BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 425 



Your predictiou that tliev would spawu in the Soutli in tbeir second 

 year ijroved true. My carp have made more rapid growtli, and have 

 l)ropagated a year sooner than in their native waters. I liave not tested 

 their eating qualities, but as my pond is now well stocked I propose to 

 try one or two of my breeders, as soon as they recuperate from the ex- 

 haustion necessary to spawning. My success, so far, has been eminently 

 satisfactory, and now when I find, by test, that I have, in addition to 

 this other good quality, a good food fish, I shall be more than compen- 

 sated for my trouble, expense, and waiting. With my experience, 1 do 

 not hesitate to say the Southern waters are peculiarly well adapted to 

 the propagation and raising of cari). 



Gainesville, Ala., April 21, 1882. 



NOTES OIV THE FISHERIES OF OLOIJCESTER, IflASSACHlJSETTS. 



By S. J. MARTIIV. 



[No. 1.— Letter to Prof. S. F. Baird.J 



The George's vessels have not done much the last week. They have 

 to go to Grand Manan after bait ; that makes the trips longer. Three 

 halibut fares have been landed this week ; small fares. Halibut bring 

 a high price, selling during the past week at 9 cents a pound for white 

 and G cents a pound for gray. The outlook for fresh fish is good. Had- 

 dock have not been sold for less than 2^ cents a pound. Cod have been 

 sold for 3 cents per pound all the week. There is a good school of cod 

 in Ipswich Bay — large fish. Schooner Rising Star caught 20,000 

 pouuds in three days. The rest of the boats did as well. One of the 

 liockport boats set 12 nets, where they were getting 6,000 pounds on 

 trawls in one day. When they hauled the nets they took 200 pounds. 

 They cannot get trawl fish in nets, or net fish on trawls. That has been 

 well tried. The Southern mackerel fleet have not done much. The 

 schooner Mertie Delmar was in New York Monday; she had 130 bar- 

 rels of medium-sized mackerel caught thirty miles southeast from Cape 

 Henry. Last year the first mackerel were caught on the 23d day of 

 March. The next, April 19, when 12 sail arrived with 1,705 barrels. 

 The next were caught April 25, when 30 sail arrived in New York with 

 6,000 barrels of fresh mackerel. The mackerel sold in New York Tues- 

 day at 12 and 10 cents each. All the old mackerel are out of the mar- 

 ket. The first salt mackerel will bring a good ])rice. I hope the mack- 

 erel-catchers learned a lesson last summer about selling their mackerel 

 out of pickle to save inspection. They began to sell mackerel out of 

 pickle five years ago. The last three summers it has been carried on 

 extensively. Mackerel sold out of pickle last year for $4 per barrel 

 were sold afterwards for $10 per barrel. I do not see where the general 

 inspector gets his pay when the mackerel are sold out of pickle ; that 



