MAINE. 



417 



creased 4,000 a year, and from 1806 to 1898 only 129 

 a year, while colts have decreased 20,281 in the last 

 five years. 



Poultry. By an act of Legislature of 1897-'98 the 

 local assessors are called upon to account for every 

 kind of poultry in their town or city, and to make 

 returns to the State assessors. Such reports showed 

 the total number of hens to be 1,557,252; value of 

 poultry and eggs, $1,871,781.17; number of turkeys, 

 5,268, value $15,362.20; ducks, 9,018, value $28,- 

 258.10; geese, 3,445, value $7,472.33. 



Fisheries and Game. The hatching troughs 

 have been well filled with spawn, and the number 

 of fish reared and liberated has been encouraging. 

 The number of prosecutions for the violation of the 

 fish and game laws was 115; aggregate of fines im- 

 posed, $3,904; fines paid, $2,634; number of days 

 of jail sentences for violation of the moose law, 

 1,050; number of days served, 420; receipts and 

 fees from registration of guides, $1,316; from the 

 State, $25,000; from taxidermists' licenses, $30; 

 total receipts, $26,931.78 ; expenses, the same. 



In mackerel fishing 239 men and 300 boats we.re 

 employed : number of pounds of fish sold fresh, 

 814,130, value $47,125 ; number of barrels salted, 

 665, value $9,450 ; canned, 6,591. The total capi- 

 tal invested in sea-shad fishing was $2,863,374; 

 the number caught in 1898, 1,152, value .$23,720. 

 In the herring fisheries 1,470 men were employed, 

 and the amount received from the herring sold was 

 $730,058. Sardine packing gave employment to 

 5,839 persons in the State ; wages received for labor, 

 $811,775 ; value of the 178.694 cases put up, $2,727,- 

 781 ; of the oil, $4.635 ; of the fertilizer produced, 

 $6,820. The number of men employed in lobster 

 fishing was 3,103 ; number of lobsters handled, 

 8,178,332; number of seed lobsters furnished to the 

 United States hatchery in 1897, 21,365 ; eggs result- 

 ing, 25,207,000; fry hatched, 22.875,000; number 

 planted in Maine, about 21,875,000. In the men- 

 haden industry 869 men were engaged and 83 

 steamers, at an expense of $105,000 paid employees; 

 number of tons of pomace procured as fertilizer, 

 9.120 tons. In digging clams and scallops 550 men 

 were employed ; product of the canneries, 40,933 

 cases ; in the shell, 1,109,936 bushels. The catch of 

 smelts for 1898 was 1,156,684 pounds; persons en- 

 gaged in the work, 1,095. In ground fishing, 819 

 boats and 1,291 men were employed ; fish taken, 

 32,952,619 pounds, value $565.271. 



New Game Laws. The Maine Sportsman's As- 

 sociation reported that the calf moose is one ' ; not 

 less than a year old and having two prongs or tines 

 to its horns!" The open season on caribou was made 

 to begin on Oct. 5 and to close on Dec. 1. The open 

 season on deer will be from Oct. 1 to Dec. 15, except 

 as to the clause added as follows: " Permitting the 

 taking of deer, for food purposes only, during Sep- 

 tember, and to be consumed by the party taking it 

 in the locality where taken, when accompanied by 

 a registered guide, under such rules and regulations 

 as the commissioners shall establish from time to 

 time, on payment of a fee of $6 by a non-resident 

 and $4 by a resident." 



In order to transport lawfully killed game with- 

 out being accompanied by the owner, a tag pro- 

 vided by the commissioner must be purchased at a 

 fee of $5 for a moose, $3 for a caribou, and $2 for 

 a deer, and this tag must be attached to the game. 



The sale of ruffed grouse and woodcock was de- 

 clared absolutely prohibited, and only 10 of any one 

 kind of game may be taken by any one person in 

 any one day. The open season on fish was declared 

 to begin in the spring as soon as the lakes and 

 ponds are free from ice, instead of May 1, as hitherto. 

