FISHERIES OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 
107 
wharf, and there is thus ample room for the preparation of boneless 
fish, smoking herring or other species, mess room, etc., and for the ac- 
commodation of the employes, including a house for the overseer. The 
two flake yards have a capacity for spreading 9 tons of cod. Salt water 
for pickling purposes is supplied by a windmill pump on the wharf. 
Fresh water is obtained from springs on Tiburan Mountain, at the rear 
of the station. This is brought into a reservoir on the side of the moun- 
tain, 180 feet above the wharf, and is distributed thence by pipes that 
carry the water into the buildings and through the yards. The reser- 
voir has a capacity of 1,500,000 gallons. 
The station is provided with the means of furnishing itself with pro- 
visions to a considerable extent. A garden yields various kinds of 
vegetables ; 8 cows furnish milk and butter ; 150 hens provide eggs 
and poultry; from the piggery comes fresh and salt pork; grapes can 
be gathered from the vineyard on the hillside, while all is supplemented 
by a well-kept flower garden. The buildings and fences are neat and tidy 
in appearance, and as white as paint and whitewash can make them. 
From 30 to 75 men are employed here throughout the year. They are 
paid monthly salaries and provided with board and lodging. A sailing 
packet plies between San Francisco and California City, making almost 
daily trips, carrying such products and supplies as the business may 
demand at either place. 
The production of oil and curing of sounds (swim bladders of cod) do 
not assume the same importance on the Pacific as on the Atlantic coast. 
Alexander states : 
Livers and sounds of Alaskan and Okhotsk Sea cod are not considered of much 
value. The livers could no doubt be used to some commercial advantage, but the 
fishermen do not seem disposed to bother with what they consider of minor impor- 
tance. The sound of the Pacific cod differs greatly from that of the Atlantic species. 
That of the former is very dark, small, and exceedingly thin, and contains little gelat- 
inous substance. 
No effort is made to save sounds or livers at Alaska shore stations. 
There have been a few attempts (according to Alexander) made to 
cure fish at the Alaska stations, and some seasons the weather for a 
short time is suitable for drying, but it can not be relied upon. In view 
of this fact it would seem that artificial drying machines could be used 
to good advantage at all the fishing localities of Alaska, and instead 
of shipping green fish to San Francisco they could be landed ready for 
boxing and distributing over the country. Such apparatus would be 
expensive, and probably the demand for Alaskan cod is not at present 
sufficiently large to induce those engaged iu this fishery to risk any 
large sum in such an enterprise. In years to come, no doubt, the process 
of artificially drying fish will be looked upon with more favor than at 
present. 
Markets , transportation , etc . — The decline in the Pacific cod fishery is 
due to a lack of adequate demand or markets ; there is unquestionably 
