Bulletin - United States National Museum

The dredging explorations of the Coast Survey on the east coast of the United States have been of a very interesting nature, and much pioneer work has been successfully accomplished. In 1871, the first year of the Fish Commission, the summer station was at Wood's Hall, and about 250 hauls by dredge and beam were made in the surrounding region.

9] FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 521

522 FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [10]

11] FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES 523

27] FISHERIES OP THE UNITED STATES. 530

DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE OF THE COLLECTION ILLUSTRATING RECENT SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS OF THE SEA AND FRESH

VESSELS EMPLOYED EN" MARINE EXPLORATIONS

33] FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 545 The condenser is common to both engines and forms their framing

0.; Tanner's sounding machine for depths below 1000 fathoms and for navigational purposes; dredging arm, 36 feet long and 10 inches in diameter, heel swung to fore-mast, 7 feet 2 inches above deck; dredging block at boom end, line and.

INDEX TO THE DETAILED PLANS OF THE STEAMER ALBATROSS

Wooden bitts

35] FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 547

Lamp-room

Chronometer chest and lounge

Bunk

548 FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [36]

Steam drum

Ward-room companion way

Ward-room skylight

Bunk

Budder head

37] FISHERIES OE THE UNITED STATES. 549

550 FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES, [38]

LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHIC VIEWS, ILLUSTRATING: THE DREDGING AND SOUNDING APPLIANCES OF THE STEAMER FISH HAWK

554 FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [42]

The wardroom of the Fish Hawk

Sounding Apparatus.— Blake's chief work has been to take deep-sea soundings, for which purpose the Sigsbeesounding machine, described elsewhere, is now used for all depths below 100 fathoms. It was while in command of the Blake, from 1874 to 1878, that Lieutenant Commander Sigsbee perfected his Thomson principle sound apparatus. The latest form of machine, which allows rolling in while steaming forward, is located just forward of the port rigging.

The boys' hangers are of 2 inch wire rope, and the halyards for the same are of 2 inch manila. Other special features of the Blake's dredging equipment, all taken from that ship, include dredging rope, rubber buffer accumulator, iron dredging blocks, double beam trawls and deep sea dredgers. Dredge, Lifting Machine, etc. - The Blake's Dredger (Plate 32) can hold over 4,200 fathoms of dredging cable.

The barrel of the boiler is of boiler iron, 3 feet 6 inches long by 2 feet in diameter, and riveted to the two cast iron side plates.

556 FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [44]

557LIST OF PLATES ILLUSTRATING THE DEEP-SEA SOUNDING AND LIST OF PLATES ILLUSTRATING THE DEEP-SEA DRILLING AND DRAGING EQUIPMENT OF THE STEAMER BLAKE DURING HER EXPLORATIONS OF THE SOUTH COAST AND EAST 19 OF THE SOUTH AND EAST 19 .*.

558 FISHEEIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [46]

Same as above

The improved trawl ready for use

APPARATUS FOR COLLECTING ZOOLOGICAL MATERIALS

FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 561

51] FISHERIES OF THE' UNITED STATES. 563

566 FISHEKIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [54]

The ordinary trawl net, as described above, is fixed to the coarse net by tying the ring, just enough from the mouth, so that the lower part of the fine net reaches almost to the bottom of the larger one. The old practice of trawling for animal forms at intermediate depths by means of a trawl net, which during several landing, trawling and retrieving operations remained open, was not considered to cope with insufficient evidence of habitat. of such specimens, which were obtained, this apparatus was sought by the checked authors. then used it successfully. The bearing faces of the connecting frames are rounded and the internal movement of each is limited by the bay which forms part of the frame.

Working Apparatus.—It is necessary first to fix the buffer to soften the stop of the falling weights, which are, cylinder and frame 38 pounds, clip 4 pounds, messenger 8 pounds, total 50 pounds. When climbing, the buffer must withstand not only the weight of 50 kilograms of metal, but also the resistance offered by water to pass through some parts of the apparatus. The messenger, clip and cylinder fall together, the valve being held open by the resistance of the water.

