CHAP. XXXV. THE CANADIAN SALMON FISHERIES. 237 



Tlie exteiisiou of the Canadian railway system to any 

 j)oint on the Bay of Chalenrs would enable salmon from 

 the north shore, and even from Labrador, to be sent, in 

 ice, to any part of the United States. Tlie proposed 

 intercolonial railroad will not only be of immense value 

 to tlie fisheries of the Gulf, but afford the means of sup- 

 plying fresh salmon, cod, mackerel, and herring to at 

 least 15,000,000 people. The long winters on the 

 Gulf coast afford ample time and material for procuring 

 any quantity of ice which a growing fresh-fish trade 

 would require. The vast ice wealth of the north will 

 yet be utilised. In many parts of the world ice is no 

 longer a luxury — it is a necessity. In 1832, only 4,352 

 tons of ice were shipped from Boston ; in 1854, the ship- 

 ments rose to 154,540 tons. In New Orleans, substantial 

 brick ice-houses have been erected at a cost of ,^200,000. 

 By the aid of steam, ten tons of ice can be cut and 

 housed in a minute ; and in the neighbourhood of Boston, 

 it is not an uncommon feat to cut and stow away in the 

 convement ice-houses, near Fresh Pond, 600 tons in an 

 hour. The day will soon arrive when the fish of the 

 Gulf of St. Lawrence, packed in ice, will be found in the 

 markets of every large town in the great valley of the 

 Mississippi from St. Paul to New Orleans. If the Cana- 

 dian salmon fisheries are faithfuUy preserved according to 

 the present regulations, there can be no doubt but that 

 the leasing of the salmon rivers will eventually produce 

 an annual revenue of (^50,000 instead of i^l,437 as 

 in 1862. 



The preservation and increase of this noble fish has 

 been so frequently discussed, and the manner of restoring 



