Scientific American Supplement, No. 275, April 9, 1881

Of the many new strawberries named, each seemed to have some special drawback. The Bidwell, however, was a new sort of particular excellence, and Charles Downing thinks it the most promising of the new berries.

Discussion on Grapes.--C. W. Beadle, of Ontario, in allusion to Moore's Early grape, finds it much earlier than the Concord, and equal to it in quality, ripening even before the Hartford. S. D. Willard, of Geneva, thought it inferior to the Concord, and not nearly so good as the Worden. The last named was both earlier and better than the Concord, and sold for seven cents per pound when the Concord brought only four cents. C. A. Green, of Monroe County, said the Lady Washington proved to be a very fine grape, slightly later than Concord. P. L. Perry, of Canandaigua, said that the Vergennes ripens with Hartford, and possesses remarkable keeping qualities, and is of excellent quality and free from pulp. He presented specimens which had been kept in good condition. He added, in relation to the Worden grape, that some years ago it brought 18 cents per pound in New York when the Concord sold three days later for only 8 cents. [In such comparisons, however, it should be borne in mind that new varieties usually receive more attention and better culture, giving them an additional advantage.]

The Niagara grape received special attention from members. A. C. Younglove, of Yates County, thought it superior to any other white grape for its many good qualities. It was a vigorous and healthy grower, and the clusters were full and handsome. W. J. Fowler, of Monroe County, saw the vine in October, with the leaves still hanging well, a great bearer and the grape of fine quality. C. L. Hoag, of Lockport, said he began to pick the Niagara on the 26th of August, but its quality improved by hanging on the vine. J. Harris, of Niagara County, was well acquainted with the Niagara, and indorsed all the commendation which had been uttered in its favor. T. C. Maxwell said there was one fault–we could not get it, as it was not in market. W. C. Barry, of Rochester, spoke highly of the Niagara, and its slight foxiness would be no objection to those who like that peculiarity. C. L. Hoag thought this was the same quality that Col. Wilder described as "a little aromatic." A. C. Younglove found the Niagara to ripen with the Delaware. Inquiry being made relative to the Pockington grape, H. E. Hooker said it ripened as early as the Concord. C. A. Green was surprised that it had not attracted more attention, as he regarded it as a very promising grape. J. Charlton, of Rochester, said that the fruit had been cut for market on the 29th of August, and on the 6th of September it was fully ripe; but he has known it to hang as late as November. J. S. Stone had found that when it hung as late as November it became sweet and very rich in flavor.

New Peaches.--A. C. Younglove had found such very early sorts as Alexander and Amsden excellent for home use, but not profitable for market. The insects and birds made heavy depredations on them. While nearly all very early and high-colored sorts suffer largely from the birds, the Rivers, a white peach, does not attract them, and hence it may be profitable for market if skillfully packed; rough and careless handling will spoil the fruit. He added that the Wheatland peach sustains its high reputation, and he thought it the best of all sorts for market, ripening with Late Crawford. It is a great bearer, but carries a crop of remarkably uniform size, so that it is not often necessary to throw out a bad specimen. This is the result of experience with it by Mr. Rogers at Wheatland, in Monroe County, and at his own residence in Vine Valley. S. D. Willard confirmed all that Mr. Younglove had said of the excellence of the Rivers peach. He had ripened the Amsden for several years, and found it about two weeks earlier than the Rivers, and he thought if the Amsden were properly thinned, it would prevent the common trouble of its rotting; such had been his experience. E. A. Bronson, of Geneva, objected to making very early peaches prominent for marketing, as purchasers would prefer waiting a few days to paying high prices for the earliest, and he would caution people against planting the Amsden too largely, and its free recommendation might mislead. May's Choice was named by H. E. Hooker as a beautiful yellow peach, having no superior in quality, but perhaps it may not be found to have more general value than Early and Late Crawford. It is scarcely distinguishable in appearance from fine specimens of Early Crawford. W. C. Barry was called on for the most recent experience with the Waterloo, but said he was not at home when it ripened, but he learned that it had sustained its reputation. A. C. Younglove said that the Salway is the best late peach, ripening eight or ten days after the Smock. S. D. Willard mentioned an orchard near Geneva, consisting of 25 Salway trees, which for four years had ripened their crop and had sold for $4 per bushel in the Philadelphia market, or for $3 at Geneva–a higher price than for any other sort–and the owner intends to plant 200 more trees. W. C. Barry said the Salway will not ripen at Rochester. Hill's Chili was named by some members as a good peach for canning and drying, some stating that it ripens before and others after Late Crawford. It requires thinning on the tree, or the fruit will be poor. The Allen was pronounced by Mr. Younglove as an excellent, intensely high-colored late peach.

