REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 49 



Wood's Holl, and finding that the accommodations so liberally furnished 

 by the Light-House Board would not be sufficient for the enlarging scale 

 of work, I was able to make provisional arrangements during the sum- 

 mer looking towards the erection of a station in the Wood's Holl great 

 harbor. 



The great harbor of Wood's Holl, although somewhat obstructed by 

 rocks, is yet capable of being made, at moderate expense, one of the 

 most important of those on the coast, being the only one between New- 

 port and Provincetown in which vessels of large draught can enter and 

 be secure against storms from any quarter. There are several shoal- 

 water harbors within the district mentioned, which are, however, 

 tisually untenable during storms from a particular direction. A vessel, 

 however, once in Wood's Holl harbor is perfectly safe from any danger 

 from storm. 



One of the obstructions to the practical use of the harbor for this 

 purpose is a reef running out to a considerable distance from the north 

 side. Upon this vessels are liable to be wrecked, and the idea of hav- 

 ing this obstacle removed has frequently been entertained b^^ persons 

 interested. The expense, however, would be very great, and it was 

 found to be much cheaper to mark the reef by a pier built over it, and 

 in so doing protect the only vulnerable part of the inner harbor from 

 the swell coming from the south, thus assuring entire security to ves- 

 sels behind it. As this work, besides being greatly in the interest of 

 commerce, promised to meet all the requirements as a wharf for the ves- 

 sels of the United States Fish Commission, it was determined to ob- 

 ain, if possible, the adjacent land for the purpose of erecting the neces-t 

 sary buildings, and as it is practically very difficult to secure an appro- 

 priation from Congress to buy laud, several parties agreed to furnish 

 the funds necessary to purchase this land and present it to the United 

 States. A provisional agreement was therefore made with the proprie- 

 tors to sell the adjacent shore in the event of an appropriation being 

 made by Congress for the engineering work. 



In connection with the pier it is proposed to construct basins for the 

 reception of fish, in which they can be penned until their eggs are ripe 

 enough to be removed and treated artificially. I trust that I may be 

 able in the report for 1883 to chronicle the successful accomplishment 

 of these various measures and the actual working of the station. 



The second branch of the work of the Fish Commission — that of the 

 hatching of fish — has been carried on during the year with increasing 

 and eminent success. 



The first division of the work to be mentioned is that relating to the 

 carp, a food fish, the best varieties of which were first introduced into 

 the United States by the United States Fish Commission, and have 

 been distributed very extensively to all parts of the country during the 

 year. The principal station ot production is in the ponds in the vicinity 

 of the Washington Monument, in Washington City, and from them many 

 S. Mis. lO'J 4 



