816 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



weight suddenly elevates the net when sprung by the person watching, 

 who holds a cord with twenty branches reaching to as many parts of 

 the net, by which he feels a fish strike against any portion of it. 



By request of Herr von B6hr, I then went to Freiburg to await the 

 arrival of the Crown Prince at Wiesbaden, to whom I had letters, and 

 who, as I was informed, was desirous of hearing of the progress of fish 

 culture in America, a subject in which he takes great interest ; but, on 

 account of some change in his plans, I received a telegram that he would 

 not reach Wiesbaden during ray stay there. I had the pleasure of 

 meeting the president of the Fischerei-Verein, Herr von B6hr, on No- 

 vember 5, at Berlin, and on the evening of the 8th met the society, whose 

 members consist of the leading scientists and statesmen of Germany. 



After the transaction of their usual course of business I was called 

 upon for an explanation of the methods in use in America for taking 

 spawn, packing and transporting it, the number of eggs obtained in a 

 season from our different fishes, &c., when, after stating all of importance 

 that came to mind and answering a few questions, we adjourned to a 

 dinner composed of the favorite fishes of Germany. 



The fish culturists of that country are keenly alive to the progress of 

 the art wherever practiced; and especially to American improvements, 

 of which there are so many, do they look to see what may be of real 

 value. 



For the Coregoni they have many of the Holton boxes, which are to 

 be tried upon a large scale this season for the first time for stocking 

 Lake Constance and other waters, while for the Salmonidce, exclusive 

 of the genus above named, they use our unpatented trough with wire 

 or glass trays, and Williamson's trough for the greater part of the 

 work, employing the Coste tray only to a very limited extent. 



I left Bremen on the 10th of November for England, where my efforts 

 to collect and transport turbot and sole to our waters met with only a 

 partial success. I will leave the remainder of the trip for a special 

 report concerning those fishes. . 



