THE FIRST YEARS OF THE REPUBLIC. 



323 



belonging with its warehouse to Elisha Doane, worth 

 nearly as much as the first. 



The amount of fish taken each year is not recorded 

 previous to the catch of 1804. The inspector general's 

 report* for the period beginning 1804 can be found in 

 the archives at the State House in Boston, and they furnish 

 a fair basis for an estimate of the industry preceding those 

 years. Probably there were caught and salted not much 

 more than a thousand barrels at any one year before 1800; 

 but after that year a steady increase was made up to the 

 War of 1 8 12, when in the year 181 1 the climax of four 

 thousand one hundred and fifty-nine barrels was reached 

 as one year's capture, and they sold at five to nine dollars 

 a barrel. 



It was in the year 1809 that the Cohasset catch passed 

 beyond that of Hingham, whose capital in the fishing 

 business had formerly been too much for our rivalry. The 

 most of these fish were mackerel, but several hundred 

 barrels of alewives were packed during some years. 



Different grades of mackerel were established, so that 

 instead of only one kind there came to be the first, 

 second, and third grades in the year 1806. 



Barrels and half barrels both were used in packing, and 

 our coopers were kept busy during those years making 



♦Report of Inspector General of Fish, Henry Purkitt. 

 Cohasset Inspector — JOHN Beals. 



