COD-FISHERIES OF CAPE ANN. 729 



the glass did much better, as the eggs conld he washed with a camel's 

 hair brush or a feather, and thus kept passably clean. 



The development of the eggs was quite marked, and the line of the 

 fish could be distinguished at the end of the third day ; the eye could 

 be seen on the fifth, and on the sixth a very slight motion was notice- 

 able. The average time in hatching was about twelve and the shortest 

 ten days. 



The greatest difficulty encountered in this as in other cases was from 

 the impure water; but, even under these circumstances, a good many 

 were hatched, and the experiments proved conclusively that the artifi- 

 cial propagation of the species would be an easy matter if at any time it 

 should be thought desirable. 



h. PoUocl: 



Large pollock are absent from the waters of Cape Ann from the mid- 

 dle of January till early in May, the small ones leaving earlier in the 

 fall and returning in April, The young may be taken almost anywhere 

 along the shore, but the large fish seem to confine themselves to defi- 

 nite localities ; and though not particularly abundant during the sum- 

 mer at Cape Ann, it is a favorite spawning-ground for the species, and 

 during this period large schools visit this shore. 



They begin to grow plenty about the first of October, and by the last 

 of the month are so numerous as to greatly annoy the cod-fishermen by 

 taking the hook before it can get to the bottom. 



During this season some of the smaller vessels fish exclusively for pol- 

 lock, "seizing" up their lines a number of fathoms from the bottom, and 

 at times the fish bite as fast as the fishermen can haul them. Early in 

 I^fovember, a crew of four men landed 10,420 pounds, or about 1,100 fish, 

 the result of less than two days' fishing. Owing to a foolish prejudice, 

 the price is always low, at times being less than 30 cents per 100 pounds. 

 The average weight of the fish is about 9 or 10 pounds, and during the 

 spawning season the sexes are taken in about equal numbers. 



They seem to spawn while swimming about in the water, and their 

 eggs, being buoyant, are found at the surface with those of the cod; but 

 they may easily be distinguished from the latter by their smaller size. 

 The first ripe female was seen at the fish-wharves October 23. Novem- 

 ber 11, a few good eggs were taken, and, after impregnation, found to 

 have a diameter of one twenty-fifth of an inch. They were placed in an 

 aquarium at the hatchery, and within forty-eight hours the fish could 

 be distinctly seen, though no pigment cells were visible. This proved 

 that the development of the eggs after leaving the parent was quite 

 rapid, and indicated that they would hatch in five or six days at most, 

 with water of the ordinary temperature. 



At the time of taking these eggs no suitable apparatus had been 

 arranged, and we did not succeed in hatching them; and as no others 

 were obtained during the season positive statements cannot be made j 



