I09 



32. Smoking has the advantages — - 



(i) that it is antiseptic and even disinfectant; 



(2) that it begins to operate immediately, so that 

 the o-Qods are practically free from the access of taint as 

 soon as they are placed in the smoke ; 



(3) no preservative other than salt and the 

 constituents of the smoke are needed ; 



(4) the constituents of the smoke are not only 

 innocuous but even hygienic ; 



(5) the flavour of properly smoked fish is acceptable 

 and agreeable to judge by the practical universality of 

 the process elsewhere than in India, where it is almost 

 unknown. 



For these reasons I intend to make full experiments 

 in smoking ; experiments w^hich will need the trial of 

 various methods, duration of smoking, classes of fish, 

 woods, markets, etc, 



2,'}^. Wet pickling is the placing of fresh fish, especially 

 herrings and mackerel, alternated with layers of salt, in 

 barrels ; the natural moisture of the fish forms with the 

 salt a very strong brine or pickling liquor in which the 

 fish stand ; after some day the barrel is filled full, headed 

 up, and sold ; the fish if strongly salted in tight barrels 

 will keep for months. 



The main advantage of pickled fish is that the fish 

 as soon as gutted is neatly packed with abundance of 

 salt in a closed barrel ; hence the air is almost excluded 

 from the outset, and since it is never removed from the 

 salt or even from its place in the barrel, it is not only 

 retained continuously under the influence of the preser- 

 vative but is not exposed to the taints of the open air 

 as is the case with sun-dried fish. This hv2'ienic 

 advantage is an immense one ; properly pickled fish has 

 absolutely no trace of taint of smell, but is firm and good ; 

 hence the immense demand for it in Russia, Germany, 

 and Italy. The method is practically unknown in this 

 Presidency (except as regards the pickled mackerel in 

 Cochin for Colombo) and probably in India, chiefly, no 

 doubt because of certain disadvantages, but in the attempt 

 to provide wholesome food this method cannot be 

 neglected and will therefore be a matter of experiment. 

 The disadvantages are — 



(i) that whereas in dried salt fish the quantity of 

 salt used is small, say one-fifth of the weight of the fish, 



