658 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Mr. J. Duncan Campbell, of the Chinese Marine Customs in Lon- 

 don, said in an address, in 1881, that " without any acquaintance with 

 the laws of capital and labor, the Chinese fishermen have come to a 

 practical solution, satisfactory to all of them, of the question of co- 

 operation in benefits." This agrees with my own conclusions, and is 

 accurately true of the large masses of fishermen living around Swa- 

 tow. These fishermen are formed into labor-unions, which are im- 

 portant according to the scale of fishing in which they are engaged. 

 The most considerable companies are those which employ the kaio- 

 hou. Each of them controls two large junks [haio-Jcou) having 

 crews of fifteen men each, and forty-five shallops carrying usually 

 three men each ; making in all forty-seven boats and one hundred and 

 sixty-five men. Each company is directed by a chief, who has under 

 his orders a steward to keep the accounts and attend to the sales. 

 The systems for dividing the proceeds are different in different places 

 and with different companies. In one of the companies each 10,000 

 francs is divided as follows : 1,800 francs for the hire of the boats and 

 the fishing-implements, which are let by a capitalist ; 250 for the ex- 

 pense of religious sacrifices ; 300 for the salai'ies of men under employ 

 who do not belong to the company ; 400 for the helmsman ; of the 

 remaining 7,200 francs, half to the captain, and the rest equally among 

 the men of the company. In the smaller companies, which usually 

 employ only shallops, the proceeds are commonly divided into fifteen 

 parts, six of which go to the captain, two to each of the four men of 

 the crew, and one is applied to the sacrifices. Some companies give 

 thirty per cent to the capitalist who furnishes the ship, seven per cent 

 to the chief of the company, four per cent to his steward, seven per 

 cent to each of the junks, and one per cent to each shallop. The boats 

 divide their shares into as many parts as there are meri in the crew, 

 plus one, and that goes to the helmsman, who always has two parts. 



The river-fisheries are not so lucrative as those of the sea, and less 

 generally give employment to a class of professional fishermen. The 

 tackles used in carrying them on are not essentially different from those 

 employed in similar kinds of fishing in Europe. In the more impor- 

 tant river-fisheries, however, two auxiliaries are employed that are 

 wholly unknown in "Western fishing — the otter and the cormorant. 

 The otter, which is frequently met in the Blue River, is trained to 

 drive the fish into the nets, and does it as dexterously as the best 

 hunting-dogs bring the coveys within reach of their masters' fowling- 

 pieces. 



The cormorant does all the work of fishing for his master, who 

 only has to take care of the boat. The birds stand upon the edge of 

 the shallop till the boatman gives the signal, when they spring into the 

 water to perform their task. As soon as they have captured a large 

 fish or filled their throat with smaller ones, they return to the boat and 

 their master takes possession of the prey. If they find a fish too 



