78 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Eatlibuii, on tlie part of the United States, visited all of the waters 

 examined and gave their personal attention to the different problems 

 arising- in connection with each of them. The study of the Great Lake 

 system was iirst taken up by them in the fall of 1893, at which time the 

 inquiries were restricted to the upper part of the St. Lawrence River 

 and the Canadian shores of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The Avork 

 was resumed in June, 1894, when the examination of the United States 

 waters was begun, a large force being organized for this purpose in 

 order to complete the task in as short a time as possible. 



The statistical inquiries were prosecuted by the Division of Statistics 

 under the direction of Dr. Hugh M. Smith, the assistant in cliarge, 

 while the investigation of the fishes and fishing methods was carried 

 on by several special parties, as follows: 



Lakes Ontario, Champlain, and Memphremagog, and the upper St. 

 Lawrence Eiver, by B. AV. Evermann and R. R. Gurley, of the Fish 

 Commission, assisted by Barton A. Bean, of the United States National 

 Museum, and R. H. Hinckley, of Bowdoin College. 



Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair by H. F. Moore, of the University of 

 Pennsylvania; B. L. Hardin, of the Fish Commission, and Cloud, Rutter, 

 of Stanford University. 



Lake Huron by J. T. Scovell and D. C. Ridgely, of Indiana. 



Lake Superior and Lake of the Woods by Dr. Wakeham, Mr. Rath- 

 bun, and A. J. Woolmau and U. O. Cox, of Minnesota. 



The examinations along the Canadian shores of Lake Superior and 

 Lake Huron, including Georgian Bay, were made by the representatives 

 themselves, having the use of the Canadian fishery cruiser Petrel in 

 the last-mentioned waters. They also held conferences with the fisher- 

 men at all the important fishery centers along the chain of lakes except 

 on Lake Michigan, which was omitted from their inquiries as not form- 

 ing a part of the boundary syjstem. 



The investigations made in these waters were conducted upon as 

 comprehensive a basis and in as thorough a manner as the time and 

 circumstances permitted. Their object, as explained in previous reports, 

 was to determine the present condition of the fisheries as compared 

 with their condition in the past, the extent and causes of any decrease 

 which had occurred, the necessity for remedial measures, and tlie reg- 

 ulations best suited to insure the maintenance of the supi)ly of fishes 

 and to provide for its increase where a depletion had taken place. Tfie 

 scope of the work, in view of the short period available for its comple- 

 tion, precluded to a great extent the making of the detailed researches 

 essential to x>ositive conclusions on all points. The testimony of the 

 fishermen had, therefore, to be depended upon in large part, but their 

 statements were carefully weighed in the light of the combined evi- 

 dence obtained, and much important and accurate information was 

 secured through the direct observations of the field assistants. 



The most essential feature of the investigation was the study of the 

 important market fishes in their relation to fishing methods emi)loyed 



