[ ( J] FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 115 



sufficient quantity has accumulated to sell to the smacks or carry to 

 market. 



Lobsters are extensively used as bait on some parts of the coast. 



The principal Lobster markets of the country are Portland, Boston, 

 and New York. Three-fourths of all the Lobsters disposed of to the 

 fresh trade are carried by well smacks or railroad to one or other of 

 these three centers, where they are sold locally or distributed through 

 the country, either alive or boiled, but generally in the former state. 

 The dealers have large cars, in which a considerable stock can be stored 

 awaiting orders. Lobsters are in season during the entire year, but 

 are much more abundant in the markets and much more highly prized 

 as food during the late spring, summer, and early fall. For most Lob- 

 ster fishermen the season is of short duration, lasting only about two, 

 three, or four months, after which time, and until the next season, they 

 engage in other fisheries, or in farming, mining, or other pursuits. Their 

 season's stock seldom exceeds a few hundred dollars. 



The canning of Lobsters in the United States is entirely confined to 

 the coast of Maine ; and most of the Provincial canneries are controlled 

 by American capital. Without its canning interests, the Maine Lobster 

 fishery would lose much of its prestige, as the majority of the Lobsters 

 canned are below the regulation size established by custom for the 

 fresh markets. The market-smacks will seldom buy Lobsters measur- 

 ing less than 10 or 10J inches in length, and those under this size are 

 sold to the canneries. The canning industry was first started about 

 1840, at Eastporf, Maine, but several years elapsed before it was suc- 

 cessfully introduced. In 1880, there were twenty-three canneries in 

 Maine, with a total capital of $289,000, remaining open from about April 

 1 to August 1, and giving employment to about G50 factory hands and 

 2,000 fishermen. The quantity of fresh Lobsters used amounted to 

 about 9,500,000 pounds, valued at $95,000 to the fishermen. The value 

 of the canned products was $238,000, an enhancement in value by the 

 process of canning of $143,000. Seventeen Provincial canneries are 

 owned by Americans, as follows : One each in Newfoundland, the Mag- 

 dalen Islands, and Prince Edward Island, three in New Brunswick, and 

 eleven in Nova Scotia. The total amount of capital invested in 1880 

 was $213,000; 10,000,000 pounds of fresh Lobsters were consumed that 

 year, and the value of the canned products was $246,000. These prod- 

 ucts are all exported to Europe and other foreign countries, none pass- 

 ing into the United States. 



The total catch of Lobsters on the Maine coast for 1880 amounted to 

 14,234,000 pounds, valued at $268,000, first cost, or fishermen's prices. 

 The catch for Massachusetts was 4,315,000 pounds, valued at $158,000, 

 and that of the entire coast of the several Lobster States was 20,128,000 

 pounds, worth $483,000, first price. The quantity of Lobsters handled 

 by the several large fresh markets during 1880 was as follows : Port- 

 land, 2,000,000 pounds; Boston, 3,637,000 pounds ; New York, 2,500,000 



