156 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



will be up Sunday. One vessel from Portsmouth and three from Swamp- 

 scott have net s. The schooner Barbara Frietchie has gone to the West- 

 ern Bank, carrying three nets ; and schooner Commodore Foote is going 

 there with the same number. Some of the vessels tried floats made of 

 cork boiled iu pitch, which filled with water in two nights. One had 

 hers of sheet-iron, but they flattened together. Now, all have provided 

 themselves with glass ones. On Monday they got 2h cents per pound 

 for fish in Portsmouth. The wind is blowing fresh from the northeast 

 to day, and the nets cannot be hauled. 

 Gloucester, Mass., March 2, 1881. 



The vessels with cod gill-nets have failed to get fish during the past 

 week, as the weather has been too rough. Some of them hauled their 

 nets this morning, getting from 2,000 to 3,000 pounds, which sold at 5 

 cents per pound. Schooner George Clark, jr., has returned from the 

 Western Bank. One of her 3 nets was out two days in 00 fathoms of 

 water and caught only 19 fish. The weather was rough, and I do not 

 think the net was set right. The sinkers were too small; it takes 4 

 pounds to sink one ball, and some of the sinkers she had weighed only 

 2 pounds. Schooner Commodore Foote set 2 nets in 50 fathoms of 

 water on Western Bank, and got 50 large fish to a net. Next month 

 when the fish get into shoaler water the nets will do well. I think 

 they would be successful in GO fathoms if they were set right. George 

 |Capt. George H. Martin] is going to the Western Bank next month and 

 will give the nets a fair trial. He will take 32 of them with him. 



Finback whales are plenty on the coast. Three were shot at Province- 

 town; there are many in Ipswich Bay, and the fishermen say there are 

 plenty of them on George's. There is a great school of herring on 

 George's, which are of very large size. The weather is very cold. For 

 two mornings the thermometer has been at 19° at six o'clock. There 

 are two Gloucester vessels at Grand Manan. I think they will each get 

 a load of frozen herring. A small vessel arrived this evening with 

 50,000. 



We shall hear more about the nets next week when other Western 

 Bankers get home, and then I will write again. 



Gloucester, Mass., March 6, 1881. 



The spawn I sent you this morning was the best I could get. There 

 were 7,000 pounds of codfish here this morning, but there was only a 

 bucket of spawn from the whole. They were nearly all large, ripe, male 

 fish. Captain Gill says that on Wednesday he carried 6,000 pounds of 

 cod to Portsmouth, which were half females. 1 never saw all the fish 

 males before at this time of the year. I opened 22 that came out of a net 

 yesterday, and everyone was a male. 1 think the female fish will come 

 back as soon as the sea goes down. Schooner Martha .Jane had 0,000 

 pounds of codfish. Her captain gutted his fish and sent them to Bos- 

 ton, lie says they were all males. The fishermen think it strange that 



