Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-11-16
SHARK AFTER MOVING POOP.

Gle of commerce excepting for its fins
for the Chinese trade, but recently the
Pacific coast fishermen have learned
that the shark hide is valuable in that
it can be worked over into travelling
bags, valises, portmonnaies belts, etc,
and not one i'll hundred persons will
know it from alligator skin The flesh
and bones are used for fertilizers on ac-
count Of the PHOSPHORUS, and the back
bone is made into glue. The open road
stead at Santa Barbara is the best shark
catching ground on the Pacific coast,
and the industry is now i'll full swing
at that place. A shark il rarely seen
ont when the water is calm He prefers
day for feeding when the wind is
blowing a stiff breeze and the surface
of the ocean is rough. He will not touch
food that is not in motion. Like human
beings, he wants fresh fish, and also,
like ms, he is deceived
The hunter rows out to the deep chan
mel and scatters bushel or two Of dead
fish from the stern of the boat as he
rows along. Seeing the fish in motion
the shark swallows the bait and the de-
ception, and finally he i'd harpooned
and dragged ashore.
Practically all the large sharks of the
world frequent our own waters more or
less. but these productions fishes are most
numerous in tropical waters, where fish
life of all sorts is thickest and food
therefore most plentiful. Sharks fire.
quently travel about in great schools
driving every other kind of fish out Of
the region through which they proceed.
This is especially true of the small
sharks called dogtish. There are several
hundred known species Of sharks. One
of the reputed man eaters is the cub or
requiem shark, which is almost exclu-
sively tropical 1t is numerously present
among the Florida keys, and is notori
GUS as scavenger about wharfs. Most
| people will be surprised to learn that
there are any fresh water sharks but it
is fact that sharks Of one species are
very numerous in Lake Nicaragua.
They are about five feet long. AT one
time this lake was part of the sea bot
tom.
Sharks vary in respect to the number
The white shark has seven rows. Only
one row is used at a time, however.
The other rows lie down inside the
mouth behind the edge of the jaw. erect
ing themselves when it is time for them
to take successfully the place Of the
wOrnout first row. One of the most
dangerous sharks in the world is the
blue shark, which replaces the white
shark in colder waters. Sharks are often
killed by porpoiscs, which will surround
shark aud lash the enemy to death
with their fiukes
Sardine sening is a peculiar industry
and little understood by the public. The
"grounds" extend from Monterey to
San Diego, the best point being at San
Pedro, off Los Angeles. AT San Pedro
is the largest and best equipped sardine
packing works in the world, and here
the largest seines are used, capable of
hauling in six or seven tons of sardines
at one time, several times larger than
the "hauls' on the New England coast.
During the summer months the schools
of sardines at these points are larger
than seen elsewhere in the world. When
a school Of sardines enter the purselike
seine, the ends are drawn together and
the seine with its cargo is hauled aboard
the vessel The haul is then taken t.
the packing house, which can handle
about seven tons daily The sardines are
graded, and inferior ones are thrown
out After being cleaned they are cooked
by steam and soaked in olive oil BY a
peculiar process the oil is forced into
every part Of the little fish. Then they
are canned tightly, as the expression,
like sardines in box and labeled
at the speed Of about 100 in minute.
How so many are got into box is a
mystery to all save the expert Gamers.
j. M. SCANLAND,