Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-06-29

the sea imam any ONuNi NC'SC'' hc
Albatross is twin screw iron steam
err rugged as a brigantine. of 1,O74
tons displacement. The complement of
officers and men, numbering eighty, Is
furnished by the Navy. There Is in
addition a small civilian staff, includ-
ing a resident naturalist and fishery
expert, to whom the practical work
of the ship is intrusted.
After spending several years in the
of the Atlantic coast of North Amer
lea. the Albatross was dispatched to
the Pacific ocean in 1883 and con-
tnued fishing operations until the
breaking out of the war with Ger
many. when she and all other boats
belonging to the bureau were turned
over to Secretary Daniels to be used
in the job of subduing the Huns. The
vessel made extended cruises to the
southern and eastern parts of the Pa
ctic. several cruises to the Hawaiian
Islands and Japan, and many visits
to Alaska. in addition to numerous
surveys on the coast of the Pacific
states. all having for their object the
investigation of the physics and BIZ
ology of the regions visited. the de-
termination of their aquatic resources
and the study of their fisheries. A
biological survey was also made Of
the waters of the Philippine archi-
pelago.
Work similar to that done by the
Albatross is conducted by the steam
er Fish Hawk on the Atlantic coast,
This vessel was built for the bureau
in 1879 and is of AL gross tons bur
den.
The bureaus large collection of nat
urnl history specimens are deposited
in the National Museum 1t is by
far the finest collection in the world.
The duplicates are not retained for
government purposes but are dis
trlbuted upon request to public
schools and colleges. In this way
hundreds of thousands of specimens.
representing all groups of aquatic
animals. have been supplied for edu-
cational purposes.
While cooperating with Surgeon
General Rupert Blue of the United
States public health service, DR.. Smith
developed the amazing discovery that
nsh could be used to advantage in
waging campaigns against malaria.
In talking of this phase of his work
he said.
With the measures that are gen.
orally relied upon for the control of
the abundance Of mosquitoes and the
eradication of malaria, this bureau
has no direct concern. They lie within
the DOMAIN of sanitation and entomol-
osy. 1t may be said, however, that it
mas become very clear to all concerned
that under many conditions the direct
methods of sanitary science cener-
ally employed In combating the mos
quito. whether physical. chemical or
engineering. either are not practicable
OF Application. or when applied. fail
OF accomplishing the desired purnose
1T mas been found necessary In many
cases to rely to great extent unon
natures method Of controlling tina
abundance Of organisms through their
competitors and enemies. 1t is we'll
- "O"eNcT, tn2t natures control
oi tne abundance of mosquitoes. as Of
other animals and plants generally. Is
relative and not absolute The prob
lem In this case is to fnd means of
making the enemies OF mosouito
larvae dominant over their natural
prey. or making them efficient in the
determination of the larvae Of ano-
pheiid mosquitoes at least.
The problem is primarily within the
domain OF aquatic biology and con-
Germs especially the small MOSQUITO
eating fishes and other associates and
IN TINS problem, in it's phases both of
investigation and of practical work,
the assistance of the bureau of fish
erles was solicited by the bureau of
entomology and the public health
service. both located in Washington.
me cooperation with the public
health service was principally in the
urgent task Of protecting the health
VI soldiers in cantonment near Au-
gusta. Ga. The plan Of work COM
pr'sed the use OF all available means
VI protecting and increasing the sup
ply OF top minnows in the area under
protection. and the careful observation
oi the effectiveness Of these and other
nSn In the