ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 

 BULLETIN 



Published by the Neiv York Zoological Society 



Vol. XXII 



MARCH, 1919 



Number 2 



A BOAT FOR THE AQUARIUM 



Bfl C. H. TOWNSEND. 



ONE of the vital needs of a public aqua- 

 rium is the proper apparatus for procur- 

 ing its living exhibits, as dealers in live 

 animals offer nothing suitable for such an in- 

 stitution. The interest and value of its exhibits 

 depend entirely upon its success in capturing 

 and transporting specimens in good condition. 

 The method employed in transporting is quite 

 as important as that employed in capture, since 

 specimens must arrive in such condition as will 

 insure their survival in captivity. In the trans- 

 portation of fresh-water stock, the rough treat- 

 ment involved in the use of shipping tanks. 

 wagons and trains, is unavoidable, but in the 

 case of marine stock, better methods are avail- 

 able. 



A boat with a water compartment has always 

 been needed for this purpose and the director 

 has often urged its purchase. A public aqua- 

 rium without a collecting boat is in about the 

 same situation as a farmer would be without a 

 wagon. 



The Executive Committee of the Zoological 

 Society has authorized the construction of a 

 well-boat to be used in making collections of 

 fishes and marine invertebrates for the New 

 York Aquarium. 



With a boat such as is now being constructed, 

 the Aquarium will be able to procure its local 

 marine exhibits in better condition, and in in- 

 creased variety and numbers. At present noth- 

 ing can be exhibited except what can be han- 

 dled in shipping tanks. 



A considerable part of the coast will now be 

 laid under tribute for specimens, while the ex- 

 pense of collecting and losses in transit will 

 be greatly reduced. 



In making collections of fishes in local waters. 



we are not entirely restricted to northern spe- 

 cies. The Gulf Stream, that great river of the 

 ocean, brings every summer a host of tropical 

 fishes, some of which are taken in our nets. 

 With a staunch and sea-worthy well-boat, the 

 collecting field will be so extended and the work 

 so facilitated, that we will be able to secure 

 and exhibit probably the majority of the two 

 hundred or more species of fishes known to fre- 

 quent the shores of Long Island. If the boat 

 should be sent at times as far south as Chesa- 

 peake Bay, it will be possible to obtain many 

 southern species. 



The Aquarium already possesses a wide- 

 beamed trawl which should be vastly more effi- 

 cient as a gatherer of bottom fishes and inver- 

 tebrates, when in tow of a powerful motor boat. 

 The chief advantage to be derived, however, 

 will be the large water-filled well, which will 

 insure the transportation of the day's catch 

 without loss. 



The well, being separated by water-tight 

 bulkheads from the fore and after sections of 

 the boat, is provided with a constant change of 

 water through many holes bored in the hull. 

 Another advantage lies in the size of the well 

 which measures 11 by 10 feet at the bottom. 

 The large fishes reported from time to time as 

 having entered local trap nets, can now be sent 

 for and brought in safely. There is little doubt 

 that many interesting marine forms never be- 

 fore obtainable will soon be brought to the 

 Aquarium. 



The well-boat is no new invention. The 

 builder of the Aquarium boat has built them 

 at various times for the past forty years. They 

 are in use wherever it is easier and cheaper to 

 carry fish to market alive, than to pack them 

 in ice". 



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