FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES IN 1885. 249 



Whitefish and herring are frozen " round" in shallow galvanized 

 pans. A few " dressed v herring were frozen during 1884 for the first 

 time. The herring for smoking are strung on wire rods and placed 

 in brick ovens over a smoldering fire of hard wood. 



The barrels for salt fish come chiefly from Sandusky, only a few be- 

 ing manufactured at Toledo. 



The amount invested in the fish trade, which is included in the gen- 

 eral statistics of the fisheries given further on, is over $50,000, of which 

 about $42,000 is the value of buildings and wharves. 



Fish brought from other localities.— -The supply of some species of lake 

 fish obtainable from this portion of Lake Erie is not sufficient to meet 

 the demands of the trade. More than half of the sturgeon now handled 

 are brought from Lake St. Clair and other waters, and it is also found 

 necessary at times to have whitefish shipped here from the eastern por- 

 tion of the lake, usually from Erie, and from the upper lakes, in order 

 to obtain a sufficient quantity to fill the dealers' orders and to restock 

 their freezers. 



Sturgeon smoking and manufacture of caviare. — According to Mr. 

 Samuel Curry, an old resident of Toledo of much experience in the fish- 

 eries, sturgeon were not used for food in this region until 18G0, when 

 their utilization by smoking was begun in Sandusky. Before that date 

 they were considered valueless and treated as a nuisance. They were 

 usually taken out of the water and thrown away, but sometimes they 

 were allowed to escape alive, and occasionally the fishermen would 

 wound several of them before letting them go, thinking that the bloody 

 water would keep others away. The first which were prepared for mar- 

 ket were dressed, pressed, and smoked whole for ten days, and were 

 afterward sold as smoked halibut, as, indeed, most of them still are. 

 At present the fish are cut in slices, brined, and then broiled, and 

 smoked for from three to six hours. 



The earliest caviare making on Lake Erie, according to Mr. Curry, 

 was undertaken at Sandusky in 1855 by Mr. Bloom. 



Regarding the manufacture of this article Mr. Bower says : 



It is made from the roe of sturgeon, which is washed and worked in brine and 

 passed through hard sieves to disintegrate the mass and eliminate theglutinous matter. 

 It is considered very perishable, though some manufacturers claim to bo able to make 

 an article that will keep in ordinary temperatures. It is, however, almost invariably 

 held and shipped in cold storage. Various preservatives and antiseptics have been 

 tried with more or less success, chiefly salicylic acid, wbicb is probably the most effi- 

 cacious. The best caviare is made from full-grown roe or that which is nearly ripe. 

 It is put up in casks holding 130 to 150 pounds, and shipped to New York, whence 

 most of it goes to Hamburg and Bremen, Germany. Local consumption is very light, 

 though the home demand is increasing. 



Statistics. — There were 509 fisherman engaged in the fisheries of the 

 Maumee Bay and River section in 1885, of whom 429 fished regularly 

 for profit, besides 07 persons employed in mending nets, preparing fish 

 and doing other shore work directly connected with the fisheries. The 

 number of persons dependent upon these for support was nearly 1,400. 



