Washington State Salmon.
In the State of Washington the fish industry comprises a good share of the business. Salmon are the principal market fish, and are found in abundance in the waters of Puget Sound and Gray Harbor. The salmon-fishing season begins in September and closes the 1st of April.
In the first part of the season the "silver-side" salmon are alone caught, and the run is very large. In the latter part the "steel-head" salmon is the principal catch, the run being far less than in the former part. The canneries only run during the period of time when the silver-sides are running. Only Chinamen are employed in the canneries on Gray Harbor. In the cannery at Cosmopolis eighty-five Chinamen are employed.
In the process of canning, the heads of the fish are first cut off, and the salmon are dressed and washed until perfectly clean. They are next cut into small pieces by what might be termed a "gang-chopper," after which they are packed into cans. Every can has to be weighed. The salmon are put up in one and two pound cans. The average sliver-side will weigh thirteen pounds, for which the fishermen are paid thirteen cents apiece, large or small, by the canneries.
Reuel M. Nims,
Cosmopolis, Washington.
A Glimpse of Newfoundland.
The chief fisheries in which the public of St. John's are interested are the cod, seal, salmon, and herring. These afford labor to the people of the principal city of Newfoundland. Quite a few people are engaged in the manufacture of the different kinds of gear used in taking fish, such as lines, twines, nets, and cordage, also boats and tackle. The cod season lasts longest. The seal fishery is the most valuable. Salmon and herring are not much caught. The principal merchants of St. John's are engaged in exporting fish. Times are very bad here.
B. Bowering.
St. John's, Newfoundland.