 All ice fishing for trout and salmon in the counties 

 of Somerset and Kennebec was declared prohibited. 

 VOL. xxxvin. 27 A 



The close time on white perch is from April 1 to 

 July 1. The law requiring the registration of guides 

 was strengthened, and three classes were named for 

 registration, viz.: first, second, and beginner's class. 



Guides. The Legislature of 1897-'98 enacted a 

 law requiring a record to be kept by the commis- 

 sioners of the name, age, and residence of all per- 

 sons engaged as guides in inland fisheries or game 

 hunting, and also the number of days employed as 

 guides, and the number of persons guided, residents 

 and non-residents. Since the law was enacted the 

 number of guides registered is 1,766 ; number regis- 

 tered in 1898, 1,443, three of whom were women ; 

 residents guided, 5,820, against 3,384 in 1897; non- 

 residents guided, 7.366 ; number of days the guides 

 were employed, 63,501, against 51,918 ill 1897 ; great- 

 est number of days any one guide was employed, 

 182; total number of moose killed, 260; caribou, 

 160; deer, 11,000; bears, 160: total pounds of fish 

 caught, 70 tons; total receipts from commissions, 

 $29,024. 



Indians. The number of the Penobscot tribe 

 reported was 393 ; of the Passamaquoddy, 475 : 

 number of children in school. 109 ; money expended 

 for the Passamaquoddy tribe during the year, $8,971 : 

 amount of appropriation unexpended, $32. 



Pulp and Paper Mills. The first pulp mill 

 was built in Maine in 1870. In 1880 there were 7 

 of these mills, with a capital of $440,000, and 12 

 paper mills, with a capital of $2,000,000. In 1895 

 the pulp and paper-making industry was estimated 

 at $12,000,000, and the daily output was 1,162 tons. 

 In the three years since, the increase has been even 

 more marked. 



Liquor Traffic. The number of places in the 

 State where special tax receipts were held was esti- 

 mated at 1,025, but 113 dropped out of business 

 during the year ; total public revenue from the 

 liquor traffic, $128,823.56 ; total amount of fines 

 and liquor confiscated and sold, $92,964.26; net 

 profits of the agencies, $9,466.10. 



Political. The Populist convention met in Ban- 

 gor, June 2, and nominated Robert Gerry as candi- 

 date for Governor. The resolutions declared for 

 the platform of 1896 on the silver and bonded-debt 

 question. Other planks demanded that all railroad, 

 telegraph, and telephone systems be owned and 

 operated by the Government ; that all undesirable 

 foreign immigration be absolutely prohibited; that 

 all trusts and combinations for the purpose of specu- 

 lating in the necessaries of life be prohibited, and 

 their promotors be treated as outlaws ; that all land 

 held for speculative purposes be taxed to the full 

 extent of its rental value ; for the initiative and 

 referendum ; and that all persons, firms, and corpo- 

 rations in the State of Maine employing the labor 

 of unnaturalized foreigners be compelled to pay into 

 the city or town treasury where such persons, firms, 

 or corporations are located, 50 cents a day for each 

 foreigner thus employed. 



The Republican convention assembled at Augusta, 

 June 28, and renominated Llewellyn Powers for 

 Governor. The platform invited the voters of 

 Maine, "without distinction of party," to join in 

 maintaining the following principles: "Firm sup- 

 port of President McKinley and his administration 

 in the conduct of the war with Spain and a recog- 

 nition of the President's wisdom in the management 

 of the Cuban question; cordial appreciation of the 

 valor of the army and navy as shown by the brave 

 deeds of the sailors and soldiers in the war ; and 

 the sacred duty of the State to protect and care for 

 their wives and children while they carry liberty to 

 the oppressed and defend the nation's honor ; a 

 currency for business and labor, the soldier and the 

 pensioner, that, is as good as gold the world over ; 

 all necessary legislation in the interests of labor, of 



