April 19, 188$. J FOREST AND STREAM. 281 



mty-jjjin JftkheipngB. 



"That reminds me." 

 S31. 



OUT for a fihott trip via G. R. & I. R. R., last summer, 

 and while enjoying a whiff or two from the old 

 brierwood in the smoking car the following took place: 

 Seated opposite me and occupy ing two seats sat two 

 young gentlemen who were evidently bent for the lakes 

 to have a day or so with the black bass, as I surmised 

 from the amount of rods and tackle they displayed. They 

 also had a guitar, which occupied a place among the 

 tackle. While enjoying their cigars they were approached 

 by an old gentleman whom I knew to be a veteran of the 

 angle and who said, "Well, my lads, arc you out for a 

 day or two?' "Yes,"' said one, "don't you see our lay 

 out?" and pointing as he spoke directly at the guitar. 

 "And pray, what are you ging to do with that?" said old 

 Isaac. "Why," said the spokesman, "my friend here 

 plays the guitar and his music will bring the fish to the 

 surface and (picking up a landing net handle) I will hit 

 'em on the head with this club.' When the laughter 

 had subsided somewhat from this sally the old Trojan 

 said: "'Well, if your friend can't play any better now 

 than when I last heard him you won't need the club— 

 he'll paralyzp 'em. 1 ' Banjo. 



Every person tuho it sufficiently interested in the National 

 Park to do his share toward securing protection for it, is in- 

 mted to send- for one of the Forest and Stream's petitioti 

 htov-ks. They are stmt free. 



WORK OF THE GRAMPUS. 



BY/ CAPT. J. W. COLLINS. 

 [Read before, the Biological Society, Washington, April 7.] 



Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Society: 



Professor Baird long ago realized the desirability of carry- 

 ing on the propagation of marine food fishes upon a large 

 scale, in order that certain depleted fishing grounds along 

 the Atlantic coast of the United States might be restocked, 

 so that our markets could be abundantly supplied with the 

 moSt valuable of our ocean fishes, It was largely with this 

 object in view that the important station at Wood's Holl 

 w is established. As soon as that was in such condition that 

 the work of hatching cod, mackerel, etc.. could be exten- 

 tensively carried on, it was obvious that arrangements 

 should be made to supply the station (and other hatching 

 stations which might be* built at a later date), with live fish, 

 while they were in a gravid condition, or with the eggs col- 

 lected from them on the fishing grounds. "The possibilities 

 of artificial propagation," wrote. Professor Baird. 'so far as 

 sea fish are concerned, seemed almost limitless, provided an 

 ample supply of fish, such as halibut, cod, mackerel, etc., 

 could be obtained, it is only possible to get a supply of 

 these by using a smack containing a well, and the possession 

 of such an adjunct has been considered a Very important 

 matter to the Commission." 



More than five years ago Professor Baird had taken seri- 

 ously into consideration the question of having a smack for 

 the use of the Fish Commission, though at that time he had 

 an idea that a vessel much smaller than the Grampus would 

 be sufficient for the purpose. In the spring of 1883, just be- 

 fore my departure for the London Exhibition with Professor 

 Goode, J made two models at Professor Baird' s request, and 

 prepared, in a rough and hurried manner, the plans and 

 specifications. One of these models was for a smack of only 

 thirty-five tons, and the other was for a schooner of sixty 

 tons register. Owing, however, to the fact that the time 

 and attention of the Fish Commission was devoted to other 

 objects at that date, no definite action was taken toward 

 having the smack built. When the question came up for 

 consideration in the fall of 1884, it was decided to have a 

 schooner-rigged vessel built of about eighty tons; one which, 

 while adapted to the special work of collecting fish and fish 

 eggs for hatching purposes, would also be fitted for making 

 special cruises of investigation, which might take her where 

 she would be liable to encounter the roughest weather oc- 

 curring in the Atlantic. 



The well of the Grampus, in which fish are kept alive, is 

 of a unique pattern for so large a vessel, and is specially 

 adapted for the work of the Commission. It is nearly amid- 

 ships, and is cone-shaped, with the base at the bottom of the 

 vessel, the. apex at the deck, being what is commonly termed 

 a "box-well," The dimensions are 16ft. long by 8ft.' wide at 

 the base, and 4ft. by 2Vof t. the top, which is flush with the 

 deck, and is covered with a movable wooden grating. It is 

 stoutly built of oak and made tight to the bottom of the 

 vessel." The outside planking, inside of the space inclosed 

 by the well, is perforated by 200 2in. holes, which permit 

 the free circulation of sea-water into the compartment. This 

 form of well makes it possible to reach any fish that may be 

 in it, from the deck, and obviates any necessity that might 

 occur of grounding the vessel when the contents of the well 

 are to be removed. 



