406 EEPOKT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



33. 1 never saw anything of the kind. 



34. Seines and gill-nets and weirs. 



35. The gill-nets are 40 yards long and 6 yards deep. 



36. There are no vessels employed anywhere here. 



37. The men stay on shore and arrange their nets and the weirs. 

 There are plenty of them here ; one weir caught 4,000 barrels in one 

 night this fall. 



38. In the first part of the day ; sometimes all day. 



39. At low water or slack tide. 



40. I do not think it does. 



41. There are no vessels employed here. 



42. Some sliver them for bait ; some try them out for the oil, and send 

 it to Boston. 



43. There are a few small places here ; J. Sparrow, P. Smith, I. H. 

 Horton, and some other i^laces around the bay. 



44. Not over 20 barrels ; they do not carry it on only in the fall. 



45. * * * 



4G. About one hundred dollars ; that is, for press, kettle, house, and 

 fixtures. 



47. Fifty cents per barrel. The same price in other years. 



48. It takes one barrel to make three gallons of oil. 



49. About 5 barrels. 



50. Three gallons, I believe, is the least. 

 52. Yes. 



54. Boston. 



55. Sometimes it is used here and sometimes it is sent to Boston. 



57. In 1873, 55 cents ; in 1874, 33 cents. 



58. If there was no blue-fish I could tell better ; there are not half as 

 many now as there were. There used to be plenty all summer 5 now 

 there are only a few during that season. I have been in the fishing busi- 

 ness for forty years. There are not so many of the sort offish referred to 

 now as there used to be. I have seen, in this vicinity, the water alive with 

 them ; the cause of their scarcity at the present time is the prevalence 

 of bluefish. The pogies stop for a short time only. They pass here in 

 the spring bound north ; in October they return again, and stay here 

 about a month. They do spawn here in the spring. I have seen them 

 here five inches long. I have seen barrels of them in the weirs ; they 

 would stay in there for two months ; the bluefish would keep them in. 

 I think bluefish are their worst enemies. The weirs use up all kinds 

 of fish ; one weir caught four thousand barrels of pogies and hardheads 

 in one night this fall. To sum up the whole matter, there are not half 

 so many pogies as there used to be. They do not stop here long enough 

 for us to make a business of catching them. I think seining is a damage 

 to all fishing. 



