Part 45 (2/2)
”The statistical division of the Bureau ascribed a great many of the fatalities to badly-built vessels, so that a number of them foundered at sea in bad weather”
”How could the Bureau help that?”
”It did help it wonderfully,” the director answered ”A thorough investigation was set on foot and all kinds of vessels examined The experts of the country were consulted and hundreds of models made to find out just which was the -fleets of all the world were visited, and as a result a schooner was built and called the _Grampus_, which beca-vessels The boat-builders of the country since then have followed that type, and the loss of life from vessels of the _Grampus_ type in the last ten years has been less than one-fourth of that fro From the port of Gloucester alone, this hasof over six hundred lives”
”That's getting results!” said Colin adly
”And the commercial results, while they don't co of life, of course, are even bigger The winter cod-fishery of New England was absolutely revolutionized by the introduction of gill-nets with glass-ball floats, the catch becoe, while at least one hundred thousand dollars was saved annually in the single iterounds have been located, and apparatus has been devised which enables the fisherrounds which they previously had been unable to reach
[Illustration: TESTING THE OCEAN'S CROP
Experimental haul on the Bureau's vessel, the _Fish Hawk_, to determine the character of the population of shore waters
_Courtesy of the U S Bureau of Fisheries_]
”There are soaccomplished that it's hard to naot to collect the figures on fisheries in order to deter If a town reports a bad season, when all the other ports have been fortunate, the Bureau finds out why If the catch of a certain fish is decreasing all over the country, then this species must be turned over to the fish culturists for artificial hatching and increase of supply, and so on in a thousand directions The statistical end has to get the figures We base all our work on those”
”I wonder what I shall have to do?” said Colin, with a note of query
”That I don't know anything about,” the director answered ”As director of the Biological Laboratory, I'm on the scientific division, and really can't tell you much about the cultural and statistical ends I understand, however, that the Deputy Commissioner plans to send you to the mackerel fishery”
”From Gloucester, Mr Prelatt?”
”No, from Boston At least that is where you are to meet Mr Roote
Rather a full review of the mackerel fishery has been ular statistics of Boston and Gloucester fish-ents are appointed to make monthly reports You have not been called onrecently, have you?”
”No, sir,” answered Colin; ”alh speci, because it's too near the end of the time to start any new details So I haven't et a few days together on the oyster drill, then,” said the director, ”before you go away”
When the time came for Colin to leave Woods Hole he found hiretted that he had accepted the ation, because he saw that he could have got permission to work on with Mr Prelatt for a week or two But the ed, and when the boy arrived in Boston, he was alert with the interest of a new experience
The statistician was a silent reeted Colin with feords and eyed him critically
”Hm! You can handle a boat?”
”Yes, sir,” said Colin in surprise
”Get aboard the _shi+ner_ at seven-thirty to-morrow, at the dock next to Gray's,” and he nodded his head and walked off, leaving Colin to stare after hih and clear enough, only I don't happen to knohere Gray's is!”
A little questioning around the waterfront, however, enabled him to find the vessel, and as the lad had been in Boston a couple of ti The _shi+ner_ hailed fro,” as Colin said under his breath One hundred and twelve feet long she ith an air, as she sat on the water, of knowing every little wickedness of the ocean and understanding the way to conquer it too; her hty-five feet, and was stepped well forward, with a booreatly when he put it at eighty feet Although the boy was not a keen judge, he thought the bowsprit i, and noticed what a narrow nose the seiner possessed
Early the next ly, but the captain of the _shi+ner_ was a Gloucester fisherman, and he went slap down Boston Harbor with every inch of canvas set alow and aloft The seiner lay well over on her side, and Colin, while he had often sailed in small boats with the lee rail under, found it a new sensation to go tearing along at such speed He knew nothing of his new chief, and stole a glance at hi a pipe with entire unconcern
Colin sotten, the statistician was a Bureauthe water at thirteen knots an hour easily, although her thirty-six-foot seine-boat was towing after her
”She certainly can sail, Mr Roote!” exclairunt in reply