MONEY IN THE SEA.
The Magician who Makes Gold Swim--$30,000,000 in a Shoal of
Cod--200 per cent. Profits in Salmon--How French Sardines are Made
in Maine--Vast Money in Bivalves--John Bull, Brother Jonathan, and
the Seal Fisheries--Chasing a Greenland Whale--Old Salts who Have
Made their “Pile”--Why Salt Fish is Worth More than Fresh--The
Greatest Reservoir of Wealth--A Leaf from a Business Ledger.
Gold floats in the air, swims in the sea, springs up out of the earth,
and lies deep hid in the mountain bed. How can gold swim? In the form of
millions upon millions of tiny creatures whose destruction brings gold
into the pockets of their captors. Literally, the ocean is the biggest
field of revenue on the planet. It is a reservoir of wealth which all
the ages are not likely to exhaust. Further, the ocean, unlike the land,
has not been and cannot be partitioned out among individual owners. Any
man can enter upon any body of water not actually occupied by another,
and appropriate all that he finds there. The following are among the
most profitable of the fisheries:
899. OREGON SALMON.--The female salmon lays a thousand eggs for every
pound of her weight. For salmon profits go to Oregon. Immense factories,
making enormous profits, are already in the field, but there is room for
more.
900. MASSACHUSETTS COD.--Professor Huxley estimates the number of cod
in a single shoal at 120,000,000. What do you think of that, you who pay
twenty-five cents for a small codfish? A shoal of fish worth
$30,000,000! Go to Newfoundland if you want to catch cod.
901. FRENCH SARDINES.--So-called French sardines are put up in Maine.
They have a foreign label, and command twice the price they would if it
were known that they are a native product. The deception, however, is
only in the name, for they are in no way inferior to the foreign brand.
As an example of the enormous profits, we have it for a fact that
herrings worth when fresh not more than $50,000, were put up as sardines
in cans holding one pound each, and in that style they brought $770,000.
This is the secret of the way some people get rich.
902. SEA OTTERS.--These are not so plentiful as formerly, but the
increased price of the skins partly makes up for the less number of
furs. A few years ago a schooner sailed from Boston to the Northern
Pacific in quest of these slippery sea tenants, and in the course of
three trips netted $75,000.
903. ARCTIC WHALES.--Rivals of whale oil have reduced the price of that
lubricant, but there are yet many vessels engaged in the enterprise.
When we consider that the whaling industry has contributed $680,000,000
to the wealth of England, Holland, and the United States, we can see
what enormous profits have been reaped by those engaged in the business.
From Sandy Hook to Cape Cod, all along the coast, there are retired sea
captains who have “feathered their nest” with the sales of
whale-blubber.
904. BEHRING SEALS.--Go aboard a sealing vessel. The business is very
profitable. Above 1,000,000 seals of all kinds are taken yearly, a
single vessel sometimes catching as many as 5,000. As these seals are
taken by vessels owned and manned by legalized companies, the profits
are not so subject to fluctuation as in what is called individual luck.
To be a member of a sealing company you must have some capital, but the
business is so profitable that it pays at least twenty-five per cent.
John Bull and Brother Jonathan have had many disputes about the right to
catch these seals. They are undoubtedly United States property, but
England bases its rights in old treaties. However, if the catch is not
restricted, the indiscriminating slaughter will soon diminish the number
so that there will not be enough seals worth fighting about.
905. SEA GOLD.--Though this product of the sea has no fins, it falls
more appropriately under the heading of this chapter than any other. The
South Sea Bubble has had a parallel in the recent excitement over golden
sea waves. A clergyman, a Connecticut Yankee by the name of Jernigan,
together with his brother, after many experiments, announced that they
had discovered a process for extracting gold from the sea. A stock
company was formed, a large capital raised, and a mill erected. But the
bubble exploded with loss to all except the reverend projector of the
enterprise, who is said to have made $100,000 out of the scheme. At
least, a loose leaf from his ledger, which he left behind in his flight,
indicates that about that sum was inveigled from the pockets of the
deluded members of the “company.” However, some of them still have faith
in the enterprise. It has been known to chemists for a long time that
gold is contained in sea water. The only question is whether it is in
sufficient quantities to pay for the cost of its extraction. It may yet
be found that what is at present regarded as a gigantic swindle contains
the seeds of a profitable industry.