OBSERVATIONS UPON FISHES AND FISH-CULTURE. 
59 
Capt. Fred. W. Wilson, under date of Febuary 12, 1889, stated that he has fished 
most of the time in winter off Gloucester, Mass., for fifteen years past. In the winter of 
1887-88 and 1888-89 he saw an unusual number of small cod on hard bottom every- 
where in the vicinity. They ranged from 5 to 10 inches in length, and toward the end 
of January he saw some that weighed about £ pound. Captain Wilson says the 
cod are credited to the hatchery on Ten-Pound Island, and if one-half of the number 
taken on his vessel reach maturity the success of the work will be established. Capt. 
Isaac Joyce about the same time made a similar report; he believed that the young 
were more plentiful in the winter of 1888-89 than ever before; the smallest ones taken 
by him were about 8 inches long. Capt. Henry S. Jacobs, on February 11, 1889, wrote 
that more small cod were seen in the fall and winter of that year, from the range of 
Thatcher’s Island to the range of Half-Way Bock, than during any other season in 
his experience. A large number of fish 9 inches long were among those taken. On 
three occasions 1,000 pounds of such cod were caught at one haul. He attributes the 
increase of cod to the work of the hatchery at Gloucester, Mass. 
The difficulties experienced in keeping the cod eggs afloat at Gloucester, Mass., 
have already been mentioned, and also the fact that eggs which sink do not always 
fail to hatch. The difficulty with these eggs led Mr. W. H. Lynch, machinist, to the 
use of aquaria jars with water coming in from below and the top covered by cloth to 
retain the eggs. He suggested, also, placing a perforated f inch composition pipe 
along the bottom of the hatching trays and connected by rubber tube with the supply 
pipe, producing an upward current which would float the eggs. 
The egg collecting began October 23, 1889, and continued until May 6, 1890. 
January and February were the best months. The largest yield in one day was nearly 
3,500,000 on February 1. The number from 242 females was about 47,500,000, an 
average of nearly 200,000 to each female. 
Hatching eggs in roily water . — In hatching eggs of the cod, haddock, and pol- 
lock at Gloucester, Mass., great mortality was caused by roily water, the sediment 
adhering to the eggs and causing them to sink. This difficulty was partly overcome 
by the use of the automatic jet; for the bulk of the eggs it served the purpose 
admirably, but greater difficulty was experienced in keeping cod eggs in circulation ; 
many of them (apparently fertilized) sank to the bottom, and most of them failed to 
develop. By increasing the circulation after storms, many eggs that had sunk were 
cleaned and again became buoyant and hatched, yielding a fair percentage of fry, and 
in some cases eggs that remained on the bottom were developed and the young try 
appeared vigorous. 
Haddock ( Helanogrammus ceglefinus). 
The receipts of haddock eggs at Gloucester, Mass., during the latter half of the 
season were very large, but the percentage hatched was very small, the methods now 
in use for developing these eggs not proving satisfactory. The first eggs were taken 
February 13, 1890, and the last May 7, 1890. The fry were liberated in the outer- 
harbor from April 12 to May 8. The eggs were obtained from 240 females, the average 
yield for each being 126,000. 
