BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 7 
some losses will generally occur, 
written as follows : 
Mr. Blackford, previously to this, had 
“ January 13, 1886. 
“ I am in receipt of your esteemed favor of the 31st ultimo, and am also 
in receipt, per steamer Britannic, of the live soles. I cannot express 
m y joy and gratitude in view of tlie interest your institution has taken 
in this exchange. I see in it the promise of the successful carrying out 
of what I have long desired, that is, the importation of a sufficient num- 
ber of these fish to enable us to determine whether they can be accli- 
mated and reared in our waters.” 
Of one of the late consignments, Prof. Spencer F. Baird, head of the 
U. S. Fish Commission, wrote thus to me: 
“ Wood’s Holl, Mass., July 16, 1886. 
U I am happy to report the success of the latest shipment of soles made 
to Mr. Blackford, per Britannic, for the service of the U. S. Fish Com- 
mission. Twenty of the twenty-five shipped are alive and in good con- 
dition, and feeding voraciously in our tanks.” 
Of a still later consignment of twenty-four fish, of which six died, 
possibly from the excessive closeness and warmth of the weather before 
the Britannic reached Queenstown, Mr. Blackford wrote as follows : 
u New York, August 26, 1886. 
u i received through the hands of Mr. Bartholomew seventeen live 
English soles, which I at once forwarded to the U. S. Fish Commission’s 
headquarters at Wood’s Holl, sending a special messenger along with 
them, and he has just returned, reporting their safe arrival at that point, 
where they were placed with the previous lots. We are keeping these 
fish in large salt-water ponds to see if it is possible to breed them there.” 
Liverpool, England, September 16, 1886. 
2.-TSBE CANADIAN AN© AMERICAN FISHERIES ©F THE ORE AT 
LARES. 
By JOHN 51. BISSEEE. 
One of the ways in which the Canadian treatment of the general 
subject of fisheries is valuable is the exact and useful knowledge which 
they obtain of the whole subject. This accurate knowledge of the fish- 
eries is serviceable in many ways. For instance, it enables the legis- 
lature to know its importance as a subject of legislation \ it tallies from 
year to year the success or failure of the preservative measures ; it points 
out distinctly the value of artificial propagation and the points at 
which natural sources of resupply need re-enforcement by artificial and 
scientific methods. The Canadian reports show the total value of the 
fishery product of the Dominion, and also minutely the relative value 
of each item or variety of fish, as well as that for each province. 
