﻿22 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  [20] 
  

  

  A 
  lookout 
  was 
  kept 
  for 
  mackerel 
  and 
  other 
  schooling 
  fish 
  between 
  

   the 
  Gulf 
  Stream 
  and 
  the 
  Capes, 
  but 
  none 
  except 
  porpoises 
  were 
  seen. 
  

   We 
  passed 
  Cape 
  Henry 
  at 
  G 
  p. 
  m.; 
  Smith's 
  Point, 
  at 
  1.20 
  a. 
  m., 
  April 
  

   (i, 
  Mount 
  Vernon 
  at 
  meridian, 
  and 
  arrived 
  at 
  the 
  navy-yard 
  at 
  1.40 
  

   p. 
  m. 
  

  

  The 
  late 
  cruise 
  of 
  this 
  vessel 
  was 
  made 
  without 
  accident 
  or 
  loss, 
  ex- 
  

   cept 
  a 
  couple 
  of 
  trawls, 
  and 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  deep-sea 
  thermometers. 
  The 
  

   vessel 
  has, 
  as 
  usual, 
  inspired 
  confidence 
  in 
  her 
  sea-worthy 
  qualities, 
  

   which 
  have 
  frequently 
  been 
  put 
  to 
  the 
  test 
  by 
  boisterous 
  weather 
  en- 
  

   countered 
  during 
  nearly 
  every 
  trip. 
  The 
  engines 
  have 
  worked 
  satisfac- 
  

   torily, 
  but 
  the 
  boilers 
  have, 
  as 
  usual, 
  been 
  a 
  source 
  of 
  anxiety, 
  although 
  

   we 
  have 
  been 
  delayed 
  but 
  little 
  on 
  their 
  account, 
  and 
  repairs 
  have 
  been 
  

   made 
  by 
  our 
  own 
  people. 
  The 
  sounding 
  and 
  (hedging 
  apparatus 
  has 
  

   worked 
  admirably; 
  so 
  well, 
  in 
  fact, 
  that 
  no 
  improvements 
  have 
  sug- 
  

   gested 
  themselves. 
  The 
  new 
  water-bottle 
  designed 
  to 
  retain 
  the 
  free 
  

   gases 
  in 
  sea-water 
  will 
  require 
  some 
  modifications 
  to 
  make 
  it 
  thoroughly 
  

   reliable. 
  

  

  We 
  remained 
  at 
  the 
  navy-yard 
  engaged 
  in 
  overhauling 
  and 
  refitting 
  

   the 
  vessel 
  until 
  May 
  25 
  at 
  10 
  a. 
  m., 
  when 
  we 
  left 
  for 
  Baltimore, 
  where 
  

   we 
  arrived 
  at 
  8 
  a. 
  in. 
  the 
  following 
  day. 
  At 
  1.30 
  p. 
  m. 
  we 
  began 
  haul- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  vessel 
  out 
  on 
  Skinner 
  & 
  Son's 
  marine 
  railway 
  to 
  scrape 
  and 
  

   paint 
  her 
  bottom. 
  She 
  was 
  out 
  of 
  water 
  at 
  3.40 
  p. 
  m., 
  and 
  the 
  scrapers 
  

   commenced 
  work. 
  

  

  There 
  was 
  a 
  noticeable 
  absence 
  of 
  barnacles 
  on 
  the 
  ship's 
  bottom, 
  and 
  

   very 
  little 
  grass 
  or 
  other 
  growth 
  which 
  would 
  tend 
  to 
  retard 
  her 
  speed, 
  

   a 
  casual 
  inspection 
  leaving 
  the 
  impression 
  that 
  the 
  bottom 
  was 
  in 
  ex- 
  

   cellent 
  condition. 
  A 
  critical 
  examination 
  revealed 
  the 
  fact, 
  however, 
  

   that 
  serious 
  oxidation 
  had 
  taken 
  place 
  on 
  several 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  sub- 
  

   merged 
  surface, 
  particularly 
  wherever 
  the 
  dredge-rope 
  had 
  come 
  in 
  con- 
  

   tact 
  with 
  it, 
  where 
  the 
  paint 
  had 
  been 
  scraped 
  off 
  by 
  ice, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  

   exposed 
  surfaces 
  of 
  the 
  propeller 
  shafts. 
  

  

  The 
  vessel 
  was 
  last 
  docked 
  at 
  the 
  Norfolk 
  navy-yard, 
  July 
  14, 
  1884, 
  

   about 
  ten 
  and 
  one-half 
  months 
  since, 
  and 
  went 
  immediately 
  on 
  her 
  sum- 
  

   mer's 
  cruise, 
  when 
  she 
  was 
  at 
  sea 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  time. 
  The 
  steel-wire 
  

   dredge-rope 
  was 
  in 
  constant 
  use 
  until 
  October 
  23, 
  when 
  she 
  entered 
  the 
  

   fresh 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  Potomac, 
  where 
  she 
  remained 
  for 
  two 
  months, 
  long 
  

   enough 
  to 
  kill 
  the 
  barnacles 
  and 
  other 
  marine 
  growths 
  that 
  might 
  have 
  

   formed 
  during 
  the 
  cruise. 
  We 
  left 
  Washington 
  on 
  December 
  24, 
  1884, 
  

   and 
  were 
  obliged 
  to 
  force 
  our 
  way 
  through 
  from 
  21 
  to 
  3 
  inches 
  of 
  ice 
  in 
  

   the 
  Eastern 
  P>ranch, 
  and 
  encountered 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  of 
  it 
  in 
  the 
  Potomac, 
  

   scraping 
  the 
  paint 
  off 
  the 
  bottom 
  from 
  the 
  water-line 
  to 
  3 
  or 
  4 
  feet 
  be- 
  

   below 
  it, 
  leaving 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  metal 
  entirely 
  exposed. 
  

  

  Leaving 
  the 
  Capes 
  of 
  the 
  Chesapeake 
  on 
  the 
  3d 
  of 
  Jauuary, 
  1885, 
  we 
  

   went 
  to 
  the 
  Gulf 
  of 
  Mexico 
  and 
  Western 
  Caribbean 
  Sea, 
  where 
  we 
  spent 
  

   almost 
  a 
  month, 
  nearly 
  half 
  of 
  the 
  time 
  At 
  anchor. 
  We 
  had 
  an 
  oppor- 
  

   tunity 
  in 
  the 
  mean 
  time 
  of 
  renewing 
  the 
  paint 
  on 
  the 
  water-line 
  and 
  

  

  