﻿144 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  in 
  the 
  last 
  annual 
  report, 
  were 
  brought 
  together 
  in 
  a 
  paper* 
  prepared 
  

   from 
  the 
  agents' 
  returns 
  and 
  printed 
  in 
  the 
  Fish 
  Commission 
  Bulletin 
  

   for 
  1895. 
  

  

  The 
  outcome 
  of 
  the 
  past 
  25 
  years' 
  work 
  of 
  the 
  national 
  and 
  State 
  

   fish 
  commissions 
  in 
  increasing 
  the 
  fish 
  supply 
  of 
  the 
  Pacific 
  States 
  

   by 
  the 
  introduction 
  of 
  non-indigenous 
  species 
  was 
  considered 
  in 
  a 
  

   report 
  t 
  by 
  the 
  writer, 
  which 
  is 
  based 
  on 
  original 
  observations 
  by 
  the 
  

   Commission 
  employees, 
  supplemented 
  by 
  valuable 
  data 
  supplied 
  by 
  

   the 
  various 
  State 
  commissions, 
  

  

  Atlanta 
  Exposition. 
  — 
  In 
  July 
  and 
  August 
  the 
  writer, 
  in 
  conjunction 
  

   with 
  Prof. 
  P>. 
  W. 
  Evermann, 
  prepared 
  for 
  the 
  Fish 
  Commission 
  exhibit 
  

   at 
  the 
  Atlanta 
  Exposition 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  articles 
  on 
  the 
  i)rincipal 
  food 
  

   and 
  game 
  fishes 
  of 
  the 
  South 
  Atlantic 
  and 
  Gulf 
  States. 
  For 
  each 
  of 
  

   the 
  principal 
  species 
  a 
  plate 
  was 
  shown, 
  accompanied 
  by 
  brief 
  descrijD- 
  

   tive 
  text 
  relating 
  to 
  distribution, 
  size 
  and 
  weight, 
  natural 
  history, 
  and 
  

   commercial 
  importance, 
  the 
  entire 
  collection 
  being 
  neatly 
  mounted 
  in 
  

   swinging 
  screens. 
  Some 
  general 
  notes 
  on 
  the 
  extent 
  of 
  the 
  fisheries, 
  

   the 
  nature 
  of 
  the 
  aquatic 
  resources, 
  and 
  the 
  methods 
  of 
  the 
  fisheries 
  of 
  

   the 
  regions 
  named, 
  extracted 
  from 
  printed 
  reports 
  of 
  the 
  Commission, 
  

   served 
  as 
  an 
  introduction 
  to 
  the 
  regular 
  series. 
  

  

  Utilization 
  of 
  wealifish 
  sounds. 
  — 
  In 
  March, 
  1896, 
  the 
  office 
  entered 
  

   into 
  corresi^ondence 
  with 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  fishermen 
  relative 
  to 
  the 
  saving 
  

   of 
  the 
  sounds 
  or 
  swim-bladders 
  of 
  weakfish. 
  The 
  initial 
  step 
  in 
  the 
  

   inquiry 
  was 
  a 
  communication 
  from 
  a 
  prominent 
  isinglass 
  manufacturer 
  

   of 
  Massachusetts, 
  who 
  reported 
  that 
  he 
  would 
  purchase 
  large 
  quanti- 
  

   ties 
  of 
  sounds 
  if 
  they 
  could 
  be 
  obtained 
  at 
  a 
  price 
  warranted 
  by 
  the 
  

   market 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  product 
  prepared 
  therefrom. 
  At 
  one 
  time 
  the 
  

   income 
  of 
  the 
  fishermen 
  of 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  coast 
  was 
  considerably 
  increased 
  

   by 
  the 
  sales 
  of 
  weakfish 
  sounds. 
  The 
  dried 
  sounds 
  sometimes 
  brought 
  

   as 
  much 
  as 
  a 
  dollar 
  a 
  pound, 
  but 
  of 
  late 
  the 
  price 
  has 
  been 
  so 
  low 
  

   (about 
  25 
  cents) 
  that 
  the 
  fishermen 
  have, 
  as 
  a 
  rule, 
  ceased 
  to 
  save 
  

   them. 
  Weakfish 
  are 
  taken 
  in 
  large 
  quantities 
  in 
  all 
  the 
  seaboard 
  

   States 
  from 
  Massachusetts 
  to 
  Texas, 
  the 
  catch 
  in 
  New 
  York, 
  New 
  Jer- 
  

   sey, 
  Virginia, 
  and 
  North 
  Carolina 
  being 
  especially 
  important, 
  and 
  

   many 
  thousands 
  of 
  pounds 
  that 
  are 
  now 
  wasted 
  could 
  be 
  easily 
  saved 
  

   if 
  there 
  were 
  any 
  inducement. 
  The 
  letters 
  received 
  from 
  various 
  fish- 
  

   ing 
  centers 
  indicated 
  that 
  the 
  fishermen 
  would 
  be 
  glad 
  to 
  resume 
  the 
  

   practice 
  of 
  utilizing 
  the 
  swim-bladders 
  if 
  the 
  prices 
  rose 
  to 
  50 
  cents 
  or 
  

   more 
  jier 
  pound 
  for 
  dried 
  sounds. 
  

  

  Courtesies 
  extetided 
  and 
  received, 
  — 
  In 
  March, 
  1896, 
  at 
  the 
  request 
  of 
  

   Mr. 
  A. 
  N. 
  Cheney, 
  State 
  fish-culturist, 
  Glens 
  Falls, 
  N. 
  Y., 
  the 
  division 
  

   prepared 
  for 
  the 
  New 
  York 
  Fish 
  Commission 
  a 
  summary 
  of 
  the 
  com- 
  

  

  * 
  Notes 
  on 
  an 
  investigation 
  of 
  the 
  Menhaden 
  Fi&hery 
  in 
  1894, 
  with 
  special 
  refer- 
  

   ence 
  to 
  the 
  ibofl-lishes 
  taken. 
  By 
  Hugli 
  M. 
  Smith. 
  Pp. 
  285-302. 
  

  

  t 
  A 
  Review 
  of 
  the 
  History 
  and 
  Results 
  of 
  the 
  Attempts 
  to 
  acclimatize 
  Fish 
  and 
  

   other 
  Water 
  Animals 
  in 
  the 
  Pacific 
  States. 
  By 
  Hugh 
  M, 
  Smith. 
  Bull. 
  U. 
  S. 
  Fish 
  

   Com. 
  1895, 
  pp. 
  379-472, 
  pi. 
  73-83. 
  

  

  