76 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 
‘the vessel immediately returned to Seattle and, after some refitting, 
resumed the investigation of the halibut banks off Washington and 
Oregon which had been in progress during the preceding year. This 
work was completed for the season on September 9, when the ship 
was sent to Sausalito and there laid up for the balance of the year, 
as lack of funds prevented any further activities. From the incep- 
tion of the halibut investigation in April, 1914, till the arrival at 
Sausalito, September 16, the vessel steamed 11,005 miles. 
The auxiliary schooner Grampus continued during the summer of 
1914 the oceanographic investigations in the Gulf of Maine and as 
far south as Nantucket. During the fall and winter the schooner was 
laid up, and the crew were employed to assist in the fish-cultural 
work of the Gloucester station. On May 4, 1915, the offshore work of 
the preceding year was resumed and was in progress on June 30. 
The Fish Hawk was employed in surveying offshore fishing 
grounds in connection with the Beaufort laboratory in the summer of 
1914, and in December was sent to the west coast of Florida for use 
in the oyster-grounds survey authorized by Congress. This work was 
duly completed, and on May 18 the vessel arrived at Norfolk, Va., 
where, after overhauling and refitting, preparations for further serv- 
ice on the North Carolina coast were made. During the year the 
vessel steamed about 5,000 miles. 
The Osprey was engaged in the usual patrol work in southwestern 
Alaska, and was utilized by the Deputy Commissioner during his 
inspection trip to that region in the summer of 1914. 
The Phalarope was attached to the Woods Hole station during 
most of the year, and was utilized in connection with both the fish- 
cultural and biological work. In the spring of 1915 the vessel was 
detailed, as heretofore, to assist in the shad hatching on the Potomac 
River. 
The Curlew was engaged in the rescuing of fishes from the over- 
flow waters of the Mississippi River and in the propagation of pearl 
mussels. 
VESSEL FOR ALASKA SERVICE. 
The well-known arctic-exploration steamer Roosevelt has been pur- 
chased in New York for the Alaska service, and has undergone a 
general overhauling, including the substitution of oil-burning for 
coal-burning machinery. The vessel started for the Pacific coast on 
July 19, after a trial trip; but on the run from New York to Norfolk, 
where a cargo of coal for the Pribilof Islands was to be taken aboard, 
certain unforeseen defects in machinery developed, and it was neces- 
sary to send the vessel to the Norfolk Navy Yard for a thorough 
inspection and special repairs, which have delayed the departure for 
the Pacific coast. 
NEW VESSEL FOR THE MAINE COAST. 
A special appropriation of $45,000, for a vessel for the Boothbay 
Harbor station, was made immediately available in the sundry civil 
appropriation act approved March 4, 1915. It was thought at first 
that it would be possible to purchase a suitable craft in first-class 
