﻿REPORT. 
  

  

  To 
  his 
  Excellency 
  J 
  

  

  JOHJ\' 
  LEE 
  CAfR^OLL, 
  

  

  Governor 
  of 
  Maryland 
  : 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  the 
  honor 
  to 
  report, 
  in 
  pursuance 
  of 
  section 
  4, 
  chap- 
  

   ter 
  47. 
  h^ws 
  of 
  1S7G, 
  '^ 
  the 
  work 
  accomplished 
  by 
  the 
  Com- 
  

   uiission" 
  during 
  the 
  year 
  1877, 
  and 
  to 
  make 
  a 
  few 
  '' 
  sugges- 
  

   tions 
  for 
  the 
  protection 
  and 
  ^propagation 
  of 
  the 
  food 
  fishes 
  of 
  

   the 
  State/' 
  as 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  my 
  observation 
  and 
  experience 
  

   during 
  the 
  four 
  years 
  of 
  service 
  as 
  Commissioner 
  of 
  Fisheries. 
  

  

  The 
  past 
  year 
  has 
  been 
  a 
  most 
  important 
  one, 
  to 
  the 
  fishing 
  

   interest 
  especiall}', 
  as 
  producers, 
  and 
  to 
  the 
  country 
  at 
  

   large, 
  as 
  consumers 
  offish, 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  many 
  indubit- 
  

   able 
  proofs 
  wliich 
  have 
  accumulated, 
  showing 
  the 
  correctness 
  

   of 
  the 
  theories 
  ^w 
  which 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  efforts 
  to 
  restore 
  deple- 
  

   te:! 
  waters 
  with 
  the 
  valuable 
  fishes, 
  which 
  were 
  once 
  abun- 
  

   dant, 
  but 
  had 
  either 
  entirely 
  disappeared, 
  or 
  had 
  become 
  

   alarmingly 
  scarce, 
  depended 
  for 
  success. 
  On 
  the 
  correctness 
  

   of 
  these 
  theories 
  depended 
  also 
  the 
  success 
  of 
  any 
  efforts 
  to 
  

   stock 
  waters 
  with 
  migratory 
  fishes, 
  which 
  had 
  before 
  been 
  

   unknown 
  to 
  them. 
  The 
  year 
  1877 
  will 
  be 
  noted 
  as 
  adding 
  

   confirmations 
  so 
  strong 
  that 
  oven 
  the 
  hitherto 
  most 
  skeptical 
  

   can 
  no 
  longer 
  doubt 
  the 
  unerring 
  certainty 
  with 
  which 
  the 
  

   anaclromus 
  fishes 
  (those 
  fishes 
  which 
  move 
  up 
  the 
  rivers 
  to 
  

   spawn^) 
  return, 
  when 
  adult, 
  to 
  the 
  river 
  in 
  which 
  they 
  had 
  

   spent 
  their 
  minority. 
  That 
  this 
  was 
  the 
  habit 
  of 
  the 
  Sal- 
  

   mon, 
  had 
  been 
  demonstrated 
  both 
  in 
  Europe 
  and 
  in 
  this 
  

   country, 
  as 
  great 
  numbers 
  had 
  been 
  marked 
  and 
  found 
  to 
  

  

  