730 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



but tlie eggs were well advanced before tbey died, and careful observa. 

 tions up to this point fiilly convinced us that these eggs are as hardy as 

 those of the cod, and that they maybe successfully hatched by a similar 

 method. 



Table III gives the result of our computation of the number of eggs 

 in individuals of different size, from which it will be seen that a 23J- 

 pound fish has over 4,000,000 of eggs, while a 13-pound one has 2,500,000. 



c. Haddock. 



It is not many years since haddock were very little sought in the 

 markets, and the price averaged only one cent each ; but the method of 

 smoking them, introduced into this country by the Scotch, has greatly 

 increased the demand, and now a ready sale can be found for any quan- 

 tity at good figures. At the present time a large fleet of Gloucester 

 and Portland vessels are engaged in this fishery during the winter 

 months, visiting George's and other offshore banks, and localities fur- 

 ther north where the fish are abundant at this season. The vessels are 

 each provided with trawls, and a single crew have been known to take 

 nearly 20,000 pounds in a day. 



The fish usually remain on these offshore banks till the winter is 

 over, and they do not reach Cape Ann until just before the spawning 

 season, which for this species begins about the middle of April and 

 continues during nearly three months, the height of the season being 

 in May. 



In the spring of 1879 it is thought that two schools visited this coast, 

 the first, composed of fish of large size, arriving early in April and 

 leaving by the middle of May ; and the other, composed of smaller fish, 

 reaching the grounds about the 20th of May and leaving gradually after 

 the 1st of July, a few remaining during the greater part of the summer. 

 When the fishing first began, the fish were several miles from the shore, 

 but they continued to " work in," until there was good fishing at the 

 mouth of the harbor for several days, after which they seemed to move 

 back again, and toward the close of the season remained on muddy 

 bottom, when trawls were extensively used in their capture. 



Early in May haddock were so plenty that one man caught 1,881 

 pounds in one day with hand-lines, and about the same time many dif- 

 ferent fishermen secured over 1,000 pounds. The males were usually a 

 trifle more abundant, though at times the females composed fully half 

 of the catch. The latter average larger than the former, and some days 

 there would be a difference of two pounds in favor of the female. 



The first ripe females were noticed on the 23d of April, and in the 

 middle of July an occasional fish had not finished spawning. The first 

 eggs were secured May 5, and others were taken at intervals to June 2, 

 the total quantity being about 250,000. The method of impregnation 

 was similar to that used for egga of the cod, and the size of the eggs 

 was one-nineteenth of an inch. Though the number contained in the 



