6 REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 
to furnish additional room for the hatching-cars. An awning may 
be spread between the roofs of the two houses on a gas-pipe frame, 
which can easily be removed. This laboratory serves as the head- 
quarters for the scientific work of the commission. Excursions 
are frequently made to other parts of the Bay in the small naphtha 
launch which was bought two years ago, and which has proved to 
be very serviceable and satisfactory, although it is not large enough 
to go with safety outside the Bay. It has been absolutely essen- 
tial to much of the work in the clam experiments. 
During the past season the efforts of the commission have been 
directed mainly to perfecting the methods of clam and lobster- 
culture, and have met with greater success than was expected. 
For the first time, lobsters have been reared from the newly- 
hatched fry and carried through the winter; and the invention of 
a practical method of rearing them through the early critical 
period to the fourth stage is an important step. A considerable 
advance has been made in the experimental propagation of clams. 
Your commission believes that the State is now beginning to be 
benefited in a practical way by the results of the investigations 
on the clam and the lobster, and that further benefits will accrue. 
The investigation of the red water is being extended, as well as 
other systematic collections of data on the physical and biological 
conditions of the waters of the Bay. ‘ 
An exhibition illustrative of the work of the commission was 
prepared and sent to the Pan-American Exposition, at Buffalo, 
and was awarded a gold medal. 
An attempt has been made to enforce the law prohibiting the 
taking of short lobsters, and has necessitated the expenditure of a 
considerable sum of money in defraying the expenses of the depu- 
ties. The usual work of restocking the streams and rivers with 
fish has been carried on in the ordinary manner and with good 
effect. Taken all together, the results of the past year have been 
of exceptional value. 
The receipts and disbursements of the commission have been as 
follows : 
