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  1 
  877, 
  did 
  not 
  fall 
  below 
  80,000 
  barrels, 
  or 
  26,000,000 
  of 
  

   fish, 
  valued 
  at 
  $500,000. 
  Ten 
  years 
  before, 
  when 
  the 
  

   entire 
  mackerel 
  fleet 
  was 
  fishing 
  with 
  hooks, 
  the 
  consump- 
  

   tion 
  was 
  much 
  greater. 
  As 
  a 
  food 
  resource 
  it 
  is 
  found 
  to 
  

   have 
  great 
  possibilities. 
  Many 
  hundreds 
  of 
  barrels 
  are 
  

   sold 
  in 
  the 
  West 
  Indies, 
  while 
  thousands 
  of 
  barrels 
  are 
  

   salted 
  down 
  for 
  domestic 
  use 
  by 
  families 
  living 
  near 
  the 
  

   shore. 
  In 
  many 
  sections 
  they 
  are 
  sold 
  fresh 
  in 
  the 
  market. 
  

   About 
  1872 
  there 
  sprang 
  up 
  an 
  important 
  industry, 
  which 
  

   consists 
  in 
  packing 
  these 
  fish 
  in 
  oil, 
  after 
  the 
  manner 
  of 
  

   sardines, 
  for 
  home 
  and 
  foreign 
  consumption. 
  In 
  1874 
  the 
  

   production 
  of 
  canned 
  fish 
  did 
  not 
  fall 
  below 
  500,000 
  boxes. 
  

   This 
  industry 
  has 
  now 
  been 
  discontinued, 
  the 
  herring 
  

   proving 
  to 
  be 
  better 
  suited 
  for 
  canning. 
  As 
  a 
  source 
  of 
  

   oil 
  the 
  Menhaden 
  is 
  of 
  more 
  importance 
  than 
  any 
  other 
  

   marine 
  animal. 
  Its 
  annual 
  yield 
  usually 
  exceeds 
  that 
  of 
  

   the 
  whale 
  (from 
  the 
  American 
  fisheries) 
  by 
  about 
  200,000 
  

   gallons, 
  and, 
  in 
  1874, 
  did 
  not 
  fall 
  far 
  short 
  of 
  the 
  aggregate 
  

   of 
  all 
  the 
  whale, 
  seal, 
  and 
  cod 
  oil 
  made 
  in 
  America. 
  In 
  

   1878 
  the 
  Menhaden 
  Oil 
  and 
  Guano 
  Industry 
  employed 
  

   capital 
  to 
  the 
  amount 
  of 
  $2,350,000, 
  3,337 
  men, 
  64 
  steamers, 
  

   279 
  sailing 
  vessels, 
  and 
  consumed 
  777,000,000 
  of 
  fish. 
  

   There 
  were 
  56 
  factories, 
  which 
  produced 
  1,392,644 
  gal- 
  

   lons 
  of 
  oil, 
  valued 
  at 
  $450,000, 
  and 
  55,154 
  tons 
  of 
  crude 
  

   guano, 
  valued 
  at 
  $600,000 
  ; 
  this 
  was 
  a 
  poor 
  year. 
  In 
  

   1874 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  gallons 
  produced 
  was 
  3,373,000; 
  in 
  

   1875, 
  2,681,000; 
  in 
  1876, 
  2,992,000; 
  in 
  1877, 
  2,427,000. 
  

   In 
  1878 
  the 
  total 
  value 
  of 
  manufactured 
  products 
  was 
  

   $1,050,000; 
  in 
  1874 
  this 
  was 
  $1,809,000; 
  in 
  1875, 
  $1,582,000; 
  

   in 
  1876, 
  $1,671,000; 
  in 
  1877, 
  $1,608,000; 
  it 
  should 
  be 
  

   stated 
  that 
  in 
  these 
  reports 
  only 
  four-fifths 
  of 
  the 
  whole 
  

   number 
  of 
  factories 
  are 
  included. 
  The 
  refuse 
  of 
  the 
  oil 
  

   factory 
  supplies 
  a 
  material 
  of 
  much 
  value 
  for 
  manures. 
  

  

  