BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES P^TSII COMMISSION. 219 



dam and drew off the water to drain the pond Jbr a meadow, catching 

 barrels of eels of all sizes. These instances cited prove to me that 

 eels do not all return to salt water to spawn, but sj)awn wherever they 

 find suitable places in ponds or streams. 

 MiLLRiFT, Pike County, Pa., August 23, 188G. 



74.— STATIfiiTICS OF THE SEA FISIIEKIES OF FRANCE FOR THE 



YEAR 1SS4.* 



[Abstract.] 



Vessels and men. — During the year 1884 there were engaged in the 

 fisheries 23,029 vessels or boats, with a tonnage of 162,407 tons and 

 manned by 87,179 men. To these should be added 34G Italian fishing 

 vessels, manned by 1,098 men, who engaged iii fishing on the coasts of 

 the fifth district. In addition to these, 53,713 persons (men, women, 

 and children) engaged in fishing on the shores. These figures, as com- 

 pared with those of 1883, show an increase of 4,855 men, 1,GG7 vessels, 

 and 11,142 tons. 



The value of the products of the fisheries amounted to 87,9G1,124 

 francs [$lG,97G,496.93],t that is to say, a decrease of 19,2G5,797 francs 

 [$3,718,298.82] from 1883. The decrease was especially noticed in the 

 cod, herring, and sardine fisheries, and was caused by the course of the 

 sales, which were difficult and not very profitable, owing to the epi- 

 demic which visited the south of France in 1884. 



The products of the cod fisheries (Newfoundland and Iceland), and of 

 the herring, mackerel, and anchovy fisheries, as well as of all those 

 kinds designated by "other fish," amounted in 1884 to 149,GG1,099 kilo- 

 grams [329,942,859 pounds], and in 1883 to 133,131 ,04G kilograms [293,- 

 500,705 pounds], showing an increase in 1884 of 10,530,053 kilograms 

 [30,442,154 pounds]. 



There was also an increase in 1884 of 75,844 hectoliters [214,039 

 bushels] of other shell-fish, 214,344 crustaceans (lobsters, &c.), 250,009 

 kilograms [504,529 pounds] of shrimps, and 41,110 cubic meters [1,451,- 

 800 cubic feet] of marine fertilizers; while there was a decrease of 730,- 

 550,973 sardines, 38,388,451 oysters, 97,371 hectoliters [275,500 bushels] 

 of mussels, and 043,551 kilograms [1,418,773 pounds] offish designated 

 "other fish." 



Cod FISHERIES. — Retarded by the ice, all our vessels had not yet 

 arrived on the fishing grounds by the middle of June. The general 

 mildness of the winter of 1883-84 caused in the arctic regions an un- 



* " Slatistique des peches maritimes." Paris, 1885. Translated from the French hy 

 Hkrman Jacobsox. 



t Throughout this article reductions have heen made according to the following 

 equivalents: 1 franc=19.3 cents; 1 kilogram=2.204G pounds; 1 hectoliter=2.83 United 

 States bushels; and 1 cubic meter=35.31 cubic feet. 



