﻿4 BULLETIN" 2, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUEE. 



greatly increased numbers, and the adoption of presses for separating 

 the oil and increasing the yield of it, in the place of the older method 

 of depending on the lighter specific gravity of the oil to effect a 

 separation. Hand presses were introduced in 1856 by Mr. Charles 

 Tuthill, of the Wells factory on Shelter Island. In 1858 hydraulic 

 power was introduced as a substitute for hand power. In more 

 recent years, however, steam presses have been introduced with such 

 success that they are to be found in practically every new factory, 

 and they are rapidly being installed in the old factories to take the 

 place of those operated by hydraulic power. A further rapid devel- 

 opment of the industry was made possible through the substitution 

 of steamers for sailing vessels ; this rendered the fishermen independ- 

 ent of the winds in searching for and overtaking the schools of fish 

 and in returning to the factories with their cargoes. In spite of this 

 self-evident advantage, it has been only within the last few years that 

 the last sailboats of considerable size, fishing for menhaden, have 

 been equipped with auxiliary engines. 



The so-called " floating factory " was designed to obviate loss of 

 time by the fishing boats in going back and forth between the fac- 

 tories and the fishing grounds, the idea being to carry the factory to 

 the fish instead of taking the fish to the factory. Introduced in 1876, 

 a number had been constructed and were in operation in 1880. They 

 consisted of boats of various sorts equipped with the apparatus for 

 rendering the fish, such as boilers, cooking vats, and presses. The 

 lack of storage room for the products, the difficulty of loading and 

 unloading at sea, and other considerations brought about their aban- 

 donment. The latest attempt to apply the floating-factory idea was 

 in 1911, when a steamer of 5,000 tons was equipped with a complete 

 set of the modern automatic apparatus for producing dried scrap. 1 



A form of fish-scrap fertilizer which could be shipped long distances 

 or stored was prepared first by drying the scrap from the presses on 

 platforms. Here the material was spread to dry and was manipu- 

 lated in the meantime by hand rakes or hoes to expose fresh surfaces. 

 In certain instances the platform drier is still in use, notably in those 

 neighborhoods where the odor and smoke from hot-air driers de- 

 velops a hostile attitude of neighboring communities. However, the 

 dispatch and convenience with which scrap may be dried in the arti- 

 ficial driers have led to their almost universal adoption. 



The business continued to expand until it reached its high-water mark in 1884, 

 when 858,592,691 fish were caught, yielding 3,722,927 gallons of oil and 68,863 

 tons of scrap, valued at $2,800,000. Since that time great improvements have 

 been made in the methods of the industry, but owing to the low price of oil 

 and scrap, resulting from the competition with other products, the profits have 

 not been so great, and many factories have been dismantled. The largest catch 



1 For a description of this plant cf. section on Technology, p. 32. 



