REPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. LV 



with the proposed sea-fish hatching station at Wood's Holl. The facil- 

 ities there will be excellent for the purpose, and it is hoped that the 

 experiment may be made at the earliest possible moment. 



The following report of results, made by Mr. A. Wilson Armistead to 

 Mr. C. L. Jackson, of Bolton, England, will probably be of interest : 



It is with sorrow that I have now to inform you of the sad ending of nearly all the 

 fish. However, I do not think it is by any means a lost journey for the Americans. 

 From what I have seen, I feel satisfied the thing can be done. Inclosed you will find 

 an account I have kept, showing changes of temperature, losses, &c., which speaks 

 for itself. You will notice the fish began to die very soon after leaving Liverpool, 

 and when I examined them the first thing noticeable was their sickly appearance, 

 and when examined more closely I could trace scars or bruises which were not ob- 

 served at the Southport Aquarium. 



I am now confident that the fishes must have been injured in their journey down to 

 the landing stage from Liverpool Station, as the jolting about, owing to the bad road, 

 was very severe, and in any future attempt that may be made, I am quite sure that 

 this short part of the journey must be made in some other way. When the largest 

 tank was filled with sea-water, after the cax'penter had fixed the cross-pieces, all 

 seemed right until the following day, when the sun's rays falling upon the surface of 

 the water revealed what appeared to be small splinters, very minute, floating about, 

 which had to be got rid of, as they might be bad for the fish by getting lodged in their 

 gills; but I could not discover that any fish had been choked, with but one doubtful 

 exception. This was a large turbot, and appeared as though it had been choked, but 

 I could not find anything in the gills or about the throat to satisfy me. 



As to the voyage itself, we had both rough and fine weather. The hole in the largest 

 tank is rather too wide. The water overflowed several times while we had rough 

 weather, and we could only keep it filled up to the cross-pieces. I do not think the 

 fish suffered much by the rolling about of the steamer, unless it be the fish have press- 

 ure put upon them when the steamer is heaving upward. I have thought about this 

 a great deal, and have come to the conclusion that the fish do experience a slight press- 

 ure, not so great as to injure them, but which, if long continued, might make them 

 sickly. The water was changed every morning, except when the temperature of the 

 sea rose considerably when passing the Gulf Stream currents. You will see that on 

 Monday morning, October 24, when the water in the tanks stood at 51°, in the sea it 

 was 61°, and at 2 p. m. same day it had risen as high as 68°, so I considered it wisest 

 to keep the water I had. 



Wood, I fear, is not good for fish to lie upon. I would recommend that the tank be 

 either charred all over inside, or a coating of Portland cement, with about two or three 

 l^arts sand, which, when well set, to be thoroughly seasoned by jilaciug it in the sea 

 for, say, two or three months ; a very thin coating would do. As to procuring the fish, 

 in the first instance, I believe a good deal hinges upon this for making the thing a 

 success. If caught in a trawl-net, I believe that the net should be hauled up at short 

 intervals; this, I expect, would necessitate a trawl-boat to fish expressly for live soles 

 or turbot, and would be more costly, but decidedly more satisfactory. Indeed, I 

 should not like myself to make another venture across the Atlantic unless I could be 

 sure that the fishermen intrusted with the catching of the fish could be relied upon. 

 The best way would be to see them caught oue's self. 



I do wish I had been in a position to give you a more satisfactory result. Under 

 the circumstances, all that could be has been done. Captain McKay, John Atkins, 

 chief ofiicei', and Mr. Field, the purser, all connected with the steamer, have been 

 very good to me. I am sure they are sorry for the poor result and would like to have 

 seen the experiment successful. I liked Captain McKay very much, and so did all 

 the passengers; and if ever another attempt is made with living fishes, whoever goes 

 out with them I trust may have the same captain. 



Steamer Parthia, October 26, 1881. 