The Grampus was completed and equipped in the sum- 

 mer of 1886, and after making a trip of research along the 

 northern edge of the gulf stream, south of Nantucket" and 

 Long Island, she started on her first cruise to collect seafish 

 for the Wood's Holl hatchery. The cruise was made for the 

 purpose of experimentation in bringing in halibut alive 

 from the fishing grounds. It is probably known to most of 

 you that there has been a marked depletion in the abund- 

 ance of halibut in all the regions where it has been fished for 

 in the western Atlantic. Therefore, Professor Baird con- 

 sidered it of great importance that a special effort should be 

 made to propagate artificially this highly valued species. 

 During the spawning season— from July to December— the 

 halibut is usually most numerous on small rocky patches 

 along the edges of the fishing banks in depths varying from 

 150 to 400 fathoms. The special problem to be solved was 

 whether fish caught in such depths could be kept alive in a 

 vessel's well, for upon the definite settlement of this ques- 

 tion much depended. 



Leaving Gloucester Sept. 22, 1886, the Grampus went direct 

 to La Have Bank. There, in depths varying from 250 to 350 

 fathoms or thereabouts, a number of live halibut were 

 caught and put, into the well. These were taken under 

 specially favorable conditions, the majority of them being 

 caught on a trawl, which we hauled on board of the vessel, 

 so that the fish w r ere quickly and carefully transferred from 

 the hook to the vessel's well. We had hopes that they might 

 live until we could reach Wood's Holl. But our hopes were 

 doomed to disappointment, for none of the fish lived beyond 

 thirty-six hours, and most of them died in less than t wenty 

 Lours. Our lack of success taught us that it is apparently 

 impossible to keep fish alive which are taken in such great 

 depths, since they can scarcely endure the change that they 

 are subjected to in pressure and temperature while they are 

 being pulled up on the trawl line. This change, added to 

 the suffering they must endure in being held to a line for 

 hours, exhausts them to such an extent that it seems quite 

 improbable that they can live when taken under such cir- 



cumstances. It is evident, however, that the results ob- 

 tained, though negative in their character, are important, 

 since we now know what we cannot do, and in the future 

 our attempt to obtain live halibut will be made in a differ- 

 ent direction. 



Halibut are known to occur in the summer in the shallow 

 waters about western Newfoundland and the Island of Anti- 

 costi; and 1 believe they can be brought alive from there to 

 the United States. 



On onr last summer's cruise to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 

 Newfoundland and Labrador, we caught two halibut with 

 hand lines off the Magdalens, in depths varying from about 

 15 to 20 fathoms. These were put into the well and kept 

 there for some time, and when they were taken out they ap- 

 peared as lively as when caught. 



During the past two winters the Grampus has been cm- 

 ployed in collecting cod, pollock and haddock, and carrying 

 them alive to the stations at Wood's Holl and Gloucester. 

 A portion of the time, however, it has been found more ad- 

 vantageous to collect the eggs of the cod from the fish taken 

 by the Gloucester schaoners. Last winter upward of thirty- 

 two millions of cod eggs were obtained for the Wood's Holl 

 station, part of these being taken from the fish which were 

 carried to the station alive and the remainder, 13,550,000, 

 collected from the fishing vessels and shipped to the hatch- 

 ery by rail. Uufortunately for the complete success of the 

 work", the collection of eggs ceased on March 14, at which 

 date about five millions were taken, and after which, until 

 the end of May, spawning cod of large size were very abund- 

 ant some five to eight miles from Gloucester, 



The Grampus was then ordered to cruise in the region 

 between Cape Hatteras and Block Island, to make special 

 investigation of the movements, abundance and habits of 

 the mackerel, menhaden and other migratory species which 

 approach the coast north of Hatteras m the spring. It is 

 true that Prof. Baird much desired to continue the cod 

 hatching until the close of the season. But he considered 

 the investigation referred to more important, and since we 

 had only one vessel available for such research, the cod 

 propagation had to stop. 



