[9] 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 521 



tance, generally throw theru away, excepting in the case of hardy corals and like ob- 

 jects. Being convinced of the value of such specimens to the objects of the Commis- 

 sion, a few intelligent fishing captains expressed a willingness to carry with them on 

 their trips tanks of alcohol for the preservation of any "curios" they might obtain. 

 The success attending the first ventures, excited a lively interest among the fishermen, 

 and the demand for tanks soon became quite general. In fact, the idea came to pre- 

 vail on some of the fishing schooners that the presence of a collecting tank was essen- 

 tial to a good fare, and they would not go to sea without one. The different schooners 

 often vied with one another in the extent and value of their captures, which were 

 frequently of great interest. The practice of carrying tsnks continued without ces- 

 sation for a period of about three years, and the number of contributions exceeded 900. 

 Many of these contributions, moreover, filled an entire tank, which may have con- 

 tained a hundred or more specimens, and a large number of species. The showing 

 made by the Gloucester fishermen in the cause of science has certainly been very 

 creditable, and their entire work was carried on without remuneration. One of the 

 most indefatigable of these collectors was Captain J. W. Collins, whose " aids to sci- 

 ence" were very extensive; he has since become a member of the Commission. 



Three interesting collecting trips to the fishing banks grew out of these investiga- 

 tions. The first was made in 1878, by Mr. E. L. Newcomb, to the Grand Banks, with 

 Captain Collins, and the second and third in 1879, by Mr. N. P. Scudder, to the hali- 

 but banks of Southern Greenland, and by Mr. H. L. Osborn to the Grand Banks. 



In 1880 the regular summer station was established at Newport, Rhode Island, from 

 which place the steamer "Fish Hawk" made her first dredging cruises to the Gulf 

 Stream slope. This latter region proved so rich in animal life that it was decided 

 to return to it in 1881, and again in 1882, but the headquarters were transferred to 

 Wood's Holl, which offered superior accommodations as a harbor and laboratory sta- 

 tion. From 1880 to 1882, inclusive, 385 dredging and trawling stations were made, 

 mainly in depths of 50 to nearly 800 fathoms. The results of these explorations have 

 far exceeded all possible expectations, and have demonstrated the existence of an ex- 

 tremely rich faunal belt, following the line of the inner edge of the so-called Gidf 

 Stream slope, from as far south at least as off Cape Hatteras to the great fishing banks 

 off the British Provinces. The great flood of material resulting from these investi- 

 gations has greatly enriched the collections of the Fish Commission, and afforded a 

 vast number of unique types for study. 



Voluminous reports on the discoveries made by the Fish Commission in connection 

 with its regular marine researches are contained in the collection of scientific litera- 

 ture exhibited. Up to date, nearly 1,900 hauls have been made with the different 

 kinds of dredging appliances, including the common form of dredge, the rake dredge, 

 the Blake dredge, the single and double beam trawls, and the tangles. At the major- 

 ity of dredging stations careful temperature observations have been taken both at the 

 surface and bottom, and often at intermediate depths, and many specific gravity ob- 

 servations have also been recorded.\ The towing-nets have been freely used princi- 

 pally at the surface, but also very frequently at intermediate depths and at the 

 bottom. In connection with embryological studies of marine invertebrates, they have 

 been constantly utilized, especially at Wood's Holl. Over 700 hauls of the seine have 

 been made by the fishmen along the shores, and at the mouths of rivers in the neigh- 

 borhood of the summer stations. On most of the dredging trips of the steamers to 

 deep water, it has been customary to set several long cod trawl-lines, similar to those 

 in use by the Banks fishermen, in order to capture such bottom fish as are too active 

 to bo caught in the beam trawl. Many valuable additions to the fauna have been 

 made by this means. Among many interesting researches out of the ordinary line 

 may be mentioned those of Dr. J. H. Kidder, United States Navy, at Provincetown, 

 in 1879, on the animal heat of fishes, in which large numbers of specimens were experi- 

 mented with ; those of Captain L. A. Beardslee, United States Navy, on the errors 

 to record in the Miller-Casolla deep-sea thermometers ; and those of Professors Ver- 



