THE SEA FISHERIES OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. 211 



another I do not know. They may not have appliances for catching them on our 

 coast, and they may not have the means of taking them in such quantities as is pos- 

 sible at Newfoundland ; but it is certainly a notorious fact that herring are much 

 more abundant on the coast of Newfoundland than they are on the coast of the 

 United States; though whether the herring that are wanted on the United States 

 coast could or could not be had in the United States, I cannot say ; but I do think 

 that herring are vastly more abundant in Newfoundland and the Bay of Fundy than 

 they are farther south. 



Q. That accounts, then, for the number of your vessels that come to Newfoundland 

 for them, no doubt. Give us the number of miles of United States coast along which 

 fishing rights have been conceded to British subjects under the Washington Treaty ? — 

 A. 1,112. 



Q. Can you give the extent of the Dominion coast, including that of Newfound- 

 land? — A. Yes; the coast line of the Province of Canada is 810 miles; of New Bruns- 

 wick, 1,000 miles; of Nova Scotia, 390 miles; of Newfoundland, 1,650 miles; of 

 Grand Manan, 30 miles ; of Prince Edward Island, 285 miles ; of the Magdalen Isl- 

 ands, 85 miles ; and of Anticosti Island, 265 miles; the total length of the coast line 

 of Eastern British North America is 4,515 miles, four times that of the United States 

 east of Cape Cod. 



By Mr. Dana : 



Q. Following the bays ? — A. Following the large bays, but omitting the smaller 

 ones. 



By Mr. Whiteway : 



Q. In jour statement regarding the annual product of the Dominion fisheries, you 

 have not included the Newfoundland fisheries ? — A. No ; I have only that of the Do- 

 minion of Canada. 



Q. Are you aware that something like 1,500,000 or 1,600,000 quintals of fish are 

 caught in Newfoundland alone ? — A. I think that is very probable, but I do not 

 know. 



Q. Besides the large herring fishery ? — A. I am very anxious to know exactly what 

 the Newfoundland catch is ; I have made inquiries respecting it ; but I have not been 

 able to obtain any such public data. 



Q. You say that the depletion of the codfish on the coast has been the result of the 

 depletion of the river fisheries on the coast of Massachusetts ? — A. I gave that as pre- 

 sumably one reason for it. It is probably a very important element in the fishery. 



Q. Then any act which may prove injurious to the bay fisheries on the coast would 

 seriously affect the inshore fisheries by removing that which induced the cod to go on 

 the coast ? — A. Yes ; it would have its effect, I think. Possibly a very decided effect. 



Q. As a naturalist I would ask you to answer one or two questions. What do you 

 mean by the term "fish "? Can you give us a definition ? — A. Well, a fish is a cold- 

 blooded vertebrate, having a particular mode of respiration. It breathes through 

 gills instead of lungs, and it has a heart of a particular construction. 



Q. I will read the definition from a book published in New York by Harper Broth- 

 ers, the Encyclopedia of Commerce. I presume that is an authority that can be relied 

 upon [reads definition]. I suppose that is a definition that can be relied upon? — A. 

 No ; I think it cannot be relied upon at all. That would make anything that floats 

 in the water a fish. So that the seal would be a fish and the otter would be a fish. 



Q. This is the Encyclopedia of Commerce. I suppose it is reliable. I mean as an 

 encyclopedia of commerce? — A. Well, I don't know. I don't think it is quoted very 

 much. It is probably a very good compilation. There are a great many books of 

 that class that one has occasion to look at without feeling that they are perfectly ac- 

 curate. 



Q. Do you consider the seal a fish ? — A. Not at all. 



Q. Why? — A. Because it is a warm-blooded mammal. It breathes by means of 

 lungs, &c. 



