﻿22 BULLETIN 2, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



power and speed of the boats themselves. As the menhaden rarely 

 are found north of Cape Cod, that point may be said to be the north- 

 ernmost limit of the fishing grounds, though often in former years 

 fish have been found farther north than that. At times big catches 

 have been made in Cape Cod Bajr and Boston Harbor. The Chesa- 

 peake boats, perhaps, cover the wider range, as they habitually fish 

 from Nantucket to Hatteras. This is determined in part by their more 

 central location and in part by the Virginia fishing laws which pro- 

 hibit boats owned by nonresidents of the State from fishing in the 

 waters controlled by the State of Virginia. As most of the fish are 

 caught within the 3 mile from shore limit, this law rather discour- 

 ages the boats of the northern fisherman from coming that far south. 

 Since similar laws are not enforced by the other coastal States, the 

 Virginia fishermen enjoy a range not permitted to the boats from 

 other States. At least, the law reserves Chesapeake Bay for the 

 Virginia fisherman. 



The boats used in the fishing industry are by no means uniform 

 in construction, though the modern boats built especially for fishing 

 are constructed after a certain general model. (PI. I, fig. 1.) With- 

 out entering into a detailed description of their lines, it may be 

 said that in general they are constructed high at the bow and low 

 amidships. The former adds to their seaworthiness and gives the 

 additional advantage that from the pilot house situated thereon a 

 wider range of vision is afforded. The latter adds to the facility with 

 which the fish may be transferred from the seines to the hold of the 

 boat. The pilot house and quarters are situated in the bow of the 

 boat, while the engine room, boilers, and bunkers are placed toward 

 the stern, the middle portion of the boat being constructed as the 

 receptacle for the fish. This part is provided with large hatches to 

 facilitate loading and unloading. The arrangement is somewhat the 

 same in the small auxiliary schooners, the galley and quarters being 

 situated forward and the engine room aft, the hold for receiving the 

 fish occupying again the middle of the vessel. The larger steamers 

 have a capacity of 750,000 fish and carry a complement of 50 men. 

 (PL I, fig. 2.) The auxiliary sailboats have a capacity of about 

 250,000 fish. 



Each boat carries two purse boats. These are towed, being tied 

 together and fastened in closely, so that their bows touch the stern 

 of the fishing steamer or schooner. The purse boats, so named 

 because they are used in spreading and otherwise manipulating the 

 purse seines, were formerly of the whaleboat type, somewhat modi- 

 fied. They are constructed to possess the qualities of steadiness in 

 the water, as considerable active moving about within them is occa- 

 sioned by manipulating the seines, and of being easily towed and 

 rowed. Formerly, they were of a lap-streak construction, but now 



