St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-05-11
FROM THE OCEANS BED.
The Wonderful Catch Of a Rhode
Island Fishing smack.


A Block Island Or. IL special to the
New York Times says: Not until the
invention of the trawl gear for fishing
did man begin to form correct idea
of what the surface OF the great
fishing banks or the ocean
were like. The hand line
jerked from vessels deck. brought
sea Mt trace of its beauty to- the surface.
But cOdfishing trrwl. 500 or 600 faith
oms long. with hooks fastened to it a
few feet apart by short lines, and
gardens, insinuoUes itself among
rank foliage, among rocks and
shells, down Into caverns, and over
forests of green. There it lies
for hours. When pulled to the top of
the water it is usually fonnd to be loaded
with carloads Of rare and beautiful
specimens of submarine fauna and flora,
and with abundant evidences that be-
meath the tons of heaying waters on
these favored spots there exist gardens
of yerdure as luXurlant. and peopled
with animals as strange and curious, as
can be found in tropical jungle.
The cOdfiShing schooner smack Mary
G. came into the Basin a few nights
since sfth her travis so filled with this
sort of harvest that the entire next
day was spent by her crew in clearing
the 5000 hooks she had wet" during a
few hours spent on CoXsWain's ledge,
twenty miles easl-SoutheaSt of Block
island. The Mary CTS crew set
their travis on what is known
as the ''tWenty-tathOm DRIFT"
on the outer edge of CoXswain's. This
Is fertile sea-farm, Well-knoWn to cod
traWlmen, but never before was such
collection of wonders of the deep taken
from it as was found in the haul of the
Mary 9. Nearly every hook of the travis
contained Something-hsh or fauna, sea
lettuce or kelp-the whole being so
plentifully int rSpersed with beautiful
and large White-belIied and gray-backed
Goldfish as to make the Smack'S venture
profitable one.
A portion Of the unusual catch con-
sisted of black muSStlS and black pearl
Sea-OySterS. The musselS were very
large-trOm half to three-QuarteTs of
pound in Weight-but rank in flavor
and 100 tough to he eaten. There were
four pearl oysters. each of which cCn-
tanned little pearl, irregularly shaped,
and of silvery, ashen hue.
Several specimens Of the large, black
shelled quahaugs or hard clans discov-
cred off shore here last year were also
caught up. The flesh of these is plump
and tender. and much liked by all who
have tasted it. There is no doubt that
there are huge beds of these bvalyeS in
the deep sea off CoXsWain's ledge, and
it is likely that some deep-Water drtdge
nets will be constructed for the purpose
of catching them in quantities.
Here is partial list of the other most
striKingly interesting things brought up
by the Mary C.'S travis: Sponges, sea
corn, skates, Chris Connors or sea roses.
sea robins, dog fish, Conger cells, sea let
tuce or cabbage, SEA peas, swallow alls.-
and a white founder.
SpOngeS have not been caught off
Block island for years. The Mary
G. caught three fine speci-
mems, the largest of sugar.
loaf shape, about eighteen inches i'll
he lght, foot in diameter. and divide
into forty slender tinhers.' These
SpongeS-as are those taken OH the
Nantucket shoals and Georges Banks
fishing groundS-are filled with the red
dish yellow matter of animal life when
taken from the sea; put repeated and
careful squeeZes, alternated with wash
ing, eventually leaves them as white
and clean as lady's hand.