AQUATIC rUODUCTS AS FEKTILIZERS. 255 



$1(1,000; shells and agricultural lime, 60,000 tons, worth $150,000, and 

 seaweeds, 250,000 tons, worth $312,500, making a total estimated out- 

 put for this country per year of 41(;,r)30 tons, worth $2,118,310. 



THE MENHADEN INDUSTRY. 



The menhaden belongs to tlu^ Clupeidcv or herring family, and is 

 about the size of the common herring of the New England coast, but 

 somewhat deeper and more robust. It is not considered a food-fish and 

 is rarely eaten, owing to the abundance of bones, although the flavor 

 is not unpleasant. However, it is one of the most important of all 

 of the species on the coast, being the principal source of bait during 

 the summer, in addition to its use in the manufacture of oil and 

 fertilizer. 



The menhaden occurs all along the Atlantic coast of the United 

 States from Maine to Texas, and most abundantly between Cape Cod 

 and Cape Henry, except that during certain j^ears it seeks the coast 

 of Maine in enormous quantities. It appears on the approach of 

 warm weather, ranging from March and April in Chesapeake Bay to 

 May and June on the Maine coast, and remains until late in autumn. 

 Its bathymetrical range extends from the inland limits of salt water 

 to the Gulf Stream, but probably 95 per cent of the catch is made 

 within 2 miles of the coastal line. It is captured principally by means 

 of purse seines, operated from steam vessels with carrying capacity 

 for several hundred thousand fish. 



About a quarter of a century ago several important reports relative 

 to the menhaden were issued. The first was that of Messrs. Board- 

 man and Atkins, made to the Maine board of agriculture in 1875. « 

 Three years later was issued the report of Mr. Luther Maddox. ^ 

 Each of these related especially to conditions existing in the State of 

 Maine. 



In 1879 the United States Fish Commission published the inij)ortant 

 report of Dr. G. Brown Goode, containing voluminous notes on the 

 natural and economic history of the menhaden, with many extracts 

 from previous reports on the subject.'" 



Many changes have been made in the methods of utilizing the 

 menhaden since those papers were written, but they are yet the i^rin- 

 cipal authorities in regard to the natural history of the subject, 

 and the present writer is prepared to add little. Indeed, such 

 additional matter would scarcely be in place in this paper, which is 

 restricted to the economic use of menhaden in the preparation of oil 

 and fertilizer. 



a The Menhaden and Herring Fisheries of Maine as Sources of Fertilization, bv Samuel L. 

 Boardman and Charles G. Atkins, 1875, pp. 67. 



''The Menhaden Fishery of Maine. Portland, 1878, pp. 46. 



cThe Natural and Economic History of the American Menhaden, hv G. Brown Goode. Report 

 U. S. Fish Commission, 1877, pp. 1-5JJ9. 



