United States National Museum

GREAT INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES EXHIBITION. LONDON, 1883. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. G. DESCBIPTIVE CATALOGUE OF THE COLLECTION ILLUSTRATING THE SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION OF THE SEA AND FRESH WATERS. BY RICHARD EATHBUN, Curator of the Department of Marine Invertebrates in the United States National Museum. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1883. 511 section a. INTROD UCTION Scientific investigations with reference to aquatic life have always received liberal support and encouragement in the United States, alike from National, State, arid private organizations, and individuals of wealth. With its long stretches of sea-coast, facing the two great oceans, and extending from near the tropics far beyond the Arctic Circle, and with its many large river systems and innumerable inland lakes, some more de- serving of the name of inland seas, this country possesses within its own domains abundant materials for the study of nearly every class of aquatic phenomena, and of nearly all the more important groups of aquatic animals and plants. Since early times these subjects have furnished interesting problems of research to American students of natural history, who, proportionately with the unparalleled growth of the couutry, have rapidly increased in numbers, and now constitute a large working force. In consonance with this increase has been the advancement made in our knowledge of the aquatic fauna and flora of the country, which are to-day quite well made out as regards their more characteristic features, notwithstanding that much of the information we have regarding them is exceedingly superficial. Not less interesting in its way has been the development of methods of research, especially during late years, in connection with marine explorations. The greater portion of the scientific work accomplished, aside from purely anatomical and physiological studies, has been subsidiary to explorations undertaken for practical purposes, and a history of such investigations involves an account of many important industrial and commercial surveys. Exploring parties have seldom been organized for work, at home or abroad, without including one or more naturalists in the corps, and hence nearly all important explorations, of whatever character, have contributed in greater or less proportion to our knowledge of aquatic forms of life and the conditions under which they live. As in other countries, governmental organizations, through the liberal means generally at their disposal, have accomplished the greatest results. State surveys and fishery commissions have also performed a good work, and private expeditions and societies have added their share. The United States National Museum, at Washington, established in 1846, is the re- pository for all scientific collections obtained by national explorations ; and the Smith- sonian Institution, although substantially independent in its organization, holds close relationship with the Government as an advisory board in scientific matters, and as the custodian of the National Museum. The Smithsonian Institution, since its foun- dation in 1846, has therefore exerted a powerful influence in regard to American scientific research, and has planned and generally supplied the equipments for natural history collecting to nearly all Government expeditions, as well as to many private surveys and individuals working wholly or in part under its direction. Most of the national surveys hitherto undertaken have been limited to the territory of the United States and the adjacent waters, although many interesting foreign explorations have been carried on by the Navy Department, the Department of State, and private individuals and organizations. Aside from private enterprises, the surveys of the interior of the United States have been mainly conducted under the Depart- ments of War, and of the Interior the United States Fish Commission and the several 2444—Bull. 27—33 513 514 FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [2] States; and those of the sea-coasts by the United States Fish Commission and Coast Survey, the Treasury and War Departments, and individuals working in the interest of the Smithsonian Institution. The surveys of Alaska have been made by the Western Union Telegraph expedition, the United States Coast Survey, the Signal Service Bu- reau of the War Department, and the Treasury Department. Extensive explorations, both at home and abroad, have been carried on by, or under the auspices of, numer- ous American societies and museums of natural history, and colleges, and notably by the Museum of Comparative Zoology of Harvard College. Following is given a brief summary of the more important American explorations which have contributed in greater or less degree to a knowledge of aquatic life and the conditions of its existence. Investigations by or under the Government are first considered, and afterwards those by museums, colleges, and private individuals. In connection with the Navy Dex^artment, Coast Survey, and Fish Commission, the improvements recently made in the appliances and methods of deep-sea sounding and dredging are briefly described. THE UNITED STATES AND ADJACENT REGIONS, NOT INCLUDING ALASKA. The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. —Although a Bureau of the Treasury De- partment, this survey has much in common with the Navy, as regards the character and methods of its surveying work, and a large proportion of its members of all grades have been officers detailed from the latter service. Its operations, however, are limited to the vicinity of the coasts of the United States, where the depths of water are seldom very great, and where the phenomena encountered are more diverse. The charts, relief models, and coast pilots exhibited will serve to explain the nature and extent of the hydrographic work thus far accomplished, which consists of observations of depth, of velocity and direction of currents, of bottom, intermediate, and surface tem- peratures, of the contours of the coast line, &c. In all instances where important bottom specimens have been obtained in sounding, they have been carefully pre- served and labeled, and while several reports have already been published upon the subject, vast quantities of such material still await examination. The sounding appliances now employed by the Coast Survey are probably more per- fect than those of any similar service of any country. For the greater depths of water piano-forte wire is used, on the principle of Sir William Thomson, with the improved machine of Commander Sigsbee, which is fully described in the catalogue. In connection with the Navy Department, we have given a brief account of the introduction of steel wire for sounding purposes by the United States Navy. In August, 1874, one of the Thomson sounding machines of the original pattern, was furnished to the Coast Survey steamer Blake, in charge of Commander Howell, United States Navy, and then sounding in the Gulf of Mexico. But few trials were made with it, hov> ever, before Lieutenant-Commander Charles D. Sigsbee, United States Navy, succeeded in command of the steamer, in December, 1874. Prior to taking this command, Mr. Sigsbee had planned the original pattern of his own machine on the same principle, shown on plate 7 of Sigsbee's "Deep-sea sounding and dredging" (exhibited). Sigsbee's idea in improving on the original Thomson pattern was, in his words, to obtain a machine "that might be worked with fewer demands on the watch- fulness and ingenuity of those having it in charge." This first pattern was used on the Blake during the remainder of his connection with that steamer, or until 1878, when he was succeeded in command by Commander Bartlett, United States Navy. Before his detachment, however, he had already planned a second machine (shown in plates 8 to 12), embodying the improvements suggested by three years' trial and experiment with his original pattern. The first one of this hind was supplied to Commander Bartlett in 1878, and was continued in use for two or three years with the best of results ; but in 1880 it was in turn superseded by a third pattern, containing still further improvements. It is this latter machine which is described in the catalogue, and of which a model is on exhibition. Being thus fully a [3] FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 515 represented and discussed, no further remarks on the subject are necessary, excepting that it may be just to Sir William Thomson to repeat the statement made by Com- ' mander Sigsbee in the account of his improved machine, that, ' in point of accuracy, the original form of the machine by Sir William Thomson was successful from the start, and it is particularly to be understood that the sufficiency of the machine in that respect is fully recognized." In addition to his sounding machine, Commander Sigsbee has also introduced many improvements in connection with the accessory appliances used with it. Among these may be mentioned the modification of Captain Belknap's sounding cylinder, and the Sigsbee water-specimen cup, which are fully discussed in the catalogue. In moderate depths of water, the Coast Survey generally makes use of an ordinary commercial pattern of sounding lead for recovery, with the Stellwagen specimen-cup attachment ; but in considerable depths a sounding rod or cylinder is employed, in connection with a perforated cannon ball of the requisite weight. This is, therefore, on the principle of Professor Brooke, excepting that the sounding rod now in use is of a later pattern (the Sigsbee-Belkuap cylinder), and the method of attaching the shot is more reliable, as described in the catalogue. Turning now to the improvements made in the line of deep-sea dredging and trawl- ing, we find that, prior to 1877, in such dredging operations as were occasionally carried on by the Coast Survey, the old methods and appliances were always employed. It remained for the Blake, under Commander Sigsbee, and with Professor Alexander Agassiz in charge of the dredging work, to eifect for deep-sea dredging what had just previously been done for deep-sea-sounding.

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