' 
92 REPORTS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE. 
FUR FARMING IN ALASKA. 
As for a number of years past, there has been some activity in fur 
farming. This has consisted chiefly of the liberation of adult foxes 
on islands, although in a number of instances corrals have been con- 
structed and the work has been conducted along scientific and busi- 
nesslike lines. Reports have been received indicating that there 
were 8 fur farms in operation in the interior of Alaska and that 
20 islands were occupied for the breeding of fur-bearing animals. 
At the end of the fiscal year 1918 five islands under the jurisdiction 
of the Department had been leased for the propagation of fur- 
bearing animals; these were Middleton, Simeonof, Little Koniuji, 
Marmot, and Pear] Islands. The lease of Marmot Island was for- 
feited in 1918. 
MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS. 
SPECIAL CONSTRUCTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS. 
In January, 1918, the Rhode Island Legislature granted the United 
States permission to purchase the property which the Bureau has de- 
sired to acquire on Block Island for a marine fish hatchery. The land 
has since been purchased, title thereto has been perfected, plans for 
the station have been made, and construction will be begun if the 
greatly increased cost of material and labor will permit the comple- 
tion of the hatchery and pumping plant within the appropriation. 
No bid within the limit of the appropriation could be obtained 
for the new motor boat authorized for the Woods Hole (Mass.) 
station. The construction of two steel fish-distribution cars has not 
been possible, owing to the inability of properly equipped establish- 
ments to handle this kind of work at this time. Another piece of 
construction work that has lapsed is the lobster-rearing plant for 
which Congress made a small appropriation in 1917. The reduction 
of the size of this proposed plant to a point that greatly impairs its 
value still leaves its estimated cost far in excess of the appropriation. 
The project will have to be held in abeyance or Congress must in- 
crease the appropriation. 
With the additional appropriation for the laboratory at Key West, 
Fla., there have been constructed a director’s residence and a pump 
house, both of terra cotta hollow tile, and a concrete cistern for fresh 
water with a capacity of 2,000 gallons. 
At the Cape Vincent (N. Y.) station, new machinery has been 
installed, and the purchase of about 7.5 acres of additional land is 
contemplated in order to construct ponds and institute pond culture 
at this point. 
A double frame building for quarters has been built at the Boze- 
man (Mont.) station. Each part is 30 by 50 feet and contains 6 
rooms. 
At the Orangeburg (S. C.) station 5 new ponds have been con- 
structed, and at the Saratoga (Wyo.) station 2 new ponds have been 
completed, and there have been extensive improvements to the water 
supply, including the addition of a filtering system. 
VESSEL SERVICE, 
The repairs which the steamer Albatross was undergoing at the 
Mare Island Navy Yard at the beginning of the year were completed 
