414 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



4. About 12 barrels; by lobstermen for bait; none previously taken. 



6. October; all arrive nearly at the same time, dividing into, say, four 

 schools, all seen at once. 



7. Mostly high ; make a ripple ; attract birds. 



9. Since first noticing them their appearance has been nearly regular 

 in time and numbers. 



10. Their capture is not pursued here. 



11. Seen mostly on the flood. 



13. Unknown ; both high and low. 



14. Yes. 



17. At the first change to coldness — in a body. 



20. Animal. 



23. Sleaked, or greased. 



26. Probably float. 



30. Bluefish. 



40. Yes. 



41. None. 



42. All use baiting purposes. 



43. None. 



56. A quantity is used in paints. 



58. Probably. 



61. January 3, 1875. 



28. Statement of B. C. Eenney, Nantucket, Mass., January 21, 1874. 



I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your communication of the 

 20th ultimo, relative to " Statistics of the Menhaden Fisheries, &c.," 

 and herewith transmit such information as I have been able to obtain on 

 the subject. 



1. Pogy. 



2. More numerous than any other kind of fish. 



3. They vary from year to year, but as a whole, for the past ten years 

 remain about the same. '• 



5. It does not. 



6. They appear about the 1st of May, or if the season is early, a little 

 sooner. Are most abundant in June and July; the last run are the larg- 

 est and fattest. 



6. They gradually increase in abundance from the first. 



7. Swim on the surface, causing a ripple, and do not appear to attract 

 birds as other fish do. 



8. When they appear in our vicinity it is from the direction of Sandy 

 Hook and the Jersey shore. By our vicinity, I mean from the entrance 

 to the Vineyard Sound, around Cape Cod. 



9. Their appearance in large numbers is not regular or certain. When 

 they fail to appear for a season the next year is usually a good one ; 



