KEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. XIX 



13. The order of Congress to print a large work in three quarto vol- 

 umes upon the fisheries of the United States. 



14. The great expansion in the work of production and distribution 

 of the carp. 



15. The practical extermination of the tile-fish in the North Atlantic. 

 These several points will be more fully discussed in their appropriate 



places in the report. 



A brief memorandum of what the United States Fish Commission 

 hopes to accomplish in time, in connection with its mission, is as follows: 



1. In the department of investigation and research there is yet to be 

 carried out an exhaustive inquiry into the character, abundance, geo- 

 graphical distribution, and economical qualities of the inhabitants of 

 the waters, both fresh and salt. The subject is practically unlimited in 

 extent, and, so far as the ocean is concerned, has been scarcely touched. 

 With the powerful apparatus, however, at the command of the Commis- 

 sion, it is expected that much progress will be made, year by year, and 

 the publication of the results and the distribution of duplicate specimens 

 to colleges and academies in the United States be carried out on a large 

 scale, so as to meet a large and increasing demand with teachers and 

 students. 



2. The second object, in connection with the sea fisheries, is the im- 

 provement of the old methods and apparatus of fishing and the intro- 

 duction of new ones. 



The work of the Commission, in bringing to the notice of American 

 fishermen the importance of gill nets with glass-ball floats for the cap- 

 ture of cod-fish, has already revolutionized the winter cod-fishery in- 

 dustry in New England. Looked upon almost with ridicule by the 

 Gloucester fishermen when first brought to their notice by the Commis- 

 sion, these nets have come rapidly into use, until, at the present time, 

 they represent the most important element in the winter fisheries, the 

 number of fish taken being not only much greater, but the fish them- 

 selves of finer quality. 



The ability to maintain a successful fishery without the use of bait is 

 of the utmost imj)ortance, in view of the fact that when cod are most 

 abundant bait is almost unprocurable. Other forms of aj^paratus, of 

 less importance, have also been introduced, and a constant lookout is 

 maintained, by correspondence and otherwise, in connection with the 

 improvement of fishing machinery. 



Among the subjects to which the attention of the Fish Commission 

 has been directed is that of the best method of preserving nets in a 

 condition for continued use by preventing them from rotting. 



Netting is usually treated by saturating it with some repellant sub- 

 stance, which i)revents the moisture from remaining in the interstices 

 of the thread or causes it to dry more rapidly. The usual practice is to 

 soak the nets in a solution of catechu, tannin, or other astringent prep- 

 aration, or else to apply tar or asphaltum. Salting is also frequently 

 practiced. 



