28 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



a building for the exclusive occupanc}'^ of the Bureau, would not only 

 not be at all suited to its needs but would prove a decided handicap. 

 A public aquarium, however, would afford facilities of actual service 

 in the tish -cultural operations and for practical experimentation of 

 much public interest. In close connection with the headquarters of 

 the Bureau the two features of the work would be mutually beneficial, 

 and both could be maintained at a cost which would be a merely nom- 

 inal increase over the expenses of one. 



As a necessit}^ of a Government enterprise of established usefulness 

 it is earnestly recommended that Congress be asked to provide a new 

 building for the Bureau of Fisheries commensurate with the require- 

 ments of the service; and in behalf of public educational interests and 

 the attractiveness of the national capital, the recommendation contem- 

 plates a building, of size and design suitable for the offices, labora- 

 tories, and genera] equipment of the Bureau, which shall contain a 

 public exhibit of fishes and other forms of aquatic life, with illustra- 

 tion of the methods of their culture and the fisheries they support. 

 Respectfully, 



Geo. M. Bowers, 



Commissimier. 



The Secretary of Commerce axd Labor. 



o 



