ECONOMICAL GEOLOGY. 113 



might be profitably caugbt for manure. Sharks, of which 

 there are several species, are abundant in the Bay. A 

 fishery for them has been carried on in Delaware Bay, 

 opposite Fishing Creek, the past season. The main object 

 was the shark-liver oil ; but the bodies of the sharks have 

 furnished the material for a very rich compost heap, the 

 worth of which will go far towards paying the expenses of 

 the fishery. Over five handred were caught at that place 

 the present season. Of the average amount of oil I am 

 not informed, but one large fish yielded nine and a half 

 gallons of good oil. 



The moss-bonker {the Alosa menhaden, or Glwpea menhaden) 

 or, as it is sometimes called, bony-fish, menhaden, and other 

 names, is an abundant fish in all the waters of this part of 

 the State. It is frequently seen in immense shoals, fairly 

 blackening the surface of the water for many miles. It is 

 easily caught, and in large quantities at once. Mr. John 

 Stites, Sen., of Beesley's Point, with his brother, some years 

 since, caught, in a ninety fathom net, thirty two-hol-se wagon 

 loads, at four hauls; taking fourteen of the loads at a single 

 haul. Last summer, in a trip through the sounds from 

 Beesley's Point to Cape Island, we passed through water 

 filled with these fishes. Many of them swam so near the 

 surface that their back fins projected above it ; and the 

 appearance of the water was entirely changed by the slight 

 ripple they made in moving. They were most abundant 

 then in the vicinity of Hereford Inlet ; but they are found 

 near all the shores; and the only limit to the amount 

 which can be taken is in the ability to take care of them 

 when caught. 



