EEPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 17 



to be begun; the capacity of the hatchery for lake-trout eggs has been 

 increased to 35,000,000 by the installation of more hatching troughs, 

 additional pipe lines have been laid to the hatcher\' and ponds, and the 

 drainage system has been enlarged. 



At Bozeman, Mont., a hot water heating plant has been installed in 

 the hatchery, and other needed improvements are being prepared for. 



At Leadville, Colo., a 12-inch pipe line has been laid from Upper 

 Evergreen Lake to the hatchery for the purpose of obtaining a new 

 watei' supph^ the former one not being sufhciently pure and being 

 also subject to extreme changes of temperature. 



OPERATIONS OF VESSELS. 



Steamer AlhatroKH. — On Juh' 2, 1903, having on board the special 

 commission to inquire into the conditions and needs of the Alaska 

 salmon tisheries, the vessel left Port Townsend for southeast Alaska, 

 where the investigation was begun at Boca de Quadra Bay. It was 

 desired to visit as many of the tisheries as time would permit, and the 

 itinerary embraced the island passages in the vicinit}" of Metlakahtla 

 and Loring, and extended northward via Wrangell, through Stephens 

 Passage and Lynn Canal, to Skagway, returning by way of Dundas 

 Bay through Chatham and Peril straits to Sitka. Thence the vessel 

 proceeded across the Gulf of Alaska to Afognak Island, Kadiak Island, 

 and the Shumagin Islands, Chignik Bny, Yakutat Bay, and back to 

 Sitka. 



Shore parties visited canneries and salteries throughout the I'egion 

 under investigation, and examined the streams and lakes with refer- 

 ence to biological conditions as well as the commercial aspects of their 

 fisheries, while dredgings and collections were made b}'^ the ship and 

 important material and data were obtained in the shore and deeper 

 waters. The Shumagin Islands were visited for the purpose of deter- 

 mining the desirability of inaugurating cod hatching at that point, and 

 during a few days' delay at Skagway a party explored the headwaters 

 of the Yukon for the purpose of making collections and gaining infor- 

 mation respecting the ascent of salmon in that river. On the return 

 voj^age from Sitka a number of canneries omitted during the northern 

 trip were inspected, the vessel reaching Seattle September 9 and San 

 Francisco September 2-1. From that date until Februar}^ 17 the vessel 

 was in port, during which time repairs were made and an engine and 

 boiler were installed in a new steam launch. 



On Februar}^ 17 the Alhatross left San Francisco to take part in a 

 stud}' of the tishcr}' resources of the California coast, instituted by the 

 Bureau in cooperation with Leland Stanford Universitj" and the Uni- 

 versity of California. The end in view v.^as the exploration and develop- 

 ment of the fishing banks, and operations were carried on in the 



F. C. 1904 2 



