BULLETIN OF Nil. UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 389 



at 5.45 cast off and returned to Baltimore, arriving there a1 10 p.m.; 

 made fast to same wharf. 



Monday, May 25.— At 11.40 lefl Baltimore, Md., and returDed t<» Bat 

 tery Station, arriving there at I p. m. A( 4.45 steamed over to North 

 East River and anchored in the usual place, off Bull .Mountain ; sent 

 out spawn takers ; spawn-takers returned at midnight with 35,000 shad 

 eggs; fish getting very scarce; fishing shores al Carpenter's Poinl and 

 Red Bank cut out, and quite a number of the gillers have stopped 

 fishing. 



Tuesday, May 26. — At (> a, m. steamed over to Battery Station ; trans 

 ferred 35,000 shad eggs to superintendent of station. Owing to the 

 stormy weather did not go over to the east side of hay ; spawn-takers 

 tended gillers in vicinity of station, but failed to get any e<j;^. 



Wednesday, May 27. — At 8 a. m. left station aud steamed up to Havre 

 de Grace, Md., with Assistant Commissioner Ferguson, coaled ship and 

 returned to station. Received orders from Assistant Commissioner 

 Ferguson to proceed. to the Delaware River and make an investigation 

 of the fisheries above Philadelphia, as far as Bordentown, X. J. ; spawn- 

 taker S. J. Talbott was detailed to go with us to assist. At 11.30 left 

 Battery Station and steamed up Elk River to canal. At 1.40 locked in 

 at Chesapeake City. At 5 p. m. arrived at Delaware City ; received 

 telegraphic orders from Commissioner S. F. Baird to wait for launch 

 Cygnet and force of spawn-takers ; locked out of canal aud came to 

 anchor in the stream; interviewed fishermen on shore and found that 

 very few shad were being caught iu this vicinity, and what were captured 

 were down-runuers. 



Thursday, May 28. — At anchor in river opposite Delaware City; at 3.30 

 p. m. launch Cygnet and spawn-takers arrrived ; got underway; took 

 her in tow and proceeded up the Delaware River; at sundown came to 

 anchor off Red Bank, ET. J., near to U. S. Fish Commission steamer 

 Fish Hawk; communicated with her, and found that her force of spawn- 

 takers could tend to all the fishing shores in the vicinity. 



Friday, May 29. — At S a. m. steamed up the Delaware River, pass- 

 ing Philadelphia at 9 a. m. ; arrived at Riverton, opposite Ten-mile 

 Point, at 10 a. m. Interviewed William Faunce, who fishes a 200- 

 fathom seine at this point, making nine hauls a day, between sunrise 

 and sunset. The season was an average one iu the yield of shad, but 

 for the past two weeks no ripe fish had been observed. Previous to 

 that time they had been abundant. On this day, up to the time 

 of our interview, five hauls had been made, .yielding 90 shad. Mr. 

 Faunce informed me that he had been catching about 200 shad a day ; 

 was here informed that there were about 2.5 gillers who operated be- 

 tween Petty's Island and Riverton. About ten days previous to the 

 visit of the Lookout these gillers had been very successful, but since 

 that time the catch had greatly diminished. Left Riverton and pro- 



