September 24, 1951

Dear Dr. Hersey:

The tape recording of fish noises arrived just before I left home for a week in New York, or I would have written sooner to thank you. I think the material is fine. I shall probably use only extracts from it at any one time, and have found a place here in Washington where I can have phonograph discs prepared.

I plan to use several short selections from this recording in connection with my own appearance on the first "Book and Author" luncheon program in New York on October 16. I understand that the addresses are broadcast as a strictly educational program, with no commercials. I assume that you would have no objections to such use. I plan to comment briefly on each portion used, telling the circumstances under which the sounds were recorded, and of course mentioning the cooperation of WHOI in making the recording available.

I'm certainly very grateful, both to you and to Dr. Smith, for your prompt and very satisfactory response to my request.

WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION

WOODS HOLE, MASSACHUSETTS

September 10, 1951

Miss Rachel L. Carson
204 Williamsburg Drive
Silver Spring, Maryland

Dear Miss Carson:

Under separate cover I am forwarding a reel of magnetic recording tape containing about fifteen minutes of examples of fish noises with a commentary about the locations and conditions under which they were recorded. These are in answer to your request for such recordings to Dr. Smith, our Director. They should be played on a 7 1/2 inch per second magnetic tape player and you will discover that only about 1/2 to 2/3 of the tape is used in the recording.

It may well be that you will not want to use all of this material at any one time. It also may well be that it will be inconvenient for you to arrange to have a magnetic tape player with you for your lectures. However, we have had very unhappy experience with conventional phonograph discs in that the recordings have such a short life that after relatively few playings the sounds are scarcely recognizable for what was originally recorded! I am sure you will have better luck with tape recordings. However, if you desire, please do not hesitate to have these re-cut on phonograph discs. We have no ~~short~~ feeling about this sequence being reproduced in ~~its entirety~~ but I trust you will find the descriptive comments of some help in preparing your own use of them.

I assume that you appreciate our feeling that this material should not be made available for such things as commercial radio broadcast or other such uses.

If we can be of any further assistance please let me know.

JBH:fm