El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-11-25

cause or It's long extent. is a
most important part of the New Eng
land fishing territory 1t furnishes a
large percentage of the lobster catch
Of these states and in addition supplies
cod, herring, mackereL and most Of
the other Atlantic fish Eastport,
Maine, claims the honor of originating
the fish canning industry in this cOun-
try by the use Of Theoretically seal led
cans. The process originated with the
French and was first tried upon this
/ continent at Halifax, in 1910. In 1913,
/ Charles Mitchell, who had opened the
establishment in Halifax moved to
EastpOrt and from that time on the
canning of various fish products has
z been an important industry in many
towns scattered along the coast OF
Maine
Catch for Year Decreases.
The products of the New England
fisheries have always played an i'm
portant part in the fishing interests Of
! the country although they do not, as
formerly, constitute the country's chief
I supply of fish The most important
product is cod, a fish of recognized
quality for centuries
The coast from Maine TO New York
has always abounded with fish of nu-
merOus kinds and the New England
cOlonists We're the first to recognize the
commercial value of this article of
{ food. Last year the products of these
]
Gloucester and Boston, amounted to
1S5,153,357 pounds, having a money
value of considerably over S5,00O,0O0.
This quantity was secured by $500
trips in boats and vessels Of various
kinds and 1t included cod. cusk, bake,
pollock, halibUt and mackereI for its
chief products. According to the re-
turns made for the industry up to Sep
TENDER I, 1912, the products of these
fisheries for this year have amounted
to 116,795,931 pounds, worth S2,976, 407,
which is somewhat less than the
amount for the same period Of last
D year.
As far back as 1852. when it was re-
porte that king Charles II was dis
pleased with the Massachusetts col
Onists because they had presumed to
coin the famous pine Tree Shilling, D"
the general court of the state ordered
a present sent to appease him, which
consisted of 5000 cod fish, ten barrels
Of cranberries and two hOSshead OF
samp. The cod fish was eaten at court
with many enconiums and from that
time continued to be an important ar
tiole of commerce between the old
country and the new
Whale Fishing.
The winter fishermen drive quite
thriving trade in frozen herring which
they take along the coast Of New
fOundland and sell to fishermen far
Their south to be used as bait. The
frozen herring trade which began as
Oped into an important branch Of the
fishing industry. The whale fishing
industry while not as important as in
former years because Of the number
OF substitutes which have been found
for whale products, is still in existence
in New England and there are crews
Of stalwart whaling men who go out
each year. Although their methods are
somewhat different from those en-
DlOyed in the DerViOuS generation, the
eXn0Er1Te
the coolest stormiest weather and each
year whale fishers are turning their
attention TO some less strenuous call
ing.
The modern fishing boats contain
many conveniences unknown to the
old fishermen who were content to FISK
their lives and suffer all kinds or eX-
posure with few comforts. Now these
boats are supplied with special life
saving Jackets which are not cumber-
some with clothing that is warm and
water proof and as light IN weight as
possible The arrangements for pro-
viding warm food on short notice, as
well as comfortable sleeping quarters,
is a feature which makes some Of the
old ''nOrtheasters scornIully sheer
about sissy babies" although they
seem to fully appreciate the added
It is claimed that there are fewer
labor difficulties among the New
England fishermen than in any other
that il is almost entirely upon CO.
operative basis The owners OF the
vessels furnish the supplies and the men
give their labor and the proceeds OF
the catch are evenly divided. II II IS
q good haul there Is fair prOIlL TOT
each. If the luck IS bad It IS shared
by all alike. There are, OF course, a
few unskilled labOrers who are paid
small daily wages, but the true fisher
man is not a h1rellng- He prefers 70
depend upon his 'fisherman's luck
and is a happier and more Independent
man because Of it
Packing and Marketing.
The handling Of the fish after the
catch includes a number Of kinds Of
industries. BY common consent GlOu-
cester is known as the great salt IlSh
center Of New England, and Boston as
the fresh fish market In various towns
and villages all along the New England
coast are scattered establishments Tor
canning. sailing and smoking fish, but
to a large extent these are under the
control Of companies having their cen
trail offices in either Gloucester or
The sailing Of fish is an industry
employing thousands of men ana
women. In some vessels ice is taken
on board and the fish are packed IN
ice until they are brought ashore after
which they are packed in salt The
older method, which is still most gen
orally used, is to open the flsh as soon
as caught and pack Luem IN SAT- men,
when they are taken on shore, the
surplus salt is rinsed off and they are
nut upon the flakes" to dry in the
omen air These flakes are racks OF
wood built in long tiers. The sailed cod
fish is laid upon these and turned
over once or twice until it is dry
enough to pack, the time varying from
eight to "a hours. according to the
weather. Incidentally, the salt used IN
the dressing of these fish is almost all
imported either from Spain or Algeria
The quaint foreign vessels, which
come into the Gloucester harbOr laden
with salt are a picturesque addition to
the port. The price for transporting
the salt is exceedingly low since 1t IS
brought over as ballast and the boat
owners count upon the vessel being
laden with some more profitable mer-
chandise from America for the home
trip.
Tn Boston. the fresh fish are han
died in great cargoes and shipped to
every part of the country as well as
to many foreign ports. The develop
ment of the refrigeration system has
made possible the immense trade IN
fresh fish that is increasing each sea-
son. 1t has been claimed that there
has been 2 falling off of the use of
salt fish during the last 20 years and
this is chiefly due to the increased use
of ice. The refrigeration system of the
great steamers, is already developing
an export trade even in the fresh fish
One of the most interesting sights to