2000 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



By Mr. Dana : 



Q. What is the exception ? A. This occurred in 1831, when 383,559 

 barrels of mackerel were inspected in the State of Massachusetts. 



By Mr. Thomson : 



Q. Is packing and inspection the same thing ? A. Yes. They were 

 chiefly the catch of our vessels. Another matter deserves remark : if 

 mackerel imported from the British provinces fall into the hands of our 

 inspectors, and they reinspect them, they put the American brand on 

 them ; and such fish would be included in the number of the catch. 

 This, I think, is an important fact. 



Q. I was going to ask you whether or not these fish were branded, 

 irrespective of the nationality of the bottoms in which they were 

 taken ? A. Yes. I think that the fish which are now being sent from 

 Halifax to Boston will be inspected. We have general inspectors. 



Q. Would not these fish, so inspected, appear in your returns as 

 American-caught fish ? A. I think that would be the case; they would 

 appear in the whole product of the State. 



Q. Then the finest fish that would come there from British waters 

 would be inspected and marked either number one or mess mackerel, as 

 coming from American waters? A. Yes; if they were fat and big 

 enough. 



Q. And they would appear to be American-caught when in fact they 

 were British-caught ? A. I do not think that any distinction would be 

 made when mackerel are sold in large quantities ; they are sold more 

 particularly by their quality than by their brand. 



Q. It is not the brand that then sells them ! A. The brand does not 

 determine the quality of the fish when they first change hands. Mack- 

 erel coming from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, when 13 inches long, and 

 fat, are put in as number ones ; and the fish caught on our own coast 13 

 inches long or over, are similarly branded. Mackerel that run between 

 13 and 14 inches in length, according to the Massachusetts inspection 

 law, are number ones ; and mackerel which are from 16 to 17 inches 

 long are also branded as number ones, this being the highest brand. But 

 when a purchaser comes along, the heads of the barrels are taken out 

 and the quality of the fish is examined without regard to the brand 



Q. But, in every case, fish that come down from British waters would 

 appear as American-caught fish ? A. This would be the case, I think, 

 after they were packed. 



Q. This being so, your returns would not be at all conclusive as to the 

 quantity of the British catch which comes into your ports! A. I do 

 not think that they would. 



Q. Boston, I think, is your great shipping center ? A. Yes ; it is a 

 great shipping market. 



Q. Does not the fish trade of New England center there T A. Yes. 



Q. And it is one of the largest centers of the fish trade in the United 

 States? A. Yes. 



Q. Is there any larger fish-trade center anywhere ? A. I do not know 

 so much about New York as Boston, but I think that the latter is the 

 greatest fish-trade center in the United States. 



Q. This is oneof the most importantelementsof the trade of Boston! 

 A. It is an important element in it. 



Q. \\ hat oflice did you hold as a commissioner under the government 



?nfn fff Cbus f etts ? -T A : I was ^pointed a commissioner to investigate 



into the question relating to the artificial prona^atinr ^ K 



find out whether such pronagation was pr of fisb > ^ ud to 



