Smith's
association with the Woods Hole scientific community was resumed
upon his return home from Siam in 1935, when he became Associate
Curator in Zoology in the Smithsonian Institution. He acquired
property at the corner of Millfield and Gardiner Streets in
Woods Hole and established a summer home there. Even while working
on his monumental monograph of the Hole fauna, and he was frequently
seen in the laboratory of the Bureau of Fisheries. The descriptions
of Leiostomus xanthurus and Alectis crinitus, both species new
to Massachusetts Bay, were his last contributions to the ichthyology
of the Cape Cod area. Biologists working at Woods Hole during
the summer of 1935 recall the interesting evening lecture delivered
by Smith at the MBL auditorium. He described the aquatic life
of Siam he had observed during the 12 years of his explorations.
He gave vivid accounts of his close encounters with many poisonous
snakes and of the biology of the Siamese fighting fish. Snakes
frequently invaded his bedroom at night and found shelter in
the sleeves of his coat. He told about the 12-foot python that
lived under the house but for more than two months could not
be seen, although its presence was known by the tracks left
on the sand and by the continuous disappearance of chickens.
Smith's friends throughout the world were saddened by his sudden
death on September 29, 1941, from an attack of coronary thrombosis.
The appraisal of Smith as a scientist and man given after his
death in 1941 by L. Stejneger, Chief Curator of the National
Museum, is shared by many zoologists who were privileged to
know him personally. "As U.S. Commissioner of Fisheries", writes
Stejneger (1941) "Dr. Smith was Baird's worthiest successor.
. . . In my heart two pictures stand side by side, Spencer Fullerton
Baird and Hugh McCormick Smith; higher tribute I cannot conceive!"
Extensive repairs to the buildings and renovation of equipment
were necessary by 1915. This need is reported in the following
excerpt from the annual Report of the Commissioner (Smith, 1917,
p. 34) which states: "The Woods Hole Laboratory is the oldest
station of the Bureau. Its history and its public service are
closely linked with that of the Bureau and the earlier Fish
Commission for which it once served as temporary quarters. After
more than 30 years of usefulness the laboratory building and
equipment are not in a commendable state of repair. It is desirable
that suitable provision be made for its renovation.
In 1916, R.E. Coker was appointed "Assistant in charge of inquiry
respecting food fishes", and later on served as temporary summer
Director of the Laboratory. The effects of World War I and the
impending participation of the United States in the conflict
began to exert their influence on scientific activities. Various
investigations at the Woods Hole Laboratory that were in progress
in June 1917, were continued only during part of the year. Before
the end of the fiscal year a new policy was adopted with regard
to the operation of the Bureau's laboratories because "of the
necessity of concentrating all efforts, as far as possible,
upon the immediate increase of aquatic food supply. " In the
following two years, 1918 and 1919, the Laboratory was not opened
for general investigations, but concentrated its effort on improvement
of methods of preserving fish and on a study of nematode infestation,
a question which had a direct bearing on the marketing of fish.
The laboratory was largely occupied by the Navy in 1917-18,
and the investigations normally conducted at the station were
discontinued or transferred to other points, in 1919, the Navy
Department withdrew from the Woods Hole Laboratory and it was
reopened under the directorship of P.H. Mitchell. Research activities
of this year were concerned primarily with the physiology of
oysters, reddening of salt fish caused by bacterial contamination.
Edwin Linton was engaged in the studies of fish parasites, and
F.E. Chidester carried on laboratory experiments on the behavior
of fishes and their migrations.
In March 1920, a wooden building (fig. 31) containing the steam
boiler, engineroom, and machine shop burned down. The fire spread
across the street and destroyed the dining hall of the Marine
Biological Laboratory. Plans for a new brick building were made,
and the contract for the construction of a fireproof structure
to house the boiler, machine shop, and sea-water pump- at the
cost of $51,000- was signed on January 6, 1921. The building,
with equipment, was completed during the fiscal year of 1921.
Because of the lack of funds for research activities, however,
the laboratory was not opened.
In that year Henry O'Malley became the new Commissioner of Fisheries
and appointed R.E. Coker Director of the Laboratory for the
summer of 1922. Administrative responsibility of the Washington
office necessitated Coker's presence at the headquarters, and
he spent only the month of July at Woods Hole. The laboratory
record for the summer 1922 contains the names of 19 guest investigators
working on a great variety of biological problems. Subjects
of their inquiry ranged from the studies of diatoms, regeneration
of sponges, fish histology, physiology of vision in lobster,
parasites of fishes, and haematology of fishes, to the study
fo the anatomy and genetics of the fruit fly. The Bureau biologists
were engaged in two research projects: hydrographic and biological
survey of Long Island Sound conducted by P.S. Galtsoff (recently
appointed Naturalist of the Albatross) and seasonal variations
in the composition of plankton of Woods Hole waters by Charles
J. Fish (instructor in embryology at Brown University and aquatic
biologist of the Bureau). The Woods Hole station was used as
a base for the operation of the U.S.S. Fish Hawk in Long Island
Sound.
