INVESTIGATIONS OF THE ALBATROSS. 283 
vessels. Southerly and westerly winds do not produce a heavy sea, 
but a very fresh breeze from the northwest or southwest is immediately 
followed by a choppy sea. 
An examination of the stomachs of all the cod captured by the Alba- 
tross showed that they feed upon a wide range of both invertebrates 
and fishes. Pebbles, often of considerable size, seemed to occur more 
frequently in the cod of Bering Sea than in those of the North Atlantic. 
They are undoubtedly taken in with such articles of food as grow 
attached to hard objects, the sea-anemones, which are unusually abun- 
dant on the banks of Bristol Bay, being of this character. 
That part of Bering Sea situated between Cape Constantine and Cape 
Newenham, and extending some 20 odd miles from the southern end of 
Hagemeister Island, has been named Kulukak Bank. The bottom and 
the fauna in this region do not differ materially in character from those 
of the other fishing-grounds in Bristol Bay. Sand is the predominant 
material, with an occasional mixture of mud and gravel. At the begin- 
ning of the Bristol Bay cod-fishery this ground was resorted to, but it 
was soon discovered that the fish were smaller and inferior in quality 
to those occurring on the more southern banks. One exception, how- 
ever, is noted by the fishermen with respect to a small spot situated 
about 16 miles SSW. from the southern end of Hagemeister Island, 
called Gravel Bank, but its extent is slight; the depth of water ranges 
from 16 to 20 fathoms. 
Small fish predominate among the islands of the Walrus Group. 
Larger individuals are reported from certain indentations and rocky 
patches, but they are not sufficiently abundant to attract fishermen. 
Cod are plentiful in the vicinity of Cape Peirce, but the proportion of 
diseased individuals among them has led the fishermen to give the name 
Hospital Bank to these grounds. Nothing was obtained close to the 
rocky bluffs of Cape Newenham, and no success attended the trials 
made in the adjacent waters. The quantity of fresh water which issues 
from the Kuskokwim River probably accounts for this scarcity or 
absence of fish. - 
The total number of cod caught in the 113 trials made in Bristol Bay 
during the summer of 1890 was 946, having a combined weight of 
9,919 pounds, an average of about 105 pounds per fish. The highest 
average in any single catch was 15$ pounds on Slime Bank, and the 
next highest, 154 pounds, on the Port Moller ground of Baird Bank. 
The average weight of several catches on Slime and Baird banks was 
more than 15 pounds. The largest cod captured during the cruise 
weighed 274 pounds, the smallest 1 pound. Practically nothing is 
known respecting the abundance or movements as well as the condition 
of the cod on the banks of Bristol Bay during the winter months, as no 
fishing is prosecuted there at that season. 
Nearly all the fishing trials by the Albatross were conducted while 
the ship was hove to, and rapidly drifting throtfgh the influence of che 
tide or wind. The length of each trial, moreover, seldom exceeded 
