Il6 ECONOMIC ZOOLOGY 



named from the Island of Sardinia. The sardine is the most important 

 fish of France. There are about 100 canneries for sardines, some of 

 which have an annual output of 5,000,000 cans. There are various 

 small species of the family Clupeidae that are known as sardines, the 

 typical French species being the young pilchard, C. pilchardus. 



On the coast of California is a small fish, somewhat larger than the 

 French sardine, that is canned in the same way in which the Mediter- 

 ranean species is preserved, it is a true sardine, C. cacruteus. Eastport, 

 Me., is the chief centre for sardines in the United States. The annual 

 output of the canneries of Maine is about 550,000 cases, valued at about 

 $2,000,000. 



The cod-fish (Gadus morrhua) is one of the most important of all the 

 food fishes; it reaches a length of 3 or 4 feet and is characteristic of 

 colder seas. As long ago as 1415 English fishermen sought the cod-fish 

 on the coast of Iceland and since the sixteenth century they have been 

 coming to the banks of Newfoundland. It is said that more than half 

 the human population of Newfoundland get a living through the cod 

 fisheries. It is also an important business in the North Atlantic 

 region of the United States. Unlike the preceding the cod is caught 

 with set-lines and hand-lines, rather than with seines, tho trap-nets are 

 also used When brought to shore the fish are largely split open, 

 rubbed with common salt, and then thoroughly dried by spreading them 

 on platforms of boughs, known as " flakes,' ' in the sun. In good weather 

 the fish will be cured in a week and is then hard and stiff. Each 

 fish is turned over at least once a day so that both sides may be cured. 



The cod spawns at moderate depths and the eggs rise to the surface 

 of the sea, where they remain till hatched. An average sized cod is 

 said to produce from 2,000,000 to 4,000,000 eggs a year. 



The haddock is another well-known food fish belonging to the cod- 

 fish family. 



The salmon family (Salmonidae) includes many of our finest, largest 

 and gamiest food fishes, since besides the salmon proper, whose very 

 name (from sa^io, to leap) indicates its active vigorous nature, the 

 family includes various species of trout and white fish. While the 

 trout are more popularly known to sportsmen and others, the great 

 Quinnat or King Salmon of the Columbia River is economically, 

 the most important member of the family, if not of all the fishes of the 

 country. This magnificent fish, sometimes weighing 75 pounds, is 



