INSHORE FISHERIES 



225 



their porgy stand or press near the shore. This was before 

 factories were built by organized companies for extracting 

 the menhaden oil. 



The first factory in Maine was erected at Blue Hill by 

 a Rhode Island company, in 1864. The same season an- 

 other one was erected at Bristol. This business now en- 

 tered upon a flourishing stage of activity. In 1866 eleven 

 factories were built, all using steam to operate the 

 hydraulic presses to separate the oil from the fish. Nearly 

 every year for a decade saw the erection of one or more 

 factories, the principal center being about Bristol, Bremen, 

 Booth Bay and Southport. By 1876, eighteen factories 

 had been built at a cost of $260,500 for buildings and 

 equipment. Within three years, owing to the departure of 

 menhaden from Maine shores all these factories were idle. 

 By 1877, there were upwards of 60 menhaden factories on 

 the New England coast, with an invested capital near 

 $3,000,000. These factories gave employment to 1,197 

 men, 3*83 sailing vessels, and 29 steamers, besides numerous 

 boats. The yearly consumption of the factories was com- 

 puted at 1,191,100 barrels, or about 300,000,000 fish. The 

 following table exhibits the state of the industry in 1876. 

 It will be seen how important the industry had become 

 in Maine, as compared with the other states, and that there 

 was a greater commercial return for the output than in 

 any other locality. 



The number of tons of crude guano manufactured in 

 other states in 1876 was 29,831 ; in Maine it was 21,414 tons. 



