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subject had commanded more attention than this, because 

 if there were no food there would be no fish, and if the fish 

 which preyed on the useful fishes increased in number 

 sufficiently it was quite evident that man had an evil to 

 contend with in the capture of those useful fishes whom he 

 could not hope to equal in any way. The food of fish was 

 of great importance both to the fishermen and to the fish 

 culturist. The fisherman by his careful observation of the 

 habits of fish was able to pursue them to much better 

 advantage. He had seen a great -deal of fishermen for the 

 last ten years, and many of them were natural observers of 

 great ability. They waited the appearance of the schools 

 of swarming crabs and shrimps, and other little fish on 

 which the large fish preyed, and by the study of these 

 animals shaped the course of their vessels and selected 

 their fishing grounds, and not only so, but selected their 

 bait also. A skilful fisherman always tried to give the fish 

 he was trying to catch a bait corresponding to that they 

 were feeding on naturally at the time. At the cod fishery 

 of Labrador the bait used was almost entirely caplin, 

 because at that time the cod would take hardly any other 

 bait. On the coast of Norway the same thing occurred ; 

 but when they went on the Grand Banks to fish they used 

 herring because herring was schooling there in great 

 abundance and the cod would not take anything else. In 

 the winter when fishing off the coast of New England they 

 knew the fish were feeding at the bottom and so they used 

 clams, which were consumed by hundreds of thousands of 

 barrels, the herrings being then almost of no use at all. 

 In this particular region where this fishery of clams was 

 carried on there were acres and acres almost square miles 

 at the bottom covered with beds of clam shells ; they were 

 packed like little nests of Japanese wooden trays, and 



