scientists. Their feelings are well summarized by the words 

 of E. B. Wilson, who wrote on May 12, 1919 after the death 

 of Edwards, as follows: "It is hard to realize that the familiar 

 figure of Vinal N. Edwards will no longer be seen at Woods Hole, 

 and he will be greatly missed, especially by all the earlier 

 workers who had come to rely so often upon his advice and 

 judgment. No one could know Vinal Edwards without having 

 the kindliest feelings toward him personally and without coming 

 to realize that he was a man of rare character and attainments. 

 I always associated him with Spencer Baird who I know had a 

 very high regard for him and fully appreciated his important 

 services to the Fish Commission .... Woods Hole will not 

 seem the same without him. " A commemorative plaque for 

 Edwards was presented by friends of Edwards to the Fisheries 

 Laboratory at Woods Hole and was mounted on a wall at the 

 entrance to the old aquarium building. It can now be seen in 

 the lobby of the new laboratory. 



In the years 1872-74 the operations of the Fish Commission 

 were shifted northward to the Bay of Fundy with the special 

 purpose to study the fisheries of Maine and the adjacent portion 

 of the British Provinces. In 1872 the headquarters was established 

 at Eastport, Maine, where Baird was permitted to use the U. S. 

 Revenue cutter Mosswood . The vessel was armed with a small 

 gun on the forward deck and carried a number of rifles and 

 cutlasses. The arrangement with the revenue office specified 

 that if a suspicious craft should be sighted the dredging must 

 be suspended while the suspect was overhauled and investigated. 

 The records fail to show that dredging and seining were 

 interferred with, since most of the smuggling was done at night. 

 As in the previous year, several scientists, including A. E. 

 Verrill, S. I. Smith, G. Brown Goode, Th. N. Gill and others, 

 assisted in the work and collaborated in the identification of 

 collected materials. The Commissioner of the D9minion Fisheries, 

 William F. Whitcher, and his staff showed great interest in the 

 fishery investigations and gave Baird valuable assistance and 

 cooperation. A biologically interesting conclusion was reached 

 by Baird regarding the probable cause of the reduction of cod and 

 river fishes, both of which have declined in equal ratio. He states 

 in his report for 1872-7 3 (Baird, 1874) that "the reduction in the 

 cod and other fisheries, so as to become practically a failure, is 

 due to the decrease off our coast in the quantity, primarily of 

 alewives; and secondarily, of shad and salmon, more than to any 

 other cause. " 



Early in 1872, the American F^'sh Culturists Association 

 at the February meeting in Albany, New York, passed a resolution 

 urging the U. S. Government to take measures for the introduction 

 and artificial propagation of shad, salmon, and other valuable food 

 fishes throughout the country, especially in the waters common to 

 several states. An appropriation of $15, 000 for this purpose was 



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