Bought, No. 692,188 4,097,214
Bought, lbs. 1,038,282 $89,984 6,145,821 $611,955
Sold, lbs. 795,934 91,532 5,308,027 690,045
Sold, lbs. 347,815 26,705 515,518 82,483

*Several of these firms also handle other fishery products.



LOBSTER POUNDS

For a number of years the catch of lobsters was sold by the fishermen
to the dealers and by the latter to the trade as rapidly as possible.
In doing this the markets would be flooded at certain times, when the
price would drop to a very low figure, while at other times they would
be very scarce, which would enhance the price materially. The dealers
were the first to see the necessity for devising some method by which
lobsters could be secured when they were plentiful and cheap and
retained in captivity until they became scarce and high in price:
Inclosures of various kinds had for some years been in use in the
fisheries in various parts of the country for the purpose of keeping
certain species alive until the time came to utilize them. In 1875
Johnson & Young, of Boston, established an inclosure or pound near
Vinal Haven, on one of the Fox Islands. A cove covering about 500
acres, with an average depth of about 90 feet, was selected. A section
of about 9 acres, separated from the main portion of the cove by a
natural shoal and with a bottom of soft grayish mud, was selected for
the pound. In order to make it proof against the efforts of the
lobsters to escape and as a protection from enemies without, a wire
fence was built over the shoal part. This section had a depth of from