350 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



Clams. The hard clam, or quahog, is very common on the Florida coast, 

 particularly on the lower west coast. A few are gathered and sold locally at Key 

 West and Tampa. These are very large and of an excellent flavor, and by a little 

 effort on the part of the dealers a more extended market for them could be found in 

 the inland towns among people who could not afford to buy oysters. 



Frogs. One of the most delicate and popular of fishery products is obtained from 

 the frog. During the winter, especially, frogs' legs command a very high price in the 

 northern markets. There are plenty of frogs in Florida waters and the fishery could 

 be profitably prosecuted in the winter. The expense for apparatus would be slight, 

 either a small rifle or light spear being required. 



FISHERY PRODUCTS IN THE SMOKED STATE. 



One of the best and cheapest methods of preparing fishery products is by smoking. 

 This can be done with very cheap appliances, which are within the reach of almost 

 any fisherman. At certain seasons there is a glut in the fresh-fish markets, and unless 

 the catch can be prepared in some such manner fishing must either stop or consider- 

 able loss must ensue. There are a number of Florida fishes which can be utilized in 

 this way, and among them may be mentioned the following: 



Aleicife. Large quantities of these fish, locally known as "herring," enter the St. 

 John's Kiver for the purpose of spawning, about the same time as the shad, but, owing 

 to the poor prices realized, very few are caught. If properly smoked they would make 

 a good cheap food for the poorer classes of the inland towns of the South. 



Mullet. The above remarks apply to this common fish. Some smoking is at 

 present done by individuals for their own use. A little capital invested in the business 

 would soon develop a good trade. 



Sturgeon. There is an excellent demand in numerous markets for sturgeon in the 

 smoked state, and it would be profitable to smoke what could not be sold fresh. 



Crevalle. These fish, which are rather insipid when in the fresh state, are said to 

 be excellent when smoked. As they are very common it would undoubtedly add to 

 the fisherman's income if he prepared his catch in this way. 



FISHERY PRODUCTS IN THE CANNED STATE. 



With the exception of the canning of oysters and a small business in the prepara- 

 tion of turtle soup, no fishery products are prepared in this manner. A number, 

 however, could be profitably utilized, and I would mention the following: 



Fishes. The fishes locally known as "sardine," "pilchard," "herring," and "an- 

 chovy" exist in very large quantities along the Florida coast, especially at Ivey 

 West, Biscayne Bay, and the lower west coast. The only use made of these fish at 

 present is for bait in the Key West line fishery. A number of firms in Maine have 

 developed a lar-c business in the canning of the small herring as "sardines," and it 

 is very probable that the fish mentioned above could be prepared by the same process 

 as the Maine packers use, and would prove an acceptable food product. If a samp]*- 

 lot of these were prepared and placed upon the general market the question of their 

 adaptability would soon be settled. 



Crawfish. These can be easily prepared by the method used in canning lobsters. 

 They would make an excellent substitute for the popular canned lobster, and there 

 ought to be very little difficulty in building up a market for canned crawfish, especially 

 in the Southern States, where its excellence is well known. 



