BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 119 
plained. I will here mention, first, that young cod, in their natural ele- 
ment, betake themselves to the deep waters when the upper waters be- 
gin to be cold, which usually takes place in the month of November. 
That at the same time they go, as it were, into the mouths of their many 
enemies, and the largest number of them are thus destroyed, has noth- 
ing to do with the present question. Those who escape all danger, no 
doubt, have a very comfortable existence in the deep waters, where they 
are able to procure for themselves a sufficient quantity of food in addi- 
tion to the congenial temperature. That such a migration could not 
take place in the basin was evident ; and all they could do was to 
search out the deepest holes, where they keep themselves as well as 
they can. That this is hindering their growth is easy to see, and espe- 
cially as they during the cold weather eat almost nothing. 
I may also mention, in this connection, that the water has not been 
renewed in the basin as often as might have been necessary, and may 
not have been so healthy for the young cod to live and thrive in. I 
have, nevertheless, seen only one dead in the basin during the winter, 
but that there may be more of them dead is quite possible, in the deeper 
holes, where the bottom cannot be seen. 
Had this experiment been carried out to its fullest extent, the steam 
pump should have been kept going at least two whole days in each 
week, but the means at our disposal would not allow that. 
The principal question is, however, satisfactorily settled : That the 
cod fry artificially hatched have the power and energy to live, grow, and 
develop when set at liberty and left to care for themselves in their nat- 
ural element, the sea. 
We must thus leave this question to rest for the present, especially 
as so many others of great importance in this connection are yet before 
us for solution. I shall again refer to the progress of the young cod in 
my early report for 1887. As the basin is now and has been covered 
with ice since the middle of December, I cannot venture to say how 
many are alive there yet, but I should suppose they still amount to 
several thousands. 
Table showing the work during three winters. 
Year. 
Eggs taken. 
Young cod 
let out into 
the sea. 
Loss, 
per cent. 
1884 
12, 575, 000 
48, 760, 000 
68, 880, 000 
5, 095, 000 
29, 620, 000 
32, 510, 000 
59. 5 
1885 
39. 3 
1886 
52.8 
Arendal, Norway, January 1, 1887. 
