AMERICAN CATFISHES. 



37 



states that the price commanded by catfish in the San Francisco mar- 

 ket has greatly decreased in the past few years. In 1888, the average 

 price to consumers was 17 cents a pound; in 1889, it was 10 cents; in 

 1891, 7 cents; in 1892, 6 cents; and in 1893, 4 cents. 



The quantity of catfish handled in Portland, Oreg., in 1893 was 

 75,000 pounds of dressed fish, with a retail value of $3,750. 



Statistics of the Catfish Fishery in the Pacific States for Certain Years. 

 [From statistical reports of the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries.] 



Smith says: 



The quantity of catfish taken for sale in the Columbia basin in 1893 was about 

 90,000 pounds, with a value to the fishermen of $2,800. Comparatively large numbers 

 were also consumed by lumbermen, farmers, and others who fished for their own use. 



The receipts of- catfish in Portland in 1893 amounted to 75,000 pounds. 



The contention of the California fish commissioners, in several of their reports, 

 that the value of all the catfish caught annually and consumed as food would more 

 than equal the annual appropriation made by the state in the interest of the fisheries 

 and fish culture has probably been verified in a number of years. In 1893, when 

 the fishery is known to have been less extensive than formerly, the appropriation 

 exceeded the value of the catch by only $1,500. 



The last census office preliminary reports give the total catch 

 of catfish in the Pacific States as 1,269,800 pounds, worth $84,810, 

 or an average price by the pound of about 5 cents (5.1). 



According to Smith, fyke nets and set lines or trot lines are 

 the apparatus chiefly employed for taking catfish. Both of these 

 appliances are used in California, but in Oregon only the fyke nets 

 are used. Considerable quantities are taken in some localities in 

 drag seines. In the semiprofessional fishing, hand lines and dip nets 

 are also employed. 



INTRODUCTION OF CATFISH INTO FOREIGN WATERS. 



General attempts have been made to provide some European 

 waters with American catfish. A number of j^ears ago, at different 

 times, small consignments of Ameiurus nebulosus were sent to 

 Europe. They survived transportation very well and the last 



