REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. LV 



cetaceans, and the various other marine forms, which generally accom- 

 pany the schools and indicate their position and size, were less abun- 

 dant than usual. Bad weather also prevailed most of the time and this 

 undoubtedly interfered with the schooling of the fish at the surface. 

 Most of the schools sighted, even during the latter part of the cruise, 

 were too deep in the water to be reached by seining, and it is probable 

 that a large proportion of the fish passed northward unobserved. They 

 also appeared to move nearer the land than has generally been re- 

 corded. 



During the following summer, beginning the first part of July, the 

 Grampus extended its researches respecting the distribution and abun- 

 dance of mackerel along the coasts of the British Province as far north 

 as Labrador. She was then in charge of Capt. J. W. Collins. The 

 principal object of the trip was to verify the recent reports concerning 

 the appearance of mackerel off the northeast coast of Newfoundland. 

 Following the coast of Nova Scotia as far as Canso, the Grampus en- 

 tered the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and sailed as far north as the Magda- 

 len Islands. Thence she proceeded to St. John's, Newfoundland, and 

 along the outer side of Newfoundland to the Straits of Belle Isle. No 

 mackerel were observed at any point; but many natural history speci- 

 mens and physical observations were obtained. Mr. F. A. Lucas and 

 Mr. William Palmer, of the U. S. National Museum, accompanied the 

 schooner as naturalists, and in addition to the regular work of the 

 cruise they were allowed to land and make shore collections at the dif- 

 ferent harbors visited. 



The work begun in the spring of 1887 was continued by the Grampus 

 during April, May, and June, 1888, Capt. D. E. Collins being again in 

 command, and Dr. T. H. Bean acting as naturalist. The cruising 

 ground was the same as in the previous year. Only small schools of 

 mackerel were encountered, and those not until late in May. Low water 

 temperatures prevailed during the early part of the season, and the 

 mackerel food was found to be abundant only in streaks or scattered 

 patches. Over 250,000 floating fish eggs taken in the surface nets were 

 carried to Wood's Holl and hatched, the embryos being preserved 

 for identification. Should these eggs prove to belong to useful spe- 

 cies, it will probably be expedient to make a practice of collecting 

 and hatching them on a large scale. A few days in May were occupied 

 in investigating the reproduction of the menhaden in lower Chesa- 

 peake Bay. The experiment of carrying living mackerel in the 

 schooner's well proved successful, and it will therefore be possible to 

 undertake the reproduction of this species at one of the coast stations 

 of the Commission. 



Dr. T. H. Bean spent the summer of 1887 in collecting and in study- 

 ing the habits of fishes in the vicinity of Great Egg Harbor Bay, New 

 Jersey, chiefly for the purpose of determining the changes that have 

 taken place in the fish fauna of the New Jersey coast during the past 



