﻿LVI 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  Contemporaneously 
  with 
  the 
  efforts 
  which 
  were 
  being 
  made 
  in 
  our 
  

   behalf 
  by 
  the 
  National 
  Fish 
  Culture 
  Association 
  of 
  England, 
  Mr. 
  E. 
  G. 
  

   Blackford 
  was 
  conducting 
  negotiations 
  with 
  Mr. 
  Thomas 
  J. 
  Moore, 
  

   curator 
  of 
  the 
  Liverpool 
  Museum, 
  for 
  obtaining 
  soles. 
  The 
  methods 
  

   adopted 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Moore 
  forgetting 
  fish 
  across 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  proved 
  suc- 
  

   cessful, 
  as 
  nine 
  out 
  of 
  twelve 
  sent 
  in 
  October, 
  with 
  no 
  special 
  attendant, 
  

   reached 
  New 
  York 
  alive, 
  thus 
  apparently 
  solving 
  the 
  question 
  of 
  method 
  

   by 
  which 
  importations 
  can 
  be 
  successfully 
  made. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  latter 
  part 
  of 
  October 
  a 
  renewal 
  of 
  the 
  efforts 
  of 
  Mr. 
  W. 
  Old- 
  

   ham 
  Chambers 
  in 
  behalf 
  of 
  the 
  National 
  Fish 
  Culture 
  Association 
  re- 
  

   sulted 
  disastrously, 
  as 
  has 
  already 
  been 
  described 
  under 
  the 
  head 
  of 
  

   courtesies 
  received 
  from 
  foreign 
  countries. 
  

  

  Notwithstanding 
  the 
  numerous 
  disappointments 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  year, 
  

   there 
  is 
  good 
  reason 
  to 
  believe 
  that 
  in 
  another 
  summer 
  enough 
  flatfish 
  

   may 
  be 
  accumulated 
  at 
  Wood's 
  Holl 
  to 
  forma 
  nucleus 
  for 
  propagation. 
  

   It 
  is 
  believed 
  that 
  the 
  facilities 
  ac 
  Wood's 
  Holl 
  are 
  adapted 
  to 
  this 
  work. 
  

  

  lieferriug 
  to 
  the 
  recent 
  efforts 
  to 
  introduce 
  the 
  sole, 
  Mr. 
  William 
  

   Stowe, 
  the 
  president 
  of 
  the 
  Gloucester 
  Net 
  and 
  Twine 
  Company, 
  of 
  

   Boston, 
  says 
  : 
  " 
  I 
  regard 
  it 
  as 
  being 
  worth 
  to 
  us 
  as 
  a 
  nation 
  all 
  the 
  money 
  

   the 
  Government 
  has 
  spent 
  on 
  it. 
  In 
  England 
  I 
  had 
  sole 
  for 
  every 
  

   breakfast. 
  It 
  is 
  the 
  best 
  tasted 
  fish 
  that 
  swims." 
  

  

  18 
  — 
  SPONGES 
  FOR 
  AUSTRALIA. 
  

  

  A 
  communication 
  was 
  received 
  from 
  Dr. 
  E. 
  von 
  Lindenfeld, 
  of 
  Syd- 
  

   ney, 
  Australia, 
  dated 
  June 
  1, 
  1885, 
  through 
  Professor 
  Hyatt, 
  of 
  the 
  

   Society 
  of 
  Natural 
  History, 
  Boston, 
  asking 
  the 
  services 
  of 
  the 
  U. 
  S. 
  

   Fish 
  Commission 
  in 
  sending 
  a 
  supply 
  of 
  live 
  bathing 
  sponges 
  for 
  in- 
  

   troduction 
  into 
  the 
  bay 
  of 
  Port 
  Jackson, 
  and 
  offering 
  the 
  sum 
  of 
  £25 
  

   sterling 
  to 
  meet 
  the 
  necessary 
  expenses. 
  

  

  On 
  a 
  careful 
  consideration 
  of 
  the 
  circumstances 
  it 
  was 
  thought 
  that 
  

   while 
  the 
  project 
  was 
  perhaps 
  not 
  impracticable, 
  yet 
  it 
  would 
  be 
  im- 
  

   possible 
  to 
  do 
  anything 
  with 
  the 
  amount 
  named. 
  These 
  sponges 
  could 
  

   only 
  be 
  obtained 
  conveniently 
  at 
  Key 
  West 
  or 
  Bermuda; 
  and 
  there 
  be- 
  

   ing 
  no 
  steamers 
  going 
  direct 
  from 
  those 
  points 
  to 
  Sydney, 
  it 
  would 
  be 
  

   necessary 
  to 
  send 
  them 
  to 
  England, 
  or 
  else 
  intersect 
  a 
  steamer 
  at 
  Saint 
  

   Thomas 
  or 
  other 
  point 
  of 
  contact 
  of 
  vessels 
  bound 
  from 
  Great 
  Britain 
  

   to 
  Australia. 
  To 
  make 
  a 
  successful 
  experiment 
  it 
  would 
  be 
  necessary 
  

   to 
  provide 
  special 
  apparatus 
  for 
  furnishing 
  a 
  constant 
  supply 
  of 
  pure 
  

   salt 
  water 
  to 
  the 
  sponges, 
  involving 
  preparations 
  which 
  would 
  be 
  diffi- 
  

   cult 
  to 
  secure 
  from 
  the 
  steamers. 
  Indeed, 
  we 
  do 
  not 
  yet 
  know 
  how 
  far 
  

   it 
  would 
  be 
  possible 
  to 
  keep 
  the 
  sponges 
  alive, 
  experiments 
  being 
  lack- 
  

   ing 
  on 
  this 
  head. 
  Should 
  the 
  opportunity 
  present 
  itself 
  some 
  aquarium 
  

   experiments 
  will 
  be 
  made 
  to 
  see 
  in 
  what 
  way 
  this 
  work 
  can 
  be 
  best 
  agr 
  

   compUshed 
  under 
  the 
  proper 
  conditions. 
  

  

  