654 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLV. No. 1174: 



periods of years and wliicli must be continued 

 in order to gain the desired results. 



6. As between new investigations wbicb may 

 he expected to yield returns after a long period 

 of years and those which may be expected to 

 produce results in time to serve the immediate 

 needs of the country, preference will be given 

 to the latter. 



6. In the latter class are studies — biological, 

 biochemical, physiological and technological — 

 relating to the propagation and rearing of fish, 

 the protection of fish, the utilization of fishery 

 ^products, etc. 



7. The bureau is not only utilizing its per- 

 .'•manent scientific staii to the fullest extent, but 

 ■is gladly availing itself of the valuable assist- 

 ;an'ce offered by biologists, physiologists and 

 Bhemists from various universities. 



8. For the immediate present certain econo- 

 mies are being practised. This does not mean 

 a policy of niggardliness; on the contrary, ex- 

 penditures must in many respects be more lib- 

 eral than hitherto. It does mean, however, the 

 temporary curtailment or cessation of certain 

 customary activities which can not be con- 

 tinued in a satisfactory manner during the im- 

 mediate period of necessary readjustment. 



More specifically the bureau's plans for scien- 

 tific work in the near future may be stated as 

 follows : 



The marine laboratory at Beaufort, IST. C, 

 will not be opened for general investigations 

 during the coming summer. The Woods Hole 

 laboratory, while temporarily closed for gen- 

 eral investigations, will have a small special 

 staff for experimental work in the utilization 

 of fishery products. The fish-culture experi- 

 ment work of the Fairport, Iowa, laboratory 

 bears so directly upon the immediate problems 

 of food supply that the activities of the station 

 will suffer no curtailment, but will be somewhat 

 expanded. In the class of field investigations, 

 some will be continued, some abandoned and 

 some new studies undertaken. 



Not as a complete catalogue of investiga- 

 tions provided for, but as illustrating the top- 

 ics regarded as proper for the bureau's atten- 

 tion at this time, the following may be selected : 

 The relation of fishes to mosquito extermina- 



tion and to public health; the habits and 

 propagation of salmon in Pacific waters; the 

 natural history, propagation and protection of 

 the blue crab; problems of the oyster industry; 

 experiments in curing fishes ; the properties of 

 the roe of certain fishes alleged to be toxic or 

 distasteful; various other investigations re- 

 lating to the utilization of fishery products; 

 dragon-flies and damsel-flies in relation to the 

 culture of fishes in ponds; aquatic plants in 

 relation to the culture of fishes in ponds ; para- 

 sites affecting fish culture in ponds, life-his- 

 tories, and means of control; systematic rela- 

 tions, habits and migrations of salmonoid 

 fishes in the Great Lakes; biological and phys- 

 ical conditions of fish life in enclosed waters; 

 the protection of wood against marine borers; 

 the utilization of marine algas, and the relation 

 of kelp harvesting to the fisheries. 



H. M. Smith, 

 Commissioner of Fisheries 

 Washington, D. C, 

 June 18, 1917 



SCIENTIFIC EVENTS 



CONCERNING THE MANUFACTURE OF PHTHA- 

 LIC ACID AND PHTHALIC ANHYDRIDE 



The Department of Agriculture announces 

 that tlie color investigation laboratory of the 

 Bureau of Chemistry, of this department, has 

 perfected, on a laboratory scale, a new process 

 for the manufacture of phthalic acid and phtha- 

 lic anhydride. This process, as carried out in 

 the laboratories, appears so promising that it is 

 thought that some manufacturers of chemicals 

 and dyestuffs in this country may be able to 

 supply their demands for these compounds by 

 this process, provided the process can be repro- 

 duced upon a technical scale so as to obtain 

 results commensurate with the laboratory in- 

 vestigations. 



With a view to helping the chemical indus- 

 try of this country, the Department of Agri- 

 culture hereby announces that it is ready to 

 assist manufacturers who wish to produce these 

 compounds. The expenses of the technical in- 

 stallation and of the labor and materials neces- 

 sary will of necessity be borne by the firm, in- 

 dividual, or corporation wishing to manufac- 



