LVI EEPOET OF COMMISSIONEE OF FISH AND FISHEEIES. 



by the engineer department, by establishing it as a marine station for 

 the accommodation of the Albatross, Fish Hawk, Lookout, &c., and 

 for basins in which to keep the fish, lobsters, &c., undergoing treatment. 



The building for the quarters was the first to be constructed, in view 

 of the impossibility of obtaining the necessary accommodations in the 

 village of Wood's Holl. The place is without any hotel, and has but a 

 single boarding-house, which is generally filled in the summer season 

 by regular boarders. During 1881, 1882, and also 1883, the Commission 

 was obliged to scatter all over the village, renting three buildings for 

 offices and other purposes, and obtaining single rooms wherever they 

 could be had. It was considered of the utmost importance in the in- 

 terest of economy and of efficiency to concentrate all this force, so that 

 the business of the Commission could be jiroperly transacted; and it 

 is hoped that the report for 1884 will chronicle the completion of this 

 work, and the successful commencement of the fish-hatching and other 

 operations. 



The work at the station for the year was quite similar to that of 

 1 882, except that by means of the Albatross a much wider range of re- 

 search was prosecuted, as will be seen in the special paragraph on that 

 vessel. 



As usual, a large number of scientific specialists, partly connected 

 with the Commission and partly volunteers from the colleges of the 

 country, were present; and great additions were made to our knowl- 

 edge of the animal forms of the sea, and their mutual relationships 

 and dependencies. As heretofore, collections in great magnitude were 

 obtained, and taken to Washington at the close of the season, the du- 

 plicates, after supplying the l^Tational Museum, to be made up in sets 

 for distribution, on the indorsement of members of Congress, to the 

 various colleges and academies throughout the country. 



This subsidiary work of the Commission has proved to be very ac- 

 ceptable to all persons interested, bringing to educational institutions 

 in the far West the same facilities for instruction in marine natural 

 history as were previously possssed only by those situated near the sea- 

 board. 



I refer to the report of the Commissioner for the year 1882 for further 

 and minuter details in regard to the early history of the project for a 

 permanent station, and the steps leading to its realization. 



11. — ^VISITS FEOIVI FOEEI&N SPECIALISTS. 



On the 5th of March Capt. G. M. Dannevig-, of Arendal, IsTorway, 

 visited Washington for the special purpose of ascertaining the meth- 

 ods adopted by the IT. S. Fish Commission in hatching cod, with a 

 view to introducing them into his country where (particularly on the 

 southern coast) cod and other fishes appear to be rapidly diminishing. 

 Every facility was given him for studying the subject, and after his re- 

 turn to J^orway he made a quite successful experiment. He used the 



