COD, POLLOCK . HADDOCK AND HAKE . 
349 
depreciated or destroyed by means of dams or by exhaustive fishing, the 
Codfish have disappeared in equal ratio. This is not, however, for the 
same reason, as they are taken only with the line, at a rate more than 
compensated by the natural fecundity of the fish. I am well satisfied, 
however, that there is a relation of cause and effect between the present 
and past condition of the two series of fish ; and in this I am supported 
by the opinion of Capt. U. S. Treat, of Eastport, by whom, indeed, the 
idea was first suggested to me. Capt. Treat is a successful fisherman and 
dealer in fish on a very large scale, and at the same time a gentleman of 
very great intelligence and knowledge of the many details connected with 
the natural history of our coast fishes, in this respect worthily representing 
Capt. Atwood, of Provincetown. It is to Capt. Treat that we owe many 
experiments on the reproduction of alewifes in ponds, and the possibility 
of keeping salmon in fresh waters for a period of years. The general 
conclusions which have been reached, as the result of repeated conversa¬ 
tions with Capt. Treat and other fishermen on the coast, incline me to 
believe that the reduction in the Cod and other fisheries, so as to become 
practically a failure, is due to the decrease off our coast in the quantity, 
primarily, of alewives; and, secondarily, of shad and salmon, more than 
to any other cause. 
“It is well known to the old residents of Eastport that from thirty to 
fifty years ago Cod could be taken in abundance in Passamaquoddy Bay, 
and off Eastport, where only stragglers are now to be caught. The same 
is the case at the mouth of the Penobscot River and at other points along 
the coasts of Massachusetts, a much more weighty reason than that of 
merely enabling a few salmon to enter the streams in order to permit their 
capture while on their way. 
“Whatever may be the importance of increasing the supply of salmon, it 
is trifling compared with the restoration of our exhausted Cod fisheries ; 
and should these be brought back to their original condition, we shall 
find, within a short time, an increase of wealth on our shores, the amount 
of which it would be difficult to calculate. Not only would the general 
prosperity of the adjacent States be enhanced, but in the increased num¬ 
ber of vessels built, in the larger number of men induced to devote 
themselves to maritime pursuits, and in the general stimulus to every¬ 
thing connected with the business of the sea-faring profession, we should be 
recovering, in a great measure, from that loss which has been the source 
of so much lamentation to political economists and well-wishers of the 
country. ’ ’ 
The Atlantic Tom Cod, Microgadus tomcod , is found only in the 
Western Atlantic; ranging from New York at the south, to Cape Sable at 
the north. It is ordinarily known as the Tom Cod, but in the Bay of 
Fundy, and in various places south of Cod, it is called the “Frost 