It is proposed that, instead of the soft wire crank, the friction clamp be so constructed as to receive the end of the wire rod, starting from the ends of the valve handles, and that this be done in such a way that, when the valve is closed and the rod is connected to the clamp, the bottom of the latter will be in firm contact with the upper part of the cylinder frame.

ACCESSORY APPLIANCES USED IN CONNECTION WITH DEEP-SEA DREDGING AND TRAWLING

572 FISHEEIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [60

The pins or bolts are of steel, the bushings of cast iron, the side plates of thin iron plate, the hooks and strap of wrought iron. The side plates are 19J inches in diameter, five-sixteenths of an inch thick, and have an intervening space of about 2 inches for the clutch. The hole through the center of the shank is 3f inches across and 2 needles through, the bunch thickening around it to form a sort of center.

574 FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [62

APPLIANCES FOR THE EXAMINATION AND STORAGE OF ZOOLOGICAL MATERIALS

Its original use was as a warehouse that received the contents of the trawl instead of emptying it onto the deck as had been done previously, but its advantages soon proved to be so great that it has also been used to wash the contents of the mud, at any time the quantity of. The bottom of the frame consists of heavy duty galvanized iron wire mesh with 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch mesh. A light frame of wood is made to fit loosely inside the main frame, and its underside is covered with fine wire netting of one-twelfth inch mesh.

This represents the true bottom of the sieve, and the coarse mesh underneath serves only as a support. The model shown is one-third full size in terms of overall dimensions and wood thickness, but the wire mesh is the same as the large sieves. It consists of two wooden cross pieces, shaped more like a semicircle, joined by two narrow wooden side pieces inserted into the end pieces, leaving a flush surface.

The outer covering consists of wire mesh of two thicknesses, the inner with meshes of one-twelfth of an inch or less, the outer of strong galvanized iron wire with meshes of half an inch.

576 FISHEEIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [64]

65] FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 577 frame work of moderately heavy wire ; the second netting is also of

The cover is of tinned copper, and is also bordered with a brass rim threaded to match the mouth. The rim overlaps at the edges a sufficient distance to cover a rubber washer, by which the mouth is made tight by unscrewing the cover. The second and third tanks of the series have the same height as the above, but the former is only half and the latter one-fourth the other dimensions, and they therefore have capacities of 8 and 4 liters respectively.

It measures 23 inches long, 8 inches wide and 14 inches high and will hold approximately 12 liters of alcohol. The style of cover described above was designed by Professor Agassiz, after whom tanks fitted with it were named "Agassiz tanks". A new cover style was recently produced for the United States Fisheries Commission.

67] FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 579 which works a thumb-screw passing into a screw hole in the top of the

APPLIANCES FOE DEEP-SEA SOUNDING

The normal position of the crosshead is at the top of the guides and can only be pressed against the resistance of the springs. In this way a very sensitive accumulator is provided to soften the shocks on the wire during winding, and which also shows by a scale on the pipes the degree of tension on the wire at any time during the same operation; so the accumulator is also a dynamometer. An odometer attached to the shaft of the crosshead pulley immediately displays the number of meters of wire that has been paid out or spooled.

The method of drawing the friction line through the crosshead is peculiar, as advantage is taken of the presence of an accumulator to obtain an arrangement which will put any desired tension on the friction line without the aid of the hanging weights formerly used for this purpose is. purpose. This peculiar arrangement of friction line and accumulator also functions as a controller of the movement of the pulley when paying away, thus: During the downward movement of the vessel,. As the reduced speed of the reel or the rise of the vessel restores the tension on the wire, the line of friction is reduced by the responsive action of the accumulator, and the reel then rotates more.

For this purpose, two spring shells are placed on the friction line, one in front of the element and the other behind it.

73] FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 585

The following description of the method of protecting the wire during storage is taken from Commander Sigsbee's description: "When the wire was received in closed cans, the latter were painted and stowed below in a safe place, and then only an occasional inspection or touching of the outside of the can was necessary. Winding of the wire from the turntable is a slow process and is best carried out in port. 34; The preservation of the wire when on the work reel is an important point, but it is not a serious obstacle to the use of the sounding wire.