Insects Affecting Horticulture.–Mr. Zimmerman spoke of the importance of all cultivators knowing so much of insects and their habits as to distinguish their friends from their enemies. When unchecked they increase in an immense ratio, and he mentioned as an instance that the green fly (Aphis) in five generations may become the parent of six thousand million descendants. It is necessary, then, to know what other insects are employed in holding them in check, by feeding on them. Some of our most formidable insects have been accidentally imported from Europe, such as the codling moth, asparagus beetle, cabbage butterfly, currant worm and borer, elm-tree beetle, hessian fly, etc.; but in nearly every instance these have come over without bringing their insect enemies with them, and in consequence they have spread more extensively here than in Europe. It was therefore urged that the Agricultural Department at Washington be requested to import, as far as practicable, such parasites as are positively known to prey on noxious insects. The cabbage fly eluded our keen custom-house officials in 1866, and has enjoyed free citizenship ever since. By accident, one of its insect enemies (a small black fly) was brought over with it, and is now doing excellent work by keeping the cabbage fly in check.

The codling moth, one of the most formidable fruit destroyers, may be reduced in number by the well-known paper bands; but a more efficient remedy is to shower them early in the season with Paris green, mixed in water at the rate of only one pound to one hundred gallons of water, with a forcing pump, soon after blossoming. After all the experiments made and repellents used for the plum curculio, the jarring method is found the most efficient and reliable, if properly performed. Various remedies for insects sometimes have the credit of doing the work, if used in those seasons when the insects happen to be few. With some insects, the use of oil is advantageous, as it always closes up their breathing holes and suffocates them. The oil should be mixed with milk, and then diluted as required, as the oil alone cannot be mixed with the water. As a general remedy, Paris green is the strongest that can be applied. A teaspoonful to a tablespoonful, in a barrel of water, is enough. Hot water is the best remedy for house plants. Place one hand over the soil, invert the pot, and plunge the foliage for a second only at a time in water heated to from 150° to 200°F, according to the plants; or apply with a fine rose. The yeast remedy has not proved successful in all cases.

Among beneficial insects, there are about one hundred species of lady bugs, and, so far as known, all are beneficial. Cultivators should know them. They destroy vast quantities of plant lice. The ground beetles are mostly cannibals, and should not be destroyed. The large black beetle, with coppery dots, makes short work with the Colorado potato beetles; and a bright green beetle will climb trees to get a meal of canker worms. Ichneumon flies are among our most useful insects. The much-abused dragon flies are perfectly harmless to us, but destroy many mosquitoes and flies.

Among insects that attack large fruits is the codling moth, to be destroyed by paper bands, or with Paris green showered in water. The round-headed apple-tree borer is to be cut out, and the eggs excluded with a sheet of tarred paper around the stem, and slightly sunk in the earth. For the oyster-shell bark louse, apply linseed oil. Paris green, in water, will kill the canker worm. Tobacco water does the work for plant lice. Peach-tree borers are excluded with tarred or felt paper, and cut out with a knife. Jar the grape flea beetle on an inverted umbrella early in the morning. Among small-fruit insects, the strawberry worms are readily destroyed with hellebore, an ounce to a gallon of warm water. The same remedy destroys the imported currant worm.

Insect Destroyers.–Prof. W. Saunders, of the Province of Ontario, followed Mr. Zimmerman with a paper on other departments of the same general subject, which contained much information and many suggestions of great value to cultivators. He had found Paris green an efficient remedy for the bud-moth on pear and other trees. He also recommends Paris green for the grapevine flea beetle. Hellebore is much better for the pear slug than dusting with sand, as these slugs, as soon as their skin is spoiled by being sanded, cast it off and go on with their work of destruction as freely as ever, and this they repeat. He remarked that it is a common error that all insects are pests to the cultivator. There are many parasites, or useful ones, which prey on our insect enemies. Out of 7,000 described insects in this country, only about 50 have proved destructive to our crops. Parasites are much more numerous. Among lepidopterous insects (butterflies, etc.), there are very few noxious species; many active friends are found among the Hymenoptera (wasps, etc.), the ichneumon flies pre-eminently so; and in the order Hemiptera (bugs proper) are several that destroy our enemies. Hence the very common error that birds which destroy insects are beneficial to us, as they are more likely to destroy our insect friends than the fewer enemies. Those known as flycatchers may do neither harm nor good; so far as they eat the wheat-midge and Hessian fly they confer a positive benefit; in other instances they destroy both friends and enemies. Birds that are only partly insectivorous, and which eat grain and fruit, may need further inquiry. Prof. S. had examined the stomachs of many such birds, and particularly of the American robin, and the only curculio he ever found in any of these was a single one in a whole cherry which the bird had bolted entire. Robins had proved very destructive to his grapes, but had not assisted at all in protecting his cabbages growing alongside his fruit garden. These vegetables were nearly destroyed by the larvae of the cabbage fly, which would have afforded the birds many fine, rich meals. This comparatively feeble insect has been allowed by the throngs of birds to spread over the whole continent. A naturalist in one of the Western States had examined several species of the thrush, and found they had eaten mostly that class of insects known as our friends.

