The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-11-30
LOBSTERS DOWN EAST.

Something like $50 men make busi-
| ness Of catching Holsters in Cumber-
land county alone, and the most OF
these are. of course men who live on
! the shores OF Casco Bay In Septem-
ber, according 10 the figures furnished
| by Fish Warden Grbben, who keeps
| track of all lobster arrivals and ship
| ments here, 37S19i Holsters were
! brought into Portland and the figures
| this month will probably be larger
than this. OF this number 1888 were
boat Holsters" Or caught in Casco
Bay.
THE lobster business is rapidly
on the increase in Maine" says
Mr.. Grbben More men are finding
employment in the lobster fisheries in
this State every year and more lob
sters are being caught and shipped out
OF the State. The Portland dealers are
finding their business enlarging every
year They now supply the markets of
st. Louis. Chicago. Minneapolis and
other towns still further west, and
their heaviest shipments, OF course,
are 20 New York city.
MANY people wonder why II is that
when Holsters are abundant the prices
do not drop to a corresponding figure.
This Is because the dealers have big
pounds. in which the Holsters are
placed when they are plenty, and held
for March and otner seasons Of the
wear when Holsters are scarce. There
are probably all the way from 100000 to
900. 600 Holsters in pounds now all along
the coast OF Maine. These pounded
Holsters have 10 be we'll fed on fish,
and the people who have charge OF the
pounds have to be very careful not to
0verfeed them, For if they 90 the lob
sters VIII die with alarming rapidity.
"rhe fishermen get ON mn average Of
10 cents apiece for Holsters aN the year
round, and some Of them make good
thing out Of the business or course.
the fishermen 10 not devote All their
time 90 lobster catching. some of
them are now giving up clustering for
q time and are going smc,tng. This
pays pretty wcll at this time Of the
year The rmelts are not $40 very plen-
uful. because they are mixed up with
small heIrings. which arc worth very
itttio. or an average. IL boxes Of srelts
a day go through Portland being
shipped o. Boston and New York mar
itets from PASSPORT, Yarmouth and
Portland. Smelts are cents pound.
and there are about 30 pounds g. a box.
So YOU see that as each man slips one
or two boxes every day, he is making
"a good thing ont of TINS work.
"ThC consumption oi Holsters is ON
the Increase. and as this hsh increases
in numbers and becomes more plenti-
ful the demand constantly Increases
~ ere are now seven steamers owned
and operated hv Portland firms which
make two or three trips here a week
with Holsters. which they have gath
erred up along the coast from the fish
otmou or pound Keepers. besides any
number 90 small sChooners. W. are
not getting any Nova Scotia Holsters
now The law I'm Nova Scotia protects
lohsters from July TO January. and I'm
January ~ is So stormy that the lobster
smacks dO not find IL very profitable
90 atteupt The long and hard voyage
TO Nova Scotia after these FISH
NO Holsters are being canned In
Maine now" continued Mr.. Grihben
"Oncc this was a biz business here. hut
Tive short lobster law killed " I'm this
state. The canncrs do not find Il prof
table 60 huv Holsters al their present
ratos. and they can't purchase short
ones Nearly ull ~ tho cnuniug bust
ness is NOW done n Nova Scotia. al
though 7 believe the catching - Chort
lohstcrs is restricted to ~ certain part
of the coast there. 80 Portland Daily
Press