Sixth Annual Meeting. 125 



gentlemen here now who really have never tasted a pompano. 

 If people, generally, in New York knew the merits of the pom- 

 pano the price would hold up fully to twenty-five cents a 

 pound. Speaking of quantities, they would probably not exceed 

 1,000 to 1,500 a day for several days ; and I will suggest right 

 here to our esteemed Commissioner, Mr. Ferguson, as he is from 

 that locality, that if a little inquiry is made into the habits of 

 the pompano and the manner of catching them, thus bringing 

 them into public notice, I think it would have a marked effect 

 on the business. 



Our friend, Mr. Wilmot, was speaking of the salmon. 

 Probably the increased supply of salmon in New York during 

 1876 was more marked than at any time within my recollection, 

 owing to the extension of the inter-colonial railway system, so 

 that I think there is a branch running from Montreal down 

 through the Restigouche region, and so on down to St. John's, 

 also taking in Bathurst. The opening of this road in 1876 

 opened a new territory for fresh salmon for the market, and I 

 w r as called upon by Mr. Mowat, from the department of Mr. 

 Wilmot, who, on behalf of the fishermen there, wished to market 

 their fresh salmon. And, by the way, while speaking of that, I 

 made some inquiries as to the production of the river. I found 

 that some ten years ago the salmon were very scarce in the 

 Restigoche River, but owing to the efforts made by the Canadian 

 Commission in hatching and protecting the salmon and to their 

 protective laws, the increase had been wonderful ; so much so, 

 that the production of the estuary fish alone amounts to from 

 250,000 to 300,000 pounds, I think. This does not take in the 

 production of the fisheries in the vicinity of Bathurst. 



Mr. Wilmot : That is simply the reported quantities. There 

 is a large amount besides. 



Mr. Blackford : In the latter part of June large quantities 



