The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1865-04-05

e6o .o"o was BVioS on prlSBly Ia ttA
what We may term an eel msnufactori
where immense Quantities of fish were On
nually grown to supply lenten fare for th
faithful Of that country, Commachio still
dourishes, and is alike curious for partic
: ular Industry and for the primitive peopl
who carry it on. On turning to . gaze,
teer or geographical dictionary, We ca,
lind little account Of this place beyond th,
: bare record of its being . fishing town
and having . salt mandatory. Such /,
description, however, conveys no idea Il
the reader Of what the place really is, or 0
the laws by which it is governed, or tn,
quaint people who inhabit it. The princi
pal island Of Commachio is situated in tn.
centre of the immense lagoon which lies q,
the mouth of the River Po, and is shu,
out from the Adria6c by series of strong
mud banks. The extent of this shallow
lake--it is from three to six feet deep-is
equal to great many thousand acres, "A i,
Is fully 14O miles in circumference. The
principal fish, bred there is, as we have
said, the eel-an animal which has fire.,
| quently been the subject of romance ant,
| speculation. At Commachio the natural
| history OF the eel can be studied to adyan
tage, and all the fancies connected with its
growth-including that grandest fancy of
all, which, as children, we have all so de.
vcutly believed in-viz: that hair from n
horses tail will, if long enough waited for,
become an eel-can be at once exploded.
Indeed, there can be no doubt that this
fish, like all others, is generated Just in the
usual way. But it is curious enough that
whilst the salmon spawn in fresh water.
| and 60 down to the sea to live. tho eel
spawns in the sea, and desires to live in
fresh or brackish water. It is this fac.
that has made Commachio. The fishery
tnere has been founded on the migratory
habit Of the eel and what was once =
large marsh has been so taken advantage
OF and rsmodelled as TO admit cf being
con7erted into a gtest focus Of Industry
1t would require plan, however, to con-
vey accurately to the reader an idea of the
apparatus Of sluices and cannals which
have been contrived to admit the fish from
the sea, and conduct them to the various
divisions of the lagoon they are very in.
genious, and suitable for their various pur.
poses.
AT the proper season for the ascent of
the young eels the gates are opened, when
countless millions Of the small thread like
creatures are seen pushing their way from
the sea into the lagoon. In due time these
become the prey OF the fishermen, having
been, of course allowed to grow and fatten:
and Tor the purpose of feeding them, other
kinds Of fish are provided, such as the
dquadette. The population Of Commachic;
are all devout Roman Catholics; and many
OF the ceremonies incidental to the fishery
are OF religious nature; thus, at the he.
ginning of the annual harvest, the fisher.
men will be found knecling before their
affairs, praying for Divine assistance,
through the medium Of their patron saint.
Stormy nights are selected for the purpose
OF taking the great hauls of eels, which
constitute the harvest of the community
and the waters of the Adriatic having been
let into the lagoon, the fish rise from the
mud, eager to migrate to the sea, and on
these occasions, by means of simple ma.
chinery, they are easily caught in various
chambers which they naturally make for
on being alarmed. When a capture is
made in any particular district of 4S, 900 L..
OF hsh IN one night is during the nigh,
time that the fishery is prosecuted-a can
non IS hred to announce to all, the glad
tidings, and next day there is held feast.
at which the Farmer r-General, and al the
higher classes Of the town, including the
bishop, attend and make merry, tempering
their mirth, however, with prayer and
thanksgiving. Like all other fishing com com.
munities, whether at Banff or Bayonne, the
people of Commachio are supers;itious, and
believe in omens and sigas but they arc
simple in their tastes, and, consequently,
frugal in their habits and the ladies' are
eminently handsome. The fishermen live
IN barrack, and observe something like
military discipline their staple food being
hsh, and each man has an allowance of 4
pound and half of cooked eels Der diem.
This industrial colony is quite isolated from
the world, and is seldom visided except by
the curious, who come to observe so ftne =
specimen Of hydraulic engineering, aud to
study the statistics of fish capture.
A few words en- the dollars and cents of.
this place may now be useful-for the grand
question in practical matter of any kind
in the present day is simply, will itpays
1t is 70. exactly known what weight of fsL>
the lagoon # Commachio is capable of
yielding per anum, as great quantities are
stolen, and great number Of the best fish
escape; but it is known that on particular
nights as much as CAS- 900 lbs. have been
captured, which, at the moderate computa-
ton Of 1 cents per h., would yield a sum
of more than $25, ,OOo. It is known, for ia
stance, that pound weight of eel fry will,
in the course Of five years, become cf the
value Of 5000 sterling Mullet become in
course Of time greatly more valuable. IL
takes, 5000 Of the young of that fsh to
weigh pound; but so rapid is its growth
that in twelve months time that single
pound weight will have increased to moro
than 10000 lbs of prime food. The capi-,
tai stock of fish for breeding purposes left
annually in the lagoon is enormously large,
as we know from the fact Of as much as O..
675, 600 lbs, having been killed by scci.
dent at various times. and still leaving a
large stock to breed from. ~.
But the fishermen of Commanchio derive
two profits from their labors they do not
send all their fish to market in q raw state.
but cook large portion Of them! This
practice, we presume, must result from the
difficulty Of carriage-the community be-
ing far away from the great seats Of popu.
lation, have shrewdly fallen on this capital
mode Of curing their fish. Large kitchens
have, therefore, been erected, where the fish
is roasted or fried, either in its own fat or
in olive oil, before it is packed for transport
10 the towns and cities of Italy. The eels
are treated with the usual cruelty of being
skinned and spitted alive, . process long
associated with that fish. The largest cells,
however, are beheadsd and Detailed, If we
may use the word. before being put on tho
spit, but the smaller ones are put on alive
and roasted TO death, which is said to i'm.
prove their favor. The heads and tails arc
given to the poor; and the fat which exudes
from those Ash which are roasted ON the
spit is used to fry tho other kinds. Such
Ash as are too small to be spitted are fried