68 KEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Cuniiiugham & Thompson, Mr. Thompson by birth a Swede, who for 

 a number of years carried on bank-fishing and halibut-fishing with a 

 vessel of his own, and is now solidly established in his present business; 

 and finally from another Swede, Mr. Joseph Simpson, who, after having 

 been at sea for many years as a bank and mackerel fisherman, has, with an 

 American, Mr. Maker, established a repair shop at Gloucester under the 

 firm of Maker & Simpson, employing 10 to 12 men exclusively in the 

 repairing of purse-seines. This gentleman explained to us the arrange- 

 ment and use of the purse-net, and undertook to get us models of the same. 

 Other valuable and interesting information we received from Oai^t. H. 

 Allan, of the fishing-schooner Bonanza, a new and elegant vessel of 137 

 tons, equipped for catching herring with a purse-seine near the coast of 

 Labrador, which had just returned from there with a full cargo (about 

 1,800 barrels), and from his son, Mr. John Allan, who was commissioner 

 of the Gloucester fishery exhibit in Philadelphia. To all these gentlemen 

 we herewith express our gratitude. 



We also visited the well-known boat-builders, Messrs. Higgins & Gif- 

 ord, in Gloucester, whose workshops annually produce several hundred 

 dories and a large number of purse- seine boaLs, and ordered a model of 

 the last mentioned boat. 



In making a few concluding observations in connection with the im- 

 provements in our fisheries, which in my opinion might advantageously 

 be introduced in our country from America, I do this not only with the 

 wish and hope of benefiting our fisheries, but also with a consciousness 

 of the vast importance of the subject and of my inability to do full 

 justice to it. However, I will boldly write the following, hoping that it 

 will at an5^ rate induce people to give the matter some thought and 

 awaken some discussion which may further the interests of the great 

 and imijortant subject of the fisheries. 



In the first place, especially with the view of developing our great 

 herring-fisheries, the inirse-seine should be introduced, and for our coast 

 and bank fisheries light and quick-sailing fishing-vessels in connection 

 with the above-mentioned dories. The usefulness of such vessels cannot 

 be doubted, as a great deal in the fisheries depends on being swift in 

 reaching the fishing-place, in catching the fish, and in bringing them 

 home in a fresh condition. 



Purse-seines, of diiferent sizes and prices, are now made to order by 

 Fagerheim's mechanical net factory near Bergen (A. G. Thomsen). On 

 account of their being easily handled I would recommend jturse-seiues 

 of first-class cotton tlu^ead, not longer than 150 fathoms, and 25 fiithoms 

 deep. The price of sucii a purse-seine will probably range from 2,100 to 

 2,800 crowns ($043 to $750). 



I would not advise changing common herring-nets of thick hemp 

 thread to purse-seines, as they would be too heavy and the change 

 would involve a great deal of labor. Models of purse-seine boats, dories, 

 and swift-sailing fishing- vessels may be obtained from Messrs. Higgins 

 & Gifford, in Gloucester, Mass., U. S. A. 



