502 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



branches should be very close together, as the herring seldom attempt to escape unless the open- 

 ing is large. 



Formerly spruce posts were used in the construction of the weir, but these would last only 

 two or three years, as they were soon attacked and badly damaged by the worms. At the present 

 time white birch is extensively used, and if protected by bark it is said to last fully ten years. 



It often happens that the site selected for the weir has a rocky bottom, into which the posts 

 cannot be driven. In this case it becomes necessary to make a platform of heavy material, to 

 which the posts and smaller poles are securely fastened. The whole is then placed in its proper 

 position and carefully weighted with stones, which are lowered upon the platform. These weirs 

 require considerable labor in their construction, and often many tons of stones are used in properly 

 ballasting them. 



COST OF BUILDING WEIRS. The weirs vary greatly in size and strength, according to their 

 location and exposure to the sea. Some are very small, and can be built of light material, so that 

 the entire cost will not exceed $40 or $50, while those that are most exposed must be made of the 

 heaviest material, and securely fastened, at a comparatively greater cost. The value of the average 

 size mud weir is from $200 to $250, while that of the largest ballasted weir sometimes reaches 

 $800 or $900. The posts and ribbands cost from 20 to 25 cents each from three to four hundred 

 of them being required. The brush averages from three-quarters to a cent a " spear," and for the 

 ordinary sized weir 4,000 are needed. The spikes or nails cost from $10 to $15. 



The labor forms a considerable part of the cost of construction, as it will take four men nearly 

 a mouth to complete a weir under ordinary circumstances, though the time varies from two to 

 eight weeks, according to the size and the condition of the bottom. The cost of labor is frequently 

 neglected by the fishermen, as several of them usually own a weir in common, and build it during 

 their spare hours; or, again, a number of "gangs" will assist their neighbors in building one 

 without making any charge for their labor; they, however, expect their neighbors to return the 

 compliment by assisting them whenever it becomes necessary to rebuild or repair their own weirs. 

 Where help is hired, it usually costs from $20 to $30 a month for each man, making the total cost 

 for labor about $100. 



FISHING SEASON FOR THE WEIRS. The fish taken in the early spring are usually quite small 

 and have little value for smoking or for bait; they are also in such poor condition that they yield 

 but little oil, and it therefore seldom pays to press them. For these reasons, during the early 

 years of the fishery, the weirs were seldom put in order before the first of June, and frequently 

 few fish were taken prior to the beginning of September, when the fishing began in earnest and 

 continued till the close of the year. Now, however, owing to the demand for small fish by the 

 sardine canneries, the weirs are usually repaired in the early spring, and the fishermen tend them 

 regularly from the first of April till the following January. 



THE WEIR PECULIARLY ADAPTED TO THE CAPTURE OF HERRING. The SUCC6SS of the Weir 



is largely due to the habits of the fish in feeding. The shores are quite abrupt in most places, 

 and the weirs can therefore extend but a short distance into the channel, and at low tide a 

 greater part of each is often exposed. During the hours of low water the herring usually remain 

 in the channel, where the tide is strong, but at high water they approach the shore in search of 

 the small Crustacea that are so abundant in the region. The strong tides of the Bay of Fundy 

 carry these minute forms from place to place, and the herring need simply remain with their 

 heads toward the current and sift them from the water as it passes. 



The weir owners claim that when feeding the herring usually head toward the current, and 

 that they move forward or backward according as they swim faster or slower than the tide. In 



