Fish Oils and the Fisheries connected therewith. 219 



formed into a half-liquid, reddish paste, of a disgusting 

 odour. But when once this putrid fermentation has com- 

 menced a day suffices. The oil is then collected from the 

 surface, and the mass thrown away. 



In Japan oil is extracted from the herrings which are 

 caught on the coast of Yesso and the north of Nipon. The 

 fisheries afford employment to thousands of the inhabitants, 

 and are a source of immense profit to the Japanese, who 

 farm them from the various daimios who are charged by 

 the Japanese Government to protect this island. The prices 

 vary from 48J. to 56J. the picul (130 lbs.) In Kanagawa 

 this fish oil is only about half that price. The principal 

 market for fish oil is Hakodate. 



The oolachan or houlican {Tl'haleichthys pacificus) — a fish 

 somewhat larger than the sprat, very delicate, and of 

 exquisite flavour — is found in abundance in the waters 

 of British Columbia. It has been suggested that these fish 

 might be cured in their own oil, or marinated after the 

 manner of pilchards. They are so full of oil that it is 

 said those caught in the north will burn like a candle, 

 They enter the river in millions in the month of April, 

 and their presence is at once made known by the seagulls, 

 which wheel about the shoals, and dart among them for 

 their prey, startling the usually still Fraser with their shrill 

 cries. Their run lasts about three weeks, during which time 

 they may be caught in countless myriads. 



Eaten fresh, they are most delicious, and are also 

 excellent packed in salt or in a smoked form. The fish 

 are caught with a pole about 10 feet in length, along which 

 are arranged for five feet at the end nails like the teeth of 

 a comb, only about an inch and a half apart. The comb 

 is thrust smartly into the water, brought up with a back- 

 ward sweep of the hand, and is rarely found without three 



