American Fisheries Society. 117 
boats are for the most part arranged for sculling instead of 
rowing, and their crews are large. Human labor is one of the 
cheapest commodities in Japan. It is no uncommon thing to 
find eight to twelve men constituting a boat’s crew, whereas with 
us a similar boat and fishery would require only three or four 
men. ‘The sails are frequently of the junk rig, and sometimes 
consist of five or six upright widths of straw matting loosely 
laced together. 
The fishermen venture far off shore in small open boats, 

FISHING BOATS WITH LARGE CREWS. 
sometimes as much as 75 miles, in quest of certain pelagic fishes. 
The first intimation I had of the proximity of the Japanese coast 
on the voyage from San Francisco was the sight of small fishing 
junks, many of them with women in their crews. 
The Japanese fishermen are hardy, ingenious, capable, sober, 
brave and patriotic. In view of recent developments in Man- 
churia, Korea, and on the seas, it is proper to mention that the 
prowess of the Japanese on land and water is due in no small 
degree to the skill, bravery and loyalty of the fishermen. When 
