FISHERY INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1033 17 



waters for varyino: lencrths of time. Studies of this problem have 

 revoaloil that certain mercury compounds are vahiable in ciiecking 

 these i::r()\vths. 



Other chemicals tested out durino; the past year, of value in net 

 preservation, include various antioxidants. It has been found that 

 the inclusion of antioxidants in tar for treating nets is an improvement 

 over plain tar treatments, since the antioxidants increase the flexibility 

 of the tarred net, thereby prolonging its useful life. A detailed study 

 has been made of the effect of exposing cotton and linen twines to 

 rain and comparing these stocks dried in sunshine and in the shade. 

 The sun-dried twines deteriorated very rapidly. The shade-dried 

 linen deteriorated slightly in 6 months, but the cotton twine gained in 

 strength. In these tests, it was found that even a small amount of 

 soft coal smoke was very destructive to both linen and cotton twines. 



During the past year, our technological stafT cooperated with the 

 Bureau of Construction and Repair of the Navy Department in 

 developing chemical preservatives for manila cordage. It was found 

 that antioxidants were of value in prolonging the life of linen cordage 

 or rope. This work will result in considerable savings to the Navy 

 Department since this Department naturally uses large quantities of 

 this material. 



During 1933, we issued a pamphlet entitled "More Life from Fish 

 Nets", W W. T. Conn. This pamphlet proved to be very popular 

 and hundreds of fishermen have written in for copies of it. In order 

 to reach the fishermen of the country so that they could take advantage 

 of the recommendations in this pamphlet, notices were sent to post 

 offices where fishermen receive their mail and to small town news- 

 papers. The interested response on the part of the fishermen was 

 most gratifying. 



EDUCATIONAL AND CONSULTING SERVICES 



In addition to the activities previously described, our technological 

 staff conducts very important educational and consulting services for 

 those interested in the fisheries. Some of these educational functions 

 and consulting services have been discussed or referred to in preceding 

 paragraphs of this report. Therefore, it is only necessary to summar- 

 ize these services and to describe their nature. We have cooperated 

 with various State institutions, colleges, universities, schools, and 

 other public institutions in disseminating information on the preserva- 

 tion, utilization, food value, etc., of fishery products. This has been 

 done by means of lectures, practical demonstrations, radio addresses, 

 letters, and reports. The members of our Division staff also prepare 

 answers to letters or inquiries received b}^ the Bureau from persons 

 and companies interested in various industrial problems in the fisheries. 

 These inquiries contain questions on the various problems connected 

 with the manufacture, preservation, handling, storage, statistics, and 

 marketing of the products of the fisheries. This correspondence is 

 answered by reference to our published literature and the publications 

 of other institutions of fishery research, from the information contained 

 in the Bureau of Fisheries' Library, and from the knowledge and 

 experience of the various technologists. The replies to these inquiries 

 constitute a technological consulting service conducted by the Bureau 

 for the benefit of the public. 



