190 REPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [100] 



(&.) Mackerel plows. — The mackerel plows, to which frequent allusion 

 has been made, are also known to the fishermen by several other names, 

 such as rimmers, reamers, fatters, and fatting-knives, in the same and 

 in different localities. The original object of using these instruments 

 may be said to have been " a trick in the trade," although the fact of 

 their being employed at the present time is so well known that no one 

 considers it any longer a secret, neither has it been for many years. 

 The quality of mackerel is determined not only by their size, but also 

 by the richness or fatness which they acquire as the season advances, 

 and the opportunities for obtaining food are better than during the 

 spring. In the spring when they approach the coasts of the Middle 

 States and Southern New England they are in a poor and lean con- 

 dition and remain in such a state until after they have deposited their 

 spawn. After the spawning-season is over the schools then seek their 

 favorite feeding-grounds and the fish soon begin to exhibit much im- 

 l^rovement in their condition. During the month of June this improve, 

 ment is first noticeable, and by the last of August, and sometimes even 

 at an earlier date, the mackerel have arrived at their finest condition and 

 remain so until they leave the coast in the fall. As the fish fatten, the 

 belly, or that portion which covers the abdominal cavity, increases in 

 thickness, and the quality of the mackerel can be more easily and cer- 

 tainly determined by noticing this particular portion of it than in any 

 other manner. The mackerel are invariably split along the back from 

 the snout to the tail in such a manner that they will lay open and 

 flat after the viscera has been removed. It is a fact well known to per- 

 sons familiar with this fish that when they are in a fat condition the 

 sides of the abdominal cavity will crack open along the entire length 

 when the fish are opened for the purpose of removing the viscera. Tho 

 depth of these cracks or "breaks" show the relative fatness of the fish. 

 As these cracks occur about half way from the backbone to the center 

 of the abdominal cavity, it will be readily seen that by using an imple- 

 ment for making the crack a little above or nearer to the backbone than 

 where it would naturally be and where the belly is considerably thicker^ 



owb: The crew were shipped as much upon their merits of good seamanship and 

 steady habits as for their skill as fishermen. Each man was jirovided with a "strike 

 tub"— a half hogshead — and for the first few days' fishing the skipper would note the 

 catch of each of the men, and from this comparison would decide what share every 

 one should receive. Thus some half dozen, perhaps, iu a crew of 12 or 14 men would 

 be assigned a full share. Though there might be some difference in the relative catch 

 of these men it was thought fair to consider a capable and reliable man a full shares- 

 man, though he caught somewhat less fish than another who might not be so well 

 experienced in other matters. The remainder of the men were allowed three-fourths 

 or one-half of a share, as the case might be, their expertness iu catching fish and 

 other qualifications always beiug taken into account in settling their relative standing. 

 Thus, if a vessel had a crew of twelve men, six of whom were fall sharesmen, four 

 three-quarter sharesmen, and two half sharesmen, there would be ten full shares, and 

 a Bharesman would receive one-tenth of the crew's half of the proceeds of the voyagBj, 

 while those having a smaller "lay" would be paid accordingly. 



