6 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 
The meeting was presided over by the Commissioner of Fisheries; 
an address on ‘‘ Personal Reminiscences”’ was delivered by Dr. William 
H. Dall, author of a notable life of Prof. Baird; Prof. Edwin Linton, a 
special investigator for the Bureau under Prof. Baird and subsequent 
commissioners, spoke on ‘‘The Man of Science and the Public: An Ap- 
preciation of Spencer Fullerton Baird,” and presented the memorial 
tablet to the Department of Commerce on behalf of the donors; Vinal 
N. Edwards, the senior employee of the Bureau, who had been asso- 
ciated with Prof. Baird at Woods Hole since the very inception of the 
service, unveiled the tablet; and Hon. Edwin F. Sweet, Assistant Secre- 
tary of Commerce, in an able address, accepted the tablet on behalf 
of the Department. The tablet was subsequently set in a conspicuous 
place in the wall of the building of the Bureau of Fisheries. 
The Bureau long ago passed the critical period of its existence 
and became one of the great Federal instrumentalities for public good. 
During the last year its already highly varied functions, to which 
Congress has added from time to time, have been extended; new 
achievements of permanent importance in behalf of the fisheries, fisher- 
men, and fish consumers are to be recorded; increased appreciation 
by the general public of the value of the work is to be noted; and 
plans for still further usefulness have been perfected. 
The executive staff at headquarters at the beginning of the fiscal 
year consisted of H. F. Moore, Deputy Commissioner; Irving H. 
Dunlap, assistant in charge of Miiges Habart S. Johnson, assistant in 
charge of fish culture; Robert E. Coker, assistant in charge of inquiry 
respecting food fishes and the fishing grounds; Alvin B. Alexander, 
assistant in charge of statistics and methods of the fisheries; and 
Ward T. Bower, chief agent of the Alaska service. The Bureau 
suffered a severe loss by the death, on March 17, 1916, of Mr. Johnson, 
who had been chief of the fish-cultural work since 1909 and an efficient 
and loyal employee in that branch of the service since 1881. He was 
succeeded by Henry O’Malley, who has been an employee in the 
division of fish cu” ure since 1897 and field superintendent in charge of 
Pacific-coast operations since 1913. No other change among the 
administrative staff occurred during the year. To the foregoing 
officers, to superintendents and directors of stations and laboratories, 
to the captains of vessels, and cars, to the agents in charge of remote 
seal islands, and to the great body of subordinates of all capacities on 
land and sea through whom the real work of the Bureau is accom- 
plished the Commissioner desires to express thanks and commenda- 
tion for arduous duties faithfully performed, which made the fiscal 
year 1916 the most noteworthy in the history of the Federal fishery 
service. 
THE PROPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES. 
GENERAL EXTENT AND IMPORTANCE. 
Continued progress has been made in fish culture, and the fiscal year 
1916 was in general the most successful in the Bureau’s history. The 
distribution of fish and fish eggs shows an increase of 558,504,762 over 
the preceding year and reached the enormous total of 4,847,262,566. 
Large increases over the previous year were effected in the propagation 
of some species, while wiih others less success was attained. What is 
