176 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Waley & Co , $15, 000 00 



Isaac G. White 35, 000 00 



Wells & Co GO, 000 00 



Leander Wilcox «& Co - 30, 000 00 



Cyrus W. Smith 7, 000 00 



Westbrook Oil Company 1, 000 00 



Eleven factories in Gardiner's Bay, N. Y. 310, 000 00 



The total amount here specified is $1,857,500. It should be noted 

 that several companies are not reported. 



Organization of the fishing gangs. 



2^7. "In the early days of the business," says Mr. Dudley, "the manu- 

 facturers did not own the fishing- vessels, nor were they interested pecu- 

 niarily in the fishery; they bought the fish from independent fishermen. 

 This method was found unsatisfactory ; the fishermen sold to the high- 

 est bidder, and the supply was uncertain. Of late years the company 

 owns the vessels which supply it with fish. The crew work upon shares, 

 as in other fisheries. In the settlement, at the end of the season, a sail- 

 ing-vessel, with seine and gear, draws one-third of the net proceeds; a 

 steamer, one-half; the remainder is divided by the crew, the captain 

 receiving an ordinary share, in addition to which he is paid a salary by 

 the company, either fixed or proportionate to the success of the season's 

 work. It is not uncommon for a successful captain to receive a " bonus" 

 of $500, or sometimes $1,000. In settling the season's account, the total 

 catch is paid for at a rate proportionate to the yield of oil. In 1876, the 

 Quinuipiac Fertilizer Company paid $1.25 per thousand. The company 

 usually advances pay to the men to the extent of $1 a thousand, and at 

 the end of the season a final settlement is made. The crew of a sailing- 

 vessel will average form $35 to $75 a month ; the crew of a steamer some- 

 what more." 



Advantages claimed for floating factories. 



248. Floating factories are in use chiefly on Long Island Sound; in 

 whose protected waters they operate to great advantage. They are now 

 going out of use on account of the introduction of steamers. They are 

 usually built upon the hull of some old vessel, and are towed from point 

 to point, gathering the fish from the smacks and working them up into oil 

 and guano as they move. Some of them are fitted up with machinery for 

 very extensive manufacture. Two important objects are attained by 

 the owners of floating factories : the objection to their business arising 

 from the ofiFensive odor is to a considerable extent removed ; by follow- 

 ing the movements of the fish time and expense are saved, for by bring- 

 ing the factory to the fish they obviate the necessity of having a fleet 

 of lighters to carry the fish to the factory, which might often require 

 two or three days. There are five of these factories; one owned at Mil- 

 ford, Conn., and four at Greenport, IS". Y. 



