of the mackerel by this method of fishing, and that 

 appeal had been repeated at various times in the history 

 of the fisheries, even down to the present time. In the 

 American Court of the Exhibition could be seen a 

 diagram showing the progress of the mackerel fishery, 

 and the very great fluctuations which took place not 

 only with reference to the quantity of fish caught, but 

 the number of vessels employed. It would be noticed 

 that in 1882 the catch was very much greater than in 

 any previous year, so that the fears as to the destruc- 

 tion of the fish did not seem to be well founded. Two 

 methods of fishing were afterwards introduced ; first, the 

 gill net or drag net, like that used in Cornwall, and which 

 is still used to a limited extent at the present time. 

 Another method introduced about the same time, and 

 kept up for a considerable period, was what they called 

 trailing, or dragging a bait after a vessel under sail. That 

 was carried on until the beginning of this century, and 

 it was not uncommon to see a vessel with four or five 

 poles sticking out from it, to which the bait was attached. 

 That was given up, however, fifty years ago. At the 

 beginning of this century another form of apparatus came 

 into use, which was exceedingly effective for a time, and 

 it was during the prevalence of this method that the 

 great fisheries in the United States and the Canadian 

 waters sprung up which had led to so many treaties 

 from 1865 to 1870. There were from 500 to 700, or even 

 in some years 1000 American vessels in the Gulf of St.- 

 Lawrence fishing for mackerel, and this was called the 

 mackerel hook fishery. It was conducted in this way : the 

 fishermen took on board a hundred or more barrels of 

 a very oily, fat fish called the menhaden, something like 

 the pilchard. They ground it up fine and threw it out 



