332 



— tlioy apuwa diiriu;,' iilmosi nil scisoiis of tlie yefir, iiml alwav!< in those loniiliiu'.i when^ tlio walcr in 

 coldest, vergiiif,' on tin' froezin-j; iioint. That is thu fireziii!^ piiint of t'lvsh water, lint, of salt, because 

 there is a vaat diirureiieo bulwtvii the two." 



The cause of the spawning of the cod and tlie mackerel at certain points on the 

 United States' coasts is thus stated by the same witness : — 



"Q. Now take the Aiucri<Mn i^oast, .■slmw llio Cniumi.ssiuu where the cold water strikes. — A. 

 According to Professor Huiril's re]iiiit.s there nr' three iiotaMe points where i1k> Aretie current iiiipiu<,'es 

 upon the bauks and shoals within the limits of the I'nileil Stales' vfalers, iinil wherc^ tlie end and 

 mackerel spawning grounds are found. If you will bear in mind the laipe maj) wr had a short lime 

 ago, there were four spots marked on thatuia]! a.s indicatillL^spawninL; grounds for niat'kerel. if you will 

 lay down upon the chart tho.s.' points whieh I'rofessor V<'rrill has e.siablished as localities whore 

 the Arctic current is broughi up, vou will lind that thev exactly coincide. One sjiot is the George's 

 Shoals." 



So dependent is tiie cod upon cold waters for its existence, that Professor Baird 

 tells, in reply to the question put by Mr. Thomson, "Could cod, from your knowledj:;c, 

 live in the waters whicli are frcf|uented by tlie mullet':'" "'No; neither could the 

 mullet live in the waters whicii tire frequented by tin- cod." (p. 471.) Now, in another 

 portion of his evidence, Pi'ofessor Baird says (p. 4 Hi) tliat "tlie nudlet is quite abundant 

 at some seasons on the south, .side of New En!.>,laiid ;" and thus we have, in a dilferent 

 manner, explained the reason why the cod cannot live in sunuuer on the shores of the 

 United States soutli of Cape Cod on account of the water being- too warm, and the 

 evidence of the witness is confijined by the foUowino- evidence of Professor Hind: — 



"Q. Are those thi ^e llshiiig !■ ealiti>'s on the Aniei lean coast, T.Ioek Island, Geor^'e'.; Bank, and 

 Stellwagon's Uank, in i^lassafhusi'lts ]!ay .ifVeeted every year, and if so, in what way, by tlie action of 

 the Gulf Stream ? — A. The \\liole of the eoa-i of the I'liii.'il States, south of (ape I'r.d, is afl'eeted by 

 the (iulf Stream during ihi' siininier season. .\t Sioiiiii rton I'n' temperature is so sy.'vtn even in June, 

 that the cod and hiiddoekc'iinoi remain t'luie. They are all drive;', oil' by this wariii nlhi.': if the .summer 

 The s.uu'' obscivaliou applii's to n-itain portions of the New Eniiland coast." 



flow of the tJulf Sueani. 

 — Rebuttal ciidfiuf, ji, !;.,'•■ 



The testimony of tliosr two scientific witnesses then agrees completely with 

 reference to the impni-tant (|ucstion of temperature. We all know of the enormous ileet 

 annually sent by the Americans to tlic Grand i^tnks ot' Newibundland, the Xova Seolia 

 Banks, and the various Ban!\S in the (iiilf of St. l-;nvrcnce. Wit!i the exee])tion of tiie 

 comparatively small quantity of cod taken on tlie United States' cor.st.«, in sju-iiio- and fail, 

 and on Gieor!^e"s Siioals, tlie ii;reater part of thr 4,>s;5 1,000 dollars' wovth of the cod 

 tribe, which the tables put iu by Professor Baird s!iow us to be tlie catch of last 

 year of Uni'' i States' iishermen. must necessarily have been taken in British American 

 waters, or otf British American coasts, for there are no other waters in wliich Americans 

 take this fish. 



Turning now to tlie mackerel, we shall liiul th;u the >ame prevailing- inllueiicc, 

 namely, that of temperature, actually detines the .spawnings area and limits the feeding 

 grounds of this tish. 



Colonel Benjamin V. Cook, Inspector of Customs, Cilouccster, tells the Commission 

 that tills very year, " In llio spring, out soutii, then,' was a large amount of mackerel, 

 and late this fall, when we were coming from home reeentiy, the mackerel had appeared 

 in large tpiantities from Mount Desert down lo Block Island ; but during the middle of 

 summer they seem to liave .sunk or disappeared." Page 182. 



In the portion of I'rolessor Hind's testimony, just (juoted, the cause of the mackerel 

 seeking tliree or four points mdy on the United .States' coasts to spawn in the spring is 

 given, which is, tliat tliere tlie Arctic current impinges on the coast-line. Cold water is 

 then brought to tlie surface, and as both the eggs of the cod and of the mackerel float, 

 the low condition of temjieraturc nnpiired is produced there by this northern current. 

 This question of the lloating of the eggs of the cod and of the mackerel is very impor- 

 tant, for when the time of spawnin-, 's considered, it .sliuws from tlie testimony of both 

 witnesses that tlio coldest months in the year arc selected by the cod in United States' 

 waters, and the mackerel spav n only when I lie Arctic current or its offset en.siu'c the 

 reipiisite degree of cold. Tlie same peculiarity, according to Professor Baird, holds 

 good with regard to tlie herring. This comliiion of extreme low- temperature, necessarv 

 tor tin; three commercial fis;.: s, so limits the area of suitable waters off the co;isi of the 

 United States, thai tlie .\iiicriean tishermeii are compelled to come to British American 

 ■oasts for their siqiply oltliese tisli, whether for food or tor bait. 



All the American witncs-'.sfoncur in the statement that the cod-fisherv is the most 

 jirofiiable, and tlurc i.- an i qual concurrence ot statement that the cod-fisherv is 

 erroneously styled an oH'-slH.n-e, or so-called deep-sea fishery. 



