50 



with an L-shaped handle at one end, so that when the 

 rod is suspended upon a bracket at either side of the 

 fire-place it may be turned or rotated by hand. As shown 

 in text-fig. 9 the alternate pairs of eel sections are 

 roughly arranged with their lengths at right angles to 

 one another with a view to effect thorough cooking by a 

 free exposure of the maximum surface. Eight of these 

 spits are suspended on brackets before each fire, the 

 whole number being arranged in a single vertical row. 

 The four upper spits are tended by one woman, the four 

 lower by a second ; both stand at the right-hand side of 

 the fire-place, as the handles are all placed on that side. 

 These two workers attend solelv to the roastinq- of the 

 fish — to the proper rotation of the spits. On the left 

 of the fire other women see to the placing and removal 

 of the spits. The fresh spits with the raw fish are placed 

 on the upper brackets ; the lower rows get the greater 

 heat and as they are completed and removed those 

 above are moved down to occupy their places. The 

 spits with cooked fish when removed from the fires are 

 hung on the racks in the middle of the room to cool 

 awhile before other workers strip the fish from them. 

 Wood fires are used, laid on a flat open hearthstone. 

 They are well supplied with fuel and are kept blazing 

 furiously, giving out an intense heat. As the fish roast 

 before the fires, a considerable quantity of oil oozes out. 

 This falls into a sloping gutter in front of the hearth 

 and flows along it into an underground oil-tank or col- 

 lecting reservoir. Some further oil is also collected 

 from the spits as they cool on the racks each of which 

 is furnished with a wooden trough at its base to catch 

 the oil drippings. The oil thus collected during the 

 cooking of the eels is employed in the frying of smelts. 

 When the roasted eels have cooled sufficiently, they are 

 stripped from the spits and arranged neatly in circular 

 shallow baskets which are then carried outside and laid 

 in rows in the shade of a wide verandah where they are 

 allowed to cool thoroughly before further handling. 

 Considerable importance is attached to this item in 

 preparation. 



When quite cool the fish are carried to the packing- 

 room where the sections are neatly packed in wooden 

 barrels and kegs. The lower layers are packed fairly 



