326 Fisuing in American WATERS. 
SECTION THIRD. 
No. 1.—THE MOssBUNKER OR MENHADEN, 
On salt-sea borders, sound, and bay, 
The twinkling spring-time sunbeams play, 
And white with froth the billows shine 
Where the mossbunkers lash the brine. 
Above them flocks of sea-gulls swing, 
Beneath the hungry bluefish spring, 
And, deadlier still, the surfmen strain 
The oars, and mesh them with the seine. 
The menhaden is a white fish, with large scales of metallic 
lustre. It disports, during spring, summer, and autumn, off 
the coast and in the estuaries from Delaware to the Bay of 
Passamaquoddy. It is from nine to twelve inches long, and 
in shape resembles a diminutive shad, though not so wide or 
thin for its length. It is a very oily fish, very bony, and 
therefore never eaten except by fishermen, who frequently 
salt it for winter use. Its flavor is like that of the shad. 
The principal estimate of value put upon the menhaden is 
for its quality as the best bait f6r attracting mackerel, striped 
bass, bluefish, and even such of the Gadide as the haddock, 
and of the Crustacea as the lobster. It is either ground or 
chopped fine and cast upon the water to attract mackerel and 
other food-fishes to the hook, while it is the best bait for lob- 
ster-pots. The annual diminution in the numbers of mackerel 
taken within the past five years—as shown by the statistics— 
is justly attributable to the increase of the manufacture of 
menhaden oil. About five years since some person conceived 
the brilliant idea of making oil from menhaden by grinding 
them to a pulp, putting them under a press, and squeezing 
out the oil. He formed a company, which erected buildings, 
introduced machinery, and bought sail-boats and nets. For 
a couple of years, while menhaden were so abundant as to be 
used for manure in some places along the coast, the menhaden 
oil companies made generous dividends; but no sooner did 
this fact become known among enterprising geniuses than 
