CHAI-. xvi ii. THE PEOCESS OF DEY1XG COD. 305 



of the salter, who places it on a pile, spreading it carefully, 

 with the flesh up and the napes out, and with a wooden 

 shovel scatters a layer of salt over each row. The salter's 

 art lies in sprinkling on each fish just salt enough to keep 

 it well, but not enough to burn it. The cod is left piled 

 in this way for three days, or sometimes four, according 

 to the quality of the salt, after which the operation of 

 washing commences. On the coast of Labrador it often 

 happens that cod is left in piles for several weeks, or even 

 for whole months ; but it is never so white as when it has 

 been subjected to the action of salt only as long as it is 

 necessary. 



When cod is to be washed, it is conveyed in wheel- 

 barrows or hand-barrows to a large trough made of deals, 

 ten or twelve feet long by four feet wide, and three feet 

 deep, filled with water, which is continually being changed. 

 In this trough it is turned over and over by men with 

 poles, and rubbed on both sides with the swabs on the 

 end of the poles until all the salt is washed ofF, when it 

 is put in piles again, in order that the moisture may drain 

 off from it. After some days the piles are taken down 

 and the fish are spread, one by one, on hurdles, three feet 

 wide, covered with fir or spruce boughs, and supported 

 upon posts about three feet from the ground, in order 

 that, by exposure to the action of the sun and air, they 

 may be deprived of all the water they contain, and be 

 reduced to that dry state in which they may be pre- 

 served for several years in hot countries. 



If the process of dressing cod has to be performed with 

 care, so must that of drying it not be neglected for a single 

 moment ; for cod is merchantable, or of inferior quality, 



VOL. I. x 



