Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/811

COD 795 divide the proceeds according to the system last described. The French fishermen leave home with their salt, provisions, &c., in the latter part of winter or early spring, and come directly to St. Pierre, where they equip for fishing, generally making two or three trips to the banks from that port. Their fishing sea- son extends from April to October. Their vessels range in size from barks of 300 tons to shallops of 20 tons. They all use trawls equipped with 6,000 or 8,000 hooks, which are set at night and hauled in the forenoon, and boats of sufficient size to weather any ordinary gale, each manned with seven men. They pro- cure their bait at St. Pierre, using salted her- ring for the first fare and capelin for the other two. A portion of the fish is cured at St. Pierre, but the greater part is taken green to France, and there cured. Some vessels from Cape Ood are employed in fishing on the shoals that lie along the coast from Nantucket N. to the extremity of the cape. They make short trips, returning every two or three weeks to land their fish and procure fresh bait. Many boats are also employed from the shore. Large quantities of cod are brought in fresh to the markets of New York, Boston, and other cities, by the numerous small vessels engaged in mar- ket fishing. God fishing from Cape Breton and Newfoundland is pursued almost exclusively in boats from the shore. The smallest of the fish, instead of being dried, are sometimes pre- served in pickle and sold by the barrel. The dried fish are sold by the quintal of 112 Ibs. Codfish are sometimes cured by being kept in a pile for two or three months after salting, in a dark room, covered with salt grass or the like, after which they are opened, and again piled in a compact mass for about the same length of time. They are then known as dun- fish, from their color, and are highly esteemed. Of the fish caught on the banks with hand lines previous to the first of July, it takes about 50 to make a quintal of dried fish ; after that date 30 will yield a quintal. Fish caught with trawls average 36 to the quintal through- out the year. The livers are preserved, and the oil obtained from them is valuable as a medi- cine in pulmonary complaints. The tongues and sounds are also frequently preserved in pickle. From the sounds, prepared and dried, isinglass is obtained. According to the United States census of 1870, the product of the American fishery for that year was 559,982 quintals of cod, of which 28,484 quintals be- longed to Connecticut, 79,373 to Maine, 451,- 125 to Massachusetts, and 1,000 to Washington territory. In that year 94,750 quintals were caught in Alaskan waters, and brought mostly into San Francisco. For the year ending June 30, 1871, there were entered in the various customs districts 658,756 quintals of cured cod (product of domestic fishery), valued at $3,747,- 535 ; oil, other than whale (chiefly cod-liver), 729,558 gallons, valued at $420,146. For the year ending June 30, 1872, there were entered 727,487 quintals, valued at $3,194,286, and 1,437,343 gallons of oil, valued at $508,402. These figures do not include large quantities of cod brought in by coasters, fishing smacks, &c., not making entry at the custom houses, of which there are no trustworthy statistics. The number of men in the United States employed in the cod fishery is from 12,000 to 15,000. The government, regarding the cod fishery as a nursery of seamen for the navy, by the acts of 1813 and 1819, offered a certain sum per ton as bounty to vessels engaged in the business. The payment of bounties was discontinued by the act of July 28, 1866, to which time about $16,000,000 had been expended ; but the duties on imported salt used in curing fish are remit- ted. The product of the British American fishery for 1869 was as follows: province of Quebec, 136,774 quintals of cod, valued at $410,322 ; 103,018 gallons of oil, worth $51,- 509; and 287 barrels of tongues and sounds, value $2,009 ; New Brunswick, 17,924 quintals of cured cod; Nova Scotia, 355,638 quintals; Prince Edward island, value of cod, &c., ob- tained, $39,893 ; Newfoundland, exports of cod, 1,204,086 quintals, valued at $5,514,040; 1,224,468 gallons of cod-liver oil, value $978,- 425 ; 964 barrels of cod roes, worth $3,615. The number of men in Canada and Newfound- land engaged in cod fishing is from 40,000 to 50,000. The product of the French fishery from 1863 to 1868 was as follows: RECEIPTS AT THE FRENCH PORTS, IN QUINTALS. PRODUCTS. 1863. 1864. 1865. 1866. 1867. 1868. Cod, green 416,880 428,644 428,810 516,220 585,770 539,870 " dry. 81,506 109,806 113,886 80,068 116,154 76,810 Oil 26,812 28,852 87,268 89,840 40,760 40,572 Oil, crude 2,746 6,832 8,884 2,468 2,884 2.898 Roes, 4,496 8,750 2,402 5,406 6,452 7,366 Other products (tongues, sounds, &c.) 18,126 16,458 18,080 19,114 22,000 21,788 Of the cod obtained in 1868, all but about 3,000 quintals was from the Newfoundland and Iceland fisheries known as la grande peche. The value of the green and dry fish in 1868 was $3,331,917 ; of the oil, $504,647. A quin- tal of oil is equivalent to about 12 gallons. The French government has spent large sums by way of bounty for the encouragement of cod fishing, a premium being paid as well upon the export of the fish as upon the vessels en- gaged in the business. The following table exhibits the number of vessels and men engaged in the fishery, the exports of cod, and the bounty paid, from 1863 to 1868 :