NOTE  ON  COD-LIVER  OIL,  ETC. 
215 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Piscataqua  River,  iu  relation  to  the  ocean, 
is  so  convenient,  and  never  freezes  over,  that  it  is  well  fitted  for 
the  fishing  trade.  There  is  a  large  fleet  of  fishing  vessels  here, 
and  many  more  make  the  harbor  a  resort  to  get  bait  and  sell 
their  fish.  The  vessels  run  out  about  thirty  miles  for  fish,  start- 
ing as  early  as  one  o'clock,  A.M.,  so  as  to  reach  the  fishing 
grounds  by  daylight.  Each  vessel  carries  five  small  boats  or 
dories,  and  eleven  or  twelve  men,  who  go  out,  two  in  each  dory, 
and  set  their  trail  lines,  which  are  strung  with  baited  hooks 
about  a  yard  apart.  One  man  rows  the  boat  as  fast  as  he  can, 
while  the  other  "pays  out  "  the  line  from  the  tubs  wherein  it 
lays  coiled  with  its  two  thousand  hooks,  each  baited  with  a  piece 
of  fresh  herring.  When  the  trail  is  set  it  lays  along  the  bottom 
of  the  sea  like  the  Atlantic  telegraph  cable,  a  mile  long,  with 
small  anchors  at  each  end  and  buoys  at  intervals.  As  soon  as 
the  trail  is  all  down  the  men  row  back  to  the  first  buoy,  which 
they  find  by  means  of  a  small  flag  attached  to  an  ever  restless 
staff  upheld  by  the  buoy,  and  begin  the  task  of  hauling  in  ;" 
and  as  it  is  drawn  up  the  fish  are  taken  off  and  killed,  and  by 
the  time  the  last  buoy  is  reached  the  boat  is  usually  loaded  with 
noble  codfish.  Signal  is  now  made  to  the  schooner,  which  is 
hovering  about  the  five  boats  as  a  hen  about  chickens.  The 
boats  are  unladen  alongside  of  the  vessel,  one  by  one,  and  then 
they  steer  away  for  home,  to  sell  the  fish  and  bait  the  hooks  for 
next  day.  It  is  in  this  way  that  the  supply  of  crude  material  is 
obtained.  In  reply  to  our  query  how  they  made  their  cod-liver 
oil,  Mr.  Martin  says :  "  It  can  be  told  in  a  few  words.  First 
we  get  the  livers  when  they  are  new  and  sweet,  and  subject  them 
to  a  carefully  graduated  amount  of  steam  heat,  using  only  the 
oil-producing  healthy  livers,  carefully  washed  and  drained  before 
their  tissues  are  broken,  so  that  none  of  the  slime  from  the  sto- 
mach or  intestines  goes  into  the  kettle  to  make  the  oil  taste  or 
smell  badly,  as  it  certainly  will  if  that  precaution  is  not  observed. 
The  livers  are  now  subjected  to  a  steam  heat  which  ruptures  the 
oil  cells,  and  causes  the  oil  to  rise  to  the  surface,  when  it  is 
skimmed  off.  The  residue  is  then  put  in  a  powerful  press,  under 
strong  pressure,  and  allowed  to  remain  twelve  hours,  by  which 
the  mixed  oily  and  watery  parts  are  mainly  separated.  Power 
