234 BULLETIN QF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



Since the Scotch method of salting herrings has, in spite of violent 

 opposition and in spite of expositions, been introduced on the coast of 

 Bohuslan ihe price for herrings salted according to this method rose 

 iin mediately. From the southern part of Sweden nothing but fresh her- 

 ring are exported, whilst Scotland exports large quantities of smoked 

 herring and gets a higher price for this article. By introducing better 

 methods of salting and smoking and by preparing the small fish as sar- 

 dines, the income from our large herring and small herring fisheries 

 could doubtless be doubled; but, as will be shown below, expositions 

 have positively hindered the introduction of such improvements. 



Among the most remarkable and most incorrect statements in Pro- 

 fessor Smitt's pamphlet is the following relative to the Edinburgh Ex- 

 position, which also aimed at laying down the law in matters pertaining 

 to the fisheries: "The knowledge gaiued by the exposition has been 

 productive of great life and activity, especially on the coast of Bohus- 

 lan. Salters, packers, and smokers have been brought over from Scot- 

 land, large and improved cooper shops have been set up, and many new 

 salteries, oil refineries, and guano factories have been established." All 

 this sounds very well; it is only a pity that the above mentioned expo- 

 sition has had nothing whatever to do with these improvements. The 

 greater life and activity has simply been caused by the greater abundance 

 of fish, particularly during the winter of 1881-'82; and the measures for 

 introducing improved methods of preparing fish had been taken prior to 

 said exposition. Of the oil refineries, one was in full blast long before 

 the exposition, and the other had been planned before the exposition was 

 opened; and the third and smallest has not been established in conse- 

 quence of any knowledge .gained in Scotlaud, where this industry is not car- 

 ried on. As regards the salting of herring, there had been, long before the 

 Edinburgh Exposition^ strong sentiment in favor of the Scotch method, 

 principally fostered by the press and by descriptions of this method 

 published in pamphlet form and distributed on the coast as early as 

 January, L878. This sentiment also determined one of the largest her- 

 ring firms on the coast of Bohuslan to introduce the Scotch method of 

 salting long before the Edinburgh Exposition, and induced the great 

 cooper establishment at Uddevalla to adopt the shape and size of the 

 Scotch herring barrel. Herring-barrel factories do not exist in Scot- 

 land, where all barrels are hand-made. The fact that three fishermen 

 were, at the expense of an association, sent to Scotland to attend the 

 exposition, has not benefited our fishing industries, as the information 

 gained by them was very little compared with what they would have 

 gained by a visit to the east coast of Scotland during the period when 

 heiring are caught and salted. The resolution passed by the associa- 

 tion referred to. to introduce Scotch coopers and salters was, doubtless, 

 owing to the idea that something might be learned from a country where 

 the herring industry had reached a very high degree of perfection, and 

 not because knowledge had been gained at an exposition. 



