60 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [8] 
g 
Jand with reference to laws for the protection of the deteriorating fish- 
eries of thatregion. The first work of Professor Baird, as Commissioner, 
was to investigate the causes of this deterioration, and the report of that 
year’s work includes much statistical material. In the same year a 
zoological and statistical survey of the great lakes was accomplished, 
and various circulars were sent out in contemplation of the preparation 
of monographic reports upon the special branches of the fisheries, some 
of which have already been published. 
In 1877, the Commissioner and his staff were summoned to Halifax to 
Serve as witnesses and experts before the Halifax Fishery Commission, 
then charged with the settlement of the amount of compensation to be 
paid by the United States for the privilege of participating in the fish- 
eries of the Provinces. The information at that time available concern- 
ing the fisheries was found to be so slight and imperfect that a plan for 
systematic investigation of the subject was arranged and partially un- 
dertaken. The work was carried on for two seasons with some financial 
aid from the Department of State. In 1879 an arrangement was made 
with the Superintendent of the Tenth Census, who agreed to bear a part 
of the expense of carrying out the scheme in full. Some thirty trained 
experts are now engaged in the preparation of a statistical report on 
the present state and the past history of the fisheries of the United 
States. This will be finished next year, but the subject will hereafter 
be continued in monographs upon separate branches of the fisheries, such 
as the halibut fishery, the mackerel fishery, the shad fishery, the cod 
fishery, the herring fishery, the smelt fishery, and various others of less 
importance. 
Hundreds, and even thousands, of specimens of, a single species are’ 
often obtained. After those for the National Museum have been se- 
lected, a great number of duplicates remain. These are identified, 
labeled, and made into sets for exchange with other museums, and for 
distribution to schools and small museums. This is in accordance with 
the time-honored usage of the Smithsonian Institution, and is regarded 
as an important branch of the work. Several specialists are employed 
solely in making up these sets, and in gathering material required for 
their completion. Within three years fifty sets of fishes in alcohol, in- 
cluding at least ten thousand specimens, have been sent out, and fifty 
sets of invertebrates, embracing one hundred and seventy-five species 
and two hundred and fifty thousand specimens. One hundred smaller 
sets of representative forms intended for educational purposes, to be 
given to schools and academies, are now being prepared. 
The arrangement of the invertebrate duplicates is in the charge of 
Mr. Richard Rathbun ; of the fishes, in that of Dr. T. H. Bean. 
Facilities have also been given to many institutions for making col- 
lections on their own behalf. 
Six annual reports have,been published, with an aggregate of 5,650 
pages. These cover the period from 1871 to.1878. Many papers relat- 
