1174 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [36] 



their membership. Let me quote a few words from "Fairplay," a Lon- 

 don journal of considerable prominence. After discussing the make-up 

 of our Fish Commission somewhat at length, the editor, speaking of the 

 head of one of the divisions, continues : '• Such is the man our practical 

 cousins across the Atlantic have put on a public commission, his sole 

 recommendation being that he is thoroughly fitted for the post. In 

 England we should have given the post to a Government clerk, or ex- 

 private secretary who had established a claim upon some minister, a 

 troublesome M. P., or perhaps a " younger son." Whether all or either 

 of these had the remotest knowledge of fishery matters would be prob- 

 ably the last consideration that would have been considered a recom- 

 meudation for the post." ("Fairplay," October 5, 1883, p. 490.) 



The usefulness of the Commission depends in great measure upon the 

 rapid dissemination of knowledge concerning fish, fisheries, and fish 

 culture, through its reports aud bulletins. Delay would undoubtedly 

 result from subordination to an executive department, and supervision 

 by a purely executive head would cramp the movements and dampen 

 the enthusiasm of the contributors to these serials, and reduce them to 

 the uninteresting level of the ordinary executive report, such, for in- 

 stance, as that of the Canadian Fishery Commission, which consists 

 chiefly of financial statements and files of official correspondence.* 



The methods of a scientific commission cannot be replaced by those 



"Although the publicatious of tho Fish Commission are undoubtedly highly appre 

 ciated, it seems to me doubtful Avhether their importance to science aud to technology 

 is thoroughly understood. I would advise those interested to examine carefully the 

 classified list of Fish Commission papers recently pultlished by Mr. Smiley in the Bul- 

 letiu of the Fish Commission, for lSi'3, pp. 1-84. From this list it appears that as a 

 result of ten years' work 9G8 separate contributions have been printed. 



Having quoted the opinions of European authorities upon the other branches of the 

 Fish Commission work, I cannot refrain from repeating here what has been said aboufi 

 one of its recent publications by "Nature," the leading scientific weekly of England. 

 "United States Commissiox of Fish and Fisheries. 



"Part vii. Rejiort of the Commissioner for 1879. 



"The contents of the present volume, embracing details of the work done by the 

 United States Fishery Commissioner for the year 1879, are quite as varied and oven of 

 greater interest, if that be possible, than the preceding reports. The specific objects 

 of the methodical inquiry which has now been going on for over twelve years has 

 for its object to report progress in regard to the i)ropagatiou of food-fishes in the 

 waters of the United States, as also to afibrd information as to the decrease in stock 

 of food-fishes. As has been already stated in the columns of Nature, in which pre- 

 vious reports have been reviewed, the inquiry which lias been so long in progress is 

 being conducted in a thorough and searching way ; it embraces the consideration of 

 every topic calculated to throw light on the economy of the American fisheries. 

 Nothing that can be deemed illustrative is neglected — the literature devoted to the 

 natural history of food-fishes, or to descriptions of the fisheries of other countries, 

 especially those of Europe, has been largely utilized in preparing the reports, with 

 the result of making the volumes which have been issued a perfect encyclopaedia of 

 fishery information. Among the distinctive articles contributed to the present vol- 

 ume are some of rare importance ; we may refer to that by Professor Farlow on 'The 

 Marine Algai of New England,' which is both interesting aud exhaustive; it extends 

 io 210 pages of the volume now before ns, aud is illustrated by a series of well- 