Prof. S. spoke of the remedies for root lice, among which were hot water and bisulphide of carbon. Hot water will get cold before it can reach the smaller roots, however efficient it may be showered on leaves. Bisulphide of carbon is very volatile, inflammable, and sometimes explosive, and must be handled with great care. It permeates the soil, and if in sufficient quantity may be effective in destroying the phylloxera; but its cost and dangerous character prevent it from being generally recommended.

Paris green is most generally useful for destroying insects. As sold to purchasers, it is of various grades of purity. The highest in price is commonly the purest, and really the cheapest. A difficulty with this variable quality is that it cannot be properly diluted with water, and those who buy and use a poor article and try its efficacy, will burn or kill their plants when they happen to use a stronger, purer, and more efficient one. Or, if the reverse is done, they may pronounce it a humbug from the resulting failure. One teaspoonful, if pure, is enough for a large pail of water; or if mixed with flour, there should be forty or fifty times as much. Water is best, as the operator will not inhale the dust. London purple is another form of the arsenic, and has very variable qualities of the poison, being merely refuse matter from manufactories. It is more soluble than Paris green, and hence more likely to scorch plants. On the whole, Paris green is much the best and most reliable for common use.

At the close of Prof. Saunders' remarks some objections were made by members present to the use of Paris green on fruit soon after blossoming, and Prof. S. sustained the objection, in that the knowledge that the fruit had been showered with it would deter purchasers from receiving it, even if no poison could remain on it from spring to autumn. A man had brought to him potatoes to analyze for arsenic, on which Paris green had been used, and although it was shown to him that the poison did not reach the roots beneath the soil, and if it did it was insoluble and could not enter them, he was not satisfied until a careful analysis was made and no arsenic at all found in them. A member said that in mixing with plaster there should be 100 or 150 pounds of plaster to one of the Paris green, and that a smaller quantity, by weight, of flour would answer, as that is a more bulky article for the same weight.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE SALMON OF THE PACIFIC

By DAVID S. JORDAN and CHAS. H. GILBERT

During the most of the present year, the writers have been engaged in the study of the fishes of the Pacific coast of the United States, in the interest of the U.S. Fish Commission and the U.S. Census Bureau. The following pages contain the principal facts ascertained concerning the salmon of the Pacific coast. It is condensed from our report to the U.S. Census Bureau, by permission of Professor Goode, assistant in charge of fishery investigations.

There are five species of salmon (Oncorhynchus) in the waters of the North Pacific. We have at present no evidence of the existence of any more on either the American or the Asiatic side.

These species may be called the quinnat or king salmon, the blue-back salmon or red-fish, the silver salmon, the dog salmon, and the hump-back salmon, or Oncorhynchus chouicha, nerka, kisutch, keta, and gorbuscha. All these species are now known to occur in the waters of Kamtschatka as well as in those of Alaska and Oregon.

As vernacular names of definite application, the following are on record:

a. Quinnat–Chouicha, king salmon, e'quinna, saw-kwey, Chinnook salmon, Columbia River salmon, Sacramento salmon, tyee salmon, Monterey salmon, deep-water salmon, spring salmon, ek-ul-ba ("ekewan") (fall run).

b. Blue-bock–krasnaya ryba, Alaska red-fish, Idaho red fish, sukkegh, Frazer's River salmon, rascal, oo-chooy-ha.

c. Silver salmon–kisutch, winter salmon, hoopid, skowitz, coho, bielaya ryba, o-o-wun.

d. Dog salmon–kayko, lekai, ktlawhy, qualoch, fall salmon, o-le-a-rah. The males of all the species in the fall are usually known as dog salmon, or fall salmon.

e. Hump-back–gorbuscha, haddo, hone, holia, lost salmon, Puget Sound salmon, dog salmon (of Alaska).

