[133] HISTORY OF THE MACKEREL FISHERY. 



the fisli dealers of the principal cities began to realize the importance 

 of this method for increasing the demand for salt mackerel, though, as 

 far as we can learn, the fact that a patent had been issued bas from the 

 first been entirely ignored. In the spring of 1879 Henry Mayo & Co., of 

 Boston, engaged extensively in mackerel canning, utilizing the ordinary 

 salt fish, which were put up in tin cans holding from five to ten pounds 

 each. A little later a number of the principal fish dealers of Boston 

 and Gloucester turned their attention to the business, which soon came 

 to be very extensive. The quantity put up in 1880 was double that for 



1879, and the products for 1881 were considerably in excess of those of 



1880. The preseut season, according to Mr. W. A. Wilcox, there is a 

 notable falling off in the business, and the quantity canned will be 

 quite small; the decrease being largely due to the loss occasioned by the 

 rusting of the cans. If this difficulty can be overcome the trade seems 

 destined to develop enormously, as the size of the package, and the 

 convenience of handling and keeping the fish have brought them into 

 favor among the consumers. 



In the spring of 1880 parties interested in the preparation of sardines 

 at Eastport secured a limited quantity of small mackerel, which they 

 canned and placed upon the market as "broiled mackerel." The cans 

 used were like those employed for the large herring which are known 

 by the trade names of "brook-trout" and "sea-trout," and the methods 

 of preparation were very similar. The mackerel were found in every 

 way superior to the herring, and the demand for them has been con- 

 stantly increasing to the preseut time. 



The advantages of mackerel canning are many. Perhaps the great- 

 est point in favor of the industry is the fact that it gives an outlet for 

 the small mackerel, which, for canning purposes, are found superior to 

 the larger ones. The small fish known as "tinkers" are very abundant 

 along the New England shores, great quantities of them being taken 

 by the fishermen, who, on account of their small size, which renders 

 them undesirable for salting, have heretofore experienced great diffi- 

 culty in finding a market for them, and have frequently been obliged to 

 throw them away. Limited quantities are sold fresh in the larger mar- 

 kets, but boat fishermen living at a distance are unable to avail them- 

 selves of the opportunities offered, owing to a lack of suitable means of 

 transportation; while the vessel fishermen find it difficult to dispose of 

 small fish when larger ones chance to be abundant, and the price paid 

 for tinkers is always exceedingly low. The canning of mackerel, then, 

 is peculiarly important, in that it renders valuable for purposes of food 

 immense quantities of otherwise worthless products. The boat fisher- 

 men are greatly benefited by the development of the industry, as with a 

 demand for the small fish they find remunerative employment in fishing 

 at a time when there is little else to occupy their attention. 



Cooked mackerel. — Prior to 1879, when salt mackerel were lirst put 

 up in tin packages, nearly all of the canned mackerel were packed by 



