252 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
ama, Wash., and one at Ranier, Oreg. There were also numerous 
receiving stations located near the fishing-grounds. If, after tending 
his lines, the fisherman is near the head station or packing house, he 
delivers his catch there; but if some distance away he takes it to the 
nearest receiving station of the firm with which he has contracted to 
furnish his catch. The prices received by the fishermen are 1 cent per 
pound as the fish come from the water, or 14 cents per pound if the 
viscera have been removed. When the fish contain roe suitable for the 
manufacture of caviar, the fishermen remove it and receive 4 cents per 
pound for the same. As soon as the fish are landed at the packing- 
house a gang of employees dress them for market. In some eases the 
skin is removed, in others it is left intact. After dressing, the fish are 
cut into sizes to fit the freezing-pans, which are then placed in bins, 
covered with ice and salt, and frozen into solid cakes. After freezing, 
the blocks of sturgeon are removed from the pans and placed in boxes 
holding from 200 to 250 pounds, which are loaded into refrigerator cars 
and shipped to market. Most of the catch has been sent to Sandusky, 
Ohio, Chicago, Il., and New York City, where it is smoked and finds a 
ready sale at good prices. The number of car loads of fresh sturgeon 
sent east was 25 in 1889, 77 in 1890, 102 in 1891, and 115 in 1892. 
One product of the sturgeon is used entirely by the Chinese, namely, 
the spinal marrow. As soon as the fish are landed at the packing 
establishment a Chinaman, armed with a hook, pulls out enough of the 
marrow to furnish a good hold, then seizing it, draws the remainder of 
it out hand over hand. In the average-sized sturgeon the spinal cord is 
4 or 5 feet long and consists of long, white connecting links resembling 
sausages. These are cut open and the jelly-like substance contained 
within is scraped off and thrown away. This marrow is known by the 
Chinese and the trade under the name of “bone.” It is thoroughly 
dried, and if not sold to the Chinese in this country it is exported to 
China, where it is much prized for making soups. The Chinamen pay 
4 cents a pound for this “bone” and remove it from the fish themselves. 
Valuable as the sturgeon is, there seems to be a large waste that 
might be utilized for fertilizing purposes. Nearly half the gross 
weight of the fish is at present thrown away, the head, viscera, and 
skin being discarded. This refuse contains more or less oil and valu- 
able fertilizing properties, and could, no doubt, be utilized to great 
advantage. 
The sturgeon fishery of this river was investigated for the United 
States Fish Commission by the writer in 1889 and again in 1892, the 
various fishing camps and grounds and packing stations being visited 
each year, and the firms engaged in the business courteously furnished 
the desired statistical and general information. Up to the date of the 
last visit sturgeon had been found in ample abundance for the demands 
of the firms, but the fishermen were beginning to complain of a growing 
scarcity. AS is usual in such cases, more apparatus was required, 
and this had to be moved from point to point more frequently in order 
