21G KEl'ORT OF COMMISSIONED OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



OIL FROM LIVERS OF COD AND RELATED SPECIES. 

 SOURCES OF SUri'LV. 



Cod oil is obtained from llie livers of several species of lisli. In its 

 pure state it is obtained fi-oni the livers of eod only, but those of had- 

 dock, pollock, hake, cusk, ling-, and eveii shark and dog-fisli are also 

 used. The last two, liowever, are not generally recognized as cod-liver 

 oil sources, but are used mainly for pui'poses of adulteration. In the 

 trade the term "cod-liver oil" is used in a restricted sense, applying 

 to the best quality of oil made from choice fresh cod livers and intended 

 for medicinal purposes; all other oil manufactured from livers of cod 

 and related species, not of qualitj^ fitting it for medicinal uses, is des- 

 ignated as "cod oil" or "curriers oil." 



Cod oil is of comparatively recent developmcMit as an article of com- 

 merce, although it was used locally previous to the nineteenth centurj^ 

 On account of the ease with which whale and seal oils could be secured, 

 cod oil Avas not in great demand for technical purposes until after the 

 beginning of the nineteenth century. There is nothing to indicate 

 that in the early cod fisheries on the American coast the livers were 

 utilized to any great extent for oil-rendering, and the same is true of 

 the early fisheries prosecuted in the seas north of P^urope. The small 

 demand for medicinal and for technical purposes was readily supplied 

 by a few fishermen of economical and industrious habits, but their 

 output bore only a small proportion to the total (piantity obtainable. 

 Curriers used a small quantity, and some was employed on fruit trees 

 for destroying insects and fungous growth. 



Early in the nineteentli century the production of cod oil b(H'ame 

 quite general on the New England coast. T]w livers were placed in 

 butts and pcrniitted to decompose, and the oil exuding therefrom Avas 

 dipped off from time to time. Not oid}' was this done by the fisher- 

 nu'u who landel their catch ashore each night, but also by the 

 " bankers " who carried butts and bari'els for the purpose. As the 

 tanning industries developed, the output of cod oil increased, and ])y 

 1845 practically all the livers secured were rendered into oil. The 

 output, however, did not keep pace with the demand and diiring the 

 sixties the price went up to $1.25 per gallon, Mr. Eben B. Phillips, 

 of Swampscott, Avas one of the pioneer dealers in this product and 

 amassed a fortune in the business. 



Gradually other substances were introduced as materials for dres.s- 

 ing leathers, especially sod oil, degras, and compoun<l gre-.ises, the 

 cheapness of Avhich has greatly affected the market for cod oil. The 

 substitution of machine stuffing for hand stuffing in leather-dressing 

 and the introduction of chrome tannage liaAc also reduced the 

 demand. lIoAveA'er, the market for medicinal oil has constantly 

 inci-i'ased up to the present time. As a result of these combined 

 uses, the rendering of the liA'ers into oil is almost coextensiA^e in jjoiut 



