salmons. The shad, the most valuable river fish of the eastern seaboard, has been extensively cultivated and has long been dependent on artificial propagation. The catch is increasing yearly, notwithstanding the existence of less favorable conditions than confront any other fish of the eastern rivers. The value of the increase in the annual catch of this fish, compared with the yield in the years before the Bureau began its work, is upward of a million dollars.

As a result of the cultivation of cod on the New England coast, a lucrative inshore fishery has been built up on grounds which were either depleted of cod or had not contained cod to any considerable extent for many generations. Long continued fish-cultural operations on the Great Lakes have prevented the depletion of those waters in the face of the most exhausting lake fisheries in the world, and the perpetuation of the whitefish, lake trout, and pike perch seems assured without further curtailment of the fisheries. The extent of the salmon fisheries of the Pacific States has required the most active fish-cultural measures to keep up the supply, and the beneficial influence of the work of the Government hatcheries, supplemented by that of the coast States, has been unmistakable. Many thousands of ponds, lakes, and streams of the interior have been stocked with basses, trouts, and other suitable fishes which contribute largely to the food supply.

The Government is not only maintaining and increasing the supply of food-fish in public waters, but is doing so in accordance with sound business principles. The annual appropriations for the maintenance of the Bureau of Fisheries have been profitable investments, yielding direct financial returns to the public; and these returns have constantly been augmented and for years have been many times in excess of the total expenses of the work.

A NATIONAL AQUARIUM.

The Department has under consideration the question of establishing, in connection with the Bureau of Fisheries, a national aquarium of such size and architectural excellence that it will be a credit to the nation. Public aquaria are recognized as important aids to education and are among the most attractive and useful exhibits that can be maintained at public expense. An appropriation for such an aquarium will in due course be recommended.

PRESERVATION OF ALASKAN SALMON FISHERIES.

The large capital invested in the Alaskan salmon fisheries and value of the annual product demand that prompt action be taken to insure the permanency of the industry. The present drain on the salmon resources is so great that serious depletion is inevitable unless adequate artificial propagation and rigid inspection are instituted. The physical and biological conditions in the salmon streams of Alaska are

so varied and so little understood that final regulations governing the fisheries should be based upon thorough investigation of the waters and fish in each particular section. Such an investigation has just been made.

COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE ALASKAN SALMON FISHERIES.

On November 8, 1902, the President directed the United States Commissioner of Fisheries to appoint a commission to make a thorough investigation of the salmon fisheries of Alaska during the season of 1903, with a view to determining their condition and needs. This order directed the Commissioner of Fisheries to designate Dr. David Starr Jordan, president of Leland Stanford Junior University, as a member of the commission, and further provided that definite recommendations should be made touching all phases of the salmon industry.

The personnel of the commission was as follows:

Dr. David Starr Jordan, executive head.

Dr. Barton Warren Evermann, acting executive head in Doctor Jordan's
absence.

Lieut. Franklin Swift, U. S. Navy (retired).

Mr. Alvin B. Alexander.
Mr. J. Nelson Wisner.

Mr. Cloudsley Rutter.

An extensive inquiry into all aspects of the salmon fisheries was made by the Commission, and a preliminary report, prepared by Doctors Jordan and Evermann, dealing especially with recommendations for the protection of the fisheries, by legislation and otherwise, has been submitted to me, and will receive the careful consideration it deserves. One of the most urgent recommendations of the Commission is for the immediate establishment of Government fish hatcheries, in order to maintain the supply without curtailing production. In accordance with its recommendation the estimates of the Department include four fish hatcheries in Alaska for the propagation of salmon.

The final report of the Commission, containing the special reports of the several members, with a more extended discussion of the natural history and other questions involved, is now in preparation, and will be submitted in due course.

DUTIES OF AGENTS AT ALASKAN SALMON FISHERIES.

Under the law for the enforcement of the regulations for the protection and preservation of the Alaskan salmon fisheries, it is the duty. of the agent and his assistant to maintain a police surveillance over fishing and packing operations during the active season, in order to prevent illegal methods; to report to the courts for prosecution violations of the regulations, and to supply evidence for the conviction of

the offenders; to visit canneries, salteries, and fishing grounds each year in the discharge of these duties; to collect and collate statistical information regarding the details of the industry, and to make annual reports, and, if required, special reports, to the Secretary on the work performed.

RESULTS ACCOMPLISHED BY AGENTS.

The presence of the Department's agents at the Alaskan fisheries has been beneficial as a restraining influence on destructive methods. of fishing. The barricading of streams in such manner as to keep salmon from the spawning grounds is now of infrequent occurrence. The closed season has been carefully enforced and measures taken to remove as far as possible the obstacles to natural propagation.

In addition to the restraint of lawlessness, valuable service has been rendered in the collection of facts upon which to base an improvement of conditions. Thus the need of artificial propagation has been disclosed, and the necessity of revising from time to time the regulations in force. As a further result of information obtained by the agents the tax on the industry was imposed.

SALMON PACK OF 1903.

