192 REPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [102j 



suitable fatness" is required for a No. 1, but it is easy to see that a fish 

 of fine quality, though not exceeding 12 or 12i inches, is just as good 

 for food, notwithstanding the fact that it must pass for a lower grade 

 and be sold foi^ a much less price. For the past few years a very large 

 portion of the mackerel caught on our coast have been "undersized," 

 that is, not long enough to pass for the best quality, according to the 

 inspection laws of New England; nevertheless they are in all respects 

 quite as good as the larger and rarer grades. 



As previously stated, the fishermen no longer make a secret of using 

 the plow, and during the summer season, when the wharves on the 

 eastern coast are filled with mackerel, the operators may be seen in the 

 open air busily rimming the fish almost as fast as they can joick them 

 up and throw them into another barrel. There are many styles of 

 this type of knife, their patterns and designs being as varied as the 

 fancies of those who make them. They are, with but few exceptions, 

 made by the fishermen ; some of them are exceedingly plain and rough, 

 while others are artistically and elaborately decorated, often with 

 imaginary uncouth figures or with fancifully carved leaves, wreaths, &c. 



There are several knives of this character deposited in the fisheries 

 collection of the United States National Museum, and among them is 

 one factory -made rimmer, with a polished walnut handle and a curved 

 iron shank about one-quarter inch in diameter ; into the forward end of 

 the shank is fitted a small cutting blade about IJ inches in length, 

 tapering to a point at the heel, and with a square-cut forward end. 

 There are also other styles made by the fishermen, some having steel 

 and others having copper blades, and one specimen made of wood, in 

 the form of a human leg, the extreme end terminating in a thick-set 

 flat foot, in the bottom of which is inserted or driven a silver three-cent 

 piece, ground to a sharj) edge, to be used as the knife or plow. 



27. — Homeward passage and disposition of the fish. 



When one of the vessels in the fleet has obtained a fare of fish, or 

 the skipper decides to go home, sometimes with a partial fare, the flag 

 is usually set at the maintop-mast or on the main peak. This custom 

 was not so common on oui*coast as in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The 

 fish being salted, the homeward passage was usually performed in a 

 leisurely manner, unless indeed the return was made during the fishing 

 season, and the skipper expected to make another trip, in which case the 

 utmost expedition was used, and rapid passages were made. For sev- 

 eral years it has been a common practice for vessels fishing in the Gulf 

 of Saint Lawrence to land their fish at the Strait of Canso, or some- 

 times at Prince Edward Island, sending the fish home by steamer or 

 freight vessels. This was only done when the vessel had obtained a 

 large fare, and there was a prospect of another successful trip for fish 

 that season. By this means vessels sometimes filled up three or four 



