COD-FISHERIES OF CAPE ANN. 693 



being of uniformly large size with a few very large. Of over 5,000, se- 

 lected without regard to size at different times during the season, the 

 average weight was 20^ pounds. 



Fishing contmued good in Ipswich Bay until the first of June when 

 the school left the shore, being perhaps hurried in their movements by 

 a large school of dog-fish {Squalus americanus) that made their ap- 

 pearance in the bay about this time. 



After the school-fish leave the shore in summer the fishermen frequent- 

 ly resort to the outer grounds, such as Jeffry's and Stellwagen Banks, 

 when they often secure good fares from what they suppose to be a new 

 school that visit these gTounds for the purpose of feeding. We have 

 had little ojiportunity for examining these fish, but there seems a strong 

 probability that they belong to the school that have just left the shore, 

 and that they remain on these grounds for a few days or weeks on their 

 way to deeper water. 



4. — METHODS OF CAPTUEE. 



Two methods only are extensively used by the cod-fishermen of Cape 

 Ann. Hand-lines have been used from the earliest times, and are still 

 exclusively employed on the rocky ledges duruig the stay of the " pas- 

 ture-school " in the fall and early winter. A visit to the harbor at mid- 

 night in November, when the fall fishing is at its height, cannot but im- 

 press one with the loneliness of the scene, for all is quiet and the region 

 seems thoroughly deserted. But two hours later the rumbling of wheels 

 and the shrill cry of the baitman cause a great and sudden change, for 

 if the fisherman is behind time he frequently finds that all of the "si>er- 

 Mng " have been sold. With the first cry of the baitman, lights may be 

 seen in the hands of the fishermen as they emerge from the cabins of the 

 different schooners, and soon the didl thud of oars is heard and boats 

 approach fi'om various quarters, while men and boys come straggling- 

 down the different lanes and by-paths from their homes on shore. The 

 night of the fisherman is over. He secures his bait and returns to his 

 vessel, where the other members of the crew are just beginning the w ork 

 of the day. Soon the measured stroke of the windlass and the hoisting 

 of sails are heard and the fleet is "under way." 



K it is calm in the harbor, as it often is at this early hour, one or two 

 boats are " hoisted out," and with lines fast-ened to the vessel's bow they 

 tow her toward the outer harbor, where her sails catch the breeze and 

 she is off" for the fishing-grounds. The boats are now " paid astern," and 

 the rowers join the other members of the crew, who have assembled in 

 the forecastle to eat their morning meal from their jirivate lunch-baskets, 

 all going to the common reservoir for their mug of hot coffee that has 

 been prepared by the schooner's cook. Brealdast over, each gathers his 

 gear in convenient shape, and after filling his bucket with bait, lounges 

 about waiting for the day. The vessel aims to reach the ground just be- 

 fore light, and at the fii'st sight of his land-marks or cross-bearings the 