It was hoped that the collection of cod w T onld begin early 

 last fall, but there was considerable delay in getting the 

 Grampus coppered and this gave her a late start. It was un- 

 fortunate, too, that several hundred codfish which she 

 had collected, most of which were stored in live ears at 

 Gloucester— part being in the vessel's well— we derived no 

 benefit from. Before, the Gloucester hatchery (which was 

 built last December and January) was completed, the 

 weather grew suddenly cold, while the temperature re- 

 mained so low that the harbor was soon frozen over, and all 

 our fish died 



But notwithstanding the weather has been exceptionally 

 severe, the Grampus has collected 31,500,000 of cod eggs dur- 

 ing the winter. Her work in that direction stopped two weeks 

 ago and to-day she left Wood's Holl on a cruise of investi- 

 gation similar to that she made last spring, and in the same 

 region. Part of her crew, who have been well trained, have 

 been detailed to prosecute t he work of collecting cod eggs by 

 going out on the Gloucester fishing vessels which return 

 each night to market their catch. Thus the effort is being 

 made by this assignment of men, to have the Grampus carry 

 on a cruise of research in the Atlantic, and at the same time 

 supply the Glocester station with cod eggs. I hope the 

 attempt may be successful, but while so much remains to be 

 learned of the habits and migrations of our fishes, if is 

 evident that one vessel like the Grampus can find enough to 

 keep her employed at sea for years to come, while it is just 

 as apparent that there is fishcultural work enough for one 

 schooner to do from the beginning of January to the end of 

 December. 



It maybe permissible to mention here that quantities of 

 floating eggs were taken last spring in small towing nets in 

 the waters off the mouth of the Chesapeake and northward. 

 This spring a special effort will be made to ascertain what 

 species of fish the eggs are from by carrying on the schooner 

 fish-hatching apparatus to develop the embryos. And if 

 large quantities of these eggs are secured, it may be possible 

 to carry them alive to Wood's Holl, where they can be 

 hatched under the most favorable conditions. 



To return from this digression, I will say that the col- 

 lection of sea fish for hatching purposes may be carried on 

 in various ways, such as fishing with hand-lines, trawl-lines, 

 gill-nets, seines, etc. The special form of apparatus required 

 usually depends largely upon the species sought for, but 

 occasionally upon locality or season. Thus mackerel, men- 

 haden and herring can be caught, with least injury to the 

 fish, in a purse seme or trap, whiie cod, halibut and other 

 ground-feeding species, may be readily taken on hand-lines 

 or trawls. 



In the fall and early part of the winter, cod are usually 

 caught on hand lines on the rocky shoals along the New 

 England coast. Many of these shoals lie off Cape Ann, in 

 Massachusetts Bay, and this has been the favorite fishing 

 ground for the Grampus. In prosecuting this fishery a small 

 herring called spurting is used for bait. This is caught in 

 large quantities near the shores of Ipswich Bay. and is 

 brought to Gloucester upon teams, where it is sold for bait 

 to the fishermen. 



If we are going to make a trip upon the Grampus, and 

 about midnight there is a prospect for a "good fish day," we 

 must soon thereafter be on the alert to watch for the bait to 

 arrive, from the east side of Cape Ann. While still half 

 asleep we climb over the vessel's side into a dory and pull for 

 some well-known landing at the wharves, looming in dark 

 shadowy outlines in the distance. Scrambling up a broken 

 ladder or slippery piles we reach the top, and then wend our 

 way through dark alleys and forsaken streets to the point 

 where the bait sellers are most likely to be intercepted. 

 There we meet some half dozen fishing skippers, who, like 

 ourselves, are in quest of bait. The stars twinkle brightly 

 overhead, giving promise of a fair day. But the air is de- 

 cidedly frosty, the frozen snow creaks beneath our feet as we 

 pace back and forth, Avhile an attempt is frequently made to 

 overcome the chilling influences by a vigorous threshing of 

 hands. There is some growling at the delay, but little 

 other talk — the conditions are not favorable to yarn spin- 

 ning. 



At length we descry the expected wagon approaching, and 

 at once gather around it to learn the price of the spurting it 

 contains. Soon a bargain is struck, whatever the price, for 

 there is no time to bandy words, and the half frozen bait 

 hawker has apparently reached a condition of mental as well 

 as physical congelation, for he will not budge from his first 

 figures. Securing a supply of the bait, which we pay for on 

 the spot, we hurry on board the vessel. 



