XX -REPORT OF OPERATIONS ON THE NAVES1NK RIVER, NEW 

 JERSEY, IN 1879, IN COLLECTING LIVING STRIPED BASS FOR 

 TRANSPORTATION TO CALIFORNIA. 



By H. W. Mason. 



Livingston Stone, 



United States Fishery Commissioner : 



Sir : In accordance with your instructions, I went to Bed Bank, New 

 Jersey, on Wednesday, June 4, to procure striped-bass, fry, scallops, and 

 eels, to experiment upon them to find means of keeping them alive, if 

 possible, and, shonld the experiments warrant, to transport to Albany, 

 N. Y., one hundred and fifty, more or less, of the striped bass; two hun- 

 dred eels, and as many scallops as seemed advisable to be transferred 

 to California. 



Before starting for Bed Bank I received several valuable hints from 

 Mr. Eugene Blackford, of Fulton Market, and though he could not give 

 me much encouragement, he showed much interest in the expedition, 

 and gave me the benefit of valuable experience. He said at once that 

 "bass fry" was wholly distinct from striped bass, and consequently 

 saved me much time in studying the habits of the so-called "fry. 1 ' In 

 reply to my inquiry as to the practicability of procuring small striped 

 bass, he warned me of the great difficulty of obtaining them, as the 

 striped bass had not at that time appeared in the river. Scallops he 

 rightly pronounced out of season, but kindly offered to try and get me 

 a few to experiment upon. 



As to the appearance of striped bass in the rivers in the East, Mr. 

 Blackford is sustained, in spite of the contrary opinion of many fisher- 

 men, by the authority of the records kept at Bed Bank. This year the 

 first striped bass taken with hook and line at Bed Bank was caught on 

 the 9th of June, and this seems to be about the time that the bass 

 usually strike in. 



On reaching Bed Bank I found that none of the arrangements which 

 you had directed to be made had been attended to ; the two men — I 

 cannot say fishermen — employed to catch the bass had but a faint con- 

 ception of what was wanted, and had provided themselves with an eel- 

 seine wholly insufficient for my use; and even this thej' dared not haul, 

 although provided with express authority, owing to the State law 

 against seining; the tanks were out of repair, and had been packed 

 away in the freight-house to shrink and fall to pieces. None of the 



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