426 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



length and weigh about 12i pounds. The bonito as well as the soda feeds on smaller 

 fishes; but they have a very fastidious appetite, so that dead fish can not be used 

 for bait. The soda comes nearer the coast than does the bonito. 



Both nets and lines are used in bonito fishing; but angling with bamboo rods is 

 the chief means of fishing, and it has attained a high degree of perfection. The 

 bonito being found chiefly near hidden rocks and in rapid currents, nets can not be 

 used to advantage. 



The hooks for fishing bonito are of two kinds, viz, those used with true baits and 

 those with artificial baits attached to them. In the latter thetartificial baits are made 

 to resemble both in form and color either sardines or squids. 



A fishing .scene off' the Shiwono Misaki, in the province of Kii, illustrated in the 

 Japanese section, represents the method of angling for bonito. The man in the 

 middle of the boat, lifting up his right hand and holding a dipper in his left, is cast- 

 ing Sardines into the water to attract the fish ; 2 men near the stern with fishing-rods 

 in their left hands and with long bamboo rods in their right hands, are throwing 

 water on the bait by means of spatulas attached to the end of the bamboo rods, so 

 that the fish may not see the line and the hook above the bait; a man near the prow has 

 succeeded in catching a fish and has just freed it from the hook by holding it under 

 his arm; a man at the stern has caught a large fish, and a boy is about to raise it up 

 with a hook. The man at the stern with his face turned toward the right side of the 

 boat is the master. He is using a hook with artificial bait. 



A bonito circle net is used at the entrance of the Bay of Tokyo from the latter 

 part of autumn to the early part of winter. The bunt is made of hemp, but the wings 

 are made of straw. The net is made up of two halves, each measuring about 1,550 

 feet in length. The meshes are from about 2£ inches to 5 feet. To work this net 4 

 boats with 48 men are required. Of these the 2 smaller boats serve as leaders, searching 

 out the shoal of fish and giving orders. When the signal is given, the other boats, 

 which have hitherto carried the two halves of the net separately, join them together 

 and encircle the shoal. The wings are gradually tucked in and the fish are driven 

 into the bunt. 



The bonito is to a.certain extent eaten raw; but nine-tenths of the fish caught 

 are smoked and dried for preservation. Some are also preserved in salt, but very 

 rarely. The fish is mashed for food, like the tai, and oil and scrap are also prepared 

 from it. 



In smoking bonito, the fish is cut lengthwise along the spine and the lateral lines 

 into four pieces, and the head, tail, fins, and bones are removed. The pieces are then 

 well boiled, smoked, and dried. The bonito thus treated can be kept for any length 

 of time without any change in its taste. It is shaved into small pieces and used as a 

 condiment, smoked dried bonito being one of the necessities in Japanese culinary art. 

 The shavings are also eaten by themselves with a little sauce added. Smoked dried 

 bonito is also esteemed by some as a stock for soup. For this purpose the shavings 

 are boiled with water, and the broth is then cleared by filtering. To the filtrate is 

 then added sauce or other condiments, and an excellent soup is made. 



