The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-05-18

tecting seed HOLSTERS If We Are To
Preserve This Delicious Fish-A New
Sphere of Usefulness for Woman.
The fish dealers on Commercial street
seem to be generally agreed that Holsters
are very scarce along the Maine coast to
the eastward. The fishermen have been
decreasing their catches for several
years; and there does not seem to be any
present prospect of an increase. The
lobster dealers seem inclined to attribute
this falling off to the canning factories,
which use immense quantities every sea-
son, and for whose benefit the law was
changed three years ago so as to allow
Holsters as small as 8 inches in length to
be caught in the canning season. But
the difficulty of arranging State law
that shall please the Gamers, the fisher
men, the wholesale dealers and the sum-
mer hotel keepers is generally recognized
'There is but one way in which the
State can satisfactorily arrange this bust
ness OF protecting Holsters, so as to at
tain the desired result said promi-
nent dealer to PRESS reporter the other
day. 1.-THE keeping up of the supply of
Holsters must be by protecting the fe-
male or seed Holsters. We have now a
law imposing a fine of $40 for every seed
lobster found in our possession. But
who is to know a seed lobster from any
other, handling hundreds as we do? I'm
questionably seed Holsters are caught
about as freely as any others. Now
there is but one way to protect the seed
laesters. That is by giving the fisher
men more inducements to preserue than
to destroy them. | would have the
State give to the fishermen bounty Of
20 cents on every seed lobster caught. +
would have these seed Holsters collected,
into large hatchery, or several hatch
cries located at convenient points upon
the coasts. In these hatcheries the
State could raise young Holsters to take
the places of those caught.
Il estimate that in season 10000
seed Holsters might be caught. The
bounty upon these, at 25 cents each,
would amount to $4,000. / think that
every such lobster has $4,000 eggs that
will produce young. Therefore 10000
seed Holsters would yield three hun
dred million of young Holsters, or,
enough to abundantly populate the
Maine coast. / am not man of science:
but offer this as the plan of practical
fisherman. A bounty of % cents would
make it more profitable for the fisher
men to save than destroy the seed lob
steers; and that. is the only way the de-
sired result can be brought about
The little two-masted schooner Ceres.
OF Portland, is familiar to everyone who
is at all acquainted with the harbor and
its craft. The Ceres never was craft of
more, than seven tons, and the approach
of old age-she was launched in Bath in
1S61-does not make her any larger. But
she is a tolerably tidy craft, and is al
ways handled with the best seaman
ship.
The reason seems to be that there is
the most perfect harmony between the
captain and crew. This captain and his
crew are never-failing source of inter-
est to all whom they meet either in port
or upon the high seas; for the captain is
bent and weather beaten old skipper
who has seen variety of water service.
from the canals of New York State to the
coast of Maine; and the crew is a COM
Portable looking, quiet old lady,-the
shippers wife. When the Ceres is under
way with good breeze and the pillows
frothing before her stem, this worthy
help-meet may be seen standing at the
wheel, brown and red cashmere shawl
over her shoulders, steering as well as
sailor from the Spanish Main; and
when the Ceres comes to anchor the old
skipper himself is not handler in hand
ling the ropes and taking in the canvas.
She also is cook for the craft and can
bear hand at taking in or discharging
cargo. The Ceres makes trips all around
Casco Bay, bringing CLAIMS from the dig
gers to the city dealers, fishing and
carrying freight. The skipper and his
wife have a snug home at South Free
port; but prefer to live on the Ceres.
A mysterious little machine is to be
seen in several Of the Portland jewelers's
stores. 1t is little fan wheel in glass
globe. This wheel turns most mysteri-
ously, shut up as it is within the solid
globe without any means of supplying it
with power. One of these little ma
chimes has stood in the window of Mr..
Ira Berry's store on Exchange street for
several years; but probably not one in
ten of those who saw it could explain
what propelled the wheel. Lights the
motive power said clerk to the Press
reporter the other day. Each fan on
the wheel has one side FURNISHED and the
other dead black. You know that the
FURNISHED surface repels light, while
dark opn attracts opJ aheo,,l>s