1090 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [2] 



of Cherrystone Inlet, or at Plantation Creek, where there is soon to be 

 a railroad terminus, are probably the most convenient localities. 



The fishermen only lift their nets once a day, at slack high water, if 

 possible, but varying to suit the arrival of their "run boats," which 

 carry all the fish to Norfolk. On Sundays they do not fish at all, nor 

 can they fish, except at or near slack water, high or low, on account of 

 the strong tidal current. Their nets are all hung on small galvanized 

 wire roije on account of this current. 



The catch during July, though on no occasion very large, was good, 

 running uj) on some occasions to 2,000 to 3,000 mackerel to a set of 

 nets; but notwithstanding this our spawn-takers were able to find but 

 very few ripe fish, one or two only in a pocket, the majority being 

 "spent fish." 



I can only account for this by supposing that all the fish near spawn- 

 ing time deposit their eggs from fright after they are trapped. When 

 you remember that these nets are fished but once in twenty-four hours (in 

 rough weather and over Sunday but once in forty-eight hours or more), 

 and that during that time thej are penned in a very small space with 

 hundreds of other fish, including sharks, dogfish, ray, gar, bluefish, &c., 

 as well as numberless crabs, it is not surprising premature spawning is 

 the result; and the chances are that, for the same reasons, the eggs are 

 unfertilized by the males. If this be so, a partial remedy would seem to 

 lie in fishing the nets frequently, say on every slack water, or four times 

 in twenty-four hours. The fishermen would scarcelj^ do this without 

 compensation, however. We had but poor results from the eggs we 

 did get, and I am convinced that, unless this was an abnormal season, 

 none of the apparatus so far invented, unless possibly a modification of 

 the last, will answer. 



From what I had been able to learn before leaving Washington, from 

 Colonel McDonald and the officers of this vessel, of the previous work 

 done in this direction, T determined to use glass as far as possible, and 

 the first experiments were made with an apparatus suggested by Mr. 

 Smith and Dr. Kite. It consisted of a glass jar with an open induction 

 pil)e and strainer- covered waste-pipe, the lower end of which was placed 

 well below the surface. The results were not good; a fair percentage 

 of the fish hatched, but commenced to die immediately. This was as- 

 cribed to all sorts of causes. The material of T)^hich the strainers were 

 made was changed from mica to tin, tin to bolting silk, and silk to Swiss 

 muslin, but without any change. I finally concluded the mischief must 

 come from the fountain head and lie either in the action of the salt- 

 water on the metal of our circulating pump or iron tanks. To test this 

 I had a number of fine looking eggs placed in a large glass jar, from 

 which I had the water siphoned every half hour and replaced by sea- 

 water drawn by hand in a clean bucket. The result was precisely the 

 same. The eggs hatched just as well as theyjiad previously done and 

 the young fish died just as rapidly. 



