1042 FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. . [12] 



for the manufacture of this fish into oil and guano are located all along 

 the coast within those limits, though the largest factories are along the 

 Ehode Island, Connecticut, and New York shores. Twenty-five years 

 ago only a few millions of these fish were annually taken, but in 1878 

 the quantity captured reached the enormous number of 777,000,000. In 

 1880 the number taken was 570,424,377 fish, from which were produced 

 2,066,396 gallons of oil, worth $733,424 ; 68,904 tons of guano, worth 

 $1,301,217 ; and $61,669 worth of compost. The oil is used in currying 

 leather, in rope-making, for lubricating, for adulterating linseed oil, as 

 a paint oil, and is also largely exported to Europe for use in the manu- 

 facture of soap and for smearing sheep. 



To illustrate the preparation of menhaden oil, a large model of a fac- 

 tory is exhibited, showing the cooking-tanks, the presses, oil-room, and 

 the entire apparatus incident to the business. 



THE SMOKED-FISH INDUSTRY. 



In smoked fish the principal kinds are herring, haddock, and halibut, 

 though sturgeon, salmon, smelts, and other species are frequently pre- 

 pared by smoking. The smoked-herring business is carried on chiefly 

 in Maine, where in 1880 the quantity of fresh herring thus prepared 

 was 6,138,942 pounds, producing 370,615 boxes of smoked fish, worth 

 $99,973. Haddock smoked as "Finnan haddies" were prepared in 

 Maine in 1880 to the amount of 1,414,500 pounds cured fish worth 

 $78,175. Smoked halibut are prepared only in Massachusetts, where in 

 1881) 5,094,700 pounds of fresh fish yielded 1,273,675 pounds of the 

 cured article, worth $101,894. In the fisheries of the Great Lakes 

 nearly 2,000,000 pounds of smoked whitefish, sturgeon, and other fish 

 are annually prepared, and on the Pacific coast some 200,000 pounds of 

 salmon. 



THE SALMON INDUSTRY. 



The salmon fishery is carried on almost exclusively on the Pacific 

 coast. In 1880 there were forty-five canneries in operation, which put up 

 655,274 cases, or 31,453,152 one-pound cans of salmon, worth $3,255,365. 

 The number offish consumed by the canneries was 2,152,509, and their 

 weight, fresh from the water, 43.379,542 pounds. About 2,000,000 pounds 

 of salmon were consumed fresh in San Francisco ; 200,000 pounds were 

 smoked and 1,585,500 pounds salted in barrels. The total catch was 

 2,755,000 fish, weighing 51,862,000 pounds. The great abundance of 

 salmon in the rivers of Alaska has led to the establishment of can- 

 neriies in that Territory. The largest salmon on record as put up in a 

 can is shown in the exhibit of the Cutting Packing Company. It was 

 taken at the mouth of the Kusiloff River, Alaska, July 22, 1882, and 

 weighed when fresh 86 pounds, and canned 65 pounds. Further details 

 of the salmon industry of Alaska, a^ also information about the abun- 

 dance of other fishes in that Territory, are given by Dr. Tarleton H. 



