76 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



other after skillfully cooling and preserving them with ice. The art of 

 preserving fish fresh for a long time and transporting them over great 

 distances is an object of much study, and has called forth many ex- 

 periments, while salting is little heeded.* And so this national pursuit 

 may advance to this result, that the traffic in fresh fish will become 

 more and more important. The numerous fishery-inspectors in the 

 United States have, besides other duties, to give the coast-extent, lakes 

 and other waters, detailed and continuous ad\dce about food-fishes, to 

 protect them and promote their increase where they already are found, and 

 at the same time to pro\'ide barren or depleted waters with a new stock 

 of the kinds of fish which are best adapted to fiu-nish suitable and 

 healthy food for the people. To assist the fishermen and i)romote ex- 

 tension, the natural as well as the artificial, has become a business which 

 employs many scientifically-cultivated men and many industrious and 

 skillful public functionaries besides. And the fruit of this whole united 

 effort is available with that practical and quick grasp which is peculiar 

 to the people. With regard to good implements, boats and ships, the 

 American fishermen appear to be equally apt to profit by what they 

 have and to invent improvements and new things to the utmost limit. 

 The fishermen consist as a rule of clever people, of whom not a few are 

 from nations of Europe most actively engaged in fishing, so that it is 

 l^robable that the most of the improvements from Europe are known to 

 them. 



The fisheries take a place nearest in the class with the Norwegian so- 

 called " great fisheries " — cod and herring — which is an acknowledgment 

 of the second rank for the United States. In the cod-fisheries on the 

 banks — George's and Newfoundland — the Americans certainly partici- 

 pate with a great number of vessels, but other nations fish here perhaps 

 with a greater number, and compete with them in the world's market. 

 Herring-fishing about Labrador, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland 

 and thereabouts, is not an important business, though partly a com- 

 paratively new industry; some of the American vessels fish for her- 

 ring when they cannot on account of the season prosecute any other fish- 

 ing, but some buy fi-esh or frozen herring from the shore fishermen, 

 either to use them, or to sell them fresh in the large coast towns. Of 

 the good (fat) herring the major i^art are consumed in the United States 

 themselves ; the inferior, thin ones they export, in the latter part of the 

 year, to Eui'ope. The oyster and lobster fisheries on the United States 

 coast are, compared with the Eiu-opean, of gi-eat importance, and supply 

 not only suitable and very agreeable food for all classes in the Union, 

 but also a tolerably important article of export for the world's market, 

 especially canned. 



With this short survey finished, I shall now give an account of the re- 

 sults of my journey. 



*Iu the years 1861-73 were issued twenty-five patents for preparing and preserving 

 fisli and bait ; only one for salted fisli. 



