HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN MEKHADEN. 463 



28. The young of this fish are found in great abundance in the head- 

 waters of our bays and rivers, generally near the shore. 



29. The spawn is never known to run from this fish while being han- 

 dled after they are cnptured. 



30. The parent fish does not destroy the spawn, but other fish, such 

 as the rock-bass and the pickerel destroy the spawn of this fish. 



31. The lampreys are often found attached to the outside of this fish. 

 In their gills and roof of the mouth is found an insect as large as the 

 end of a man's small finger and three-quarters of an inch long. This 

 is the small size of this insect. 1 have seen them an inch and a quarter 

 long. It is transparent and has a tail resembling that of a lobster ; and 

 so great is the adhesive power of this insect, that you might attach one 

 of them to your finger while it is alive and you could not throw it off. 

 This insect is known to us as the fish-louse, because it attaches to the 

 inside of the head of this fish -, they are known in many localities as the 

 buggy-head fish. 



32. The bass, trout, bluefish, sharks, and the porpoises all feed upon 

 this species of fish. 



33. No disease of any description has ever occurred among them, caus- 

 ing death in any numbers worthy of notice in the past thirty years. 



34. Purse seines, gill-seines, haul-seines, fike-nets, and hedge-nets are 

 all used in capturing these fish, and are generally used with great suc- 

 cess. 



35. Seines for capturing this fish are from 50 to 400 fathoms long, from 

 2 to 5 fathoms deep, and of a 2 or 2i inch mesh. The seines used at the 

 oil factories are called purse-seines ; they are about 100 fathoms long 

 and 500 deep. 



36. Small-size schooners and sloops, being from 6 to 20 tons burden. 



37. Two men to each vessel, except the tug, which has 5 men. 



38. Toward midday is the most successful period for catching these 

 fish. 



39. They are taken in greater numbers on the ebb tide. 



40. They do not appear upon the surface of the water in windy as they 

 do in moderate weather. 



41. Seven vessels are employed in this vicinity having crews of 15 or 

 18 men, but the aggregate ffumber of men at the factory and on board 

 of the vessels is 45 or 50. 



42. The fish thus caught are taken to the factory and there boiled up 

 for oil. 



43. The only factory in thi^ neighborhood is the. one at New Point 

 Comfort, owned by Nickleson & Co., of Norfolk, Va. 



44. The average quantity of good oil produced by this one factory is 

 about 300 barrels a year. 



48. One bushel. 



49. Probably 10 gallons. 



50. Probably 2^ gallons in the spring and summer. 



