COD-FISHERIES OF CAPE ANN. 719 



The buildiug occupied by tlie Commission during the summer as a 

 scientific station was considered suitable, and was retained for the work. 

 It is situated at a prominent point, on the southwest side of the harbor, 

 on a substantial wharf, with 4 to 6 feet of water at mean low tide. The 

 outer end of the building was set off as a hatching-room, the remainder 

 of the lower jiart being used as a store-house, while the upper part an- 

 swered the purpose of an office and laboratory. 



A 4-inch pipe was laid from the hatching-room to a point in the har- 

 bor at the end of the wharf, and sunk below low- water mark. The 

 outer end of this pipe was fastened to the piling of the wharf, and in- 

 cased in a box with wire-cloth openings to keep out the animal hfe of 

 the harbor. The inner end communicated with two 300-galIon tanks, 

 placed in an elevated position in the center of the room, to be used as 

 reservoirs for the salt water. These reservoirs were tapped from be- 

 neath by smaller pipes that extended along the. walls of the building, 

 at a height of 4 or 5 feet, with faucets at short intervals, from which 

 the water was supplied to the eggs by means of rubber tubing. In one 

 end of the room was an 8-horse-power steam-engine, for working the 

 I)ump that brought the water from the harbor to the reservou's in a con- 

 stant stream, the quantity being regulated by the outflow. 



It was of course unknown what hatching-ai)paratus could be success- 

 fully used, as no eggs of the cod had ever been artificially hatched j and 

 indeed it was not then quite clear to the minds of those in charge to 

 which of the three classes, sinking, floating, or adhesive, the eggs of 

 the cod belonged. Cones similar to those used in shad-hatching (figured 

 in the Eeport of the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries for lS73-'74 and 

 1874-'75, p. 376) were selected as likely to give the best results, put up 

 along the sides of the hatching-room, and connected with the faucets 

 by the rubber tubing. 



The above constituted the original apparatus of the hatchery, and 

 when it had been properly arranged Mr. Milner turned his attention to 

 the methods for securing the supply of fish and eggs. For this purpose 

 he selected a 5-ton schooner and a 14-foot open market-boat for visiting 

 the fishing-grounds, and, in addition, a small well boat in which the fish 

 could be brought alive to the hatchery. A little later it was found 

 desu^able to build large live-boxes for confining the green fish until they 

 should ripen. 



These live-boxes were 12 to 14 feet long, 6 feet deep, and 5 feet wide, 

 made of pine lumber, with 2-kich spaces between the narrow boards, to 

 admit a fresh supply of water to the fish. When finished they were 

 anchored hi the harbor beside the wharf, where they remained through- 

 out the season. 



3. — MANNER OF PROCURING EGGS. 



The supx^ly of eggs was obtained in several different ways during the 

 winter. 



