MANUFACTURES, ETC. 191 



are more extensive than those of Newfoundland. Halibut 

 can be caught in immense numbers, but they are scarcely dis- 

 turbed. The curing of salmon is only in its beginnings, while 

 that of herring, smelt, sardines, and anchovies has not yet 

 commenced. The cod fishery is languishing. In 1873 only 

 eleven vessels went to the Alaska banks from California, about 

 one-half as many as had gone in several previous seasons. The 

 causes of the decline, so far as we can learn, are that the men 

 employed are ignorant and careless, the salt impure, and the 

 drying process faulty. Some vessels take the cheapest salt for 

 curing, and its alkalies unite with the fat of the fish to injure 

 its flavor and reduce its weight. Opinions prevail among ex- 

 perts that the process of drying proceeds too fast in our cli- 

 mate, and that the rapidity of desiccation makes the meat hard, 

 and prevents a certain course of chemical changes necessary 

 to excellence. It is said that some of the codfish most in favor 

 with those who claim to be gourmets, are also the most fra- 

 grant while drying. If a moister atmosphere than ours is 

 requisite, it can be found on the shores of Puget Sound, where 

 the climate resembles that of England. Spain, which has in 

 Europe the latitude and climate of California, has never taken 

 a prominent part in the cod-fishery of the Atlantic ; but the 

 Californians do not consider themselves limited by the exam- 

 ple of the Spaniards. 



It is only within a few years that the codfishery has .been 

 commenced in the Pacific. In 1864 the first vessel left San 

 Francisco to fish for cod in the Northern seas, and her venture 

 was so profitable that a multitude of others followed her ex- 

 ample. Since then the business has been irregular, and is not 

 important just now ; but it will soon increase, and take a prom- 

 inent place among the industries of the North Pacific. Along 

 the shore of Alaska, and the numerous islands belonging to 

 it, the best and largest cod banks are found. The fish are 

 caught in water from fifteen to sixty fathoms deep, and hereto- 

 fore the vessels engaged in the trade have salted the fish down 



