19 



Already the fishery carried on in the Bay of San Francisco is much 

 less productive than it was in the early days of the American occu- 

 pation; species tliat were once common have become scarce, and 

 others still tolerably abundant fail to attain their full dimensions. 

 Nor is over-fishing the sole cause of tliis. The constant hurrying to 

 and fro of the numerous ferry-boats and other steamers, indispensa- 

 ble to our comfort, tends to drive away the timid finny tribes, whilst 

 the ashes and cinders let fall injure the character of the bottom. 



But the injury from this source is small compared with that / 

 inflicted by the constant fouling of the waters and consequent destruc- 

 tion of life by the foetid inpourings of our sewers; by that foolish 

 waste of organic substances, which has now become an integral part 

 of what we consider civilization, materials which, if spread upon the 

 land, would cause our sandy wildernesses and bald Jiill-sides to bear 

 a luxuriant crop of cereals, and would thus bring life, or, which is 

 almost the same, the means of life, to thousands of human beings, 

 are now poured into the waters to pollute them for the destruction 

 of creatures on which human beings are largely dependant for the 

 means of life. As the supply in San Francisco Bay has become lim- 

 ited the scene of wholesale destruction is now shifted to Tomales Bay, 

 whence a very large proportion of our fish supply is now brought. 

 Although the fishes of the cod family are not prominent among the 

 supply of fresh fish sold in the markets, codfish are extremely abun- 

 dant on the shores of British Columbia, Alaska, and Kamtschatka, and 

 about thirteen vessels belonging to San Francisco are engaged in the 

 cod fishery, which is carried on in much the same manner as that of 

 the Newfoundland Banks. Rather the larger portion of the catch, 

 which in 1878 amounted to about 1,500 tons, is taken in the Okhotsk 

 Sea, the remainder principally at the Shoumagin Islands. The 

 greater part of the supply is consumed in California; but some is 

 sent to South American ports upon the Pacific, and even to Australia. 

 The drying of these fish is not done upon the spot, but at drying 

 establishments on the shores of San Francisco Bay. The fishery is 

 at present carried on in comparatively shallow water, although, as in 

 the Atlantic, it is observed that the fish from deeper water are the 

 best. The cod of the Pacific cod-fishery is a true Gadus; but, as no 

 entire specimens have yet been carefully examined, it is uncertain 

 whether it is to be referred to Gadus auratus, Cope, or to one of the 

 species described by older writers. 



Small quantities of halibut {Hippoglossus vulgaris ?), herring ( Clupea 

 mirabilis), and eulachon {Thaleichthys j)ac?]/icws), are preserved in 

 various ways for the San Francisco market, but these branches of 

 our fisheries are in their infancy. 



The halibut is abundant, attains large dimensions, and is probably 

 equal in every respect to that of the Atlantic, yet it cannot compete 

 in San Francisco with the Eastern article. It is occasionally canned 

 like the salmon. 



The eulachon is one of the fishes which, from their oiliness and 

 the use made of them by the Indians, are called " candle-fish." Some 

 are brought down in salt, while others are put up with oil in boxes 

 and sold as sardines. 



SUBCLASS TELEOSTEI, BONY FISHES. 



In the fishes of this subclass, the skeleton is more or less ossified, instead of cartilaginous, as 

 in most of the Ganoidei (sturgeon^ etc.), and in the Elasmobranchii {sharks, r&ys, etc.). The 

 caudal fin is regular or homocercal, rarely absent; the optic nerves from opposite sides simi^ly 