The sails have already been hoisted, and we are scon 

 under way and heading out of the harbor. Passing Eastern 

 Point, the course is laid for Old Nan's Pasture, Brown's 

 Rock, or some other of the numerous small rocky spots, five 

 to eight miles distant. The exact location of these is deter- 

 mined by range marks, which the fisherman has memorized, 

 for it never occurs to him to put these marks in writing. 

 The proper position being reached, the headsails are hauled 

 down and the vessel is anchored. All hands now gather at 

 the rail and put over t heir hand lines, and soon the fish are 

 being pulled on board. As fast as they are taken in they 

 are carefully unhooked and thrown into the well. If the 

 hook has not penetrated their gills or touched any other 

 vital part, they usually survive without difficulty, but .gen- 

 erally a considerable percentage die soon after being caught. 

 The day's fishing ended, the anchor is weighed, sails are | 

 hoisted and the vessel stands away for the harbor, where j 

 she seeks shelter until the following morning, when the 

 same scenes are re-enacted so long as the weather is favor- 



able and a supply of bait can be had. Advantage is taken 

 of stormy days to transfer the fish into the live cars at the 

 Gloucester station, though last winter it was necessary to 

 carry them to Wood's Holl. 



About the middle of December, the so-called "fall school" 

 apparently leave the shore grounds, and move off into deep 

 water or depart entirely from the coast. Then it is neces- 

 sary to use trawl lines to catch the cod. In this case the 

 lines are usually set one day and hauled the next, if the 

 weather permits, and instead of the men working on board 

 of the vessel, they are obliged to go out in dories, while the 

 schooner sails back and forth in their vicinity until the 

 fishing is ended and the boats return on board. 



At first, we had much difficulty in keeping alive these 

 fish which were taken on the trawls, until they could be 

 brought on board the vessel and put into the well. Boat- 

 shaped live-cars were tried, but these did not. prove satis- 

 factory, for, though it was possible to keep fish alive in them, 

 they were unwieldy to handle and in a rough sea would 

 bump into the dories, and when brought alongside of" the 

 vessel would frequently take a dive beneath her bottom and 

 thus make it very difficult to manage them. The problem 

 of successfully keeping the fish alive, vt hich were caught on 

 the trawl lines, and transferring them to the well of the 

 Grampus, was successfully solved by the use of large bags, 

 made of coarse netting, which I devised for the purpose. 

 These are secured alongside of a dory while a trawl is being 

 hauled, and as fast as the fish are caught they are put into 

 the hag, where they remain until the lines have been taken 

 in. The vessel then comes to alongside of the dory, and the 

 bag, around the top of which is fastened a rope, is quickly 

 hoisted on board and its contents dumped into the well. 

 This can be done even when the weather is quite rough; and 

 since trawl-fishing in winter must often be carried on when 

 there are fresh winds and considerable sea, the adoption of 

 this simple device has been of great advantage to the Com- 

 mission. 



As previously mentioned, it has frequently been found 

 most advantageous to the work of the Commission for the 

 Grampus to collect eggs from the cod which the fishermen 

 catch, rather than to depend upon the procurement of eggs 

 from the fish she would be able to take herself. When 

 carrying on this work she generally has on board one or 

 more expert spawn takers. If the weather is favorable for 

 fishing, the Grampus gets under weigh in the early morn- 

 ing, about the same time that the fishing vessels leave 

 Gloucester harbor, and proceeds with tbem to the fishing 

 grounds, from five to forty miles distant. There she cruises 

 about among the boats to ascertain where the most fish are 

 being taken. This haviug been learned, her dories are sent 

 on board the fishing schooners most liable to have large 

 catches. In each boat are two seamen, who may be those 

 who have been trained in taking eggs, and besides there 

 may be in one or more of the dories one of our expert spawn 

 takers, sent out from the hatching station. An equipment 

 of collecting pans, dippers, etc., is carried, the pans being 

 peculiar in shape and specially designed for this outside 

 work. Reaching the side of the fishing schooner, and watch- 

 ing the proper opportunity as the dory rises upon a wave, 

 the men scramhle over the vessel's rail and climb on board, 

 taking with them their pans and other apparatus. 



