108 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



sraalUn- tiactfi tiutlicr south, tor tiansplanting to tlie cultivated beds. 

 Oysters of the same sitfcies were likewise found at j;reater distances 

 from the i)lanted beds, in San Leaiidro Bay and at Sheep Island and 

 Point San I'cdro, attached to rocks and to jdles driven in the bottom, 

 leaving no room for doubt that tlicy liad oriuinated thronj^h the s})awu- 

 hig of oysters in the bay. 



OFF MEXICO, (^^.NTRAL AMERICA, AND THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS. 



On Jannary 30, 1800, the steamer yl//>^<//v),s.s left San Francisco for 

 Panama to engage in a si)ecial scientitic in({niry, authorized by tlie 

 President of the United States. The expedition Avas under the direc- 

 tion of Prof. Alexander Agassiz, director of the Museum of Com])ara- 

 tive Zoology at Harvard ( -oUege, who also i)aid a large proportion of 

 the expenses incidental to the cruise. The area marked out for inves- 

 tigation lay oft" the western coast of Mexico aiul of Central and South 

 America, from Ca])e San Francisco in the south to (xuayinas in the 

 north, and extended seaward to and including the Galapagos Islands. 

 The biological and ])hysical features of this region, as well as the con- 

 tour and character of the bottom, except in the vicinity of the coast, 

 were then almost entirely unknown, the Albatross having made only a 

 few ol)servations there dnring the voyage from Washington to San 

 Francisco, while H. M. S. Challenyer^ during her famous expedition 

 around the world, sailed directly from the Sandwich Islands to Chile, 

 and thence iato the Atlantic Ocean. 



The present inquiry had reference mainly to the natural history and 

 temi»erature of the dee})er waters off the coast, at the bottom and sur- 

 face, and also at intermediate depths. The ordinary outtit of iha Alba- 

 tross, frequently described in jirevious reports, was well adapted to the 

 greater part of the observations, but for collecting organic forms at 

 intermediate depths a new form of net was improvised by Capt. Tan- 

 ner, and gave entire satisfaction. It is so arranged that after being 

 lowered and dragged for any desired distance thrcmgh the water it 

 may be tightly closed by the falling of a. luessenger, thus ju'cvcnting 

 any objects from entering it while it is being hauled on board. It is, 

 therefore, well suited foi- determining the character and anumnt of 

 animal lilc at any <lc])th below the surfare, witliont thc^ danger of its 

 contents being added to at other levels. An api)liance of this sort 

 woidd have been of material assistance in the researches hitherto made 

 rcsi)e<'ting the mackerel-grounds on the Atlantic coast of the United 

 States, ami it is proposed toutibze the new invention <luriiig the future 

 investigations in that legion. 



Peginning off Ca])e Mala, near Pananni, a line of stations was carried 

 toCJocos Island, and thence, with some deviation toward the south, to 

 Malpelo Island and l)ack to Panama, wlierc several short lines were 

 run immediatelv outside of the 100-fa thorn curve. On the second cruise 



