COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 3 



Also in order to secure the services of efficient employees during the 

 time when the Commission needs them most, they must be hired 

 in advance. This your Commission had done. 



In view of the above facts it would have been an obviously unwise 

 and even a censorable act to have abandoned the work, discharged 

 all employees and have allowed the buildings and apparatus to 

 suffer from lack of care. Furthermore, the entire winter's prepara- 

 tory work and such experiments as had been carried on through the 

 winter, or for even longer, would have resulted not only in loss of 

 money expended, but also in the loss of the valuable experiments 

 themselves. 



After careful consideration the Commission decided to carry on 

 the work under somewhat restricted conditions. Employees were 

 notified that funds were exhausted, that it would be necessary to 

 reduce the force to the smallest possible number and that even those 

 retained would continue largely at their own risk as the Commis- 

 sioners would be able to advance from their private fund only a 

 portion of their salary. Under this arrangement the superintendent 

 and one man was retained throughout the season as absolutely nec- 

 essary and during the height of the season another assistant was 

 employed for a time. No egg lobsters were thereafter received, 

 excepting such as were voluntarily furnished to the Commission by 

 the fishermen themselves who assumed all risk of payment therefor. 

 These, with the lobsters that were carried through the winter and 

 such as were purchased prior to the veto of the appropriation fur- 

 nished the eggs for the obviously restricted use of the hatchery. 



A detailed account of the year's work of the Commission will be 

 found under the different headings* in the main body of the report, 

 and has followed the usual lines, subject to the restrictions mentioned 

 above. As a very brief summary of the work it may be said 

 that: 



*A table of contents will be found in the front of this report which will greatly facilitate the 

 finding of special topics. 