One of the guest investigators, Miss Marie Dennis Poland, began
a study of the methods of identifying fish eggs and larvae.
In 1923 she continued the work as field assistant of the Bureau.
And in 1924, while still working with Charles J. Fish on the
identification of larval fishes found in plankton, joined him
in matrimony. The team of Charles and Marie Fish became well
known to the biological community of Woods Hole as a couple
deeply devoted to marine research. The paper describing the
seasonal distribution of plankton of Woods Hole region (Fish,
1925), summarizes the observations made from samples collected
throughout the years by the simple device of suspending a large
plankton net from the corner of the wharf where the tides kept
it in a horizontal position for several hours.
R.E. Coker resigned his Bureau position in 1923 to become Professor
of Zoology in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
He continued, however, as a summer Director of the Laboratory
from June 22 to September 8. Among the temporary appointees
of the Bureau were Charles B. Wilson, working on the collection
of copepods of Chesapeake Bay; Paul Visscher of Johns Hopkins
University, studying the nature and extent of ship's fouling
with special reference to biological aspects (Visscher, 1928);
James I. Penney, working on the biology of the wood destroying
crustacean Limnoria. The scope of research, as in diatom flora
of Woods Hole, by Paul S. Conger of the Caernegie Institution
in Washington, to structural development of oral glands of snakes
by Albert M. Reese, professor of Zoology of West Virginia University.
A considerable part of the Laboratory space on the second floor
was occupied by N.A. Cobb, nematologist of the Department of
Agriculture in Washington, and his assistants.
The laboratory and living accommodations of the Woods Hole Station
were used to their full capacity in 1923. Every working table
and every room in the residence were occupied. It was a policy
of the Bureau of Fisheries to encourage biological research
at the Laboratory, not only by offering laboratory tables free
of charge, but also in providing living accommodations for guest
investigators that were not needed by the government employees.
Because of the increasing scarcity of housing facilities in
the village, the privilege of having a room in the residence
was highly attractive and the number of summer applications
always exceeded the space available in the laboratory and in
the residence. It was a difficult duty for the Director to assign
the residence rooms. Some of them being large and facing the
sea were eagerly sought for, while others- small and facing
the street were much less desirable. Somehow the Director was
able to distribute the guest investigators in accordance with
their scientific status and age. Dissatisfaction and hard feeling
were avoided, since the task was performed skillfully and with
great tact, as I remember, there was a remarkable spirit of
cooperation and friendship among the biologists gathered for
a summer session. A great deal of that attitude originated from
the summer Director of the Laboratory who, with his family,
usually occupied an apartment on the second floor of the residence
and used the three large living rooms on the first floor for
social gatherings, scientific meetings, and card or chess games
enjoyed by the staff and their guests. Meals were taken at the
MBL dining hall across the street, where the Fisheries investigators
enjoyed the same privileges as those with MBL offered to its
research scientists and students, relationships between the
two institutions were friendly, and the spirit of cooperation
prevailed in the entire scientific community.
The MBL meals were inexpensive , $7,00 a week in the 1920's,
and adequate. They were served three times a day, according
to a timetable which was strictly observed. It was a serious
matter to be late for breakfast, since the village had no restaurants
or lunch counters. The doors were promptly closed, and late
comers were not admitted. The arrangement was necessary because
many of the waiters and waitresses were students of the MBL
courses and could not be late for their classes. Meals were
served in a family style, each person occupying his assigned
place at a table set for 12. Seating arrangements were the responsibility
of Miss Isobelle Downing, affectionately known to everybody
as Miss Belle, who for several decades supervised the messhall,
directed the serving, and maintained strict discipline. The
allocation to different tables required tact and a remarkable
memory which helped Miss Belle to arrange her customers in congenial
groups. The MBL messhall was an important social factor in the
life of Woods Hole, since there was no other place where the
people could meet and chat. By 7:00 p.m., when the doors were
closed and only a few persons remained inside finishing their
dinner, several groups were formed on the porch to spend about
an hour in conversation and relaxation.
