640 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



All the preparations having been completed, the railroad companies 

 en route having been informed of the expedition, and all the parties in 

 charge of fish having been notified by telegraph when to rendezvous at 

 Albany, the expedition started on the 12th of June. 



Mr. Mason left Eed Bank, X. J., with the striped bass and eels at 

 noon. Mr. Finnigan left Charlestown, IS. H., with the black bass at 2 p. 

 m. Tbe writer left Boston, Mass., with lobsters, at 6 p. m., and Mr. 

 Marks left Troy, N. Y., with the eels in season to meet the others at 

 midnight at Albany. After leaving Albany the expedition consisted of 

 Mr. H. W. Mason, of Xewton, Mass., Mr. James Finnigan, of Charles- 

 town, K. H., and myself. 



On the way from Boston to Springfield with the lobsters I was very 

 materially assisted by Mr. Marshall L. Perrin, of Cambridge, Mass., who 

 voluntarily accompanied me as far as Springfield, and worked with great 

 diligence over the lobsters, which required special attention owing to 

 the fact that 40,000 young lobsters had hatched out in one of the tanks 

 on the way to the Boston and Albany depot in Boston. 



Tbe start from Albany was very favorable. The tanks, though very 

 heavy, were loaded on the train all right, the fish were in excellent or- 

 der, the railroad men were courteous and everything was propitious. 



I had, however, no hope of getting all four varieties offish to Califor- 

 nia alive. It is obvious to any one that it must be almost impossible to 

 keep fish alive for seven days and nights crowded together in small 

 tanks. Even with the best of care and luck the task is made doubly 

 hazardous on account of the thousand chances of accidental injury which 

 may befall them during a week's journey in the cars. The difficulty be- 

 comes more apparent when it is remembered that the aeration of the 

 water must be incessant from the time the fish leave one ocean till they 

 reach the other. If the aeration is forgotten or neglected, though only 

 for a moment or two beyond the limit of safety, the fish are certain to 

 die. With all these contingencies in my mind, I think no one will be 

 surprised that I did not expect to get all the kinds of fish through alive. 

 I thought there was a fair chance of getting two varieties, a very small 

 chance of accomplishing the journey with three varieties, and not one 

 chance in a hundred of getting all four kinds safely over. 



The start from Albany was nevertheless propitious and encouraging. 

 We had with us three tanks of lobsters, three tanks of striped bass, two 

 tanks of black bass, and two tanks of eels. The lobster tanks contained 

 22 female lobsters with over a million eggs nearly ready to hatch out. 

 The striped -bass tanks contained 132 small bass, 3 or 4 inches long, and 

 30 larger bass, about 6 or 8 inches long. The eel tanks had between 

 3,000 and 4,000 eels in them. The black bass tanks contained 22 large 

 bass. Tne tanks were heavy and difficult to lift, weighing about 300 

 pounds apiece. 



Besides the tanks containing fish, there were two large freezing tanks, 

 in which were kept the reserve of ocean water and a constantly renewed 



