544 GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW OF THE FISHERIES. 



arrangement is as follows, subject to slight variations : After all bills have been paid, duties, 

 tonnage, fees, provision bills, salt-bills, &c., the owners of the fishery apparatus receive 15 per 

 cent., the owners of the vessels employed in taking the fish thence to Cuba, 1:0 per cent., and of 

 what is left, each fisherman receives one share; the boys, if any, are allowed only half a share. 

 The captain receives a share and a half. The general complaint is that there is no money to be 

 made in the business and that the fishermen always come out in debt. The vessel's expenses are 

 quite heavy and are paid from the common stock; but undoubtedly more profit is realized by the 

 vessel than by any of the men engaged in the fishery or the owner or owners of the apparatus. 

 The continued political troubles in Cuba have injured these fisheries, for the Cubans have no 

 money, and so, to save themselves from being worsted, imposed heavy duties on all imports. 



CUBAN MARKET. The market prices in Cuba are as follows : Salt fish, 4 cents a pound, or $4 

 a quintal. This price has not varied for several years, but is not more than two-thirds of what it 

 was six years ago and before that time. Mullet roe, dried in Cuba, 50 cents a dozen. This price 

 has not varied for the last six years. The duty on salt fish imported into the Cuban markets is 

 $1.40 a quintal. The principal markets are Havana, Matanzas and Cardenas, and occasionally 

 Sagua la Grande. Some of the dealers buy fish by the vessel load upon arrival. An average load 

 for a fish-carrying vessel is 300 to 400 quintals. 



METHOD OF CUEING MULLET-ROES. The mullet-roes are thus cured: Having been collected 

 0111 the fish in a vat with a weak solution of brine over them, and allowed thus to remain over 

 night, the roes are taken out the next morning and carefully spread on boards in the sun. 

 After one day's exposure other boards are laid on the roe. They are now between boards and in 

 a shape which will admit of rapid handling in case of rain. If the sun is shining brightly and 

 there is a good breeze, a week will suffice for the roes to become dry and thoroughly pressed. 

 Afterwards they are handled in baskets, tubs, &c., and are sent to market en masse. There is a 

 greater demand for mullet-roe in Cuba than Florida. If a spawning fish is bruised or other- 

 wise injured in the-seiue the roe is worthless, turning a dark-red color. Again, if too much salt is 

 put upon a spawning fish at first, the sac cracks and the eggs are burned out on being exposed to 

 sun and pressure. Rain is injurious to mullet-roes, hence the threat of a shower causes much 

 uneasiness in a drying camp. 



KENCH-CURING OF MULLET. The method of curing mullet, known as the "kench-curing," 

 and referred to in the section on the Charlotte Harbor fisheries, is practiced at Hunter's Point 

 fishery, Roberts's fishery, and Sarasota fishery. The treatment of the fish at any of these places is 

 thus described : The fish, when taken from the boat, are carried to the cleaning-house and piled 

 on the floor near the cleaning-table. There are two, four, or six splitters, who first take the fish in 

 hand and split them from nose to tail through the back. These men shove them along to others 

 who "score" or cut them along the backbone, removing gills and entrails. Other men are ready 

 to give them the finishing touch by scraping out the black stomach-lining. They then pass the 

 fish to the salting-table, where they are rubbed with Liverpool salt, after which their iusides are 

 filled with it and closed up, leaving the natural shape of the fish. There are others, men or boys, 

 employed in packing the fish away as soon as they are salted. They are packed in regular order, 

 heads out, in one corner of the house, and, when the pile becomes large, present a most peculiar 

 appearance, resembling a work of masonry more than anything else. On the occasion of a big 

 haul, especially, is great life and activity displayed at a fishery, all hands, and as much help as 

 can be temporarily secured from the surrounding country, being kept busy until the fish afe all 

 packed away. At such times the cleaning is first performed, then the salting, unless the haul be 

 enormous, in which case a large number, instead of all, are cleaned before any salting is done. By 



