REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 65 



. f 

 been rerhristened the Kitfiiral-e .and assiofned to the (xlouccster 

 (Mass.) station for Hsh-cultural work, but no definite assignments 

 have been made of the other two. It is believed that they will 

 prove of value in some of the activities of the Bureau. 



A new motor boat, the Tern, was constructed in April for use on 

 the lower Yukon River and in the delta waters. The vessel is i^8 

 feet long and is equipped with a r^5--5()-horsej>ower engine. 



PI'BLTCATIONS AND LHUJAHT. 



The limitation imposed b}^ Congress on the publications of the 

 Bureau is proving a considerable drawback. Most of the Bureau's 

 documents are intended to serve a definite public purpose, looking to 

 the conservation, maintenance, or proper utilization of aquatic 

 creatures. Such publications are therefore deserving of w^ide dis- 

 tribution within proper limits if their purpose is to be achieved. 

 Many of the printed reports are the result of protracted inquiry or 

 investigation and pertain to the welfare of important branches of 

 the fisheries and fish culture in extensive areas Avhere it may be 

 desirable, if not necessary, to reach thousands of persons. In these 

 circumstances, to restrict editions to 1,0()0 copies, regardless of their 

 cost or regardless of the exigencies of the particular public fishery 

 situations intended to be met, and to prohibit the issuance of re- 

 prints during the same year in which the original reports w^ere pub- 

 lished, may defeat the Bureau's efforts to render a service for which 

 there is a great public demand. The major cost of publications is 

 not in paper and presswork and may be not even in composition, 

 but in the labors and expenses of investigators. It would, there- 

 fore, seem unwise in the case of many of the Bureau's documents to 

 exercise economy only with regard to their least expensive feature. 



The publications issued during the year have been carefully con- 

 sidered and designed in all cases to meet a public need. The free 

 distribution of documents has been restricted and mailing lists have 

 been revised. The series of economic circulars has been added to 

 and continues to serve the useful purpose of supplying practical in- 

 formation on timely subjects at insignificant cost. The limitation 

 on the size of editions acts as a special handicap in the case of these 

 documents. 



A noteworthy work accomplished by the librarian is the comple- 

 tion of an anahi:ical subject bibliography of the Bureau's publica- 

 tions from 1871 to 1920. These publications constitute a library in 

 themselves, and, without doubt, are the most complete and compre- 

 hensive collection extant on tlie fishery industries, fish culture, and 

 aquatic biology and physics. More than 6,700 titles occur, and, in 

 order to make the matter available for reference, intelligent compila- 

 tion and classification are necessary. It is proposed to print this 

 bibliography in convenient and inexpensive form, app9aring oppor- 

 tunely at the close of the first half century of the Bureau's existence. 



DISINTEGRATION OF THE PERSONNEL. 



_As the concluding section of this report, sjiecial attention is in- 

 vited to the matter of fair compensation for the loyal and efficient em- 



