﻿REPORT. 
  

  

  To 
  his 
  Excellency^ 
  John 
  Lee 
  Cakroll, 
  

  

  Governor 
  of 
  Maryland 
  : 
  

  

  In 
  each 
  successive 
  Report 
  of 
  the 
  labors 
  of 
  the 
  Commission 
  

   on 
  Fisheries, 
  in 
  addition 
  to 
  a 
  detailed 
  statement 
  of 
  the 
  actual 
  

   work 
  performed, 
  we 
  have 
  given 
  a 
  minute 
  description 
  of 
  the 
  

   apparatus 
  used 
  in 
  artificially 
  increasing 
  the 
  supply 
  of 
  food 
  

   fishes, 
  and 
  have 
  traced, 
  step 
  by 
  step, 
  the 
  advance 
  that 
  has 
  

   been 
  made 
  in 
  perfecting 
  it. 
  

  

  We 
  have 
  also 
  stated 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  investigations 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  

   development 
  of 
  the 
  diflerent 
  varieties 
  of 
  food-fishes, 
  and 
  the 
  

   varying 
  degrees 
  of 
  success 
  attending 
  our 
  efibrts 
  to 
  propagate 
  

   artificially 
  those 
  species 
  which 
  had 
  not 
  hitherto 
  been 
  the 
  sub- 
  

   jects 
  of 
  such 
  experiment. 
  

  

  Although 
  we 
  cannot 
  now 
  report 
  any 
  appreciable 
  improve- 
  

   ment 
  during 
  the 
  past 
  year 
  in 
  the 
  apparatus 
  used, 
  we 
  are 
  

   able 
  to 
  state 
  that 
  most 
  satisfactory 
  results 
  have 
  been 
  realized 
  

   from 
  the 
  employment 
  of 
  the 
  methods 
  already 
  described. 
  

   Heretofore 
  the 
  results 
  obtained 
  in 
  otlier 
  localities 
  have 
  formed 
  

   the 
  only 
  basis 
  on 
  which 
  we 
  could 
  promise 
  an 
  increase 
  in 
  the 
  

   supply 
  of 
  our 
  native 
  food-fishes; 
  but 
  we 
  are 
  now 
  enabled, 
  from 
  

   convincing 
  statistics, 
  to 
  show 
  the 
  absolute 
  increase 
  in 
  our 
  own 
  

   waters 
  of 
  shad 
  — 
  the 
  fish 
  which 
  has 
  been 
  the 
  object 
  of 
  our 
  spe- 
  

   cial 
  care. 
  

  

  The 
  sudden 
  and 
  marked 
  increase 
  in 
  the 
  supply 
  of 
  this 
  val- 
  

   uable 
  fish 
  in 
  the 
  Chesapeake 
  Bay 
  is 
  a 
  result 
  most 
  flattering 
  to 
  

   the 
  labors 
  of 
  the 
  Commission. 
  In 
  the 
  Report 
  made 
  to 
  your 
  

   Excellency 
  in 
  January, 
  187?, 
  on 
  page 
  6, 
  we 
  chronicled 
  the 
  

   noticeable 
  increase 
  in 
  the 
  supj^ly 
  of 
  shad 
  as 
  reported 
  by 
  the 
  

   fishermen 
  in 
  the 
  neighborhood 
  of 
  Annapolis. 
  As 
  stated 
  at 
  

   that 
  time, 
  the 
  return 
  of 
  adult 
  shad 
  could 
  be 
  expected 
  during 
  

   their 
  third 
  year, 
  and 
  the 
  increase 
  just 
  mentioned 
  was 
  doubt- 
  

   less 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  our 
  hatching 
  operations 
  in 
  the 
  spring 
  of 
  1875. 
  

  

  