mackerel larvae on the offshore grounds; Nesbit conducted investi- 

 gation of the year-mark formation on fish scales. L. G. Worley 

 used hatchery equipment for an experimental study of the effect of 

 temperature on the incubation of mackerel eggs. Experiments in 

 rearing fish larvae were conducted jointly by Cable and Galtsoff. 

 Parr used the Bureau's vessels in a study of the abundance and 

 growth of young scup, sea bass, and squeteague. 



The Albatross II was the reconditioned ocean tug Patuxent . 

 It was obtained from the" Navy Department shortly after the Bureau 

 of Fisheries steamer Fish Hawk was relinquished on January 30, 

 1926. The first Albatross was decommissioned several years be- 

 fore, on October 29, 1921. The Patuxent , renamed Albatross II, 

 was a two-masted steel steamer weighing 521 gross tons; her over- 

 all length was 150 feet; and her header was 2 9 feet 6 inches. She 

 had a mean draft of 12 feet 3 inches. 



In the summer of 1933 the activities of the Laboratory were 

 even more restricted than before. Galtsoff with the assistance of 

 R. O. Smith, conducted laboratory experiments on the growth and 

 fattening of oysters, and Sette studied various methods of marking 

 mackerel (fig. 36). Large schools of tagged mackerel were kept 

 under observation in the outdoor pool of the Laboratory and in the 

 aquarium, where the injuries caused by tagging could be easily 

 watched. 



Lack of funds for the operation of the Laboratory prevented 

 the Bureau from providing facilities for independent investigators. 

 At the same time the deterioration of the laboratory buildings and 

 equipment steadily progressed. At this time, large research proj- 

 ects conducted by the Bureau in the North Atlantic were concerned 

 primarily with the populations of oceanic fishes. The major empha- 

 sis was devoted to the statistical aspects, such as the analysis of 

 catches, determination of the abundance of year classes, rates of 

 growth and mortality, and movements or migrations of fishes. Lab- 

 oratory work played a minor role in these investigations and, con- 

 sequently, the demand for laboratory space by the Bureau's biolo- 

 gists diminished. 



Fish hatching was still the major year-round operation 

 while the Laboratory, having no permanent personnel, functioned 

 principally during the summer. The division of administrative 

 responsibility added to the difficulty, since the hatchery operation 

 and maintenance of all buildings and grounds at Woods Hole were 

 the duties of the Division of Propagation and Distribution of Fishes, 

 while the operation of the summer Laboratory was under the Divi- 

 sion of Inquiry. As a result, the Laboratory could not develop its 

 own program of research and acquire solidarity as a scientific 

 research unit. 



Some of the members of the Bureau of Fisheries even sug- 

 gested that the Woods Hole Station be declared "surplus property". 

 This view was strongly opposed by Galtsoff, who on many occasions 



84 



