﻿LXXVIII 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMTSSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  The 
  Commission 
  is 
  in 
  receipt 
  of 
  many 
  requests 
  for 
  eels, 
  but 
  it 
  has 
  not 
  

   been 
  feasible 
  to 
  attempt 
  their 
  propagation 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  distribu- 
  

   tion. 
  Eels 
  are 
  found 
  so 
  generally 
  throughout 
  the 
  country 
  that 
  persons 
  

   wishing 
  to 
  cultivate 
  them 
  can 
  quite 
  readily 
  obtain 
  them 
  without 
  the 
  

   assistance 
  of 
  the 
  General 
  Government. 
  

  

  a. 
  The 
  Codfish 
  (Gadus 
  morrliua). 
  

  

  The 
  Wood's 
  Holl 
  Station. 
  — 
  Preparations 
  were 
  made 
  on 
  an 
  extensive 
  

   scale 
  for 
  hatching 
  the 
  eggs 
  of 
  the 
  codfish 
  at 
  this 
  station, 
  and 
  during 
  

   the 
  winter 
  considerable 
  valuable 
  work 
  was 
  done. 
  Early 
  in 
  December 
  

   Col. 
  M. 
  McDonald 
  and 
  Prof. 
  John 
  A. 
  Eyder 
  visited 
  the 
  station 
  to 
  ob- 
  

   serve 
  the 
  operations 
  in 
  cod 
  hatching, 
  which 
  were 
  carried 
  on 
  under 
  the 
  

   direction 
  of 
  Capt. 
  H. 
  C. 
  Chester. 
  The 
  first 
  eggs, 
  G,000,000 
  in 
  number, 
  

   were 
  taken 
  on 
  December 
  2. 
  Many 
  million 
  eggs 
  were 
  taken 
  during 
  the 
  

   season 
  from 
  comparatively 
  few 
  fish, 
  and 
  were 
  hatched 
  with 
  a 
  rela- 
  

   tively 
  low 
  percentage 
  of 
  loss. 
  In 
  one 
  case, 
  with 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  the 
  Chester 
  

   apparatus, 
  fully 
  90 
  per 
  cent 
  were 
  hatched. 
  The 
  filtering 
  of 
  the 
  water 
  

   through 
  cotton 
  in 
  the 
  McDonald 
  jars 
  was 
  found 
  to 
  be 
  an 
  improvement, 
  

   and 
  cones 
  with 
  Captain 
  Tanner's 
  attachment 
  were 
  also 
  used. 
  In 
  some 
  

   instances 
  the 
  density 
  of 
  the 
  water 
  seemed 
  to 
  be 
  too 
  little, 
  causing 
  a 
  

   considerable 
  loss 
  of 
  the 
  eggs. 
  Several 
  millions 
  of 
  fry 
  were 
  planted 
  

   near 
  the 
  station 
  ; 
  while 
  early 
  in 
  1886 
  about 
  500,000 
  fry 
  were 
  sent 
  to 
  

   Washington, 
  thence 
  to 
  Pensacola, 
  from 
  which 
  point 
  they 
  were 
  carried 
  

   by 
  a 
  revenue-cutter 
  some 
  25 
  miles 
  out 
  in 
  the 
  Gulf 
  of 
  Mexico 
  and 
  there 
  

   safely 
  deposited 
  with 
  a 
  loss 
  of 
  only 
  about 
  10 
  per 
  cent. 
  

  

  h. 
  The 
  "White 
  Perch 
  (Roccus 
  amcricanus). 
  

  

  The 
  Battery 
  Station. 
  — 
  Several 
  large 
  ripe 
  perch 
  were 
  taken 
  in 
  the 
  seine 
  

   while 
  hauling 
  it 
  for 
  shad, 
  and 
  their 
  eggs 
  were 
  impregnated 
  and 
  de- 
  

   veloped 
  in 
  a 
  Chase 
  jar. 
  During 
  the 
  season 
  1,250,000 
  perch 
  eggs 
  were 
  

   thus 
  obtained, 
  and 
  1,000,000 
  fry 
  were 
  hatched 
  and 
  planted. 
  

  

  c. 
  The 
  Whitefish 
  (Coregonus 
  clupeiformis). 
  

  

  The 
  Northville 
  Station. 
  — 
  The 
  work 
  at 
  this 
  station, 
  which 
  remained 
  

   under 
  the 
  supervision 
  of 
  Mr, 
  Frank 
  1ST. 
  Clark, 
  was 
  carried 
  on 
  by 
  much 
  

   the 
  same 
  methods 
  as 
  formerly 
  in 
  use 
  and 
  shows 
  a 
  satisfactory 
  increase 
  

   in 
  results 
  over 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  previous 
  year. 
  During 
  November 
  and 
  

   December, 
  1885, 
  more 
  than 
  100,000,000 
  eggs 
  were 
  received 
  at 
  this 
  sta- 
  

   tion, 
  mostly 
  from 
  the 
  island 
  region 
  of 
  Western 
  Lake 
  Erie 
  and 
  from 
  fish 
  

   penned 
  at 
  Monroe, 
  Mich. 
  The 
  first 
  eggs 
  came 
  froui 
  the 
  spawning 
  beds 
  

   of 
  Lake 
  Erie 
  on 
  November 
  11, 
  and 
  the 
  last 
  on 
  December 
  7. 
  For 
  hatch- 
  

   ing, 
  the 
  eggs 
  were 
  carried 
  forward 
  in 
  creek 
  water, 
  which 
  is 
  several 
  

   degrees 
  colder 
  than 
  spring 
  water, 
  until 
  about 
  six 
  weeks 
  before 
  the 
  time 
  

   of 
  hatching 
  out. 
  Then 
  different 
  lots 
  of 
  eggs 
  were 
  transferred 
  at 
  in- 
  

   tervals 
  to 
  spring 
  water, 
  thus 
  causing 
  them 
  to 
  hatch 
  at 
  slightly 
  different 
  

   times 
  and 
  preventing 
  an 
  overtaxing 
  of 
  the 
  facilities 
  for 
  handling 
  and 
  

   shipping. 
  The 
  hatching 
  began 
  on 
  March 
  7 
  and 
  ended 
  on 
  April 
  20, 
  the 
  

  

  