THE SEA FISHERIES OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. 2 it 
another I do not know. They may not have appliances for catching them on our 
coast, and they may not have the means of taking them in such quantities as is pos- 
sible at Newfoundland ; but it is certainly a notorious fact that herring are much 
more abundant on the coast of Newfoundland than they are on the coast of the 
United States; though whether the herring that are wanted on the United States 
coast could or could not be had in the United States, I cannot say; but I do think 
that herring are vastly more abundant in Newfoundland and the Bay of Fundy than 
they are farther south. : 
Q. That accounts, then, for the number of your vessels that come to Newfoundland 
for them, no doubt. Give us the number of milesof United States coast along which 
fishing rights have been conceded to British subjects under the Washington Treaty ?— 
AGA, 
Q. Can you give the extent of the Dominion coast, including that of Newfound- 
land?—A. Yes; the coast line of the Province of Canada is 810 miles; of New Bruns- 
wick, 1,000 miles; of Nova Scotia, 390 miles; of Newfoundland, 1,650 miles; of 
Grand Manan, 30 miles; of Prince Edward Island, 285 miles; of the Magdalen Isl- 
ands, §5 miles; and of Anticosti Island, 265 miles; the total length of the coast line 
of Eastern British North America is 4,515 miles, four times that of the United States 
east of Cape Cod. 
By Mr. DANA: , 
Q. Following the bays ?—A. Following the large bays, but omitting the smaller 
ones. 
By Mr. WHITEWAY : 
Q. In your statement regarding the annual product of the Dominion fisheries, vou 
have not included the Newfoundland fisheries ?—A. No; Ihave only that of the Do- 
minion of Canada. . 
Q. Are you aware that something like 1,500,000 or 1,600,000 quintals of fish are 
caught in Newfoundland alone ?—A. I think that is very probable, but I do not 
know. 
Q. Besides the large herring fishery 7—A. I am very anxious to know exactly what 
the Newfoundland catch is ; I have made inquiries respecting it; but I havenot been 
able to obtain any such public data. 
Q. You say that the depletion of the codfish on the coast has been the result of the 
depletion of the river fisheries on the coast of Massachusetts 7—A. I gave that as pre- 
sumably one reason for it. It is probably a very important element in the fishery. 
Q. Then any act which may prove injurious to the bay fisheries on the coast would 
seriously affect the inshore fisheries by removing that which induced the cod to go on 
the coast ?—A. Yes; it would have its effect, I think. Possibly a very decided effect. 
Q. As a naturalist I would ask you to answer one or two questions. What do you 
mean by the term ‘‘fish”? Can you give us a definition?—A. Well, a fish is a cold- 
blooded vertebrate, having a particular mode of respiration, It breathes through 
gills instead of lungs, and it has a heart of a particular construction. 
Q. I will read the definition from a book published in New York by Harper Broth- 
ers, the Encyclopedia of Commerce. I presume that is an authority that can be relied 
upon [reads definition]. I suppose that isa definition that can be relied upon?—A. 
No; I think it cannot be relied upon at all. That would make anything that floats 
in the water a fish. So that the seal would be a fish and the otter would be a fish. 
Q. Thisis the Encyclopedia of Commerce. I suppose it is reliable. I mean as an 
encyclopedia of commerce?—A. Well, I don’t know. I don’t think it is quoted very 
much. It is probably a very good compilation. There are a great many books of 
that class that one has occasion to look at without feeling that they are perfectly ac- 
curate. 
Q. Do you consider the seal a fish 7?—A. Not at all. 
Q. Why?—A. Because it is a warm-blooded mammal. It breathes by means of 
Inngs, &c. 
