152 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 

 The Connecticut metliod of icing hait. 



213. A i)eculiar metliod of preserving the nnsalted menbaden is made 

 use of on board of the Connecticut halibut-catchers. The fish, after 

 being very carefully cleaned and eviscerated, are packed with pounded 

 ice in bins holding about 125 cubic feet (about 5 feet in each dimension). 

 A ground-layer of ice-blocks 12 inches thick is first laid, then a tier of 

 fish consisting of two layers and about 4 inches thick, then a layer of 4 

 inches of pounded ice, and so on until the bin is filled, after which its 

 sides are packed with pounded ice and covered with canvas. Seven to 

 ten thousand fish are thus stowed in one bin. The stowing having been 

 completed, the fish and ice freeze together in a solid mass, which is left 

 untouched until the fishing-banks are reached. 



Their supply of bait being thus secured, the vessels are never obliged 

 to make harbor in search of a new supply. They often catch their fare 

 upon La Have or Brown's Bank, and return home without having an- 

 chored. The bait is good for three weeks. Captain Ashby assures me 

 that he has used it on the thirty-third day. 



TJic Cc(j)e Aim metliod of icing bait. 



214. On board the Gloucester vessels the menhaden are not eviscer- 

 ated, nor are they packed with so much care ; consequently they never 

 last more than three weeks. Since twenty-four hours or more are usu- 

 ally occupied on both outward and home voyages, there is only a short 

 time left for which the supply of bait can be counted upon. If by any 

 means this time could be doubled, an important advantage would be 

 acquired. Vessels would often be able to complete their fares on the 

 eastern banks without going to Newfoundland for bait. Does the Con- 

 necticut method fulfill this requirement ? Captain Hurlbert, one of the 

 most experienced fishermen of Gloucester, says no. He claims that 

 neither cod nor halibut will bite well at a fish which has had its blood 

 removed. He says that a half-decayed fish, with the blood still in it, 

 is better bait than a perfectly sweet one kept by cleaning it. He says, 

 still further, that Gloucester fishermen formerly followed this method, 

 but that it was abandoned many years ago, as early as 18G6. 



The comparative value of various methods of icing. 



215. The comj)arative value of the difl'erent methods of preserving 

 bait was discussed by Professor Baird in his testimony before the Hali- 

 fax Commission, which is quoted : 



"Question. Now will you state what observation you have made respect 

 ing the method of preserving fresh bait from the start all the voyage 

 through 1 — Answer. As a general rule it is now preserved either by 

 salting or freezing. Of course they keep it as long as it will remain 

 without spoiling, and when you have to carry it beyond that time either 

 ice it or salt it. Salting, of course, is a very simple process, but it alters 



