REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 27 



8, 1891, 300 died from the eflects of slush ice, which formed inside the 

 live-cars from snow that fell between the wooden slats. Besides having 

 their gills choked u}), many were found to contain in their stomachs 

 lumps of ice as large as walnuts. Less blindness occurred, probably 

 on account of greater care in handling the fish at the time of their cap- 

 ture, a feature being the avoidance of the usual custom of thrusting a 

 linger into the eye socket of the fish when removing the hook. 



Of the brood fish only 587 yielded eggs, these being 07,399,000 in 

 number and producing 36,206,100 fry. Eggs were strii)ped about every 

 other day, from ^November 17 to February 7. 



Consignments of eggs, by rail, were received from Gloucester Station 

 to the number of 43,168,500, from December 10 to January 19, but of 

 these only 16,332,000 were thought to be good twelve hours subsequent 

 to arrival, and their total production was but 150,000 fry. 



Observations during hatching this year led to the conclusion that 

 those eggs which sink within five or six days after being taken are 

 defective in their fertilization. The results of attempts made at im- 

 pregnation by the dry method, though not conclusive, were unsatis- 

 factory. The eggs that sunk were transferred from jars to boxes, and 

 vice versa, and close attention given them. Those placed in jars would 

 in a short time become milky and glutinous and so foul that cleansing by 

 washing was impracticable; while those in boxes, without turning milky, 

 would adhere together and to the hatching vessels, finally perisliing. 



The profuse abundance of cojjepods in tlie hatching vessels through- 

 'Out tlie season was tbought to be injurious to the eggs and fry, since 

 they were seen densely congregated about dead eggs and the weaker 

 fry, and were in constant friction with the live eggs and fry in their 

 crowded condition. Attempts to exclude them by means of clieese- 

 . cloth strainers were ineffectual, owing to their minuteness. Another 

 unfavorable element was the employment of hatching boxes which had 

 been used during the summer preceding for the live storage of me<lusa; 

 rand other low forms of animal life which exude slime arid X'oisonous 

 substunces. It was found that eggs kept in the boxes which had been 

 used fi)r this purpose were invariably attended with a high death rate, 

 but if early removed to other vessels they immediately recov(?red. Vig- 

 orous efforts to cleanse the infected boxes failed. 



Hatching was one to three days earlier in the tidal boxes than in the 

 inverted tidal jars, owing, presumably, to the greater circulation and 

 light aifordcd the eggs. The fry produced were liberated in neighbor- 

 ing wateis when they were 12 to 48 hours old. 



Flatfish. — Adult flatfish to the number of 71 were taken with a fyke 

 net in Woods Holl Harboi- and yielded 4,689,700 eggs, which ])ro(luced 

 3,350,800 fry. The spawning period of the flatfish was between Feb 

 ruary 3 and March 7. 



