water fish. 
Probably the salmon would be better designated 
as a salt-water fish, for it is in the sea that the 
greater part of its growth takes place. Al¬ 
though its birth occurs in fresh water and its 
early years are spent in the river, during the 
latter and longer portion of its life its visits to 
fresh water are solely for the purpose of re¬ 
producing its species. 
If more fish were allowed to reach the upper 
waters, the sportsman would undoubtedly bene¬ 
fit, but the proportion of fish caught by rod and 
line would be infinitesimal in comparison with 
the numbers which would remain to spawn, for 
unfortunately, from an angler's point of view, 
though perhaps fortunately for the whole in¬ 
dustry, salmon need not feed in fresh water. 
One must welcome anything and everything 
which will aid us in solving the many and diffi¬ 
cult problems connected with the history of the 
salmon, and for this reason alone, apart from 
all other arguments which could be brought 
forward, investigation of scales should receive 
more encouragement from the authorities than 
it has done up to now. 
It is a remarkable fact that neither the 
English or Irish boards of fisheries have pub¬ 
lished a single report dealing with this question, 
although the Scottish board have published 
three of Mr. Johnston’s valuable papers. What 
work has been carried on in England has been 
done by private individuals. In Norway, a 
country with a small population and a very 
small revenue, most valuable investigations are 
being carried out in connection with both sal¬ 
mon and trout. The American work is the ad¬ 
miration of the world. German scientists are, 
as usual, carrying on useful and thorough in¬ 
vestigations. Good work is also being done in 
Holland in connection with Rhine salmon. The 
one country which is remarkable for its utter 
neglect of its fresh-water fisheries is England, 
and this neglect is more conspicuous in com¬ 
parison with the first class work carried on in 
Scotland. 
It has now been proved that, as far as British 
rivers are concerned, generally speaking, the 
parr or immature salmon remain two years in 
fresh water before migrating to the sea. It has 
further been proved by scale investigation that 
out of every shoal of smolts which enter the 
sea in a given year, not one will return to the 
river during the same year, and that every 
single fish will remain at least one winter in 
the sea before returning to fresh water to 
spawn. It has been further proved that out of 
’•'Comprising' portions of “Salmon Scale- Examination 
and Its Practical Utility.” A paper read before the 
Manchester Anglers’ Association. 
this shoal only a certain proportion will return 
as grilse during the following year, and that a 
certain proportion—in some rivers the largest 
proportion—will remain two or three winters 
in the sea, and will return to the river as four- 
year-old fish, running say from 7 to 15 pounds, 
and more, or as five-year-old fish averaging 
from 14 to 35 pounds in weight. A smaller 
proportion will remain even a fourth winter in 
the sea, and will enter the rivers as maiden un¬ 
spawned fish, six years old, and weighing from 
30 to 50 pounds. It is possible that a few fish 
may even delay their return for another year. 
In this connection I should like to draw your 
attention to a prophesy in the pamphlet I pub- 
SCALE FROM THE SAME FISH. 
fished last year which I ventured to make in 
connection with the River Wye. On page 27 
you will find the following: 
“One would also expect that in the present 
year, 1909, some exceptionally heavy fish will 
be killed, namely, the six-year-old fish hatched 
in 1903, but this largely depends on circum¬ 
stances in the sea which can only be guessed 
at.” 
These remarks were based on investigations 
carried out in 1908 with the scales of Wye sal¬ 
mon, and I am glad to be able to tell you that 
to my knowledge alone, no less than six salmon 
of 40 pounds and upwards were killed on the 
Wye last year. I have obtained the scales of 
three of these fish, which weighed 40, 42 and 
44 pounds respectively, and the scales show 
them to be six-year-old maiden fish, hatched 
early in 1903, and therefore the offspring of the 
fish which entered the river and spawned in 
1902. It should be remembered that 1902 was 
the first year for many years in which salmon 
had a reasonable chance of reaching the upper 
waters of the Wye. It now remains to be seen 
whether during the present year we shall see 
