XXXVIII KEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Ziphioid whales have a most interesting history. In ages past they 

 were very abundant, perhaps as much so as the common porpoise of 

 to-day, but at present only stragglers are found in remote quarters of 

 the globe. It would seem as if they were but the surviving relics of a 

 great race, which sprang into existence, reached the maximum of its 

 abundance, and' declined long ages before man appeared on the earth. 

 Many species occur as fossils in connection with the phosphate deposits 

 of South Carolina. 



From Station No. 20, at Fire Island, K^. Y., Mr. Daniel S. Hubbard, 

 keeper, and Station No. 37, at Turtle Gut, N. J., Mr. Uriah Gresse, 

 keeper, came two specimens of a porpoise, which, unlike the cetaceans 

 which have been already referred to, is of common occurrence on our 

 Atlantic coast, and is probably also represented in European waters. 

 The casts, however, which the National Museum was enabled to make 

 are probably the first of the species in any museum in the country, and, 

 with the skeletons, which were preserved, form an excellent basis for 

 comparison with other forms. The animal is commonly known as the 

 bottle-nose dolphin, and is identical with or closely allied to the species 

 Tursiops truncatus. 



In addition to the shark previously mentioned, several peculiar and 

 interesting fishes have been received. Among these is a fish known as 

 the " star-gazer" {Astroscopus anolophus), from Station No. 6, at Deal's 

 Island, N. C, Mr. Malachi Corbel, keeper. The ''star-gazer" is a 

 southern species which occasionally strays northward as far as Cape 

 Cod, but it is very rare in museums. A very closely allied species 

 {anolophus var. grcBcum) is said to possess electrical power in life. From 

 Station No. 2, at Point Judith, E. I., Mr. Herbert M. Knowles, keeper, 

 was received a specimen of the "lumpfish." The "lumpfish" [Cyclop- 

 terus lumpus) as a rule is an inhabitant of colder waters than that in 

 which it was found. The " flute mouth" (Fistularia serrata), from the 

 same station, is a very rare species on our coast. The "angel fish'* 

 (Pomacanthus arcuatus), taken at Barnegat City, N. J., has not hitherto 

 been known north of Florida. 



War Department. — Permission was given May 28th, by the Acting 

 Secretary of War, for one of the steamers to land at the Arsenal 

 wharf, and to occupy it whenever not engaged at the fisheries. ^ 



Engineer Bureau. — March 23d the Chief of Engineers, General H. G. 

 Wright, granted permission to use the fishing-shore at Fort Washing- 

 ton for the purpose of propagating shad, with the understanding that 

 the grounds should be vacated whenever the Department should so re- 

 quest. Subsequently a like permission was granted to use one of the 

 buildings at the fort as headquarters for the men. 



The Bureau furnished maps of the Columbia Eiver, to be used in the 

 tour of exploration by Mr. Livingston Stone. 



Signal Office. — General Hazen furnished weather indications to the 

 Lookout on the trip to South Carolina in the spring, and also sent 



