THE MENHADEN FISHERY. 363 
the pores and softening the leather. Mr. L. UC. d’Homergue states that this oil is largely used in 
the tanneries of Russia. 
A considerable quantity is used as a burning oil in coal-mines to fill the small lamps, one of 
which is fastened to the cap of each miner. It is then mixed with paraffine or some of the heavier 
oils. Some is also sold to be used in the manufacture of rope. A small quantity is used annually 
for lubricating purposes, but on account of its gummy nature it is not much in favor among 
machinists.* It is used in adulterating linseed oil, and is also sold as a substitute, its cheapness 
and durability rendering it especially valuable for rough outside work and for painting ships. 
Mixed with other oils, it is found to be very serviceable for the painting of interiors, and its use is 
attended with decided economy, its price being about one-half that of the best linseed oil. Some 
of the most pure is said to be put into the market as olive oil. 
Most of that which is exported is used in the manufacture of soap and for smearing sheep, after 
they have been sheared, to keep off ticks. Mr. L. C. d’Homergue states in the Manufacturer and 
Builder that a bright fish oil, cut with some alcohol and mixed with paint, forms a far more lasting 
covering than linseed oil. 
The Oil, Paint, and Drug Reporter for October 21, 1874, implies that much of the whale oil 
now sold is really menhaden oil. “It is well known that the chief use for menhaden oil is for 
currying leather, but with the low prices ruling of late and the scarcity of whale oil it has found 
new channels, and very much of the whale oil sold probably consists of two-thirds or more of men- 
haden, for it comes when crude nearly as handsome as any whale, and in appearance when bleached 
is quite equal. It is reported as a fact about the street that one concern alone sells more ‘ winter- 
bleached whale oil’ than is caught of crude, and they do not by any means get all the crude.” 
The refuse from the cooking tanks and the settling tanks is dried and ground for sale to the 
guano factories, where it is mixed with phosphates and other substances. The quantity of this 
refuse, called scrap, amounted, in 1880, to 68,904 tons, valued at $1,301,217. A discussion of the 
uses of this scrap and the methods of preparing it will be found in another part of this report. The 
subject is also discussed by Prof. W. O. Atwater in the Annual Report of the United States Fish 
Commission for 1877. He says: ‘‘As a result of the profitable utilization of fish for the manu- 
facture of oil, the use of the whole fish as a fertilizer has gradually and (in Maine) almost entirely 
ceased, and given place to the refuse from which the oil has been expressed or otherwise extracted. 
This is known in its crude state as ‘fish scrap, ‘fish pomace,’ or ‘chum,’ and, when more carefully 
prepared, as ‘dry fish,’ ‘dry ground fish,’ and ‘fish guano.’ Still, farmers have been slow to avail 
themselves of this more concentrated material. * * * It is worthy of note that in the European 
fish guano factories the liquid coming from the steamed or boiled fish, and containing considerable 
nitrogenous matter in solution, is utilized for the manufacture of a low quality of glue, while in 
this country the practice is to throwit away. The Norwegian guanos have generally smaller 
percentages of fat than occur in the menhaden guanos in this country.” ; 
THE MARKETS.—The principal market for menhaden oil is in Boston and New York; some 
is also sold in New Bedford, and considerable quantities are shipped to London, Liverpool, 
Glasgow, and Havre direct. 
GRADES OF OIL.—Several grades are recognized. The Oil, Paint, and Drug Reporter usually 
quotes under the heads of “select light strained,” “select light,” “choice brown,” and “inferior to 
dark,” and “gurry.” 
THE PRICES OF OIL.—The highest price ever obtained for menhaden oil was $1.40 a gallon— 
* Mr. Isaac Bow, of Springfield, Mass., devoted several years to experimenting, with a view to the preparation of 
a good lubricating oil from menhaden oil, but the results were not satisfactory. 
