344 FISHING IN AMERICAN WATERS. 



v 



in placing the fish in the dry refrigerator the day that they 

 are caught, and the sooner after they leave the aqueous ele- 

 ment the better. Already the refrigerating process is in op- 

 eration on railroads for the transmission of meats, fish, and 

 fruits. 



Of numerous other fishes than the salmon which are sold 

 in a fresh condition, no reliable estimate can be made. They 

 include thousands of tons of striped bass, cero, bonita, Span- 

 ish mackerel, sea bass, blackfish, squeteague, sheepshead, eels, 

 flounders, flukes, crabs, lobsters, and several other kinds of 

 coast and estuary fishes. It is, however, safe to state that 

 they include more than half the number of pounds offish con- 

 sumed by the inhabitants of the states on the Atlantic border, 

 and amounting annually to a value of many millions of dol- 

 lars. Throughout winter the netting of striped bass is pur- 

 sued along the shores of bays, sounds, and as far up the Hud- 

 son River as Peekskill, taking them at the latter place from 

 under the ice. This practice should be inhibited by law. 



Those who feel interested in the commerce of fishes will 

 please excuse me for not condensing the statements by reca- 

 pitulation. The few examples which I have submitted of the 

 industry have been those of individual enterprise in a busi- 

 ness which is destined soon to become one among the leading 

 industries of the nation. 