Of these species, the blue-back predominates in Frazer's River, the silver salmon in Puget Sound, the quinnat in the Columbia and the Sacramento, and the silver salmon in most of the small streams along the coast. All the species have been seen by us in the Columbia and in Frazer's River; all but the blue-back in the Sacramento, and all but the blue-back in waters tributary to Puget Sound. Only the quinnat has been noticed south of San Francisco, and its range has been traced as far as Ventura River, which is the southernmost stream in California which is not muddy and alkaline at its mouth.

Of these species, the quinnat and blue-back salmon habitually "run" in the spring, the others in the fall. The usual order of running in the rivers is as follows: nerka, chouicha, kisutch, gorbuscha, keta.

The economic value of the spring running salmon is far greater than that of the other species, because they can be captured in numbers when at their best, while the others are usually taken only after deterioration.

The habits of the salmon in the ocean are not easily studied. Quinnat and silver salmon of every size are taken with the seine at almost any season in Puget Sound. The quinnat takes the hook freely in Monterey bay, both near the shore and at a distance of six or eight miles out. We have reason to believe that these two species do not necessarily seek great depths, but probably remain not very far from the mouth of the rivers in which they were spawned.

The blue-back and the dog salmon probably seek deeper water, as the former is seldom or never taken with the seine in the ocean, and the latter is known to enter the Straits of Fuca at the spawning season.

The great majority of the quinnat salmon and nearly all blue-back salmon enter the rivers in the spring. The run of both begins generally the last of March; it lasts, with various modifications and interruptions, until the actual spawning season in November; the time of running and the proportionate amount of each of the subordinate runs, varying with each different river. In general, the runs are slack in the summer and increase with the first high water of autumn. By the last of August only straggling blue-backs can be found in the lower course of any stream, but both in the Columbia and the Sacramento the quinnat runs in considerable numbers till October at least. In the Sacramento the run is greatest in the fall, and more run in the summer than in spring. In the Sacramento and the smaller rivers southward, there is a winter run, beginning in December.

The spring salmon ascend only those rivers which are fed by the melting snows from the mountains, and which have sufficient volume to send their waters well out to sea. Such rivers are the Sacramento, Rogue, Klamath, Columbia, and Frazer's rivers.

Those salmon which run in the spring are chiefly adults (supposed to be at least three years old). Their milt and spawn are no more developed than at the same time in others of the same species which will not enter the rivers until fall. It would appear that the contact with cold fresh water, when in the ocean, in some way caused them to turn toward it and to "run," before there is any special influence to that end exerted by the development of the organs of generation.

High water on any of these rivers in the spring is always followed by an increased run of salmon. The canners think, and this is probably true, that salmon which would not have run till later are brought up by the contact with the cold water. The cause of this effect of cold fresh water is not understood. We may call it an instinct of the salmon, which is another way of expressing our ignorance. In general, it seems to be true that in those rivers and during those years when the spring run is greatest, the fall run is least to be depended on.

As the season advances, smaller and younger salmon of these two species (quinnat and blue-back) enter the rivers to spawn, and in the fall these young specimens are very numerous. We have thus far failed to notice any gradations in size or appearance of these young fish by which their ages could be ascertained. It is, however, probable that some of both sexes reproduce at the age of one year. In Frazer's River, in the fall, quinnat male grilse of every size, from eight inches upward, were running, the milt fully developed, but usually not showing the hooked jaws and dark colors of the older males. Females less than eighteen inches in length were rare. All, large and small, then in the river, of either sex, had the ovaries or milt well developed.

Little blue-backs of every size down to six inches are also found in the Upper Columbia in the fall, with their organs of generation fully developed. Nineteen twentieths of these young fish are males, and some of them have the hooked jaws and red color of the old males.

The average weight of the quinnat in the Columbia in the spring is twenty-two pounds; in the Sacramento about sixteen. Individuals weighing from forty to sixty pounds are frequently found in both rivers, and some as high as eighty pounds are reported. It is questioned whether these large fishes are:

(a.) Those which, of the same age, have grown more rapidly;

(b.) Those which are older but have, for some reason, failed to spawn; or,

(c.) Those which have survived one or more spawning seasons.

All of these origins may be possible in individual cases; we are, however, of the opinion that the majority of these large fish are those which have hitherto run in the fall and so may have survived the spawning season previous.

