125 



without saying ; the second connotes proper salting, the 

 thorough entry of the salt into all the tissues, and 

 thorough drying ; the third is apparently inconsistent 

 with the second and yet it is essential, and it is here 

 that new methods come in. When fish have been 

 thoroughly salted and washed they are laden with extra- 

 cellular water, and when placed as at present in the 

 open sun, not only is considerable time consumed in 

 drying it off, but the process toasts the outside hard and 

 leaves the inner tissues damp and a most favourable 

 nidus for bacteria. But this extraneous moisture can be 

 mechanically removed in ten minutes, viz., by centrifugal 

 action ; I intend to use small maiutal power centrifugals * 

 such as are used in the United Provinces in small suo-ar 

 mills, so as to dry off a few seers of fish at a time before 

 submitting them to heat. The product will then be 

 ready for completing by heat the cellular drying begun 

 by the salt, and I intend to dry without that direct 

 baking in the sun which is now practised, and to 

 introduce the obvious methods, found everywhere except 

 in India, of drvino- not on the o-round but on scaffolds, 

 wire netting trays (Hakes), etc., so as to secure desicca- 

 tion on both sides simultaneously. Moreover there are 

 simple and cheap methods of heating and drying the air 

 and of increasing the rapidity of the air currents which 

 would take too long to describe here, but which will be 

 detailed in a pamphlet now under preparation ; by these 

 various methods I can secure a far more rapid yet far 

 more thorough drying than the primitive and mistaken 

 method now adopted. The methods are based on actual 

 practice in other countries as regards fruits, vegetables, 

 etc., methods practised by the simplest and most ignorant 

 farmers with the smallest of expenditure, and perfectly 

 suited and open even to Indian curers, many of whom 

 are well-to-do and intellioent ; I have also seen some of 

 them in use in English cod-salting yards, and in Maine, 

 Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, etc., certain artificial drying 

 developments are successfully practised. For these 

 experiments little capital and expenditure will be 

 required, but shedding and some manual machinery will 

 be needed. 



54. In this matter of drying one further step will be 

 taken as an experiment based on the dryers which I saw 



* Found to be impracticable and unnecessary. 



