y Mr. Charles G. Atkins, superintendent of
the Government hatchery at Craig Brook, Maine. [1,2] The present paper
is primarily intended to show the extent and condition of the salmon
fishery of Penobscot Bay and River in 1895 and 1896 and the influence
of artificial propagation on the supply. The methods and apparatus of
the fishery are briefly considered. A chart of the Penobscot region,
giving the location of salmon weirs and traps in use in 1896, is
appended, and illustrations of some of the types of salmon apparatus
are shown.

[Footnote 1: On the Salmon of Eastern North America, and
its artificial culture. In Report of Commissioner of Fish
and Fisheries 1872-3, pp. 226-337, 9 plates of apparatus and
methods, and map showing location of salmon weirs in
Penobscot region.]

[Footnote 2: The River Fisheries of Maine. In The Fisheries
and Fishery Industries of the United States, section V, vol.
I, pp. 673-728.]

Extent and condition of the fishery in 1895 and 1896.

While the number of nets operated in these two years was practically
the same, the catch in 1896 was much greater than in 1895, and was one
of the largest in the recent history of the fishery. A comparatively
large number of fishermen reported that they took more salmon than in
any previous year. The salmon, however, were smaller than usual, and
their market value was but little more in 1896 than in 1895.

The traps set especially for salmon, or in which salmon were taken,
numbered 193 in 1895 and 184 in 1896. These, with the accessories,
had a value of $12,474 and $13,146, respectively. The boats and scows
required in the construction and operation of the nets numbered 188
in 1895, the same in 1896, and were valued at $3,576 and $3,599,
respectively. The number of men engaged in the fishery was 127 in
1895 and 126 in 1896. In the comparatively unimportant branch of the
fishery carried on with gill nets in the vicinity of Bangor, 10 nets,
valued at $189, were used in 1895, and 11 nets, worth $199, in 1896;
these were set by 6 men in the first year and 7 in the next. The boats
numbered 4 in 1895 and 5 in 1896, and were valued at $29 and $37,
respectively.

The total number of salmon caught in 1895 was 4,395; these weighed
65,011 pounds and yielded the fishermen $11,356; in gill nets 117
salmon were caught, weighing 1,985 pounds and valued at $323. In 1896
the result of the fishery was 6,403 salmon, weighing 80,175 pounds,