438 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



A- comparisoD of the records of the seine-hauling in 1885 and 1886, 

 for which seasons only we have reliable records, afibrds contrasts as 

 interesting as they are perplexing. These may be summarized as fol- 

 lows : 



A considerable proportion of the excess of males was made uj) of 

 small two-year-old " buck shad," called "by the fishermen "skimmers,'' 

 which, being too small to count, are sold by the bunch. The preponder- 

 ance of these during the season gives promise of an increased run of 

 full-sized spawning fis^h in 1887. 



Transportation ofeg()S. — The transfer of impregnated eggs from Fort 

 Washington to Central Station was made by the steamer W; W. Corco- 

 ran, plying daily between Washington and Mount Vernon, the trans- 

 portation being uniformly made on trays, by the "dry method," inau- 

 gurated by me in 1881. The total number of eggs forwarded from Fort 

 Washington Station was 33,208,000. Of these 4,025,000 died in transit, 



CENTRAL STATION. 



The total number of eggs received in good condition, the number of 

 eggs and fry distributed, and the average percentage of loss in hatch- 

 ing are given in the following summary for the season of 1886 : 



Eggs tran.sferre(l to other stations 1,586,000 



Fish distributed 24,997,000 



Eggs lost ill hatching, 7 per cent 1,700,000 



Total eggs received alive from Fort Washington 28,^83,000 



The records of the station contain a history of each lot of eggs re- 

 ceived from tlie Fish Commission- seine, giving the temperature of im- 

 pregnation, the maximum, minimum, and mean of water temperatures 

 during the period of incubation, and the percentage of loss in hatch- 

 ing, data which it is important to preserve for reference, but which it 

 is hardly necessary to publish. 



ComimriHon of the catch o/1885 and 1886.— Tiie catch of shad in the 

 Potomac varies greatly from one season to another. The aggregate 

 number* taken in 1885 was 157,697; in 1880 it was 275,422, the increase 

 of 1886 over the previous season being 117,725. 



* Sec reports of Gwynn Harris, inspector of marine products, in U. S. F, C. Bulla- 

 tin, Vol. V, p. 192, and Vol. VI, p. 202. 