Soon the schooner's dories arrive alongside, and their catch 

 is thrown upon the vessel's deck. This is the opportunity 

 for the Fish Commission men, who handle the fish as rapid- 

 ly as practicable, selecting those that are ripe and imme- 

 diately taking the eggs from them. This is continued un- 

 til the last of the fish are thrown upon the deck and all the 

 eggs are obtained which can be secured at the time. The 

 men then quickly climb into their dory, and pull away for 

 the Grampus, unless they see an opportunity of securing 

 more collections on board of some other vessel which has 

 boen longer delayed in hauling her gear. When the day's 

 collection is ended and the dories have all returned to the 

 Grampus, which, in the meantime, has been cruising 

 back and forth, her officers watching every movement, she 

 heads away for the harbor, where she anchors close to the 

 hatchery on Ten Pund Island, and the. eggs are quickly 

 transferred to the hatching boxes, or shipped by rail to 

 Wood's Holl. 



But there are many difficulties, hardships and perils to be 

 met with in this work which I have not yet hinted at. 

 Spawning a codfish might, at first thought, be considered a 

 very simple and easy thing to do. But imagine the scene of 

 the operation on the sloping, slippery deck of a fishing 

 schooner, which is jumping and lurching in a tumble of a 

 chop sea, tacking this way and the other to pick up her 

 boats, and her lee scuppers afloat with water all the time. 

 Now. grasp a slimy codfish of 601bs. weight and try to take 

 its eggsl You brace yourself, of course, as best you can, but 

 unless you have had a training at sea and know tne move- 

 ments of fishing boats, the chances are that in less than two 

 minutes you go sliding away to leeward, perhaps lose hold 

 of your fish, while your spawn pan starts off on a cruise of 

 its own, and is soon sailing gaily along the lee scuppers and 

 in danger of going over the rail. A lively scramble follows, 

 as a matter of course, and the work is resumed as speedily 

 as possible, while additional precautions are observed to 

 retain the proper relations between man, fish and apparatus, 

 and to prevent another slide to leeward. It is quite suppos- 

 able, however, that a too frequent occurrence of such mis- 

 haps, especially if the discomforted spawn taker gets well 

 drenched with icy spray, will produce a condition of mind 

 and body far from what may be termed comfortable. 



I think it is not necessary to discuss this operation of 

 spawn-taking at great length, since sufficient has been said 

 to convey some idea of the difficulties attending it. 



It may not be fairly claimed, perhaps, that the Grampus 

 is exposed to so many dangers as are the vessels fishing 

 upon the outer banks in winter. Nevertheless, her work is 

 not performed without much exposure of the men and more 

 or less hazardous adventure. 



On one occasion last winter she visited the fishing grounds 

 off Gloucester, and the men hauled their trawls when the 

 temperature was from 7 to 12 degrees below zero, and the 

 vapor lay so thick upon the water that the dories could not 

 be seen, except at brief intervals, more than a quarter of a 

 mile distant. Two of the men froze their feet and faces, and 

 we can surmise what the result might have been if those on 

 board of the vessel failed to keep trace of the boats and left 

 them exposed to the peril of finding the land in the dense 

 vapor. 



On the 15th of February the men on the Grampus had the 

 most severe experience they have yet met with. As usual, 

 they left Gloucester in the early morning. There was a stiff 

 breeze off the land, but a promise of a fairly good day for 

 fishing. Reaching the grounds, a bout twelve miies from the 

 land, two dories w r ere sent on board the fishing schooners to 

 collect cod eggs. Shortly before noon the wind piped up 

 sharply from the northw 7 est, promising a hard thresh to 

 windward to reach Gloucester. At the same, time the tem- 

 perature fell rapidly, and the vessel's deck and rigging was 

 soon covered with ice, for the flying spray froze wherever it 

 fell. 



One dory, with her crew of two seamen, returned on board 

 the Grampus, leaving tne spawn-taker on board the fish- 

 ing vessel, where he preferred to stay rather than take the 

 chance of making a safe passage in a small boat, with such 

 a gale blowing, ^i'he Grampus then stood along to pick up 

 her other dory. But, before she arrived near the scnoouer, 

 astern of which the boat was towing, the painter parted and 

 the dory was seen adrift. By skilful maneuvering the Ooat 

 was picked up and hoisted on board, but if was then so 

 rough, and the wind was increasing so rapidly, that it was 

 not considered safe to send for the two men on ooard of the 



