(344 GEOGBAPHICAL REVIEW OF THE FISHERIES. 



There has been a marked decrease in the sale of half barrels since the practice of returning the 

 empty ones to the fishermen was originated. The demand for caviare barrels, however, is rapidly 

 increasing. The firm employs sixty men, but not all are engaged in making fish barrels. 



Green Bay city having been for many years the chief shipping point for the bay, the fluctua- 

 tions in the abundance of fish and the changes in the fishing business have been perhaps more 

 carefully noted than elsewhere. A considerable amount of information was obtained in regard to 

 these matters by Mr. Kumlien from Mr. Kalmbach and other dealers of the city, and may per- 

 haps be most conveniently inserted here. 



Green Bay has long had an enviable reputation for its extensive and valuable fisheries, but of 

 late years their yield has been growing noticeably less, the decrease being most marked in the case 

 of whitefish and other kinds which are commonly salted. The fresh fish trade has not declined, 

 but is rather on the advance, owing to the improved facilities for shipping fish in that condition. 

 Fresh fish are at present shipped to Kansas City, Saint Louis, Saint Joseph, and other places in 

 the hottest weather, in perfect safety. 



Mr. M. F. Kalmbach gives an instance of the abundance of whitefish in former years. In 

 1860 he began fishing with pound-nets in Bay de Noquette. Pounds were not generally in use at 

 that time, his trial of them being, in fact, one of the first. He employed two nets, one 18 feet 

 deep, the other 20 feet deep, and each about 28 by 32 feet square. In these nets, between the 10th 

 of October and the 25th of November, he took a sufficient quantity of whitefish to fill 1,750 half- 

 barrels when salted, and was prevented from preparing double the quantity merely from lack of 

 the needed supplies of salt and packages. For more than a month the nets were so full that a 

 simple dip-net was the only implement necessary to be used in securing a quantity for salting. 

 The fish crowded about the nets seeking entrance. 



In late years pound-nets with very small mesh have been extensively employed, and largo 

 quantities of small fish taken. In the fall of 1878, at one locality in the bay, over 5,000 barrels of 

 whitefish, equal to fully 7,500,000 fish, were thrown away, being too small for market. The same 

 practice having been in force in many other places, it would seem that the supply of whitefish 

 must be considerably diminished. 



Another cause of the decrease of whitefish may perhaps be found in the fact that they have 

 been driven from their old spawning grounds by sawdust and other mill refuse. Prior to 1865 

 there were few mills on the rivers, and large numbers of fish were hatched in them rather than at 

 the grounds about the reefs. 



DE PERE AND WEST DE PEKE. The towns De Pere and West De Pere are situated on oppo- 

 site sides of the Fox Eiver, about 10 miles above Green Bay City. Large dams have been erected 

 here, which give power to numerous manufacturing establishments, including many lumber mills. 

 The river below the dams is wide and deep, and resembles an arm of a bay rather than a portion 

 of a river. 



The fisheries at this point, which are now insignificant, were formerly of considerable impor- 

 tance. The most favorable shore from which to operate was frequently rented for as much as 

 $1,500 for the season, lasting from April to June. At this time whitefish came up the river, and 

 were caught in abundance. 



Of late years the increasing settlement of the country, the establishment of mills, and other 

 causes have combined to render these fisheries much less productive than formerly. A recent 

 State law has made fishing in the Fox Eivcr illegal at all seasons, but nevertheless it is still carried 

 on to a limited extent. A considerable quantity is taken by laborers and others for family use, 



