XVIII REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



been >sii]»i)lio(], a miuibcr of pcr.sons bein;;- occupied for a good part of 

 their time in prepariug to meet additional calls. There is nothing which 

 so much increases the interest in natural history as the opportunity 

 of examining actual specimens of rare, and, usually unprocurable, 

 species, instead of depending upon descriptions or drawings ; and as 

 the ijossibility of obtaining these series becomes the better known, it is 

 quite likely that all the resources of the Commission for making collec- 

 tions, great as they are, will be fully taxed. 



The calls for these specimens are usually made through the member 

 of Congress representing the district in which the institution is estab- 

 lished; or, if made direct to the Commission, they are referred to the 

 member for his indorsement and recommendation. 



Some of the most noteworthy features of the year 1882 are as follows: 



1. The appropriation made by Congress to supply the full amount 

 necessary for the construction of the new steamer Albatross and the 

 completion of the vessel. 



2. The change in command of the steamers of the Fish Commission 

 by the transfer of Lieutenant Tanner from the Fish Hawk to the Al- 

 batross, and of Lieutenant Wood from the Lookout to the Fish Hawk. 



3. The purchase and employment of a Herreshoff launch, No. 82 of 

 his series. 



4. The acquisition of land at Wood's HoU for a permanent sea-coast 

 station. 



5. The a])propriation made by Congress for the improvement of 

 Wood's HoU harbor by the construction of a pier and breakwater, to 

 be utilized indirectly in the interest of the Fish Commission and its oper- 

 ations. 



6. The fitting up of the Armory building as a station both for hatch- 

 ing and for the distribution of fish, and establishing it as the central 

 Washington station; the bringing of a branch track from the Balti- 

 more and Potomac Railroad into the grounds, and their iuclosure by a 

 substantial high fence; also the erection of a large storage-shed. 



7. The appropriation by Congress for the participation by the United 

 States Fish Commission in the London International Fisheries Exhibi- 

 tion. 



8. The proposed action by Congress in regard to the construction of 

 a fish way in connection with the dam at the Great Falls of the Potomac. 



9. The acquisition by the Commission of the control of the grounds at 

 Wytheville, Va., belonging to the Virginia State Fish Commission, and 

 the fitting them up specially for the hatching of California trout. 



10. The transfer of the control of Saint Jeromes Station froni the 

 Maryland Fish Commission to that of the United States. 



11. The commencement, on a large scale, of preparations for the arti- 

 ficial propagation of oysters at Saint Jeromes. 



12. The practical completion of the work undertaken by the Fish 

 Commission for the census of 1880. 



