REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 95 



many times in the reports. An assurance of motor power is there- 

 fore imperative, and when a station is situated at some distance from 

 repair shops extraordinary precautions are necessary to prevent 

 breakdowns. A quite complete set of tools and duplicate pieces 

 of those parts of the engine and gearing most apt to give out has 

 been the only precaution taken at the station till last 3'ear. On 

 increasing the plant it was decided to put in an auxiliary engine 

 which could be started up at a moment's notice and run independ- 

 ently or together with the other engine. The experience of the 

 summer proved the wisdom of the action. In selecting an engine 

 one of the same make and type as the one already in use was set up, 

 and consequently only one set of fittings was necessary. 



Wooden Boxes Replace Canvas Bags. — The experiment was tried, 

 last season, of using wooden boxes for rearing purposes instead of the 

 canvas bags. The 14 to 26 days at a time that a bag has to be 

 suspended in the water damages the canvas, and very often, with 

 the utmost care, it is apt to be torn. A great deal of time and labor 

 has been necessarily expended in properly washing and drying the 

 bags in order to prevent the canvas from rotting, and also in patching 

 the holes and weak places. In spite of this care numbers of lobster 

 fry have been lost, occasionally, through holes occurring in the 

 bags, and for this reason many experiments with counted lots have 

 had to be made over. It was for the purpose of preventing such 

 losses that a wooden car was devised. The boxes were made of the 

 same size and general shape of the canvas bags, but certain adjust- 

 ments had to be made. Most kinds of wood, particularly when new, 

 seem to poison the fry. To overcome this difficulty well seasoned 

 spruce was used and painted inside and out. This painting, together 

 with the continual current of water circulating through the boxes, kept 

 the water pure, and no effect from the poisoning of the wood was no- 

 ticed. All the corners and angles of the boxes were truncated by fit- 

 ting wide boards into them. This gave a more even circulation of 

 the water, prevented eddies, and left less chance of the lobsters being 

 thrown against the sides of the box. While the use of boxes is 



