PREFATORY NOTE. Vll 



XII.— Baltimore and the oyster industry of Maryland. E. H. Edmonds, October 1, 1879, to 



October 1, 1880. 

 Xin. — Atlantic coast of Southern States. R. Edward Earll, January 1 to July 25, 1880. 

 XIV.— Gulf coast. Silas Stearns, August, 1879, to July, 1880. 



XV.— Coast of California, Oregon, and Washington. Professor D. S. Jordan and C. H. Gil- 

 bert, January, 1880, to January, 1881. 

 XVI. — Puget Sound. James G. Swan, January, 1880, to January, 1881. 

 XVII.— Alaska fisheries. Dr. T. H. Bean, June to October, 1880. 

 XVIII.— tareat Lakes flsTiery. Ludwlg Kumlien, August, 1879, to August, 1880. 

 XIX.— River fisheries of Maine. C. G. Atkins, January 1, 1880, to July 3, 1882. 

 XX. — The shad and alewife fisheries. Colonel Marshall MacDonald, October, 1879, to January 



1, 1883. 

 XXI.— Oyster fisheries. Ernest Ingersoll, October 1, 1879, to July 1, 1881. 

 XXII. — Lobster and crab fisheries. Richard Rathbun, January 1, 1880, to January 1, 1882. 

 XXIII.— Turtle and terrapin fisheries. Frederick W. True, October 1, 1880, to January 1, 1882. 

 XXIV. — The seal, sea-elephant, and whale fisheries. A. Howard Clark, November 1, 1880, to 

 February 1, 1881. 

 In addition to the field assistants already mentioned a staff of ofiQce assistants were employed 

 in carrying on correspondence, searching past records, and preparing the report for publication. 

 Mr. C. W. Smiley, Mr. James Temple. Brown, and Mr. George S. Hobbs were connected with the 

 work from its start, and subsequently Mr. J. E. Rockwell, Mr. C. W. Scudder, Mr E. I Geare, Mr. 

 G. P. Merrill, Mr. W. S. Teates, and others were thus employed. A number of clerks were 

 temporarily detailed for this work by the Superintendent of the Census ; at one time as many as 

 twenty. 



A portion of the clerical force was placed under the immediate direction of Mr. C. W. Smiley, 

 who had in special charge the distribution of circulars and the compilation of their results, and the 

 compilation of summary tables from the records of the Treasury Department. 



The expense of the field-work from July 1, 1879, to July 1, 1881, was for the most part borne 

 by the Census, together with a large amount of compilation office- work carried on by clerks 

 detailed from the Census Of&ce in Washington. 



The expense of the preparation of the report, final tabulation of statistics of production, and 

 preparation of illustrations has been mainly at the cost of the Fish Commission. Since February, 

 1881, Mr. Goode's relation to the work has been that of a volunteer, and his services in the 

 preparation of the reports and in connection with their publication have been rendered without 

 compensation, in addition to his regular duties as Assistant Director of the National Museum. 

 In the same manner a large share of the most important work upon special parts of the report 

 has been done as volunteer labor by officers of the National Museum and Fish Commission, in 

 addition to their regular duties. A number of employees of the Fish Commission have been 

 detailed from time to time for special work upon this report, for periods varying from four mouths 

 to two years. 



The participation of the Census Office and the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries has involved 

 the expenditure of probably nearly equal amounts of money, and the division of the results, so 

 far as they are represented in reports ready for the printer, has been arranged to the satisfaction 

 of both. The extent of the material collected has, however, been much greater than was antici- 

 pated, and the portion assigned to the Fish Commission being too bulky for publication in the an- 

 nual reports, application was made to Congress for permission to print as a separate special report 

 an illustrated work in quarto upon the Pood Fishes and Fisheries of the United States. 



