THE SAINT MARY'S AND ALTAMAIIA IMVERS. 617 



fresh lish. Thousands are often lost iu a week, and the loss of uiic tierce materially lowers the 

 profit ou many others. In my own judgment, 40 cents would be a very small return, and 

 perhaps 50 or 60 would be more equitable. Before the shad reaches the table of its final 

 purchaser it must pass through the hands of two additional agents the wholesale fishmonger and 

 the retail dealer. It appears evident, then, that Florida shad must always be a luxury in the 

 North. If the proposed improvements in the navigation of the Saint John's are ever effected, 

 through lines of steamships to New York, with refrigerators built especially for transporting fish, 

 would doubtless be sustained. In this event the cost of transportation would be much diminished, 

 the cost of icing somewhat diminished, and the risk of loss entirely done away with. The fish 

 would then reach their destination in excellent condition, and we may anticipate a very great 

 reduction in their price. Forty or even 35 cents ought to remunerate the dealers, as well as 

 double that price at the present time." 



STATISTICS OF THE FISHERY. The amount of capital invested in the shad fishery on the 

 Saint John's in 1877 may be roughly estimated as follows : 



The number of fishermen and shore hands does not probably exceed one hundred and seventy- 

 five. 



The total value of the shad fisheries for the four months and a half beginning December and 



ending April 15 may be fairly estimated at $50,000, allowing 25 cents to be the price at retail 

 in Jacksonville. The actual cost of catching the fish has been shown to be 15 cents, allowing no 

 profit and no risk-margin to the capitalists. The cost of taking the fish out of the water, then, is 

 about $30,000. 



Statistical summary* of the fisheries of the Saint John's, Florida, for the season 0/1880. 



Number of men employed 182 



Amount of capital employed - .- $13, 830 



Product of the fisheries, in pounds (shad) 251,700 



Value of product $20,136 



2. SAINT MARY'S RIVER. 



Saint Mary's River lies between Florida and Georgia, and has its source in Okefenokee Swamp. 

 From its size and character we would expect to find it abounding in extensive and valuable fish- 

 eries. Shad fishing, however, has met with only doubtful success, and no organized fresh-water 

 fisheries have ever been prosecuted on the river. A considerable number of sturgeon are taken 

 in the estuary, and find a market in Savannah. The statistics of capture and value are given 

 in the discussion of the sturgeon trade of Savannah. 



3. ALTAMAHA RIVER. 



The shad fisheries of the Altahama seem to have been formerly much more productive than 

 they are now. The migrations of the shad before there were any obstructions extended on the 

 Oconee to some distance above Milledgeville. At the present day, although there is nothing to 

 prevent their passage up to that place, they are rarely or never seen there. 



* For details see. Census Volume on Fisheries. 



