|[61] WORK OF FISH COMMISSION STEAMER ALBATROSS. 177 



Harpooning or hooking sharks or dolphins in the area of illumination 

 is not uncommon. 



i Mother Carey's chickens ( Thalassidroma Leachii, and T. Wilsoni) , when 

 for some reason the arc light was in use, often came on board and were 

 captured. 



Surface collecting was carried on whenever the ship's speed would 

 permit. Long bamboo i)oles, with fine silk bolting-cloth nets attached, 

 were placed in each gangway in readiness for small surface objects. 

 Surface-nets were used from one of the swinging booms, being thus 

 rigged instead of over the stern, to avoid their loading with cinders, 

 cofiee-grounds, &c. 



A shark-line was kept in readiness, and a shark occasionally cap- 

 tared and examined for parasites, external and internal. 

 ' Porpoises were sometimes harpooned, but the height of the bow of 

 the Albatross renders this a difficult feat. 



In all of these operations the seamen showed great willingness to 

 assist, and they even employed a portion of their time off duty in the 

 capture of specimens for the laboratory, many of which proved very 

 fine. They also brought in for preservation many specimens which had 

 fallen from the trawl to the deck unperceived by the naturalists. 



During the current year nine cruises were made by the Albatross, 

 and one hundred and sixteen hauls with the trawls and dredges. This 

 number of hauls would seem a small year's work for a ship so well 

 equipped for this special purpose, if the great depth (from 1,500 to 2,900 

 fathoms) of many of the hauls were not taken into account ; also the fact 

 that several cruises were made almost solely to find mackerel and men- 

 haden. The dredging was nevertheless very successful. Many new 

 forms of fish, Crustacea, mollusca, echinoderms, and anthozoa have al- 

 ready been described by the several specialists, and many more are still 

 in their hands for description. In addition to the new forms numerous 

 species, formerly rare or little known, were found in such abundance 

 that the National Museum has on hand material enough for many sets, 

 both for educational purposes and for exchange. 

 H. Mis. 67 12 



