34 KEPORT OF THE COMMISSIONEE OF FISHERIES. 



marking's and shape so different tliat all experienced fishermen can 

 easil,y distinguish them, the two runs being known as "long rock'- 

 and "short rock," respectively. 



On the 1st of April, 2,770,000 eggs were taken from a flat-fish 

 caught in Woods Hole Harbor. The fish was 18 inches long, 10 inches 

 wide, and weighed o^ pounds after being stripped. The greatest 

 number previously recorded as having been taken from one fish is 

 1,462,000, from an individual of about the same size. 



The impounding of lobsters throughout the winter was not only a 

 success in the increased product of young lobsters, but it was noticed 

 that the eggs from the impounded lobsters were more fully developed 

 when taken from the pound than were the eggs of lobsters collected 

 elsewhere at about the same time. The eggs began hatching May 21, 

 fully a week earlier than in anj- previous season, and three weeks earlier 

 than the other lobster eggs on hand at the same time. The eggs from 

 the impounded lobsters also revealed a more uniform development 

 than the others, quite 75 per cent of these hatching before the others 

 had begun to hatch in any quantity. There were also remarkably few 

 bad eggs, the loss being estimated at not over 2 per cent, while the 

 loss in the eggs from other sources ran from 6 to 10 per cent. The 

 greater maturity of the impounded product, as well as the more uni- 

 form development, can be accounted for by the fact that these lobsters 

 were in a shallow pound where the water would naturally be of a 

 higher temperature than the deeper waters of the ocean, from which 

 the other lobsters were obtained. The same course of reasoning holds 

 good only indirectly in accounting for the superior qualit}'^ of the 

 eggs. 



OrERATIONS OF THE STATIONS. 



The stations and substations at which fish-cultural 'operations were 

 conducted in 1904, with the persons in charge, are shown in the 

 appended statement. The subsidiary stations mentioned have regu- 

 larly established plants for the conduct of fish-cultural operations, and 

 in some instances are more productive than the permanent stations 

 with w^hich they are connected; none is pro^dded with a personnel, all 

 being operated under the direction of the superintendents of the 

 stations with which they are respectively connected. It is customary 

 to detail some one from the personnel of the regular station to assume 

 direct charge while operations are being conducted at the substation. 

 Several temporary field stations are annuall}^ operated from some 

 stations, but these are not given in the following list. In such cases 

 the work is of short duration, with few, if any, permanent fixtures. 

 For illustration, collections of landlocked salmon and brook trout 

 eggs are annually made at several field stations connected with the 

 Green Lake station in Maine; for the St. Johnsburj^ station large 



