18 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



During the year the equipment and facilities at Woods Hole labor- 

 atory, which has continued under the direction of Dr. H. C. Bumpus, 

 have greatly improved. The number of able volunteer workers has 

 increased, and much scientific work of practical and theoretical value 

 has been accomplished. 



During the summer the steamer Fish Hawk has been at the station 

 and rendered important service in the investigation of the marine 

 fauna. The schooner Grampus was engaged, under the supervision 

 of the director, in continuing the investigation of the tile-fish, and 

 obtained valuable data concerning its distribution. 



Studies were conducted upon clam-culture, the migrations of fish, 

 the economic utilization of certain waste products of the fisheries, the 

 diseases of fishes, and other subjects of importance, which are men- 

 tioned in the report of the Division of Inquiry relating to Food-fishes. 

 There is also in preparation a series of papers, which, when com- 

 pleted, will afford to students a much-needed means of identification 

 of the marine animals of the southern coast of New England. 



The laboratory at Beaufort was open until September 15, 1899, and 

 was reopened June 1, 1900, and a number of able workers utilized 

 its facilities. The spawning habits of various fishes, sponges, and 

 crustacean parasites were studied, and the basis has been laid for 

 profitable work in the future. At its last session Congress passed an 

 act for the establishment of a permanent biological station on the coast 

 of North Carolina, and as the vicinity of Beaufort offers exceptional 

 advantages it is proposed to locate it at that point. 



The urgent deficiency bill approved Februarj^ 9, 1900, provided for 

 a special investigation concerning the decline of the lobster and clam 

 fisheries, with the object of devising measures for their relief, and in 

 April the following commission was appointed for the purpose of 

 carrying the act into effect: Dr. H. C. Bumpus, chairman; Dr. H. M. 

 Smith, secretary; Mr. William de C. Ravenel, and Capt. E. E. Hahn. 

 Promising results have been already attained with the soft-shell clam 

 {My a arenaria), but the lobster presents greater difficulties and will 

 require comprehensive study. 



During the fiscal year investigations of the inland waters to ascer- 

 tain their biological and physical characteristics, their fitness for the 

 introduction of new species, and the possibility of increasing their pro- 

 ductiveness by artificial means have been prosecuted in Maine, New 

 York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and North Carolina. 

 While some of the information gathered is capable of local applica- 

 tion only, much is of broader significance and applicable to lacustrine 

 waters in general. 



Dr. W. C. Kendall continued his work on Sebago Lake, Maine, until 

 about the middle of August, when, at the request of the State board 

 of fish commissioners, he was ordered to Cobbosseecontee Lake, to 

 inquire into the reasons for the nonsuccess of the plants of landlocked 

 salmon which have been made therein. In this connection, a study 



