With the Fish Commission 



BY HENRY WARNER MAYNARD 



{Concluded.) 



For a little time there is nothing to be done on 

 the bridge except for the captain to see that the 

 dredge-wire keeps clear of the ship and that the 

 dredge does not foul a rock. Observers, draughts- 

 man and first officer sit on the cabin hatch and 

 look out over the beautiful Sound, where white- 

 caps sparkle and the lighthouses show clear against 

 the sky; tugs, each with a string of barges, carry- 

 ing their freight of granite or lumber or coal, a few 

 schooners, a barkentine under full sail, a steam 

 yacht glistening white and gold, are outlined 

 against the dark -green shores of the islands, and 

 against the horizon a cloud of dense black smoke 

 shows where a torpedo boat destroyer is out for 

 practice; it is a busy place, the Vineyard, the 

 highway for the immense commerce passing be- 

 tween Boston and New York. 



The recorder has been standing, watch in hand, 

 and now he says to the captain, "Four minutes, 

 sir," meaning that that time has elapsed since the 

 dredge touched bottom. The captain turns to the 

 boys, "Stand by to angle," but they have already 

 taken their sextants and are making their simul- 

 taneous observations. " Mark," and the draughts- 

 man plots the ship's position in a point close to the 

 first. The captain leaves his station at the end of 

 the bridge and looks at the chart to satisfy him- 

 self as to the direction of the dredging, the rift 

 better of the tide and the amount of bottom 

 covered. Again there is a pause until the end of 

 the haul is reached. 



Meanwhile, another officer has been taking 

 further data, which are very necessary if the haul 

 is to have scientific value. It is not sufficient 

 merely to dredge up specimens from the bottom. 

 The scientist must know the time of day, the 

 depth of the water, the exact location (this is very 

 important), and the temperature and density of the 

 water both at the surface and at the bottom. It 

 is over the stern that these latter observations are 

 being made. Fastened to the after-rail is a brass 

 support, shaped like a davit, on which the sound- 

 ing apparatus is placed. A brass wheel fifteen 

 inches in diameter carries a fine, strong piano- 

 wire, ending in ten feet of stray line and the in- 

 struments; the movement of the reel is controlled 

 by an automatic brake which sets when the lead 

 touches bottom, and a pair of handles for reeling 

 up. At the end of the line is a heavy lead, and 

 above it a deep sea thermometer and a Sigsbee 

 cup, for obtaining a sample of the water at the 

 bottom. As soon as the dredge haul begins, the 



instruments are arranged and the whole lowered 

 away. The thermometer takes the temperature, 

 and after a sufficient time has elapsed the officer 

 in charge sends down the "messenger," a brass 

 cylinder which slides over the wire, trips the ther- 

 mometer and automatically sets it, so that when 

 drawn up it registers the temperature of the water 

 at the point where it was clamped. The line is 

 now reeled in, and as soon as it begins its upward 

 journey a little propeller on the top of the Sigsbee 

 water cup rotates and closes an opening, holding 

 inside a portion of the bottom water. Meanwhile 

 a sailor has cast a bucket over and drawn up water 

 from the surface, in which a thermometer is placed 

 and the temperature taken. When the sounding 

 apparatus reaches the surface, the contents of the 

 Sigsbee cup are emptied into a copper receptacle, 

 and the density of both surface and bottom water 

 taken with a delicate salinometer, reading to four 

 places. The officer notes down these data, and 

 carries them to the recorder on the bridge. 



By this time the end of the haul is approaching, 

 and shortly the recorder gives warning, "Eight 

 minutes, sir." The captain steps to the end of the 

 bridge and calls, "Stand by to heave up. Stand 

 by to angle." The whistle blows, the donkey- 

 engine begins to work, and the instrument men 

 take another set of observations. Then, as a light 

 spot begins to show far down in the water in a 

 line with the dredge-wire, all the men not other- 

 wise occupied step to the starboard rail to see the 

 trawl as it comes up. The spot grows larger and 

 plainer; the outline of the bridle, at the top of the 

 trawl, can be made out; now the white canvas 

 dredge-bag is seen, and in a moment more trawl 

 and dredge are drawn clear of the water and hang 

 swinging in the air. The larger bag has a mass of 

 starfish, shells and sponges, and at the bottom 

 something can be seen kicking. The mud-bag 

 bulges out, water spurting from all the holes; it is 

 here that the most valuable specimens are usually 

 found, and the captain calls down to the leads- 

 man, "How is the mudbag?" "Nearly full, sir," 

 comes the satisfying response. The boatswain 

 and his men are ready, a pair of ropes are cast 

 around the bridle, and the whole apparatus is 

 hauled in close to the ship's side; then the net is 

 lowered and mud-bog and bottom of trawl taken 

 in on the main deck, two " stories " below the bridge. 



This haul is over, as far as the men on the bridge 

 are concerned, and the captain orders, "Go ahead 

 the port engine. Give her the jingle." The bell in 

 the engine-room clangs and then "jingles," which 

 means full speed ahead, and the vessel begins to 

 move rapidly through the water. The captain 

 studies the chart for a moment, to decide where 



