The station of the U. S. Fish Commission at Craig Brook was founded in
1889, on the same site where, in 1871, the first attempt at the
artificial spawning of salmon in the United States was made. This site
had been selected by the commissioners of fisheries of the States of
Maine, Massachusetts, and Connecticut for that experiment because of
its proximity to the salmon fisheries of the Penobscot River and the
facilities presented for the maturing of the spawn that might be
obtained.

The collection of spawn has been carried on in the vicinity annually
from 1871 to the present time, with the exception of the three years
1876,1877, and 1878, and since 1879 the development of the spawn has
been conducted constantly at Craig Brook. No attempt was, however, made
to rear the fry of any species until 1886. Two years later it was
definitely determined to found a permanent station at Craig Brook, and
in 1889 the purchase of the grounds was effected and permanent
improvements begun.

The station is located in the town of Orland, Me., 7 miles east of
Bucksport, a seaport on the Penobscot River. Its territory embraces a
tract of land extending between Allamoosook Lake and Craig Pond and
embracing within its limits the entire length of Craig Brook, which
connects those two bodies of water. Its latitude is about 44 degrees
42' N. The mean annual temperature and precipitation are believed to
approximate those of Orono, 25 miles distant, namely, 42.48° F. [5.8°
C.] and 45.44 inches [116 cm.]. The range of air temperature observed
at the station is from 18° F. below zero to 92.5°F. above [-27.7° C.
to 33.6° C.]. Frosts not infrequently occur as late as the 1st of June
and as early in autumn as the first week in September. The lakes in the
vicinity are commonly covered with ice before the end of November, and