16 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER, OF FISHERIES. 
its practical bearing in fish culture, and the inquiry will soon permit 
a definite conclusion to be reached. 
Studies of the physiology of the Pacific coast salmons have been 
continued. A field party spent the entire fishing season on the Co- 
lumbia River, obtaining much information and collecting material 
for use in laboratory chemical analyses. In conjunction with this 
inquiry, a large amount of data was gathered relative to the catch 
of salmon in the wheel fishery. 
The systematic examination of the interior waters of the country 
with reference to their biological and physical characters and to 
their present and prospective fish life has been continued. This sea- 
son parties have had under investigation Sebago Lake and connect- 
ing waters in Maine, Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York, 
and certain small lakes in Wisconsin. The work in Wisconsin, as 
referred to in the report for last year, has been in cooperation with 
the State Geological and Natural History Survey, and has been ad- 
dressed particularly to the oxygen content of the water at different 
depths and its relation to geographic and bathybial distribution of 
the lake trout, whitefish, cisco, muskallunge, and other fishes. The 
results already attained have an important bearing on the fish- 
cultural operations of the Bureau and of the various States. 
Since the autumn of 1907 the steamer Albatross has been em- 
ployed in conducting a survey of the fishing grounds and aquatic 
resources of the Philippine Islands. All parts of the archipelago 
have been visited, extensive collections have been made, and much 
information has been obtained regarding the conditions and develop- 
ment of the commercial fisheries, the fish trade, and collateral 
branches. This work was interrupted for several months while the 
Albatross was taken to Hongkong to undergo extensive repairs to 
machinery and rigging made necessary by the hard and continuous 
service to which the vessel had been subjected. The survey will be 
brought to a close in 1910 and the vessel will return to the United 
States. 
In July, 1908, the schooner Gramjms was employed for several 
weeks in investigations pertaining to the animal life of the Gulf 
Stream off southern New England. Collections were made with 
surface and deep-sea apparatus, and many soundings and temperature 
observations were made at various depths. 
MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORIES. 
The marine biological stations of the Bureau at Woods Hole, Mass., 
and Beaufort, N. C., primarily established and maintained for study 
and experimentation in the interests of the fisheries and fish culture, 
have as usual been resorted to by competent investigators from all 
parts of the country. While the Bureau provides ample facilities 
for qualified students and does not attempt to dictate the scope and 
