[3] PROPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF SHAD. 655 
wind storm, accompanied by heavy rain, broke the barges away from 
their moorings and cast them ashore, causing a loss of between 800,000 
and 900,000 fish and eggs, or rather the involuntary deposit in the Sus- 
quehanna River of that number. Suflicient, however, were saved to 
make a good car-load, with a few additional fish which were sent from 
the Washington Station. Nearly a million shad were taken on this trip 
to Maine and divided between the Penobscot and Kennebec Rivers. 
The Commission is again indebted to the Philadelphia, Wilmington and 
Baltimore Railroad Company for the car in which this shipment was 
made and for the arrangements with the other companies for the move- 
ment of the car by fast passenger trains to Bangor. Mr. Stillwell, one 
of the State Commissioners of Maine, met the car at this point and 
selected the places of deposit. 
During the month of May, Mr. J. P. Creveling, of the Pennsylvania 
Commission, by direction of the Commissioners, procured from this sta- 
tion nearly half a million of young shad, which were deposited in the 
upper waters of the Susquehanna River. 
At the close of the season, half of the equipment was transferred to 
Baltimore to be remodeled, and from thence taken to Tangier Sound to 
be used in the experiments in the artificial propagation of the oyster in- 
augurated by Major Ferguson, Commissioner of Fisheries of Maryland, 
the barges finally to be transferred to Washington for future service on 
the Potomac River. The rest of the equipment—that is, one machin- 
ery barge, and one barge occupied as quarters—was left at Havre de 
Grace, to be used again the succeeding year. 
The disposition of the fish produced is shown in the tables appended, 
the yield of this station being incorporated with the distribution of the 
fish hatched on the Potomac. 
Washington navy-yard station.—In order to determine the feasibility 
of hatching shad by the use of hydrant water, and for the purpose of 
producing them in large numbers at a convenient center of distribution, 
a station was improvised at the Washington navy-yard by permission of 
the Navy Department, and through the courtesy of the commandant of 
the yard. 
At the western end of the ‘“ship-house” a number of cones, arranged 
according to the Ferguson system, were set up, a few at first, afterwards 
more and more, until about forty-six were in place. The number was 
increased as fast as the vessels could.be manufactured, and they were 
kept to their full capacity during most of the season. It was necessary 
that this apparatus should be operated outside of the ship-house in the 
open air, as it was deemed imprudent to have lights within the building, 
and they were a necessity for the proper conduct of the work. 
The water was supplied to this apparatus from a hydrant connection 
near by. The eggs were nightly collected 15 or 20 miles down the river 
and brought up upon the “‘ Lookout,” a small steamer in the service of 
the Maryland Fish Commission, which had been provided with apparatus 
