THE MACKEREL HOOK FISHERY. 289 



engaged in mackerel fishing were generally accustomed to carry butts, in which the fish were 

 salted. 



Capt. Chester Marr tells us that in the early days the mackerel fishermen made a practice of 

 salting the mackerel iu hogsheads, which were placed in the hold, standing on end, with stone 

 ballast stowed iu the "spaces" between them. When a vessel was loaded she would hold about 

 10 butts, or about 50 " wash-barrels." These butts were used until about 1850.* 



MACKKRKL PLOWS. The mackerel plows, to which frequent allusion has been made, are also 

 known to the fishermen by several other names, such as riminers, reamers, fatters, and fattiug- 

 knives, in the same and iu different localities. The original object of using these instruments may 

 be said to have been a " trick in the trade," although the fact of their being employed at the pres- 

 ent time is so well knowu that no one considers it any longer a secret, neither has it been for many 

 years. The quality of mackerel is determined not only by their size, but also by the richness or 

 fatness which they acquire as the season advances, and the opportunities for obtaining food are 

 better than during the spring. In the spring, when they approach the coasts of the Middle States 

 and Southern New England, they are in a poor and lean condition, and remain in such a state until 

 after they have deposited their spawn. After the spawning season is over the schools then seek 

 their favorite feeding grounds, and the fish soon begin to exhibit much improvement in their con- 

 dition. During the month of June this improvement is first noticeable, and by the last of August, 

 and sometimes even at an earlier date, the mackerel have arrived at their finest condition and re- 

 main so until they leave the coast in the fall. As the fish fatten, the belly, or that portion which 

 covers the abdominal cavity, increases in thickness, and the quality of the mackerel can be more 

 easily and certainly determined by noticing this particular portion of it than in any other manner. 

 The mackerel are invariably split along the back from the snout to the tail in such a manner that 

 they will lay open and flat after the viscera has been removed. It is a fact well known to persons 

 familiar with this fish that when they are in a fat condition the sides of the abdominal cavity will 

 crack open along the entire length when the fish are opened for the purpose of removing the 

 viscera. The depth of these cracks or "breaks" shows the relative fatness of the fish. As these 

 cracks occur about half way from the backbone to the center of the abdominal cavity, it will be 

 readily seen that by using an implement for making the cracks a little above or nearer to the back- 

 bone than where it would naturally be and where the belly is considerably thicker, it will give the 

 .fish the appearance of being much fatter than it really is. As previously stated, the depth of the 



* The largest of the mackerel schooners bad sufficient capacity for stowing 20 or 25 butts, besides a number of 

 barrels alongside of them in the wings on each side of the hold. 



When salting mackerel in these casks, the salters worked in the hold. A gib tub was filled with salt and set on 

 top of the butts near the hatchway, and one man threw down the mackerel from the deck into the salt box (or gib 

 tub) while two others standing alongside of the butts did the salting one "rubbing" the fish and the other packing, 

 them away in the proper place. When the cask was full a large stone was placed on top of the fish to keep them 

 beneath the brine so that fhey would not get rusty. Each man usually had a hogshead of his own for the reception 

 of his fish ; that is, if each of the crew kept his catch separate. At that time, however, it was quite generally the 

 custom to "go on shares." This term, as then understood, differed radically from what is now meant by the same 

 expression, and may be described as follows : The crew were shipped as much upon their merits of good seamanship 

 and steady habits as for their skill as fishermen. Each man was provided with a "strike tub" a half hogshead 

 and for the first few days' fishing the skipper would note the catch of each of the men, and from this comparison 

 would decide what share every one should receive. Thus some half dozen, perhaps, in a crew of 12 or 14 men would 

 be assigned a full share. Though there might be some difference in the relative catch of these men, it was thought 

 fair to consider a capable and reliable man a full sharesman, though he caught somewhat less fish than another who 

 might not be so well experienced in other matters. The remainder of the men were allowed three-fourths or one-half 

 of a share, as the case might be, their expertness in catching fish and other qualifications always being taken into 

 account in settling their relative standing. Thus, if a vessel had a crew of twelve men, six of whom were full shares- 

 nicii, four three-quarter sharesnien, and two half sharesmen, there would be ten full shares, and a sharesmen would 

 receive one-tenth of the crew's half of the proceeds of the voyage, while those having a smaller "lay" would be paid 

 accordingly. 



SEC V 19 



