446 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



nets are smaller ; from 60 to 500 feet long, by 10 feet deep. Shore 

 seines are from ^ to f of a mile long and from 20 to 30 feet deep. 



36. Steamers, schooners, sloops, and cat-rigged boats, from 5 to 50 

 tons. 



37. Nine. 



38. All day. 



39. This depends on the locality. 



40. They often leave during high winds. 



41. One hundred and five vessels and 400 men. 



42. It is principally turned to oil and guano. 



43. D. D. Wells & Sons, Sterling County; Hawkins Brothers; H. 

 Corwin & Co. ; G. P. Horton & Co, ; Tail & Benjamin; Benjamin Buy 

 Payn ; Green &: Co, ; B. C. Cartwright ; Floating fish-factory "Falcon," 

 of 2,500 tons, Capt. George Tuthiil; Floating fish-factory "Ranger,'' of 

 1,500 tons, Capt. Frank Price. 



44. From 10,000 to 60,000 gallons. 



45. From 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 per week. 



46. Boilers and engines, costing from ten to twenty thousand dollars 

 each. 



48. Some fish will make half a gallon per thousand ; some 22 gallons. 



49. Eight thousand fish will make one ton of green scrap. 



50. One gallon per thousand in tbe spring and fall. 



51. Twenty-two gallons per thousand. In September and October. 



52. Yes. 



.53. The moss-bunker business previous to 1850 had been carried on 

 for a long time — certainly as far back as 1800. The seines used were 

 very long, and were handled from the shore. They frequently caught 

 1,000,000 fish at a haul. These fish were used by farmers in a raw 

 state for top-dressing. Some portion of them were buried, however, and 

 used as a compost. In the year 1850, D. D. Wells &: Son started the 

 first fiictory in this vicinity, using steam for making oil and scrap. At 

 the same time there were other parties using a few pots (whalers' try 

 pots), boiling the fish in water and making a very indifferent oil and 

 scrap; these, however, were not successful, and were soon abandoned. 

 The first oil made by D. D. Wells & Son was of a very dark color, and 

 contained much fleshy matter, which made it very offensive to the 

 smell. It did not come into much use for some time, and for a long 

 time the profits were small ; but by persistent effort on their part, in 

 perfecting machinery, the quality of the oil was so much improved as 

 to come into general use for certain purposes: for painting, tanning, in 

 the manufacture of rope, and for the adulteration of other oils ; the 

 scrap was also very much improved by drying, grinding, pulverizing, 

 &c. ; thus the business continued so prosperously that during the war 

 the business had come to be quite remunerative. At that time, under 

 the impulse of high prices and plenty of money, quite a number of fac- 

 tories were put up, and for two or three years the business was some- 



