RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



45 



The Block Island Cod and Haddock Fishery. 



Fresh cod and haddock from the Block 

 Island fishing-grounds have arrived in Prov- 

 idence in large quantities in the past two 

 weeks. During last week alone the amount 

 landed here was over 40,000 pounds, and 

 the receipts will probably continue quite 

 large for two or three weeks to come, as the 

 pi'esent season will last through the month 

 of Ma3\ This kind of fish is caught about 

 twent}' or thirt}' miles southeast of Block 

 Island, whence it is brought here and sold 

 off the boats at the dock for four cents per 

 pound. The fish have been of good size, 

 have arrived here in good condition, and 

 have sold quite readily. There are two sea- 

 sons for fresh cod and haddock,— the pres- 

 ent one, which, as before stated, will last 

 through the month of May, and the fall sea- 

 son, which begins with the month of Novem- 

 ber, and continues until about the middle of 

 December. The fish are caught in trawls. 

 A trawl consists of a string of line that will 

 reach from 600 to 1 ,000 yards. To this string 

 lines are attached about six feet apart. On 

 the end ofeach of these lines is a hook, baited 

 with clams, fresh herring, or flounders. On 

 each end of the long string to which the lines 

 are attached, is an anchor, which keeps the 

 trawl in position. A line reaches from the 

 anchor to the top of the water, with a buoy 

 attached to it, for the purpose of locating the 

 trawl. A trawl 1,000 yards long usually has 

 from 1 ,500 to 2,000 hooks. When two-thirds 

 of these hooks secure a fish, the catch is con- 

 sidered an excellent one, and when half of 

 them are filled it is a very good one. The 

 fisherman after he has dropped his anchor, 

 rows oflT and strings his line along with its 

 baited hooks until he comes to the "•end of 

 his rope," when he drops another anchor 

 with the buoy attached, and the trawl is set. 

 It is allowed to remain in the water from four 

 to twentj'-four hours. The fishermen then 

 go to the buo}', pull up the anchor, and haul 

 in the line, taking the fish off as the hooks 

 come to the surface of the water. While 

 the}' take oflT the fish the line is allowed to 

 go over the other side of the boat into the 

 water, so that when the}' have reached the 

 other end of the string and the last hook is 

 hauled up, the remainder of the string of 

 lines is alreadv set for a new catch. This 



is a busy season for the Block Island fisher- 

 men, and a great many are now engaged in 

 that kind of fishing. — From the Sunday 

 Journal, May 2, ISSO. 



About Cleaning Oily Specimens of 

 Lepidoptera, etc. 



BY PH. FISCHER, BUFFALO, N. Y. 



If a specimen becomes oil}', it is gener- 

 ally believed that its beauty can never again 

 be restored ; but with a trifling cost and a 

 little labor any specimen will in a short 

 time have again its former lustre, without 

 injury to the insect. This remedy has been 

 tried on the most tender Diurnals, as well 

 as on Sphinges and Noctuids. It can be used 

 on every insect. Should a specimen be oily 

 throughout, body and wings, it may be put 

 in the following fluid : One part of sul- 

 phuric ether to two parts of tlie strongest 

 alcohol, and left therein for about twenty- 

 four hours. Should the specimen be very 

 oily, another bath may have to be applied. 



Should this second bath, after removing the 

 insect, be only slightly discolored, the insect 

 may be put in the last bath, which consists of 

 pure sulphuric ether, in which it is left a few 

 hours only. After being taken out and 

 partly dried, it is put on the spreading-board. 



Another way of cleaning specimens, where 

 only the wings are oily, is this : The specimen 

 is put on the spreading-board, under side up, 

 without fastening it in any way, and the 

 purest spirits of turpentine poured on it to 

 fully soak the wings, after which finely-pow- 

 dered pipe clay is strewn thickly over the 

 affected parts, and this left to dry. Should 

 the clay, after being dry, be yellow, the oil 

 is not all out of the wings, and the above has 

 to be renewed. Should the clay be perfectly 

 white after drying, it can be relied upon that 

 every particle of the fatty matter is drawn 

 out of the wings. To remove the clay it 

 need a little experience, though any one can 

 do it with a little care. Hold your specimen 

 on the upper part of the pin, and give the 

 pin a little jerk near the point, and the clay, 

 being brittle, will easily fall off. After it is 

 all removed the specimen may be brushed 

 off with a fine camel hair-brush until clean. 

 A specimen treated in the above ways will 

 never again become oily. — The Canadian 

 Entomologist, April, ISSO. 



