252 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



ama. Wash., and one at Kanier, Greg. There were also numerous 

 receiving- stations located near the fishing-grounds. If, after tending 

 bis lines, the fisherman is near the head station or packing house, he 

 delivers his catch there; but if some distance away he takes it to the 

 nearest receiving station of the firm with which he has contracted to 

 furnish his catch. The prices received by the fishermen are 1 cent per 

 pound as the fish come from the water, or li cents per j^ound if the 

 viscera have been removed. When the fish contain roe suitable for the 

 manufacture of caviar, the fishermen remove it and receive 4 cents per 

 pound for the same. As soon as the fish are landed at the packing- 

 house a gang of employees dress them for market. In some cases the 

 skin is removed, in others it is left intact. After dressing, the fish are 

 cut into sizes to fit the freezing-pans, which are then placed in bins, 

 covered with ice and salt, and frozen into solid cakes. After freezing, 

 the blocks of sturgeon are removed from the pans and placed in boxes 

 holding from 200 to 250 pounds, which are loaded into refrigerator cars 

 and shipped to market. Most of the catch has been sent to Sandusky, 

 Ohio, Chicago, 111,, and Xew York City, where it is smoked and finds a 

 ready sale at good prices. The number of car loads of fresh sturgeon 

 sent east was 25 in 1889, 77 in 1890, 102 in 1891, and 115 in 1892. 



One product of the sturgeon is used entirely by the Chinese, namely, 

 the spinal marrow. As soon as the fish are landed at the i)acking 

 establishment a Chinaman, armed with a hook, pulls out enough of the 

 marrow to furnish a good hold, then seizing it, draws the remainder of 

 it out hand over hand. In the average-sized sturgeon the spinal cord is 

 4 or 5 feet long and consists of long, white connecting links resembling 

 sausages. These are cut open and the jelly-like substance contained 

 within is scraped off and thrown away. This marrow is known by the 

 Chinese and the trade under the name of "bone." It is thoroughly 

 dried, and if not sold to the Chinese in this country it is exported to 

 China, where it is much prized for making soups. The Chinamen pay 

 4 cents a pound for this "bone" and remove it from the fish themselves. 



Valuable as the sturgeon is, there seems to be a large waste that 

 might be utilized for fertilizing purposes. Nearly half the gross 

 weight of the fish is at present thrown away, the head, viscera, and 

 skin being discarded. This refuse contains more or less oil and valu- 

 able fertilizing properties, and could, no doubt, be utilized to great 

 advantage. 



The sturgeon fishery of this river was investigated for the United 

 States Fish Commission by the writer in 1889 and again in 1892, the 

 various fishing camps and grounds and packing stations being visited 

 each year, and the firms engaged in the business courteously furnished 

 the desired statistical and general information. Up to the date of the 

 last visit sturgeon had been found in ample abundance for the demands 

 of the firms, but the fishermen were beginning to complain of a growing 

 scarcity. As is usual in such cases, more apparatus was required, 

 and this had to be moved from point to point more frequently in order 



