386 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



"Some of these animals, if not too large, can be forwarded directlj 

 to Washington ; others I may wish to have cast in plaster on the spot 

 and the skeleton only removed. 



"I would also be glad to be informed, in a similar manner, of the first 

 appearance, at tolerably long intervals, of schools of mackerel, men- 

 haden, blue-fish, porpoises, blackfish, i&c." 



Under date of February 2, 1883, Mr. S. I. Kimball, the superintendent, 

 issued a circular to all the keepers and crews of United States life- 

 saving stations, prefacing it as follows : 



" Your attention is called to the letter addressed to this office by Prof. 

 Spencer F. Baird, U. S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, and you 

 are requested to render him all the assistance possible in furtherance of 

 the objects specified therein not incompatible with the performance of 

 your regular duties." 



In just one week from the date of that circular the following telegram 

 was received from J. B. Edwards, keeper of Amagansett Station JS^o. 

 10, via East Hampton, Long Island, February 9, 1883: 



" Have specimen of shark 9 feet 8 inches long. Three feet around 

 largest part. Not identified by any one here. Weight 200 to 300 

 pounds. At present fresh." 



The fuller account by letter soon arrived. It was as follows : 

 "The head, shajjed nearly like a shark, quite flat, noteeth, and as large 

 as any part of the body ; mouth quite large ; eyes I think more like a 

 beast than shark ; the skin rough like a shark, dark gray color. The fish 

 is different from anything we have seen here before. It is not a sea-ser- 

 pent, but a new kind of fish to us. Length, 9 feet 8 inches } weight, 

 about 300 i)ounds." 



The shark was sent for and proved a valuable specimen. Other 

 reports followed every few weeks, so that nine months later the follow- 

 ing list was furnished by Professor Baird to a correspondent applying 

 for it : 



" Quite a number of specimens have been already received, including 

 some of much interest on account of their rarity. The animals reported 

 thus far have been cetaceans and fishes, but it Is probable as time 

 passes we shall obtain specimens not only of vertebrate animals, but of 

 the invertebrates as well. You will observe by the following list that 

 many of the specimens were from New Jersey : 



Dolphin {Tursiops suhridevs), Fire Island, N. Y. 

 Pigmy sperm-whale {Kogia goodei), Spring Lake, N. J. 

 Dolphin {Tursiops subridens), Turkey Gut, near Cape May, N. J. 

 Bottle-nose whale [Zlphiiis cavirostris), Barnegat, N. J. 

 Shark {Pseudotriacis microdon), Amagansett, N. Y. 

 ' Star-gazer' {Astroscopus sp.), Life-Saving Station 6, N. C. 

 'Lump-fish' [Cyclopterus lumpus), Point Judith, R. I. 

 'Flute-mouth' {Fistularia serrata). Point Judith, R. I. 

 'Angel-fish' {Pomacanthus arcuatus), Barnegat, N. J. 



