THE MENHADEN FISHERY. 363 



the pores and softeniug the leather. Mr. L. C. d'Homergue states that this oil is largely used in 

 the tanneries of Eussia. 



A considerable quantity is used as a burning oil iu coal-mines to fill the small lamps, one of 

 which is fastened to the cap of each miner. It is then mixed with paraflme or some of the heavier 

 oils. Some is also sold to be used in the manufacture of rope. A small quantity is used annually 

 for lubricating purposes, but on account of its gummy nature it is not much in favor among 

 machinists.* It is used in adulterating linseed oil, and is also sold as a substitute, its cheapness 

 and durability rendering it especially valuable for-rough outside work and for painting ships. 

 Mixed with other oils, it is found to be very serviceable for the painting of interiors, and its use is 

 attended with decided economy, its price being about one-half that of the best linseed oil. Some 

 of the most pure is said to be put into the market as olive oil. 



Most of that which is exported is used in the manufacture of soap and for smearing sheep, after 

 they have been sheared, to keep off ticks. Mr. L. C. d'Homergue states in the Manufacturer and 

 Builder that a bright fish oil, cut with some alcohol and mixed with paint, forms a far more lasting 

 covering than linseed oil. 



The Oil, Paint, and Drug Eeporter for October 21, 1874, implies that much of the whale oil 

 now sold is really menhaden oil. "It is well known that the chief use for menhaden oil is for 

 currying leather, but with the low prices ruling of late and the scarcity of whale oil it has found 

 new channels, and very much of the whale oil sold probably consists of two-thirds or more of men- 

 haden, for it comes when crude nearly as handsome as any whale, and in appearance when bleached 

 is quite equal. It is reported as a fact about the street that one concern alone sells more 'winter- 

 bleached whale oil ' than is caught of crude, and they do not by any means get all the crude." 



The refuse from the cooking tanks and the settling tanks is dried and ground for sale to the 

 guano factories, where it is mixed with phosphates and other substances. The quantity of this 

 refuse, called scrap, amounted, in 1880, to 68,904 tons, valued at $1,301,217. A discussion of the 

 uses of this scrap and the methods of preparing it will be found in another part of this report. The 

 subject is also discussed by Prof. W. O. Atwater iu the Annual Report of the United States Fish 

 Commission for 1877. He says: "As a result of the profitable utilization of fish for the manu- 

 facture of oil, the use of the whole fish as a fertilizer has gradually and (in Maine) almost entirely 

 ceased, and given place to the refuse from which the oil has been expressed or otherwise extracted. 

 This is known in its crude state as 'fish scrap,' 'fish pomace,' or 'chum,' and, when more carefully 

 prepared, as ' dry fish,' ' dry ground fish,' and ' fish guano.' Still, farmers have been slow to avail 

 themselves of this more concentrated material. * * * It is worthy of note that in the European 

 fish guano factories the liquid coming from the steamed or boiled fish, and containing considerable 

 nitrogenous matter in solution, is utilized for the manufacture of a low quality of glue, while in 

 this country the practice is to throw it away. The Norwegian guanos have generally smaller 

 percentages of fat than occur in the menhaden guanos in this country." 



THE MARKETS. The principal market for menhaden oil is in Boston and New York; some 

 is also sold iu New Bedford, and considerable quantities are shipped to London, Liverpool, 

 Glasgow, and Havre direct. 



GRADES OF OIL. Several grades are recognized. The Oil, Paint, and Drug Reporter usually 

 quotes under the heads of "select light strained," "select light," "choice brown," and "inferior to 

 dark," and " gurry." 



THE PRICES OF OIL. The highest price ever obtained for menhaden oil was $1.40 a gallon 



* Mr. Isaac Bow, of Springfield, Mass., devoted several years to experimenting, with a view to the preparation of 

 a good lubricating oil from menhaden oil, but the results were not satisfactory. 



