66 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



relating to the fish trade, was good enough to pickle several samples of 

 herring according to the Norwegian plan. Some of these samples I 

 have examined with the most satisfactory results. Herring pickled on 

 the 19th of January- are as fresh and sweet to-day [January 28?] as they 

 were when introduced 'into the mixture, and when cooked they can 

 scarcely be distinguished from herring only a few hours out of the 

 water. I understand that equally good results have been obtained by 

 Mr. McCombie, of Peterhead, with haddock. 



Let us now indicate how the boracic aeid should be applied. For 

 preserving herring, the best plan seems to be to make a mixture of 

 powdered- boracic acid and fine salt, taking two pounds of salt to every 

 pound of boracic acid. This mixture having been made, the fresh her- 

 ring should be arranged in layers in a barrel, in exactly the same way 

 as cured herring are packed, and each tier covered with a thin layer of 

 the mixture. When the barrel is full it should be tightened down in 

 the ordinary way, and then "pickled" with a weak solution of pure bo 

 racic acid. For treating a barrel of herring in this manner, 2^ pounds 

 of acid and 5 pounds of salt are required for spreading on the tiers of 

 herring during packing, and about 10 ounces of pure acid for dissolving 

 in the fresh water used for i^ickling. After further experiments it may 

 be found advisable to alter somewhat the proportions here given. The 

 barrels when packed should be kept in a cool place where there is a 

 nearly constant temperature. The expense of pickling a barrel of her- 

 ring (a barrel holds from 800 to 1,000 herring) in this way need not be 

 great, for boracic acid can be purchased under Gd. per pound. A bar- 

 rel of herring, which cost originally 8s., might be preserved in boracic 

 acid and delivered in London for 14s.; this is supposing the pickling to 

 cost 3s. and the carriage 3s. If sold for 20s. {i. e., three or four for Id.), 

 a considerable margin would be left for profits to the curers and others. 



In addition to preserving fish, boracic acid might be of use for pre- 

 serving fishermen's bait. Often the fishermen (or more often the fish- 

 erwomen), at a considerable expenditure of time and money, bait their 

 lines in vain. All arrangements are made for a night's fishing, when a 

 change of weather prevents the boats reaching the fishing ground. Be- 

 fore another night arrives the bait has usually lost its catching powers, 

 and the tedious process of baiting the lines has to be repeated. Whether 

 boracic acid will preserve bait the fishermen only can settle. If at An- 

 struther, or some other fishing station, two or three fishermen use bait 

 which has been preserved for some days in an equal mixture of salt and 

 boracic acid, and compare its catching power with fresh bait, they will be 

 able to ascertain whether this preservative will in any way lessen their 

 labors. The United States fishermen often have wonderful success 

 when they use frozen herring as bait; the herring are usually frozen 

 and exported from Labrador. 



It may be hoped this system of treating fresh fish will be useful. It 

 ought at least to enable our curers to compete with Norway, for in ad- 



