El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-08-01

to the Virginia capes, and is merely
! waiting for the fishermen to come aIons
| with proper apparatus and draw upoT
its inexhaustible resources.
New Hork's Big Appetite.
/ When it is realized that New York
/ city alone consumes $4,000 gallons OF
Z the meats" Of ordinary scallops an
nually, and that they are getting
scarce with prices steadily rising, the
I value OF this new discovery, reckoned
| IN dollars and cents, may be TO some
/ extent understood
Within recent years "flet Of sole. o
usually fried in crumbs, has become a
much-esteemed dish in the restaura nj S
! Of our cities. II is, as a matter of fact
nothing but the common founder CT
! natfish- While by no means to he
desplsed, II Is altogether Outclassed as
a delicacy by the soles which swarm IN
deep water over the continental shelf
all the way from Cape Hatteras to Cane
Cod. It is estimated by the fisheries
bureau that these soles alone would
furnish an annual crop sufficient to feed
the whole population Of the United
Why. then, does not somebody 90
after them2 There are two reasons.
In the first place, the very existence. of
these soles was not known until very
recently. Secondly the fishermen ara
not provided with any apparatus suit
able for catching them. Their mouths
are too small and weak to take or hold
a hook.
Vastly Numerous Species.
The very existence Of the tiIefsh was
not suspected until within very recent
years Yet II is a vastly numerous
species delicious to eat. and might
easily be made to contribute as i'm
porta1ntly as the Goldfish to the food
supply OF this country. One OF the
most beautiful OF finny creatures, it
attains a weight OF about so hounds
ana a length Of three feet. It is bril-
lanI IN coloration, with a head like a
dolphin's, and covered with ereenish-
yellow speckles
The hrst tilefishes ever seen were
Laken IN 1873 by the fishing schooner
" imam b. Hutchins. while trying for
make in new waters about 100 miles
south OF Nantucket. A fisheries bureau
vessel the Fish Hawk, investigated the
matter caught a few specimens. and
maze such report that the bureau
ueclued to send out a scientific eXpedf-
uon 70 study the possibilities. It de-
layed too long, however, and the project
was defeated by a most extraordinary
happening. the like Of which is not
recorded in history.
It was in March and April. 1882, that
vessels arriving at PHILADELPHIA. New
York, and Boston reported that they
nad passed through many miles Of
nshes OF an unfamiliar species, floating
dead or dying on the water. Those
which were dying did not seem n he
injured In any way, but to be paralvzed.
All accounts went to show that a belt
OF at least IS miles in width was pro-
fusely sprinkled with the scaIy unfor-
tunates, and that the total area over
which they were distributed could not
nave been less than 1900 square miles
Specimens brought ashore proved to be
tlehshes-
CataeIysm Kills All.
II was figured out that, if there was
one hsh for every 1000 the sailors
thought they saw, the total number
must have exceeded Loco. OOO. 600. But
When. not long afterwards the scientific
expedition did at last set ont. NOT
single tlensh could be found. and the
conclusion was reached that the entire
species had been wiped out. either by
a submarine volcanic CONFUSION, or
else Dy the chilling encroachment of a
cola Polar current upon the warm belt
aDoVe described Presumably il will
never be known what did happen; but.
although many trials were made. no
more tllenshes were caught, and hone
IN their behalf was finally abandoned.
It may be judged, then. with what
qelght the fisheries bureau. not very
long ago, hailed the temperance Of
this valuable fish, specimens Of which
were captured first by the Grampus
south Of Nantucket. Since then many
more have been taken, and it is be-
leyed that at the present time they are
probably as numerous as eYer-the