LXXVI EEPOET OF COMMISSIONEE OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



bass on the coast the Fish Commission has been desirous of increasing 

 the supply by artificial propagation, but the difacnlty of finding the ripe 

 parent fish has hitherto been a barrier in the way. At the .request 

 of the Commission Mr. S. G. Worth, superintendent of fisheries of North 

 Carolina, made some experiments at Weldon, in that State, and found 

 that it was practicable to secure quite a number of the breeding fish. 

 He hatched out many of them successfully, and obtained data enough 

 to warrant the hope that the work might be done on a much larger and. 

 more efficient scale hereafter. 



In June, 1882, as previously recorded, with a view of determining 

 whether the rockfish or striped bass could be kept in pens until their 

 eggs should ripen, a large number were placed in the pool at Battery 

 Station, near Havre de Grace. No fish larger than 8 pounds were se- 

 cured, so no results were obtained. Some of them, however, lived into 

 the summer of 1883, but as they were not adult, and no effort was made 

 to feed them they were found to be in poor condition. 



It may be remembered that several years ago the fish commissioners 

 of California secured the services of Mr. Livingston Stone to transport 

 a number of young striped bass to California waters. Since then re- 

 port has been made of captures of these fish, one of them on November 

 7, at San Francisco, weighing 17 pounds. 



d. The Mullets (Mugil). 



Several species of this genus occur very abundantly on the southern 

 coast, so much so, indeed, as to constitute a special fishery; but noth- 

 ing has been done in regard to introducing them to other waters. They 

 are found in small numbers eastward,* Vineyard Sound being perhaps 

 the limit of their occurrence in that direction. Here, however, they are 

 small and of no commercial value. Some species thrive in fresh water. 

 The experiment has been made by the California fish commissioners of 

 transiDorting a Sandwich Island species into that State, although I have 

 no report as to the general result. This fish is propagated in the harbor 

 of Honolulu, being reared in artificial ponds made in the salt marsh 

 lands near that city, and large quantities are obtained there for the 

 market. They are much esteemed as an article of food, and the subject 

 is one that will be deserving of future consideration. 



e. The Whitefish {Coregonus clupeiformis). 



The Worthville Station. — The anticipations excited by the great suc- 

 cess -of this station in previous years were fully met during 1883, under 

 the continued supervision of Mr. Frank N. Clark. Perhaps the most 

 important improvement this year in the arrangements for hatching con- 

 sisted in the introduction of the McDonald jars, which proved an en- 

 tire success and suited to the enlarged operations of the station. The 

 water supply was thought not to be sufficient for increasing the old 

 method of service, but the economy of these jars, which permitted the 

 water to be used over and over, rendered the fears groundless. Tlie 