Those fish which enter the rivers in the spring continue their ascent until death or the spawning season overtakes them. Probably none of them ever return to the ocean, and a large proportion fail to spawn. They are known to ascend the Sacramento as far as the base of Mount Shasta, or to its extreme head-waters, about four hundred miles. In the Columbia they are known to ascend as far as the Bitter Root Mountains, and as far as the Spokan Falls, and their extreme limit is not known. This is a distance of six to eight hundred miles.

At these great distances, when the fish have reached the spawning grounds, besides the usual changes of the breeding season, their bodies are covered with bruises on which patches of white fungus develop. The fins become mutilated, their eyes are often injured or destroyed; parasitic worms gather in their gills, they become extremely emaciated, their flesh becomes white from the loss of the oil, and as soon as the spawning act is accomplished, and sometimes before, all of them die. The ascent of the Cascades and the Dalles probably causes the injury or death of a great many salmon.

When the salmon enter the river they refuse bait, and their stomachs are always found empty and contracted. In the rivers they do not feed, and when they reach the spawning grounds their stomachs, pyloric coeca and all, are said to be no larger than one's finger. They will sometimes take the fly, or a hook baited with salmon roe, in the clear waters of the upper tributaries, but there is no other evidence known to us that they feed when there. Only the quinnat and blue-back (then called red-fish) have been found in the fall at any great distance from the sea.

The spawning season is probably about the same for all the species. It varies for all in different rivers and in different parts of the same river, and doubtless extends from July to December.

The manner of spawning is probably similar for all the species, but we have no data for any except the quinnat. In this species the fish pair off, the male, with tail and snout, excavates a broad shallow "nest" in the gravelly bed of the stream, in rapid water, at a depth of one to four feet; the female deposits her eggs in it, and after the exclusion of the milt, they cover them with stones and gravel. They then float down the stream tail foremost. A great majority of them die. In the head-waters of the large streams all die, unquestionably. In the small streams, and near the sea, an unknown percentage probably survive. The young hatch in about sixty days, and most of them return to the ocean during the high water of the spring.

The salmon of all kinds in the spring are silvery, spotted or not according to the species, and with the mouth about equally symmetrical in both sexes.

As the spawning season approaches the female loses her silvery color, becomes more slimy, the scales on the back partly sink into the skin, and the flesh changes from salmon red and becomes variously paler, from the loss of the oil, the degree of paleness varying much with individuals and with inhabitants of different rivers.

In the lower Sacramento the flesh of the quinnat in either spring or fall is rarely pale. In the Columbia, a few with pale flesh are sometimes taken in spring, and a good many in the fall. In Frazer's River the fall run of the quinnat is nearly worthless for canning purposes, because so many are white meated. In the spring very few are white meated, but the number increases towards fall, when there is every variation, some having red streaks running through them, others being red toward the head and pale toward the tail. The red and pale ones cannot be distinguished externally, and the color is dependent neither on age nor sex. There is said to be no difference in the taste, but there is no market for canned salmon not of the conventional orange color.

As the season advances, the differences between the males and the females become more and more marked, and keep pace with the development of the milt, as is shown by dissection.

The males have: (a.) The premaxillaries and the tip of the lower jaw more and more prolonged; both of them becoming finally strongly and often extravagantly hooked, so that either they shut by the side of each other like shears, or else the mouth cannot be closed. (b.) The front teeth become very long and canine-like, their growth proceeding very rapidly, until they are often half an inch long. (c.) The teeth on the vomer and tongue often disappear. (d.) The body grows more compressed and deeper at the shoulders, so that a very distinct hump is formed; this is more developed in 0. gorbuscha, but is found in all. (e.) The scales disappear, especially on the back, by the growth of spongy skin. (f.) The color changes from silvery to various shades of black and red or blotchy, according to the species. The blue-back turns rosy red, the dog salmon a dull, blotchy red, and the quiunat generally blackish.

These distorted males are commonly considered worthless, rejected by the canners and salmon-salters, but preserved by the Indians. These changes are due solely to influences connected with the growth of the testes. They are not in any way due to the action of fresh water. They take place at about the same time in the adult males of all species, whether in the ocean or in the rivers. At the time of the spring runs all are symmetrical. In the fall, all males of whatever species are more or less distorted. Among the dog salmon, which run only in the fall, the males are hooked-jawed and red-blotched when they first enter the Straits of Fuca from the outside. The hump-back, taken in salt water about Seattle, shows the same peculiarities. The male is slab-sided, hook-billed, and distorted, and is rejected by the canners. No hook-jawed females of any species have been seen.