168 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



for eggs in order to try eating some of them fried they replied that they never found the pea so late 

 in the year. 



FOOD. The food of the cod is extremely various, and on account of this fact collectors have 

 always paid much attention to an examination of their stomachs and been richly rewarded. The 

 fish is liable to swallow almost anything that comes in its way, so that stories are by no means 

 uncommon of jack-knives lost overboard returning to their owners again when the day's catch of 

 fish was dressed. Invertebrates of many sorts are a favorite food, and other species of fish are 

 often eaten. Of fish I noted only two species among stomach contents; the lant, Ammodytes 

 americanus, was very often found and seemed to be very much liked by the fish. One specimen of 

 Cottus spinosus was also observed. Among the invertebrates Eyas araneus was found in enor- 

 mous numbers, from fifty to one hundred specimens being obtainable from almost every haul. 

 Curiously the more common species of the genus H. coarctatus was not observed on the Bank 

 by any of the crew. Numerous other crustaceans were also found. Among mollusks two or three 

 species of Buccimtm were found, Fusus ventricosus, Pecten islandicus, Siliqua costata, and sundry 

 other species. Large numbers of Thyone elongata, sea urchins, and sea anemones also occurred 

 frequently. 



KINDS OF BOTTOM. The habit among the fish of frequenting certain kinds of bottom and. 

 keeping away from others seems quite well recognized among the fishermen. The fact is always 

 kept in view by a skipper when he is about to anchor, and when he does not know from his chart 

 or by experience the character of the bottom, he makes a sounding, and from the greased end of 

 the lead draws his own conclusions. Should this lead him to infer a bottom of bright sand, and 

 one almost destitute of invertebrate life, he would not come to anchor. If the indications led him to 

 expect hard rocks or shells, and hence the presence of " curios," he would regard it as a likely place 

 for fish, and bring the vessel " to an anchor." The charts are usually constructed so as to show 

 the character of the bottom at any part of the Grand Bank, and to the knowledge that he may 

 gain in this way the skipper adds the knowledge of places that were good in former trips. He 

 never anchored in a place blindly, in total disregard of the character of the bottom, and informed 

 me of it in every station in which we fished. 



THROWING GURRY OVERBOARD. It has often been affirmed that the practice of throwing the 

 gurry overboard had the effect of diminishing the daily catch. I did not observe that it had any 

 effect whatever. By a reference to the tabulated statements of the catch made by the Victor it 

 can be seen just how many fish were taken in eacL haul. It will be noticed at once, by a glance 

 at this table, that the vessel, during the second baiting, remained in Station 11 from August 

 22 till August 30, making eight successive sets in the same berth. It is true that toward the end 

 of this time the catch fell off. The same thing occurred in the first and third baitings, when 

 the vessel made a berth every day, and is to be accounted for by the poor bait. After having 

 remained several days in the bait pen, the lower layers become so much deteriorated as to be 

 almost worthless, and fail utterly of attracting the fish. In the second baiting, so long as the 

 bait held out, the fish were captured, and the table shows a fair average haul each day, with 

 such fluctuations as show that the gurry thrown overboard in the operation of dressing could 

 not have made much difference in the numbers of fish taken. 



FRESH VERSUS SALT BAIT. I have elsewhere alluded to the relative efficiency of fresh and 

 salt bait. I presume that it is not so much for me to say what are the tastes of the fish regarding 

 bait as what usages I observed among the men. It is a very well known fact that the practice 

 of using fresh bait is only a recent one among the Grand Bank fishermen. In former times salt 

 clams and salt herring were used, and with good effect. To-day, however, the practice is almost, 



