228 : FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. 
brought to the notice of Messrs. Horner and Hyde, of Baltimore, 
by Major T. B. Ferguson, Deputy United States Fish Commis- 
sioner, those gentlemen forwarded to Gloucester a barrel of 
their net preservative for the purpose of having its merits tested 
on the cod gill-nets. It was applied to a portion of the nets of 
several small vessels in January last, and after the apparatus had 
been in use from that time to the middle of April, sections of 
the net so prepared were forwarded to me at Washington, to- 
gether with a statement by Captain Martin as to what the fisher- 
men said regarding its use. Previous to this, however, I had 
talked with some of the fishermen concerning the nets treated 
with Horner\and Hyde’s preservative, and they asserted very 
positively that not only did it prevent the nets from rotting, but 
that they were fully impressed with the idea that a great many 
more fish were caught in nets so treated than in others prepared 
in the ordinary way. The sample of netting sent me by Captain 
Martin shows little sign of. deterioration, notwithstanding the 
fact that the net from which it was taken had been in constant 
use for upwards of three months. 
Whether future trials of this material will sustain the state- 
ments made by the fishermen who have already experimented 
with it, 1am unable to say; but, if such should be the case, there 
can be no question but that a very important step has been at- 
tained through the efforts of the Commission in perfecting the 
work of cod gill-netting, which it commenced in American 
waters five years ago.* 
* It is, perhaps, proper to state here that some of the North Carolina fishermen who have 
tried Horner and Hyde’s treatment on their nets, have complained most bitterly that their gear 
was much injured if not almost ruined by it. I have seen copies of two letters from fisher- 
men of the South containing such complaints. This being the case, it will, perhaps, require a 
longer test to settle definitely whether or not this treatment has all the merit that the Gloucester 
fishermen say it has, though it is altogether possible—the conditions being so very different— 
that what might give excellent satisfaction when properly applied and used in the ocean fisher- 
ieS might prove a failure under other conditions. 
In this connection it may be well to say that last winter nets cost $14.25 a piece, and that 
glass floats could not be obtained cheaper than 22 cents each. It will therefore be seen that a 
‘*set of gear ’’ for a vessel carrying thirty to thirty-five nets costs a considerable sum, and if 
these had to be renewed every few weeks it was a material drawback to the prosperity of the 
fishery. 
