REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 97 



observations by Mr. Edwards on the spawning conditions of the living 

 fish. Inquiries were also made relative to the spawning of other spe- 

 cies, to the age or size at which the menhaden, mackerel, and scup first 

 begin to spawn, and to the anatomy of the adult menhaden, of which 

 a number of drawings were made. 



The fishes whose food was studied were the mackerel, cod, haddock, 

 hake, scup, sea bass, weakfish, bluefish, and tilefish. Over 1,000 

 stomachs of the common mackerel (Scomber scombrus), besides a small 

 number of the chub mackerel (Scomber colias), were examined. The 

 majority were taken in the neighborhood of Woods Hole the latter 

 part of June and during July and August, when the food was found 

 to consist almost exclusively of surface amphipods, copepods, squids, 

 and sand eels (Ammodytes), one or other of these forms or groups pre- 

 ponderating according to locality or time. The stomachs of over 200 

 individuals brought by the schooner Grampus from the coast of Nova 

 Scotia, where they had been captured during the spawning season, 

 furnished interesting results in respect to their habits at such times, 

 as their contents consisted chiefly of bottom living animals, many of 

 which were also discovered in the stomachs of cod and haddock taken 

 in the same localities. Although copepods and appendicularia were 

 abundant at the surface at the same time, as proved by the results of 

 surface towings, these forms were detected in only two of the stomachs. 



Mr. H. F. Moore and Mr. Hardin assisted in the study of the mack- 

 erel, but they remained at the station only a short time, being ordered 

 to other parts of the coast on Fish Commission work. 



Professor Herrick continued his researches on the natural history of 

 the lobster, a work begun in 1889, in preparation for the writing of a 

 complete monograph of the species, to include a discussion of all sub- 

 jects relative to its structural features, life-history, habits, etc., which 

 are important for consideration in connection with its protection and 

 increase by legislative action and by propagation. The drawings for 

 the report, which are being prepared by Professor Herrick himself, 

 are not only noteworthy for their accurate representation of structural 

 details, but they also exhibit a degree of finish and beauty of execu- 

 tion that will make them a popular object lesson in natural-history 

 illustration. 



During this season Professor Herrick also visited the principal lob- 

 ster-fishing centers along the coast of Maine and Massachusetts for the 

 purpose of extending the scope of his observations and of obtaining 

 materials for study from additional localities. With the assistance of 

 Mr. V. N. Edwards, inquiries were also continued at Woods Hole during 

 the winter of 1893-94 and the following spring to determine the entire 

 range of the breeding period of the lobster — that is to say, the time 

 during which the extrusion of the eggs takes place — as well as other 

 important questions respecting its winter habits. A number of lobster 

 traps were kept set continuously, their contents being removed every 

 p. r. 94 7 



