226 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
seen no mackerel, the inference was that fish of that species were far 
from abundant up to the date mentioned. 
The remarkable scarcity, too, at this time, of whales, porpoises, sea 
birds, etc., which usually accompany schools of migratory surface-swim- 
ming fish, and the almost total absence of those forms of Crustacea 
which constitute the principal food of the mackerel, had the effect to 
make the belief general among the captains of the fishing schooners 
that mackerel would be unusually late in their appearance off the coast, 
if, indeed, they came on in any considerable abundance. 
April 18 began with an easterly wind, hauling southerly and fresh- 
ening as the day advanced, with falling barometer and threatening 
weather. 
At this date our supply of water was nearly exhausted, and the water 
still remaining in the tanks was so thick with iron rust that it was 
nearly unfit for use. I therefore determined to run into Hampton 
Roads for the purpose of filling the water tanks, since it was evident 
that I could do so without losing much time, as the weather would pre- 
vent investigation if the vessel remained at sea. We arrived at Hamp- 
ton Roads at 6.20 p. in,, and anchored. 
On the 19th there was a fresh breeze from the northward, with rain 
squalls. During the day the fishing steamer Novelty and three of the 
mackerel schooners arrived at Hampton Roads for shelter. In the 
evening I went on board of the Novelty to learn as much as I could re- 
garding the observations made by Captain Joyce, who has the reputa- 
tion of being one of the most observant and successful captains en- 
gaged in the mackerel fishery. He told me that he had cruised from 
near Cape Hatteras northward to the Capes of the Delaware and east- 
ward as far as the Gulf Stream. In all this cruising he had not taken 
any mackerel, and he expressed the opinion that they were yet south of 
the region which had been passed over by the fishing fleet; he also 
expressed some lack of confidence as to the appearance of fish on the 
coast in considerable abundance. 
In compliance with instructions, we lay at Hampton Roads until the 
22d of April ; and on that day Dr. T. H. Bean, ichthyologist of the 
U. S. Fish Commission, joined the vessel to make th^ cruise with us, 
and we received on board some apparatus which had been brought 
from Washington by Capt. J. W. Collins, who made a temporary visit 
to the vessel. 
There was considerable wind on the 22d, increasing from a gentle 
breeze in the morning to a fresh breeze, with rainy, threatening weather 
in the latter part of the day. 
We got under way at 10.35 a. m., passed Cape Henry at 3 p. m., and 
headed out to sea, close hauled by the wind on the starboard tack. At 
midnight hauled down head sails and hove to for the night. 
The weather was rainy and foggy on the 23d, with a very fresh south- 
east by east to south wind. It was too rough to do any fishing or make 
