x REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE 
Light has been thrown on the problem of power dams in salmon 
streams by a study of the operation of a fish ladder in the Baker 
River near Concrete, Wash. The dam, over 200 feet high, has a fish 
ladder of the common Cail type, together with a mechanical elevator 
for hoisting cars of fish over the crest. As a result of practical ex- 
eriments it is expected that the science of developing a satisfactory 
shway will be advanced materially. 
In Alaska continued destruction of predatory trout has resulted 
beneficially in the vicinity of Afognak and Yes Bay. At the Yes Bay 
(Alaska) station the fingerlings have been placed in feeding ponds, 
‘from which they are permitted to work out gradually. It is believed 
that they become better adapted to conditions in natural waters in 
this way than by a sharp transition from the hatchery to the lake. 
Not until the entire hatch of salmon fry can be reared to fingerling 
size will the maximum benefit be attained from these fish-cultural 
operations. 
MARINE SPECIES OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC COAST 
Operation of the bureau’s marine stations at Woods Hole and 
Gloucester, Mass., is contingent upon commercial fishing operations 
in the vicinity. Cod, haddock, and pollock eggs are taken largely 
by spawn takers on the fishing vessels. Only a small percentage of 
the eggs is obtained by independent spawn-taking operations con- 
ducted by the bureau. <A substantial increase over the previous 
season’s figures for this work resulted. Minute variations in the 
water, particularly in its specific gravity, affected the success of 
artificial incubation, and in such cases it has been found necessary 
to plant the fertilized eggs on the fishing grounds. Concomitant 
with the augmented market utilization of haddock, the number of 
egos of this species handled by the bureau has been more than 
doubled. The hatching of winter-flounder eggs has been centered 
largely at the Boothbay Harbor (Me.) station, and the collection 
has been increased by about 800,000,000 over that of last year. The 
station makes its own collection of brood fish, operating in near-by 
waters. For the first time in a number of years the Boothbay Harbor 
station has handled cod eggs. As difficulty was encountered in incu- 
bating the eggs at the hatchery, the majority were fertilized and 
planted on the adjacent spawning grounds. 
ANADROMOUS FISHES OF THE ATLANTIC COAST 
This work comprises the hatching of shad, river herring, and 
Atlantic salmon, with such propagation of yellow perch as may be 
carried on in conjunction with the shad operations. The decline in 
the catch of shad has limited the bureau’s efforts in this field to the 
stations at Bryans Point, Md., and Edenton, N. C. An increased 
number of eggs was obtained by unusual effort at Bryans Point. The 
take of shad and herring eggs in Albemarle Sound waters was negli- 
gible, in spite of a heavy run of fish. The run of shad was pre- 
ponderantly of male fish, and very few of the females yielded ripe 
eggs. 
