WALLEM ON AMERICAN FISHERIES. 101 



voted aucTV 110,000, and tbc next jear $17,500. But this was not the 

 beginning of these operations, nor was it a solitary series of concessions ; 

 but it was, so is it stated in the reports, the natural outgrowth of 

 what so many individual States already had voted, and so many pri- 

 vate individuals had already performed. From another statement it 

 is learned that in thirteen States was voted on an average $2,730 

 yearly for many years for the development of the inland fisheries, 

 and individual States had iu the last eight or ten years also applied 

 $27)300 to $10,950 for restocking tlieir water-courses with fish. On the 

 Pacific coast there is a river, the Columbia Eiver in Oregon, in which 

 nearly 7,000,000 salmon-fry were let loose, to make the fishery flourish. 

 In the same river they are also caught quite extensively ; because one 

 has estimated that of the catch there in the last year will be produced 

 $3,013,000 to $3,270,000 worth of canned salmon in tin boxes to export 

 to the States and England. Salmon of the year are planted as well 

 as the fry. They spare no pains to aid the producing-power of nature 

 itself; the stream, productive and rich in fishes, is by combined scientific 

 and technical aid made still richer, still more productive. They will 

 take care that the great fishery shall become still greater, and under no 

 circumstances less. As there are naturally many fish here, it must be a 

 suitable place for them ; so they plant millions of fish because there is 

 plenty of room. 



The inland fishery is carried on with no small emplojanent of capital 

 in implements, boats, ice-houses, steamers, &c. Large stationary nets 

 and traps are used, which have an average value of $o4:G to $819. Of 

 boats valued at $546 there are hundreds on the great lakes, but $109 is 

 a common value. A peculiar kind of boat called "Norwegian," and so 

 described that I must believe it to be related to the " lisferhaaden,^^ is, 

 however, considered clumsy for rowing by Americans, wherefore only 

 fishermen from ISTorway, Sweden, and Denmark use this form. On Lake 

 Michigan the fishery is prosecuted also with small steamers ; they cost, 

 as a rule, $1,092. Not fewer than 100 ice-houses for keeping fish fresh 

 are found throughout the extent of the lakes named. In several places 

 a considerable quantity of salmon and trout are stored until a later time, 

 when the fishing is ended, and they sell at a higher price. Also in the 

 fishing-vessels themselves they have apparatus for hard-freezing fish, 

 and they sail from one lake to another with a cargo frozen iu this man- 

 ner; on board the vessels in Lake Superior alone are frozen 270,000 

 pounds. The greatest inland market for the fishery-products of the 

 great lakes is Chicago, to which city, in 1872, were convej^ed about 4| 

 million pounds of salmon, trout, pike, «S:c., and a total of 7i millions of 

 fresh- water fish, at a value of $4,041,000. 



It wiU be a long time before the fishery of any Norwegian water-course 

 will t-each results whicli can in any manner stand by the side of those 

 here mentioned. But there is certainly no insurmountable obstacle in 

 the way of increasing the profits of all the inland fisheries of Norway 