The Department's agents at the Alaskan salmon fisheries report that the past season was a prosperous one for the fisheries. The number of canneries in operation was 58, and the number of salteries 18. From incomplete returns the season's catch is estimated at about 2,400,000 cases, as against 2,631,320 in 1902. The decrease was due to an intentional reduction in the pack of inferior grades and not to a smaller supply of fish. Compared with the results of other fisheries the Alaskan output was exceptionally large. It is estimated that the world's pack for the past season will amount to about 3,457,000 cases, or 860,000 cases less than in 1902. The run of salmon at the British Columbia and Puget Sound fisheries was unusually light.

Although the season's pack of Alaskan salmon showed a decrease in volume, its market value, owing to higher prices for the better grades, will exceed that of any year in the history of the industry. It is estimated that the receipts will aggregate about $11,200,000, or a gain of nearly 30 per cent over those of the year before. The tax paid to the Government will be about $96,000.

TRANSFER OF ALASKAN SALMON AGENTS TO THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES.

In accordance with the Department's policy of consolidating and unifying related services, the agents employed for the inspection of the Alaskan salmon fisheries and for the enforcement of regulations pertaining thereto will be transferred on July 1, 1904, to the Bureau of Fisheries. The estimates submitted by the Department with reference

to appropriations for the fiscal year beginning on that date make provision for this transfer.

ALASKAN FUR-SEAL SERVICE.

DUTIES OF AGENTS ON THE SEAL ISLANDS.

The agent and three assistants appointed for the protection of the seal fisheries of Alaska are charged by law with the management of the seal fisheries and the performance of such other duties as may be assigned to them by the Department.

Their principal duty on the seal islands is to supervise the taking of seals and to keep careful counts of such skins as are taken by the lessee of the sealing right. They ascertain the condition of seal life and the number of seals present on the rookeries each season by means of daily counts of cows and of periodical counts of bulls and pups.

They also represent the authority of the Government on the islands, which are by law made a Government reservation, regulating the municipal affairs of the native inhabitants and maintaining peace and order on the reservation. They are charged with the expenditure of the natives' earnings from the taking of seal and fox skins and of the appropriation made by Congress for the support of the native inhabitants. This expenditure is effected through the issuance by the agent to the heads of native families of orders drawn on the North American Commercial Company, which at present holds the sealing right.

RESULTS ACCOMPLISHED BY AGENTS.

The work of the agents at the seal fisheries has been of decided value to the Government. Prior to the arbitration of the Bering Sea question at Paris in 1893 comparatively little was known as to the numbers of seals at the rookeries or the conditions affecting them. Since that time, however, and especially during the last seven years, definite information has been annually secured regarding the conditions of seal life. The facts obtained will be of great value should the Bering Sea question be reopened.

Through the efforts of the agents there has been started on St. George Island a fox-raising industry that bids fair to increase the number of foxes to a point where the income derived will support the natives. During the intervals between the sealing seasons roads and other improvements have been made on the islands, so that the two villages there are now models of their kind in Alaska.

The fact that during the eight months of the year when no communication can be had with the outside world a single agent on each island is obliged to maintain order and enforce respect for the authority of the Government is sufficient to show the trying nature of their duties.

SEAL CATCH OF 1903.

As a result of the killing of fur seals on the Pribilof Islands during the season ended August, 1903, there were taken 19,292 sealskins for the quota of 1903, and 82 rejected skins shipped by order of the Department and charged to the quota of 1902.

Of the 19,292 skins so taken, 3,092 were from St. George and 16,200 from St. Paul. The 82 rejected skins came from the latter island.

The catch of 1903 was 3,094 less than that of 1902. This decrease was due to the fact that bachelor seals were not present in so large numbers as in the preceding year.

The counts made on St. Paul Island last summer show that from 1902 to 1903 the number of breeding bulls on that island decreased 17 per cent and the bachelor seals 14 per cent, while the herd of breeding cows increased 3 per cent. During the four years from 1900 to 1903, inclusive, the breeding bulls have decreased 42 per cent, while the breeding cows have increased 9 per cent. The number of breeding cows present on St. Paul Island in 1903 was 82,649, and the number of breeding bulls 1,979. On St. George 14,647 breeding cows were found, with practically no decrease from the preceding year.

The presence of sealing schooners within sight of the islands this summer, before the beginning of the pelagic season in Bering Sea, indicated a pursuit of the American herd of seals during the closed season. It was impossible to determine the nationality of the schooners. There is reason to believe, however, that foreigners are not the only offenders. American citizens are undoubtedly engaged in pelagic sealing under foreign flags. If the law prohibiting such sealing is to be made effective, citizens of the United States should not be permitted to use the flag of a foreign nation as a cloak for the violation of American statutes.

BUREAU OF NAVIGATION.

The Bureau of Navigation, which is charged with the general superintendence of the commercial marine and merchant seamen, except in certain particulars, was transferred to this Department at the close of the fiscal year. At that time the documented merchant shipping of the United States comprised 24,425 vessels, of 6,087,345 gross tons, not including 1,828 yachts, of 74,990 gross tons. This fleet is manned by approximately 170,000 men, including masters. The American steam fleet is propelled by machinery of about 4,000,000 indicated horsepower, requiring an annual coal consumption of over 10,000,000 tons.

The Commissioner of Navigation recommends various changes in the laws relating to pilotage, tonnage tax, boarding of vessels, seaworthiness, and similar matters. Although in tonnage the United