222 NATUEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 



the coast, where once the fish came close in to the shore, and were readily captured with the hook 

 throughout the greater part of the year. That period was before the multiplication of mill-dams, 

 cutting off the ascent of the alewives, shad, and salmon, especially the former. The Saint Croix 

 Eiver was choked in the spring with the numbers of these fish, endeavoring to ascend; and the 

 same may be said of the Little Eiver, the outlet of Boynton's Lake, about seven miles above East- 

 port. The lake in question is one of considerable size, and was visited by immense numbers of 

 alewives, which could be dipped out, to any extent, on their passage upward, while the waters of 

 the adjacent bay were alive with the young fish on their return. 



"The fish themselves enter the waters of the streams in May or June, and return almost 

 immediately after spawning to the sea. But they may be taken by the drift-nets along the 

 shores as early as March and April; and, indeed, it is quite probable that the whole period of 

 their abode in the salt water is spent adjacent to the rivers in which they were born. The young 

 come down from the ponds in which they are hatched, from August to October, keeping up a 

 constant stream of the young fish. In this way a supply of alewives was to be met with 

 throughout the greater part of the year, and nearer the coast they furnished every inducement 

 for the Cod and other ground fish to come inshore in their pursuit. 



" It is true that the sea-herring is also an attraction to these fish, and probably but for their 

 presence our pollock, haddock, and hake fisheries would be greatly diminished. Nevertheless, 

 the alewife appears to be more attractive as a bait, and furthermore the sea-herring are less 

 constantly on the coast, especially inshore, occurring as they do at stated intervals, when they 

 come in from the deep sea to spawn. It is possible, too, that they are less easily captured by the 

 Cod, since they swim nearer the surface than the alewives. Corroboration of this idea is furnished 

 in the testimony of Mr. W. B. McLaughlin, of Southern Head, Grand Manan. This gentleman 

 informs me that the only stream in the island which ever furnished alewives to any extent was 

 Seal Cove Creek, which discharges to the east of the southern extremity of Grand Manan, and 

 into which these fish entered in immense numbers in the spring. At that time Cod, Haddock, 

 and Pollock, as well as halibut, were taken in great abundance in Seal Cove Sound, between 

 Harwood Cove, on Wood Island, and Indian or Parker's Point, on the main island. They were 

 to be met with during the greater part of the year, especially from May to January; and the 

 fishery in the channel-way within a quarter of a mile of the shore was really more productive 

 than on the banks much farther out to sea. 



"Although still a young man, Mr. McLaughlin recollects the capture of these fish; and, 

 indeed, as a mere boy, enjoyed the sport within a very short distance of his father's house. Soon 

 after that time a dam was built across this stream about two hundred yards above its mouth, 

 cutting off entirely the upward passage of the alewives, and by a remarkable coincidence, if it 

 be nothing more, the cod fishery in question diminished very soon after, and in a very few years 

 ceased almost entirely, so that up to the present time there are not enough Cod in those waters 

 to repay the experiment of attempting to catch them. A few alewives still find their way up to 

 the foot of the dam, but in such small numbers as to make it often doubtful whether there are any 

 there or not. 



"The other fishing grounds about Grand Manan are farther out to sea, at the northern end 

 of the island, where there are no alewives, and where herring appear to be the principal food, 

 although the variation in the abundance of these in different seasons appears to have an important 

 bearing upon the number of Hake and Cod. 



"If these conclusions be correct — and I am quite satisfied of their general validity — we 

 have, for the efforts made to establish flshways in the rivers of Maine, New Hampshire, and 



