﻿450 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OP 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  iug 
  required. 
  The 
  cost 
  of 
  those 
  located 
  in 
  sheltered 
  positions 
  is 
  also 
  

   reduced 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  not 
  having 
  to 
  be 
  built 
  of 
  so 
  heavy 
  material. 
  In 
  

   other 
  instances 
  the 
  weirs 
  are 
  located 
  in 
  open 
  water 
  and 
  exposed 
  places 
  

   where 
  all 
  tlie 
  parts 
  have 
  to 
  be 
  constructed 
  of 
  brush 
  and 
  poles 
  and 
  very 
  

   strongly 
  built 
  to 
  resist 
  the 
  greater 
  force 
  of 
  the 
  sea. 
  In 
  localities 
  of 
  

   this 
  kind 
  the 
  additional 
  material 
  and 
  labor 
  required 
  make 
  the 
  weirs 
  

   much 
  more 
  expensive. 
  The 
  cost 
  of 
  building 
  a 
  weir, 
  therefore, 
  varies 
  

   from 
  about 
  $40 
  to 
  $1,000, 
  the 
  average 
  cost 
  being 
  from 
  $200 
  to 
  $400. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  customary 
  for 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  men, 
  usually 
  from 
  two 
  to 
  five, 
  to 
  

   build, 
  own, 
  and 
  operate 
  a 
  weir 
  together 
  in 
  equal 
  shares. 
  In 
  many 
  

   instances 
  the 
  proprietors 
  of 
  factories 
  and 
  smoke-houses 
  own 
  a 
  share 
  in 
  

   the 
  weirs 
  and 
  furnish 
  their 
  share 
  of 
  the 
  capital 
  and 
  quota 
  of 
  men 
  to 
  

   build 
  and 
  operate 
  them. 
  The 
  length 
  of 
  time 
  occupied 
  in 
  building 
  an 
  

   ordinary 
  weir 
  varies 
  from 
  about 
  three 
  to 
  six 
  weeks. 
  The 
  work 
  is 
  gen- 
  

   erally 
  done 
  by 
  the 
  fishermen. 
  

  

  Names 
  of 
  the 
  iceirs. 
  — 
  The 
  fact 
  may 
  not 
  be 
  wholly 
  void 
  of 
  interest 
  

   that, 
  notwithstanding 
  the 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  weirs 
  operated 
  in 
  this 
  

   region, 
  it 
  is 
  customary 
  with 
  the 
  fishermen 
  to 
  give 
  each 
  weir 
  a 
  name. 
  

   Although 
  the 
  names 
  are 
  frequently 
  more 
  original 
  than 
  elegant, 
  they 
  

   serve 
  the 
  useful 
  purpose 
  of 
  ^distinguishing 
  one 
  from 
  another 
  when 
  

   speaking 
  of 
  them, 
  which 
  might 
  otherwise 
  be 
  difiicult. 
  They 
  are 
  some- 
  

   times 
  named 
  for 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  owners, 
  or 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  some 
  characteristic 
  

   manner, 
  habit, 
  trait 
  of 
  character, 
  or 
  circumstance 
  connected 
  with 
  his 
  

   personal 
  history, 
  or 
  perhaps 
  owing 
  to 
  some 
  incident 
  that 
  occurred 
  while 
  

   the 
  weir 
  was 
  being 
  built, 
  or 
  possibly 
  from 
  its 
  location. 
  The 
  following 
  

   are 
  the 
  names 
  of 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  weirs 
  in 
  West 
  Quoddy 
  Bay 
  : 
  Godfrey 
  weir, 
  

   Yankee 
  Boodle, 
  Wild 
  Man, 
  Phelps 
  weir, 
  Haddock 
  Point 
  weir. 
  Long- 
  

   stakes, 
  Hyder 
  Ali, 
  Raffler, 
  Dicebox, 
  Grasper, 
  Greenback, 
  Democrat, 
  

   Jeff 
  Davis, 
  The 
  Colonel, 
  Jews-harp, 
  and 
  Uncle 
  Sam. 
  The 
  owners 
  

   recognize 
  the 
  names 
  and 
  use 
  them 
  when 
  referring 
  to 
  their 
  weirs. 
  

  

  Fishing 
  season. 
  — 
  The 
  season 
  for 
  fishing 
  weirs, 
  as 
  prescribed 
  by 
  State 
  

   law, 
  is 
  from 
  April 
  15 
  to 
  December 
  15, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  seldom 
  that 
  fishing 
  

   begins 
  as 
  early 
  as 
  the 
  legal 
  season 
  allows. 
  The 
  sardine 
  canneries 
  do 
  

   not 
  open 
  before 
  May 
  1, 
  and 
  many 
  of 
  them 
  not 
  before 
  August, 
  conse- 
  

   quently 
  there 
  is 
  not 
  much 
  demand 
  for 
  fish 
  until 
  May 
  or 
  June. 
  In 
  recent 
  

   years 
  the 
  fish 
  have 
  not 
  been 
  very 
  abundant 
  in 
  the 
  early 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  

   season, 
  and 
  this 
  circumstance, 
  coupled 
  with 
  the 
  limited 
  demand, 
  has 
  

   made 
  it 
  unprofitable 
  to 
  operate 
  the 
  weirs 
  until 
  later 
  in 
  the 
  summer. 
  

   The 
  best 
  fishing 
  is 
  said 
  to 
  occur 
  from 
  about 
  the 
  first 
  of 
  August 
  to 
  the 
  

   end 
  of 
  November. 
  There 
  is 
  also 
  a 
  better 
  demand 
  for 
  the 
  fish 
  at 
  that 
  time 
  

   than 
  earlier, 
  both 
  for 
  canning 
  and 
  smoking 
  imrposes. 
  But 
  the 
  weirs 
  

   are 
  put 
  in 
  order 
  by 
  the 
  first 
  of 
  June, 
  and 
  the 
  fishing 
  is 
  prosecuted 
  as 
  

   vigorously 
  as 
  the 
  abundance 
  of 
  fish 
  and 
  the 
  demand 
  for 
  them 
  may 
  

   warrant 
  until 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  season. 
  

  

  Seining 
  the 
  weir. 
  — 
  The 
  stationary 
  character 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  parts 
  of 
  a 
  weir 
  

   make 
  it 
  necessary 
  to 
  use 
  a 
  seine 
  for 
  taking 
  out 
  the 
  fish 
  after 
  they 
  have 
  

   been 
  entrapped. 
  The 
  seines 
  used 
  for 
  this 
  purpose 
  vary 
  in 
  length 
  accord- 
  

  

  