INVESTIGATIONS OP THE ALBATROSS. 283 



vessels. Southerly and westerly winds do not produce a heavy sea, 

 but a very fresh breeze from the northwest or southwest is immediately 

 followed by a choppy sea. 



An examination of the stomachs of all the cod captured by the Alba- 

 tross showed that they feed upon a wide range of both invertebrates 

 and fishes. Pebbles, often of considerable size, seemed to occur more 

 frequently in the cod of Bering Sea than in those of the North Atlantic. 

 They are undoubtedly taken in with such articles of food as grow 

 attached to hard objects, the sea-anemones, which are unusually abun- 

 dant on the banks of Bristol Bay, being of this character. 



That part of Bering Sea situated between Cape Constantine and Cape 

 Newenham, and extending some 20 odd miles from the southern end of 

 Hagemeister Island, has been named Kulukak Bank. The bottom and' 

 the fauna in this region do not differ materially in character from those 

 of the other fishing-grounds in Bristol Bay. Sand is the predominant 

 material, witli an occasional mixture of mud and gravel. At the begin- 

 ning of the Bristol Bay cod Irehery this ground was resorted to, but it 

 was soon discovered that the fish were smaller and inferior in quality 

 to those occurring on the more southern banks. One exception, how- 

 ever, is noted by the fishermen with respect to a small spot situated 

 about IG miles SSW. from the southern end of Hagemeister Island, 

 called Gravel Bank, but its extent is slight; the depth of water ranges 

 from 16 to 20 fathoms. 



Small fish predominate among the islands of the Walrus Group. 

 Larger individuals are reported from certain indentations and rocky 

 patches, but they are not sufliciently abundant to attract fishermen. 



Cod are plentiful in the vicinity of Cape Peirce, but the proportion of 

 diseased individuals among them has led the fishermen to give the name 

 Hospital Bank to these grounds. Nothing was obtained close to the 

 rocky blufts of Cape Newenham, and no success attended the trials 

 made in the adjacent waters. The quantity of fresh water which issues 

 from the Kuskokwim Kiver probably accounts for this scarcity or 

 absence of fish. 



The total number of cod caught in the 113 trials made in Bristol Bay 

 during the summer of 1890 was 1)46, having a combined weight of 

 9,919 pounds, an average of about 10| pounds per fish. The highest 

 average in any single catch was 15^ pounds on Slime Bank, and the 

 next highest, 15^- iionnds, on the Port Moller ground of Baird Bank. 

 The average weight of several catches on Slime and Baird banks was 

 more than 15 pounds. The largest cod captured during the cruise 

 weighed 27^ pounds, the smallest 1 pound. Practically nothing is 

 known respecting the abundance or movements as well as the condition 

 of the cod on the banks of Bristol Bay during the winter months, as no 

 fishing is prosecuted there at that season. 



Nearly all the fishing trials by the Albatross were conducted while 

 the ship was hove to, and rapidly drifting through the influence of the 

 tide or wind. The length of each trial, moreover, seldom exceeded 



