148 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
In the manufacture of glue and isinglass 23,930,925 pounds of Ash sounds, fins, 
skins, etc., were utilized, for which $114,776 was paid. From these 5,983,420 pounds 
of products were obtained, having a value of $360,671, the gross profits, viz, $245,895, 
being proportionally greater than in any other branch, although the expenses were 
also proportionally larger. 
84 . — Table showing the extent of the wholesale fish trades and related industries of Gloucester, Mass., in 1889. 
Trades. 
No. of 
firms. 
Persons engaged. 
1 Capital invested. 
Purchased. 
Sold. 
Capital- 
ists. 
Clerks. 
All 
1 others. 
Total. 
Plants. 
Cash. 
Pounds. 
V alue. 
Pounds. 
Value. 
Fresh fish 
7 
10 
9 

27 
46 
$33, 000 
$91, 500 
11, 671, 331 
$491, 636 
10, 229, 994 
$610, 971 
Salt fish 
52 
86 
172 
575 
833 
884, 138 
885, 000 
114. 296, 733 
3, 427, 966 
92, 833, 991 
4, 193, 284 
Smoked fish . . . 
6 
2 
26 
28 
28, 100 
18, 000 
3, 410, 205 
127, 387 
2, 259, 346 
169, 266 
Canning 
1 
10 
10 
27, 000 
2, 200 
24, 180 
3, 210 
Oil 
8 
4 
5 
16 
25 
34, 250 
79, 000 
8, 278, 513 
216, 077 
*6, 845, 460. 
283, 754 
Glue and isin- 
glass manu- 
facturing — 
5 
28 
10 
74 
112 
176, 450 
140, 500 
23, 930, 925 
114, 776 
t5, 983, 420 
360, 671 
Box-mak ing 
3 
33 
36 
55, 500 
20, 000 
Outfitting, not 
elsewhere 
enumerated . 
4 
3 
12 
50, 500 
60, 000 
Ice and salt . . . 
4 
4 
6 
23 
33 
201, 650 
80, 000 
Total 
90 
143 
205 
787 
1,135 
1,463,588 
1, 374, 000 
161,614,707 4,380,042 
118,176,391 
5, 621, 156 
* 912,728 gallons. t Glue, isinglass, poultry food, and fertilizer. 
In Boston, there are more firms engaging in the various wholesale branches of 
trade than in Gloucester, although the number of employes is less. 
The fresh-fish trade, which is the most important, was represented by 44 firms, 
with 326 persons engaged, having $1,063,350 devoted to the business. Over 82,000,000 
pounds of fresh fish were handled, for which $2,639,346 was paid and $3,165,110 
received. 
In the salt-fish trade 24 firms were engaged; the persons employed numbered 
369; the capital invested amounted to $1,139,575. Nearly 38,000,000 pounds of fresh 
and salt fish passed into the hands of the firms, for which $1,632,688 was paid. For 
the quantity of salt fish sold without being further treated, $1,909,362 was obtained, 
and from the remaining portion there were prepared boneless and smoked fish, the 
quantity of which, together with fish that were in a smoked state when received, was 
17,384,900 pounds. From the fresh fish handled, there were, in addition to those smoked, 
considerable quantities canned; the table shows 89,985 cases so prepared; these, 
together with the smoked and boneless fish, sold for $1,207,520, while the cost was 
$1,013,313. Owing to the intimate relations existing between the smoking and canning- 
business and the salt-fish trade, some of the firms engaging in all these branches, 
it has not been practicable to show them separately in the table. 
The wholesale commission trade is seen to have handled 52,350,500 pounds of fish, 
mostly salt-cured, for which the gross price received was $2,657,650. In the prepara- 
tion of glue and isinglass 19,151,000 pounds of fish sounds, skins, and heads were 
utilized, the cost of which was $118,474. The resulting manufactured goods, consist- 
ing of glue, isinglass, poultry food, and fertilizer, amounted to 3,757,966 pounds, with 
a market value of $245,155, these figures including 14,000 pounds of isinglass valued 
at $7,700, which were manufactured in Maine and simply purchased and sold by a 
Boston firm, 
