456 HISTORY AND METHODS OP THE FISHERIES. 



of the vessel from $15 to $25 as a bonus for the privilege of supplying them with bait, though the 

 item appears in the vessel's bills at regular market rates, and the crew of the George's-man are 

 obliged to settle on this basis. This bonus was formerly paid to the captains who arranged for the 

 bait, but of late years the owners have come to take the matter in hand, and the baiting vessels 

 make their arrangements directly with them, paying the bonus to the owners rather than to the 

 captains. 



Probably one-third of all the frozen herring brought to the United States each season is sold to 

 the Gloucester fishermen for bait. According to Mr. A. Howard Clark, Gloucester used in the 

 winter of 1879-'SO 9,954,000 frozen herring, and in the winter of 1880-'81 10,265,000. The price 

 varies according to the scarcity of the fish or the competition in the market. When the supply is 

 large the price sometimes falls to 25 or 30 cents per hundred, but at the beginning and close of the 

 season, or during periods of scarcity, it sometimes reaches $2. The average price for the past two 

 or three winters has been from 50 to 75 cents. 



FROZEN HERRING FOR FOOD. When frozen herring were first taken to Boston there was a 

 peculiar prejudice against them, and it was with difficulty that a market could be found. The 

 Cape Ann Advertiser of February 23, 1877, after speaking of the small quantity sold for bait to 

 the Gloucester vessels, gives the following account of Captain Smith's experience in introducing 

 this fish into the Boston market: 



"The balance of the cargo not finding sale for bait was taken to Boston, when the fish mer- 

 chants and hucksters refused to have anything to do with them, believing that the people would 

 not buy and eat such fish. The captain, however, succeeded in inducing some Irish fish-peddlers 

 to take a few at 75 cents per hundred, and soon after they commenced retailing them (at 2 cents 

 each) it was found that a profitable vein had been struck, and the crew of the Flying Cloud had 

 all they could do in counting out herring, the price soon advancing to $1 per hundred, until the 

 whole was disposed of, and as many more could have been placed on the market without diffi- 

 culty." 



The same difficulty was experienced in disposing of the first cargo of frozen herring in the 

 New York market. The first fish taken to that city were carried by Capt. Sylvanus Smith, in the 

 winter of 1857. " The fish dealers were shy of the new enterprise, but finally the cargo was dis- 

 posed of, and from that time fresh herring in a frozen state have been an important feature of the 

 New York market during the winter months." 



From the introduction of this fish into the leading markets frozen herring have become a 

 favorite article of food among the laboring classes of the larger cities, and are distributed to a 

 considerable extent among the people of the smaller country towns. They form a cheap and 

 wholesome food at a season of the year when other fresh fish are obtained with difficulty and 

 usually bring a high price. They have a great advantage over the ordinary fresh fish in that they 

 can be packed in barrels and shipped to a considerable distance without danger of loss. With the 

 exception of those sold in Gloucester for bait, nearly all of the frozen herring are carried directly 

 to Boston and New York by the vessels, two or three cargoes being carried to Philadelphia each 

 season. At these places they are packed in barrels for distribution, and sent as far south as Wash- 

 ington and as far west as the Mississippi River. Some of them after reaching their destination 

 are thawed and salted by the dealers and sold as pickled herring, while others are salted and 

 placed in the smoke-houses, where they are cured for bloaters or hard herring. Fish once frozen 

 are not particularly desirable for either of these purposes, as they become very soft and their flesh 

 is of a peculiarly dark and unattractive color. 



