520 FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [8] 



men Lave also been enlisted to save and bring in any odd creatures tbat may be caugbt 

 by their hooks or nets. After thirteen years of such thorough collecting as has been 

 detailed, it is natural to suppose that a very good general idea of the character of 

 the aquatic fauna of the New England coast has been obtained. 



An especial feature of the summer's work during several years has been the pho- 

 tographing of fishes and fishing scenes, by Mr. T. W. Smillie, whose numerous views 

 on exhibition need no words of praise from us. 



The necessity of a permanent marine station, with suitable arrangements for more 

 careful embryological and anatomical, as well as systematic studies, and for the pur- 

 poses of fish-breeding, has been felt for several years, and preparations toward the 

 accomplishment of such a project are now nearly completed. The place selected is 

 "Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, where all the surroundings are especially favorable for 

 a marine zoological laboratory. Strong tidal currents produce a constant circulation 

 of pure sea water, even close in to the shore, and fresh-water streams are entirely ab- 

 sent from the vicinity. The temperature of the water is also suitable, and no locality 

 on any part of the eastern coast has been more highly regarded for the study of free- 

 swimming larval forms of marine animals at all seasons. The scheme proposed is ex- 

 ceedingly comprehensive, and contemplates, in addition to the usual laboratory build- 

 ings and fixtures, several large open basins, in direct communication with the sur- 

 rounding water, for the study of the life histories and the habits of marine fishes and 

 invertebrates, especially those of economic importance. These basins will be in- 

 closed in a large wharf, intended for the use of steamers of the Commission. It is 

 proposed to have these improvements completed by the summer of 1884, and thence- 

 forward they may be used at any or all seasons of the year, as is desirable. 



In 1871, the first year of the Fish Commission, the summer station was at Wood's 

 Holl, and about 250 hauls of the dredge and beam trawl were made in the surround- 

 ing region. In 1872, Eastport, Maine, became the headquarters, and the explorations 

 covered both the shallow and deeper areas at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, down 

 to a depth of 106 fathoms ; 235 dredge hauls were made. In 1873, with headquarters 

 at Portland, Maine, 149 dredging stations were made in and about Casco Bay; and in 

 1874, with headquarters at Noank, Connecticut, 223 casts of the dredge and trawl 

 were made in the eastern part of Long Island Sound. During two or three weeks of 

 each summer, from 1872 to 1874, inclusive, the Fish Commission was allowed the use 

 of the Coast Survey steamer " Bache," for dredging purposes in the Gulf of Maine and 

 the region of George's Bank, where many valuable results were obtained. In 1875, 

 Woods' Holl was again selected as the summer station, and 169 dredge hauls were 

 made in the region of Vineyard Sound. The Centennial year, 1876, was devoted to 

 arranging and displaying the results of the investigations of the Commission at the 

 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, and no systematic explorations were carried on. 

 Salem, Massachusetts, was made the central station during the first part of the sum- 

 mer of 1877, but from the last of August until October, while the Commission of 

 arbitration on the fishery claims was in session at Halifax, the station was removed 

 to the latter place. On the passage from Salem to Halifax, a complete and interest- 

 ing line of dredgings was made across the Gulf of Maine, and later numerous deep 

 hauls were successfully taken off the coast of Nova Scotia. Gloucester, Massachu- 

 setts, became the station in 1878, and Provincetown, Massachusetts, in 1879, during 

 which years the explorations covered Massachusetts Bay, and extended off the coast 

 of Massachusetts into depths of 175 fathoms. From 1877 to 1879, inclusive, 378 hauls 

 were made with the dredge and trawl. 



While at Gloucester, in 1878, a scheme for obtaining marine animals of all kinds 

 from the offshore fishing banks was successfully inaugurated, through the aid of the 

 Gloucester cod and halibut fishermen, to whom the Fish Commission is chiefly in- 

 debted for its knowledge of the fauna of those unexplored areas. Large quantities of 

 fishes and invertebrates, of no economic value, are constantly being caught on the 

 hooks or entangled on the lines of the fishermen, who, considering them of no impor- 



