306 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



cusk and torsk skins have been patented for shoe leather. Siberian peasants clean, 

 stretch, and dry the skin of the fresh-water burbot for leather bags and as a substitute 

 for glass window panes. In some parts of Asia the tanned salmon skin supplies a 

 prettily marked scale-like leather and ray skins a good imitation of morocco. Sham 

 porpoise leather is made from the skins of the seal, walrus, and white whale. The 

 American whitefish yield large good upper leather. India ink is obtained from the 

 cuttle or sepia fish. The mullet's roe provides the botargo of Italy and is an ingredient 

 in Indian curries. Besides the sturgeon, the roes of many other fish furnish caviares. 



On capturing fish, the fishermen should squeeze the ripe roes and milts of the same 

 species of fish into a clean bucket of fresh sea water. Thus fertilization of the eggs 

 would be cheaply secured. The bucket would then have its contents returned into 

 the ocean. By technical education, as soon as the fisherfolks realized the advantages 

 of thus adding largely to their marine animal populations, it is to be anticipated that 

 such ready and rapid egg fertilization might in time become a usual practice. Espe- 

 cially about the middle of February the decks of boats where codfish are killed are 

 actually milk-white with cod spawn, which should be used for artificially rearing cod- 

 fish, as in Norway. Russian scientists have been specially successful in rearing fish 

 from the roes of recently dead male and female fish. 



Mussels, one of the best baits for sea fish, have often been destroyed to serve as 

 a cheap manure. 



Oyster shells are reported to make good "metal" for roads, and have been used 

 to fill up the foundations of buildings and railway embankments; also as ballast for 

 vessels, manure, food for poultry, and as lime in certain cements. However, oyster 

 shells are most profitably employed in the cultivated oyster farms, so that the oyster 

 spat or eggs can attach themselves to the ready-made attractive home of the old 

 oyster shell. In Russia a brilliant white- wash paint is made from oyster shells. It 

 is said that from these shells the ancient Japanese formerly made luminous pictures 

 to appear at night time, and which mysteriously disappeared during daylight. I am 

 informed that this is one of the many lost arts of past history, and, like that of manu- 

 facturing the famous Tyrian purple from the murex or purple-snail, has unfortunately 

 been allowed to die out, perhaps because aniline dyes are cheaper. 



FREE TECHNICAL SCHOOLS FOR FISHERFOLKS. 



Occasional trade or technical free educational and training schools for fishermen, 

 fisherfolks, and fish-curers should be provided by the legislature in suitable situations. 

 These schools would be a national economy and prevent or check wasting fish food 

 and fish products, tending thus to diminish the price of fish to the consumer, and 

 remove much of the fisherfolks' chronic financial distress. Fish would soon become a 

 uniformly fresh, healthy, cheap, abundant food, and, being sold in a frozen condition, 

 it would practically be an imperishable article, as I shall subsequently show. 



Within the last twenty years the construction of fishing boats has much improved, 

 as well as the appliances for catching fish. Since about 1850 the varied combined 

 applications of chemistry, engineering, and mechanics have revolutionized and 

 advanced agriculture. Nevertheless the average fisherman of the United Kingdom 

 seems generally to be a mere primitive fish-catcher, like the savage of present and 

 bygone times, ignorant how to treat and store caught fish. This is not the fault of 

 the British fisherman, but is owing to his political and social misery and misfortune. 





