290 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. - 
“break” is the test of the fatness of the fish, and is the guide by which the inspectors cull them 
into the different grades for market, provided always that they are of suitable size. Stringent 
laws have in past years been enacted in most of the New England States to regulate the method 
of inspecting mackerel, and the use of any artificial means to fatten them was for many years 
strictly prohibited. The introduction of the mackerel plow, like that of many other inventions, 
was the direct result of a need long felt by fishermen. Previous to its adoption it was the custom 
for the fishermen to attempt to improve the looks of their fish by increasing the natural break with 
their thumb-nails drawn along its entire length. This method was called “rubbing the mackerel.” 
Later, a few began to use the back of the point of their bait-knives or splitting-knives for this pur- 
pose, by degrees venturing to place the cut a litule higher than where it naturally belonged. The 
use of knives led to the introduction of plows, which soon came into general use, though the fish- 
ermen at first felt some hesitation about revealing the fact that their fish had been plowed.* 
A comparatively poor mackerel would not open sufficiently in a natural way to pass for a No. 
2, but the fishermen give them an inviting appearance to the buyer by the use of the plow, which 
they handle with remarkable dexterity, running the blade longitudinally along each side of the 
abdominal cavity with great swiftness, laying the sides of the fish open in such a manner that it 
may pass for a No. 2, and, perhaps, if it is of large size, a fairly fat fish may be culled as a No. 1 
mackerel. It is but fair to say here, that, since the general adoption of the mackerel plow as a 
means of “fattening” the fish, the subject is so well understood by the dealers that they demand a 
finer looking fish than formerly, and the consumer, therefore, actually gets as good an article as before, 
and one that is much more attractive. This is especially the case when the size of the mackerel is 
not sufficient to pass for the best quality, or No.1. <A fish whose length is 13 inches and “of suit- 
able fatness” is required for a No. 1, but it is easy to see that a fish of fine quality, though not ex- 
ceeding 12 or 123 inches, is just as good for food, notwithstanding the fact that it must pass for a 
lower grade and be sold for a much less price. For the past few years a very large portion of the 
mackerel caught on our coast have been “ undersized,” that is, not long enough to pass for the best 
quality, according to the inspection laws of New England; nevertheless they are in all respects 
quite as good as the larger and rarer grades. 
As previously stated, the fishermen no longer make a secret of using the plow, and during the 
summer season, when the wharves on the eastern coast are filled with mackerel, the operators may 
be seen in the open air busily rimming the fish almost as fast as they can pick them up and throw 
them into another barrel. There are many styles of this type of knife, their patterns and designs 
being as varied as the fancies of those who make them. They are, with but few exceptions, made 
by the fishermen; some of them are exceedingly plain and rough, while others are artistically and 
elaborately decorated, often with imaginary uncouth figures or with fancifully carved leaves, 
wreaths, &c. 
There are several knives of this character deposited in the fisheries collection of the United 
* From a circular addressed to the masters and crews of mackerel vessels by Hon. James Barry, inspector-gen- 
eral of pickled fish for Massachusetts, dated May 2, 1832, we quote the following in relation to the use of the mackerel 
plow: ‘It is a mischievous error that fishermen have fallen into by salting their fish too slack, as has been often the 
case; and another by using the plow, which has given to the fish a false appearance, and has been a source of morti- 
fication to the fishermen, and they have in a great many instances found fault with the inspectors when the fault be- 
longed to themselves in not taking care of the fish, which it was their duty to do, and which in many cases has been 
a ruinous business to purchasers. By a law of the commonwéalth the inspector is required to throw into an inferior 
quality all mackerel which have been plowed, cut, or mutilated for the purpose of deception. It can be of no advan- 
tage to the fishermen, and I trust will never again be done.” 
Capt. N. E. Atwood says that some of the fishermen made mackerel plows with ‘‘the ends tipped with pewter 
and fine teeth on the edges so as to make the crease look rough, as though it were broken naturally; others had a 
knife in the end which cut the mackerel smoothly.” 
