Papers on Pacific Salmon (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1898 Excerpt: ... king salmon four. We shall not here enter upon a detailed discussion of accessory bands formed by checks in growth during the summer, especially during the first summer in the sea. Such have been demonstrated by Johnston to occur in the Atlantic salmon and are abundantly represented in any series of Pacific salmon or steelhead scales. Their true nature can usually be recognized without difficulty--as in the specific cases mentioned--by the proportion of the bands in which they occur and often by a wide variation in their appearance in different scales from the same fish. Occasionally, however, they so closely simulate genuine winter bands as to occasion some difficulty and doubt, and may then constitute one of the more troublesome features in the interpretation of large series of scales. But the proportion of doubtful cases is very small and such can be eliminated from the series without danger of affecting disastrously the results. McMurrich's plate vi, figure 2, represents a grilse in its third year. Here the nuclear area of the scale is abnormal and does not give satisfactorily the history of the first year. Other scales from the same fish would have given this in all detail. But we have to do apparently with a fish of stream type, which spent its third winter (marked second winter) in the sea, and was therefore toward the close of its third year. Its length (approximately 20 inches) is that which we have found uniformly characteristic of third-year grilse of stream type. SILVER SALMON, OR COHO (Oncorhynchu. kUutch). PI. M; fig. i, pi. vn.1 The coho agrees with the sockeye and king salmon in having a dual habit during its first year. Certain of the young migrate to sea as soon as free-swimming, others, in unknown proportion, remain in the stream until t...