NATURAL HISTORY OF IMPORTANT FOOD-FISHES. 229 



AccordiDg to Captain Edwards, of Wood's Hole, in proceeding to 

 their breeding-grounds, on tbe coast of Kew England, tbey are taken at 

 3[outank Point tbree weeks earlier tban at Wood's Hole, and a week 

 earlier at Wood's Hole tban at Hyannis, still fartber east. 



The scup feed upon a great variety of marine animals, such as worms, 

 small crustaceans, moUusks, &c., and take tbe book very freely during 

 tbe greater part of their stay ; in fact, tbe smaller ones become veritable 

 nuisances to the fishermen, from tbe readiness with which they ponnce 

 npon the baited book whenever thrown overboard. 



The flesh of tbe scup is very much prized by most persons, as it is 

 firm and flaky, and usually sweet, although occasionally a bitter flavor 

 detracts from its palatability. Since the settlement of the coast by tbe 

 whites, it has been by far the most important food-fish of Fisher and 

 Vineyard Sounds, Narragansett Ba}", and of Buzzard's Bay; and the 

 rapid diminution in number has caused the greatest solicitude. 



The scup is but little known, as far as accounts go, on the north side 

 of Cape Cod ; indeed, Dr. Storer states that they were introduced into 

 Massachusetts Bay about 1833, and that they are taken only occasion- 

 ally at tbe present date. Of their abundance on the south coast of Kew 

 England in former times, almost incredible accounts are given. Thus, 

 according to J. D. Swan, of Newport, at one place in ^STarragansett Bay, 

 where the schools ran over a point where tbe water was 9 feet deep, they 

 were so thick as to crowd each other out of the water. (See page 12 of 

 the present report.) Mr. E. E. Taylor could catch five hundred fish in 

 tbe morning and return in time to peddle them ofi:* in Newport, and then 

 go out in the afternoon and get as many more. (Page 27.) Six hundred 

 barrels have been taken at one haul of the seine at Tuckernuck, near 

 Nantucket. (Page 40.) Captain Hallett has taken in one morning eight 

 hundred scup, weighing 500 or 600 pounds, and eighteen boats have 

 loaded a smack in a single day, (page 48.) Mr. Eyder, at tbe head of 

 Buttermilk Bay, which opens out of Buzzard's Bay, twenty years ago 

 could catch three boat-loads in a tide. In 1861, at Seconnet, 700 barrels 

 were turned out of tbe traps because there was no sale lor them. A 

 subsequent capture netted only 18 cents a barrel. 



The testimony of residents along the coast ail tends to show that, 

 until within not more than eight or ten years, scup, of large size, could 

 be taken with a book throughout the summer, at any point near the 

 shore, from Point Judith to Cape Cod, almost as rapidly as a line with 

 two baited books could be thrown over and hauled in. 



The case, however, at tbe present date, is very different. Large num- 

 bers, it is true, are caught in traps and pounds for a few days in the 

 spring, as tbe fish are on their way to their spawning-ground ; atter which 

 only scattering individuals are taken in nets, and so few by lines as to 

 remove them entirely out of the speculations of the fishermen, except, 

 perhaps, on tbe coasts of New York and New Jersey. 



In 1871 tbe diminution, even as compared with that of 1870, was very 

 evident in most localities ; Captain Hallett, of Hyannis, stating that 

 not one-fourth as many were taken as in the previous year. (Page 48.) 



The scuj) is a fish that grows with rapidity, and at two years is almost 

 of sufficient size to be marketable. Throughout the summer young fish 

 of tbe spring spawning are to be seen floating around in the eel-grass 

 and over the sandy bottoms, having attained a length of from 2^ to 3J 

 inches by tbe 1st of October. When these fish re-appear tbe next sea- 

 son, thus completing one year of existence, they measure about 6 inches, 

 six to eight or nine weighing a pound; and by tbe 1st of September at- 

 tain an average length of 8 inches, including the tail, and a breadth of 



