128 REPOKT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES, 



Prof. H. B. Ward, of the Universit}^ of Nebraska, was in charge of 

 the plankton work. He completed the held tests of the efficiency of the 

 large plankton nets. Further work with these nets should he specially 

 directed to the comparative abundance and food relations of plankton 

 organisms. The small minnows which abound in the plankton region and 

 form a link between the plankton and some of the larger fishes should 

 receive attention at the same time. Prof. Ward also continued his study 

 of the vermine parasites of tishes, assisted by Mr. H. W. Gray bill. 



Dr. Charles Ford3^ce, of Nebraska Wesleyan University, was engaged 

 in a study of the small crustaceans of the order Cladocera, which are 

 an important element of the fish food of the lakes. 



Prof. F. C. Newcombe, of the University of Michigan, was in gen- 

 eral charge of the investigations of aquatic flora. Dr. Julia W. Snow, 

 of Rockford College, continued her work on algae. Prof. R. H. Pond, 

 of the Maryland Agricultural College, completed during the fiscal year 

 his study of the nutrition of the larger aquatic plants. During the 

 summer he assisted Prof. Newcombe in his study of the distribution 

 of water plants in relation to soils in Lake Erie. 



For several weeks in April and May Prof. Jacol:* Reighard, of the 

 University of Michigan, was engaged in studying the breeding habits 

 of fresh-water fishes. The forms chiefly studied were the black bass, 

 the brook lamprey- , the stone roller, and the horn dace. 



During the 3"ear Prof. Reighard and Prof. Ward were engaged in 

 discussing and preparing for publication the results of their work 

 in determining the efficienc}^ of plankton nets. At the same time 

 Professor Jennings studied one of the families of rotifers (the Hattii- 

 lidse)^ and prepared a monograph of the family. 



A bill " to authorize the establishment of a biological station on the 

 Great Lakes under the control of the United States Commission of 

 Fish and Fisheries " was introduced in the Senate on December 17, 

 1901, and favorably reported back by the committee on fisheries on 

 April 1, 1902. The report of the committee embodied a communica- 

 tion from the Commissioner advocating the passage of the bill. The 

 bill passed the Senate on May 16, but was not acted on by the House. 



THE STATUS OF THE CARP IN THE GREAT LAKES. 



With the prol)able exception of the Illinois River, no ])ody of water 

 in the United States appears to be so well-stocked with carp as Lake 

 Erie. There is also an abundance of carp in Lake Huron, Lake St. 

 Clair, and other Great Lakes. In view of the continued disfavor 

 with which this fish is regarded in some (piarters on account of its 

 supposed objectionable qualities, the Commission decided to institute 

 a systematic investigation of the species in the Great Lakes, and 

 assigned to the work Mr. Leon J. Cole, of the University of Michigan, 

 who began his inquiries in the latter part of June, 1901, and continued 

 until the last of November. The points to which special attention was 