Overlap the ends of the wire by at least a foot; pass them through and wrap each free end tightly around the spiral turn of the opposite wire. Although the spirals should start close to the cross, the "mouth" of the latter should not be so sudden that it weakens the wire from torsional tension. At the end of each coil, the weld should be gradually reduced from the thickness of the coil to the thickness of the single wire, to avoid a sudden change in cross-sectional area, which would cause weakness.

Beginning close under the knot, take ten twelve turns of the wire around the rope against it; then put it under a strand of hair, and make another group turn frequently under the first group, this time with the rope; then fold and repeat against lay,.

590 FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [7S]

They consist of a brass tube about 11 inches long, and seven-eighths of an inch in diameter on the inside, with two opposite faces 5 Jincheslong and a half finches wide, through which the mercury and the scale of the thermometer may be seen. The lower end of the pipe, which is open, passes on the sides with four longitudinal holes with three holes for the free entry of water and ends on one side in the string for the suspension of a messenger. The clip for the fixed connection of the tube to the sound wire is fixed on the upper part of the hook.

It consists of a square piece of brass raised on one side to form an oblong or groove in which the aquadrant to an eccentric curve fits against the sound wire and is controlled by a stiff spring. The upper part of the box is fitted with a "messenger head", designed by Lieutenant Tanner, and consists of a 2 inch long tube which is screwed onto the main tube. It is fitted at the top with a perforated screw cap, and has a portion on one side three-fourths of an inch long, but of different widths, the upper third or a little more being three-eighths of an inch wide, and the lower two-thirds five-eighths of an inch wide, the great apse part of the slot curving from the upper one. sliding hooks,fortheat-.

They are held in place by a brass pin which passes loosely through their inner ends and fastens into the sides of the messenger head.

81] FJSHEEIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 593

594 FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [82]

595 well within the margin of safety; and on lowering again the propeller is well within the margin of safety; and on lowering again the propeller would in this case rise again and disengage. However, vane deflection overcomes any ill effects of vessel motion and the valves are freely open throughout the descent, regardless of the number of stalls. It is obvious that the follower can only be pulled out of this second position by hand, as the lugs and slots, which are obliquely inclined, can only grip the guide in one direction.

Water resistance, which would bring the propeller to a stop on the climb, would also pull the propeller away from the screw cap. If each propeller were arranged to close followers passing through equal distances in the water, each cup would close when the cup had passed that distance after the ascent began. Each unit to the third place, or thousandths of the density of fresh water, is represented by a length of 0.3 inch, which is divided into five parts, admitting an accurate reading of a unit to the fourth place of decimals according evaluation. .

596 FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [84]

34;The two cans are made of galvanized iron and are of the same shape and size—a cylinder, 11 inches long and 8 inches in diameter, the upper being with an econ, 3 inches in height. In use, the opening of the lower can is kept open for the entrance of water, to facilitate the sinking of the can and prevent it from being crushed under pressure, while that of the upper can. The cans are connected by a length of sound wire (diameter.028 inch) and are so loaded with old pieces of lead or iron, or with pebbles, that when set afloat the lower may sink to the full extent of the connecting wire , while the upper net can be immersed to the base of its conical thread. above, thus making the submerged surface of the two cans equal.

To observe surface currents, the bottom can is sunk to a depth of one or two fathoms, simply to prevent the effect of wind and surface wash on the floating can.

MAEINE ZOOLOGICAL STATIONS

87] FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 599 Large faucets to draw off salt water are placed at each sink ; and by a

MAPS, MODELS, AND COLLECTIONS OF NATURAL HIS- TORY, ILLUSTRATING RESULTS OF EXPLORATIONS

600 FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [88J

MOLLUSCA

ECHINODERMATA

93] FISHEKIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 605

PORIFERA

97] FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 609 Cambarus gracilis Bundy

COLLECTION OF AMERICAN FRESH WATER SPONGES

MICROSCOPIC PREPARATIONS

99] FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 611 Heteromeyenia repens Potts

DBIED PREPARATIONS, CONTAINED IN BOTTLES

COLLECTION OF MOUNTED MARINE ALGM FROM THE ATLANTIC AND

107] FISHEEIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 619

HERBARIUM OF NORTH AMERICAN ALCM

SPECIMENS OF ROCK FORMATION FROM DEEP WATER OFF THE NEW ENGLAND COAST