FISHERMEN'S OWN BOOK. 



233 



Every Part of the fish is now 

 utilized, the skin being the last to 

 find its place among merchantable 

 articles. This is used for the man- 

 ufacture of fish glue and cement, 

 and the product is ranked among 

 the best in the world. There are 

 two companies in Gloucester en- 

 gaged in its manufacture, and their business is constantly increasing. The 

 raw material is held at $12 per ton, at which price it finds a ready sale. 

 The skins are also used in the manufacture of guano, and now that the bone- 

 less fish industry has assumed such large proportions these skins form a 

 large source of profit to the fish dealers. 



The First Trawl Fisherman of whom we have any record was Mr. 

 Coleman Manning of Rockport, whose unexampled success in fishing was 

 long a mystery to his fellow fishermen, until the secret was discovered, caus- 

 ing considerable indignation at the method pursued, as it was thought it 

 would damage the fisheries. This was about 1852, and the trawl roll used 

 by Mr. Manning, an uncouth-looking affair, has been presented to the Na- 

 tional Museum of the United States. Mr. John Rowe, of East Gloucester, 

 claims to have set a trawl across Brace's Cove, in May, 1820, but the prac- 

 tice was not then followed up. 



Menhaden Factories, — The number of menhaden factories in operation 

 last year, 188 1, was 97, employing 73 steamers and 286 sailing vessels, with 

 2,805 n^en, who caught 457,192,000 fish, from which were made 1,266,549 

 gallons of oil and 27,592 tons of crude or 15,027 tons of dried guano. 



The Materials of Which Fish Are Composed. 

 — Considered from the standpoint of the food, fish, 

 as we buy them in the market, consist of flesh, or 

 edible portion, and refuse — bones, skin, entrails, etc. 

 The proportions of refuse in different samples of 

 the same kind, in different conditions, vary widely. 

 Thus a sample of flounder contained 68 per cent, 

 of refuse and only 32 per cent, of flesh, while one 

 of halibut steak had only 18 per cent, of refuse and 82 per cent, of edible 

 materials. Among those with the most refuse and least edible flesh are the 

 flounder, porgy, bass and perch. Among those with the least refuse are fat 

 shad, fat mackerel, salmon, and dried and salt fish. The edible portions 

 consist of water and solids, actual nutrients. The proportion of water and 



