﻿6 
  MENHADEN 
  INDUSTRY 
  OF 
  THE 
  ATLANTIC 
  COAST. 
  

  

  $3,456,792; 
  the 
  total 
  net 
  tonnage 
  was 
  13,566. 
  Of 
  these 
  118 
  were 
  

   steamers, 
  vakied 
  at 
  S3, 
  303, 
  292, 
  and 
  29 
  were 
  gasohne 
  boats, 
  vaUied 
  

   at 
  $153,500. 
  Two 
  hundred 
  and 
  seventy-four 
  purse 
  seines, 
  valued 
  at 
  

   $271,000, 
  and 
  386 
  seine 
  and 
  striker 
  boats, 
  valued 
  at 
  $83,135, 
  were 
  

   used. 
  The 
  number 
  of 
  persons 
  employed 
  in 
  and 
  about 
  the 
  factories 
  was 
  

   2,159, 
  their 
  salaries 
  and 
  wages 
  for 
  the 
  year 
  amounting 
  to 
  $560,834; 
  

   the 
  number 
  of 
  fishermen 
  engaged 
  was 
  3,735, 
  and 
  their 
  wages 
  

   amounted 
  to 
  $1,018,150. 
  The 
  total 
  number 
  of 
  menhaden 
  utiUzed 
  

   was 
  1,061,843,750, 
  which 
  yielded 
  6,651,203 
  gallons 
  of 
  oil, 
  valued 
  at 
  

   $1,551,990, 
  and 
  88,520 
  tons 
  of 
  scrap, 
  valued 
  at 
  $2,138,165. 
  

  

  The 
  degree 
  of 
  success 
  attending 
  this 
  important 
  fishery, 
  which 
  is 
  

   prosecuted 
  annually, 
  varies 
  greatly; 
  the 
  number 
  caught 
  and 
  also 
  the 
  

   fatness 
  of 
  the 
  fish 
  is 
  much 
  greater 
  some 
  years 
  than 
  others; 
  conse- 
  

   quently, 
  similar 
  catches 
  do 
  not 
  always 
  yield 
  similar 
  quantities 
  of 
  oil. 
  

   The 
  catch 
  of 
  1911 
  was 
  probably 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  largest 
  ever 
  known 
  and 
  

   the 
  large 
  dividends 
  paid 
  that 
  year 
  gave 
  the 
  industry 
  such 
  an 
  impetus 
  

   that 
  four 
  new 
  factories 
  were 
  established 
  during 
  that 
  season 
  and 
  eight 
  

   in 
  1912; 
  in 
  addition 
  to 
  these, 
  four 
  new 
  ones 
  were 
  being 
  operated 
  in 
  1913 
  

   and 
  two 
  others 
  were 
  under 
  construction. 
  It 
  may 
  be 
  incidentally 
  stated 
  

   that 
  the 
  fishing 
  during 
  the 
  season 
  of 
  1913 
  was 
  practically 
  a 
  failure, 
  at 
  

   least 
  two 
  of 
  the 
  factories 
  having 
  been 
  forced 
  into 
  receivers' 
  hands. 
  

   Despite 
  this 
  increase 
  in 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  factories 
  during 
  the 
  last 
  three 
  

   years, 
  there 
  are 
  not 
  now 
  as 
  many 
  as 
  have 
  been 
  operated 
  during 
  some 
  

   previous 
  years. 
  But 
  when 
  it 
  is 
  considered 
  that 
  the 
  present-day 
  

   plants 
  are 
  so 
  much 
  larger 
  and 
  the 
  modern 
  equipment 
  so 
  greatly 
  

   facilitates 
  the 
  handling 
  of 
  the 
  fish, 
  the 
  possibilities 
  are 
  probably 
  

   greater 
  to-day 
  than 
  ever 
  before. 
  

  

  FACTORIES. 
  

  

  A 
  menliaden 
  factory 
  should 
  be 
  within 
  a 
  few 
  hours' 
  run 
  of 
  the 
  fishing 
  

   grounds 
  and 
  also 
  on 
  deep 
  water, 
  to 
  avoid 
  the 
  necessity 
  of 
  building 
  a 
  

   long 
  wharf 
  to 
  reach 
  from 
  the 
  plant 
  to 
  a 
  channel 
  of 
  sufficient 
  depth 
  to 
  

   float 
  the 
  steamers, 
  many 
  of 
  which 
  have 
  considerable 
  draft. 
  This, 
  

   however, 
  is 
  not 
  always 
  possible; 
  one 
  factory 
  has 
  a 
  wharf 
  1,100 
  feet 
  

   long, 
  and 
  at 
  another 
  place 
  the 
  entire 
  plant 
  is 
  built 
  over 
  the 
  water. 
  

   The 
  elevator 
  or 
  other 
  device 
  for 
  removing 
  the 
  fish 
  from 
  the 
  hold 
  of 
  

   the 
  steamer 
  and 
  the 
  device 
  for 
  measuring 
  the 
  fish 
  are 
  always 
  placed 
  

   on 
  the 
  outer 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  wharf; 
  the 
  ''raw 
  box" 
  may 
  be 
  either 
  on 
  the 
  

   wharf 
  immediately 
  back 
  of 
  the 
  elevator 
  or 
  on 
  the 
  other 
  end 
  near 
  the 
  

   factory. 
  

  

  The 
  chief 
  desire 
  in 
  drawing 
  plans 
  for 
  the 
  building 
  is 
  to 
  have 
  the 
  

   machinery 
  so 
  arranged 
  as 
  to 
  facilitate 
  the 
  handling 
  of 
  the 
  fish, 
  and 
  

   for 
  this 
  reason 
  the 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  buildings 
  have 
  two 
  stories. 
  The 
  cooker 
  

   is 
  generally 
  on 
  the 
  ground 
  floor 
  quite 
  close 
  to 
  the 
  raw 
  box; 
  in 
  some 
  

   plants 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  in 
  the 
  building 
  but 
  is 
  placed 
  on 
  the 
  outside 
  with 
  only 
  

  

  