376 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



At Station 2495 (latitude 45^ 10', longitude 59^ 23' 45"), iu 44 fath- 

 oms, the lishing-liues were put out for a few miuutes aud 1 cod and 

 1 sand-dab were caught. A haul was made with the tangles, aud 

 spiny sea-urchins were found abundant, and some crabs and 1 Astro- 

 phyfon were also taken on them. 



At station 2496 (latitude 45^ 07' 30", longitude 59o 27' 45"), in 44 

 fathoms, 5 cod were caught on the hand-lines iu a few minutes' fish- 

 ing, being essentially the same in quality and size as those commonly 

 caught on Banquereau. Here the tangles brought up an abundance of 

 sea-urchins, as before, several small crabs, starfish, two sea-lemons, 

 several dead shells of the bank-clam, and bryozoa. This was the last 

 haul made on Misaiue Bank. 



This bank, which is of considerable excent, has never been considered 

 of any importance as a fishing ground, aud so far as we are aware is 

 not resorted to by American vessels. It was, therefore, deemed highly 

 important to make an investigation of it, so that its value to the fisher- 

 men might be determined. The trials for fish that were made, demon- 

 strated the fact that they i^robably occur all over Misaiue Bank in as 

 great abundance as on Banquereau, aud are practically the same kind of 

 cod as to size, the majority of them being too small to class as large fish 

 in American markets. In view of the abundance of fish on this bank, 

 it would seem i)robable that the fishermen have never investigated it, 

 and probably are not aware of its value as a fishing ground. 



In the latter part of the day, after the researches on Misaiue Bank 

 had been completed, the ship headed for the western part of Banque- 

 reau, and occasional dredgings were made in the deep water between 

 the banks, in depths varying from 57 to 130 fathoms. The bottom be- 

 tween these banks is, apparently, composed of mud mixed with stones, 

 pebbles, and occasionally gravel. The beam-trawl was used in these 

 localities, and iu some of the hauls a considerable quantity of material 

 •was taken, comprising spiny sea-urchins, 4 Lycodes, 1 pole flounder, 1 

 sand-dab, large quantities and many varieties of shells, many shrimp, 

 starfish, brittle-stars, &c. 



The ship left Banquereau about 3 a. m. on the 7th, and steamed across 

 to the Middle Ground, which was reached about 7.30 a. m. Dredgings 

 were then begun and continued at intervals throughout the day. The 

 general result of the hauls on Middle Ground and on the northwest 

 jirong of the Western Bank, which we crossed later in the day, indicated 

 for the most part an abundance of life on the bottom, much of it of a 

 character suitable for food for the cod and other ground-feeding spe- 

 cies. 



At station 2500 the trawl brought up the following: Onecraig or pole 

 Jlounder, 2 species of ferruginous flounder, 3 or 4 young skates {liaia 

 radiata), many sfarf sh (chiefly Asierias vulgaris), large quantities of 

 shells (the most noticeable of which were bank-clams), sea-scallops 



