308 THE LABRADOR PENINSULA. CHAP. xvm. 



mist generated by the Gulf Stream are least felt, that the 

 finest cod in all America is cured. It is well known in 

 the markets of Spain and Italy, where it is preferred to 

 all other fish. 



At Labrador, on the coasts of the Straits of Belleisle, 

 and at Newfoundland, where for whole weeks the fogs 

 brought on by the easterly and north-easterly winds do 

 not allow a single ray of the sun to be seen, cod is cured 

 with great difficulty, especially in the months of June and 

 July ; and the fish from those countries is always inferior 

 to that which is despatched from the ports of Gaspe and 

 New Carlisle. 



In order to guard against all risks from, the weather, 

 attempts have been made to dry cod artificially by means 

 of large ovens, in which it is exposed to moderate and 

 regular heat ; but these attempts, which have been made 

 at the Island of St. Pierre and in France, have not suc- 

 ceeded as well as was expected. 



Notwithstanding the stringency of the regulations 

 respecting the disposal of fish offal at the mouths of 

 salmon rivers, and the activity of the overseers, an im- 

 mense quantity of the heads and entrails are thrown into 

 the Moisie Bay by the fishermen, who clean their fish on 

 board their vessels. Those who prepare their fish on the 

 shore bury the offal on the beach, but the stench arising 

 from these deposits, owing to the imperfect manner in 

 which they are covered, is sufficient to create disease in 

 the neighbourhood. No attempt appears to be made to 

 convert fish offal into manure, although the importance of 

 this substitute for guano is well understood. The universal 

 objection urged by the fishermen with whom I have con- 



