032 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [28] 



Referring to the log of September 21, we find the schooner making 3 

 knots an hour until 7 a. in., the time the sounding commenced, and, as 

 the wind is logged "steady in force and direction" from this time till 

 noon, the vessel should have made 15 knots had she continued on her 

 course; but iustead of this uninterrupted progress she takes eight 

 soundings in average depths of 64 fathoms, which must have consumed 

 three-quarters of an hour at least, and sails 21 knots, about 5 knots an 

 hour, or 2 miles an hour more than she would have logged had she 

 taken no soundings and continued on her course with the wind two 

 points abaft the beam. 



Further comment is unnecessary ; enough has been written to show 

 that reports of shoals and banks at sea are not always reliable, even 

 when soundings, character of bottom, and other seemingly reliable 

 data are given. A reference to the plan (Plate 1) will show that the 

 schooner Marguerite did not find bottom in the region indicated, and 

 the presumption is strong that the lead was not put over the side at 

 all. 



At 9.33 a. m., August 27, we cast the trawl in 1,188 fathoms, latitude 

 41° 28' 30" X., longitude 05° 35' 30" W., lauding it on deck at 12.44 

 p. in. Among the forms taken were a quantity of ophiurans, starfish, 

 shrimp, mollusks, blue hake, coryphwnoides, Macrurus asper, and skate. 

 The trawl was lowered again at 2.21 p. m., but it soou buried and was 

 lost. 



At 7.09 a. m., August 28, the trawl was lowered in 980 fathoms, lati- 

 tude 40° 07' N., longitude 67° 49' W., and landed on deck at 9.22 a. in.; 

 a water haul, the current having prevented its reaching bottom. An- 

 other haul in 800 fathoms, six miles to the westward, brought up an 

 enormous load of mud and numerous ophiurans, holothurians, mollusks, 

 crustaceans, and several varieties of fish, among them being coryphee- 

 noides, Macrurus Bairdii, blue hake, lycodes, &c. A third haul was made 

 in 984 fathoms a few miles farther westward with much the same 

 results. 



At 5.35 p. m. we started for Wood's IIoll. Fog shut in as soon as we 

 touched the banks and continued until we passed the South Shoal light- 

 ship, when it partially cleared. It shutdown again off Xo 3Ian's Land 

 and continued until our arrival in port* at 11.58 a. in.. August 29. 



We saw but few birds during the trip except " Mother Carey*' chick- 

 ens, which were always with us. An occasional gull and a few terns 

 were seen. Whales were seen in the region between Sable Island and 

 Grand Bank, and porpoises were frequentley observed playing about 

 the ship. A large school of curved-fin orcas were seen on Flemish 

 Cap during the morning of August 10. 



We were detained in port overhauling our dredging and sounding 

 gear, cleaning and repairing boilers and other mechanical appliances 

 until 5.58 a. m., September 14, when we left tor Newport, 11. 1., for coal, 

 preparatory to a dredging trip. 



