64 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



and England, as their natural rate of increase seems sufficient to supply 

 the demand ; but wherever the oyster trade forms a large source of in- 

 come, as in Maryland, certain regulations are enforced for protecting 

 the oysters. At Cape May and in the Delaware Bay oysters are caught 

 and eaten all the year round. The same also applies to clams and lob- 

 sters. Fish-meal and fish-balls put up in hermetically-sealed cans are 

 not known in America, and the well-flavored articles of this kind in the 

 Norwegian exhibit, therefore, attracted much favorable attention. 



The common mackerel are, in America, sorted according to four sizes 

 and qualities— Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4— all differing in price. The so-called Span- 

 ish mackerel is a fish resembling the trout in its beautiful appearance, 

 with red spots, and almost as large as a small salmon, and sometimes 

 fetches as high a price as salmon. Whilst ling is very scarce near the 

 American coasts, nearly all our common fish are found in large numbers; 

 €. g., codfish, hake, pollock, haddock, cusk, flounders, halibut. The had- 

 dock reaches a much larger size than with us. It is highly esteemed, 

 and is sold at a tolerably high price, either fresh or slightly smoked. It 

 is well suited for being shii^ped on ice on account of its thick skin and 

 its firm flesh. A fish not known with us, but very common in America, 

 is the so-called "sheepshead" {Spar us or Sargus ovis), which gets its 

 name froQi the peculiar resemblance of its head to that of a sheep. 



To enumerate the many different kinds of fish found near the coasts 

 of North America would be of but little interest to the general public. 

 To those who take a special interest in the matter I would recommend 

 the following works: "Eeport of the Commissioners of Fisheries of 

 Maryland, 187G," and "Classification of the Collection to illustrate the 

 Animal Eesources of the United States," also published in 1876 by Prof. 

 (1. Brown Goode, M. A., in which all the North American food-fishes are 

 enumerated and classified. 



The American method of freezing whole cargoes of herring and mack- 

 erel, so that they keep fresh in the hold for two or three months, has 

 yet to be spoken of. Unfortunately, I had no opportunity during nay 

 stay in America to witness the working of this method, but I was told 

 that it was very practical. An American gentleman had promised me 

 some written information on the subject, but so far I have waited for it 



in vain. 



III. 



BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE FISHEPJES OF NOYA SCOTIA 

 AND NEWFOUNDLAND. 



In Nova Scotia, whose capital (Halifax) I \-isited on my return from 

 America, and in Newfoundland, whose capital (St. John's) I likewise vis- 

 ited in order to make myself acquainted with the fisheries, I found that 

 they resemble ours rather than the American fisheries. There is more 

 of a regular custom trade, or, in other words, the fishermen are more 

 dependent on the merchants than in the United States, where they are 



