140 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



amount about 2,000,000 pouutls came from Holland, 1,000,000 pounds from 

 Germany, 1,000,000 pounds from Ireland, 100,000 pounds from Scotland, 

 and only a small quantity from the waters of England. 



Sponge fishing near Appalachicola, Fla. — Mr. Jolin E. Grady, 

 collector, writing from the custom-house at Appalachicola, Fla., on July 

 21, 188G, states that the sponge fishing near there is all done consid- 

 erably more than 3 miles from land. The value of $1.75 per pound 

 is about the amount the sponge buyers intend that the sponges shall 

 cost them, as purchased from the vessels immediately on arrival. 

 ^o sponges are sold here or anywhere by the sponge catchers by the 

 lot. The spongers string their sponges on yarns or tarred strings of C 

 feet in length, and on arriving at port the lot is then carefully counted 

 and thrown into a pile. The sponge buyers are notified, and they ex- 

 amine the size and quality of the sponges, and also the length of the 

 strings or yarns on which the sponges are placed. The sponge catcher 

 guarantees only that a certain number of bunches is in the lot or pile. 

 Each dealer then has three sealed bids, which are submitted to a dis- 

 interested party, and the highest takes the sponges, as the owners bind 

 themselves to accept the highest bid. 



Sea-lions on the coast of Oeegon. — Mr. Zachary T. Siglin, deputy 

 collector, writing from the custom-house at Coos Bay, Oregon, on July 8, 

 1880, states that there are no vessels of that district (Southern Oregon) 

 engaged in deep-sea or outside fishing, but that the fishing of the district 

 is carried on only in the rivers and bays, and is confined entirely to sal- 

 mon. The fishing season will begin about the middle ot August. How- 

 ever, the schooner Euby has recently engaged in the business of killing 

 sea-lions for their oil, and also for the purpose of destroying them, as thej- 

 are a great enemy of the fish. This hunting of the sea-lion is done at 

 the entrance of the rivers and bays, where they are found in great 

 numbers, and if not destroyed it is generallj' believed that they prevent 

 the fish from coming in. 



California trout in Holston Eiver and in tributaries of 

 New Eiver. — Mr. W. C. Pendleton, of Marion, Va., who is clerk of 

 the supreme court of appeals at Wytheville, Va., states that citizens are 

 catching some very fine California trout out of the Holston Eiver. He 

 has seen six of them whi<;h average<l 18} inches. These fish were 

 planted in the Holston, at Marion, in March, 1884, and were yearlings 

 when released. Tate's Eun, adjacent to the Wytlicville hatchery, is 

 pretty well stocked with these fish; every few days some are being 

 caught above here. [George A. Seagle, superintendent of Wytheville 

 Station, Va., in letter to Col. M. McDonald, dated June 15, 1880.] 



Dead fish in Siiallotte liivER, iS"oii'rn Carolina. — Great mul- 

 titudes offish have recently been ibuiid dead in the waters of Shallotte 

 Eiver, Brunswick County, North Carolina. This stream em])ties into 

 Tubb's Inlet from the ocean, about 30 miles southwest of Wilmington. 

 The water is covered by an oily scum, which extends far out into the 



