204 NATURAL HISTORY OP AQUATIC ANIMALS. 



the 1st of November the fall school of spawning fish, known as the ' pasture school,' makes its 

 appearance. All the smaller vessels and boats are now pressed into service, and the winter 

 fisheries are soon at their height. The vessels are usually provided with dories, taking from three 

 to twelve each, according to the size of their crews. Such fishermen as are unable to ship on the 

 vessels now row or sail out in boats. These often endure great hardships, as the wind may rise 

 suddenly and drive them out to sea, giving them a hard pull of hours before they can regain the 

 shore, while an occasional unfortunate fails to return. 



"The pasture school is composed of fish averaging probably between twelve and fourteen 

 pounds, some being much larger, while others are quite small. In the falls of 1877 and 1878 the 

 fishing was unusually good until the first of January, the average daily catch per man often 

 reaching eight to nine hundred pounds, while an active fisherman at times caught nearly twice 

 that quantity. 



"At the present time there are but few towns on the north side of the cape extensively 

 engaged in the shore fisheries, and for this reason little is definitely known about the first appear- 

 ance of the Ipswich Bay school of Codfish in that locality. We cannot even feel certain of the 

 month when they reach the grounds, as the fishermen have many and conflicting opinions on the 

 subject. From the best obtainable information it seems probable that Cod have visited these waters 

 regularly for many years, and that they were formerly taken in considerable numbers by the boat 

 fishermen of the section who rowed out from the shore in pleasant weather during the winter 

 months. But for a number of years these grounds were nearly deserted, and it was not until 

 1877-'78 that the shore fishermen of Gloucester and Swampscott learned their value. 



"In January, 1879, after the fish had left ' the pasture,' several vessels sailed for Ipswich Bay, 

 where they found the Cod remarkably plenty, returning in a short time with unusually large fares. 

 The news spread rapidly, and soon all the shore fleet were in the bay, while vessels of sixty to 

 seventy tons abandoned the other fisheries and fitted oat for this locality. Vessels from other towns 

 along the shore soon joined the fleet, and by the middle of February 104 sail, with upwards of COO 

 men, were fishing within a radius of five or six miles, and twenty to twenty-five thousand pounds 

 of round fish were sometimes taken in a day by the crew of a single schooner. 



"The above number of vessels was reached only during the height of the season, and several 

 causes operated to reduce the fleet so that at times it was quite small. But allowing an average of 

 45 sail during the entire four months, each vessel carrying six dories, the trawls averaging 800 

 hooks each, and we have the enormous number of 216,000 baited hooks spread out upon the sandy 

 bottom to tempt the spawning fish. It is not surprising, therefore, that the catch reached fully 

 11,250,000 pounds on this little patch of ground between the first of February and the last of May. 



"Fishermen are agreed that the individuals composing this school averaged larger than those 

 of any school that had previously visited the shore. There were almost no small ones among them, 

 the great bulk being of uniformly large size with a few very large. Of over five thousand, selected 

 without regard to size at different times during the season, the average weight was 20J pounds. 



"Fishing continued good in Ipswich Bay until the first of June, when the school left the shore, 

 being perhaps hurried in their movements by a large school of dogfish (tiqualus americanux) 

 that made their appearance in the bay about this time. 



"After the school-fish leave the shore in summer the fishermen frequently resort to the outer 

 grounds, such as Jeflry's and Stellwagen Banks, when they often secure good fares from what they 

 suppose to be a new school that visits these grounds for the purpose of feeding. We have had little 

 opportunity for examining these fish, but there seems a strong probability that they belong to the 



