6o The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



branches, leave the long lateral roots attached to them. 

 These they place upright in rows upon the bare rock, and 

 pile heavy stones upon the roots as ballast, stretching their 

 nets between them. Entirely submerged at flood tide, at ebb 

 •they are left high and dry, and often loaded down with iish 

 caught by the gills in the meshes of the net. These nets 

 are usually set for a large, lean spring herring, running for 

 the flats in early spring to spawn. This method of fishing 

 obtains throughout the whole trap district of the province 

 bordering upon the Bay of Fundy. 



The value of the herrings caught in the Dominion of 

 Canada in 1876 was returned at ;^82S,620. 



Herring (Clupea harengus) and shad (Alosa sapidis- 

 simd) are so abundant in North Carolina that the former 

 sell for 6s. per 1000, and the finest shad at from 6d. to \s. 

 each. The seines used are of immense size, and are 

 worked by steam power. A seine worked at the mouth 

 of the Chowan is a mile and a half in length, and in 

 it 300,000 herrings have been taken in one day. They 

 also take from 1000 to 2000 shad at a catch. Steamers are 

 at the wharves, constantly loading with these fine fish, 

 packed in ice, lor the New York and other northern 

 markets. 



