62 



BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



very rapid, tbey should in the evening be placed in a press, and left in 

 it until they have resumed their smooth appearance. It may be laid 

 down as a general rule that the drying i)rocess should never be forced, 

 but occupy from four to five weeks. The bladders should be protected 

 against rain, as rain-drops cause spots, which make them a second-class 

 article. 



When the bladders, by being pressed hard, do not leave any spots, 

 they may be considered completely dry, and can keep for years. Thor- 

 oughly dried bladders are not apt to mold. The main points aimed at 

 are to give them a smooth, even appearance, and a pure, white color, 

 withovit spots, which can be reached by a thorough and careful treat- 

 ment. The preparation of dried bladders as an article of food, there- 

 fore, requires patient labor. 



For shipping, the bladders are pressed into wooden boxes or tin cans 

 holding from 6 J to 100 pounds. From a barrel of salted bladders 

 weighing about 264 pounds and containing 4,200 to 4,400 bladders 

 (about 10 bladders to a pound), from 100 to 110 pounds of dried blad- 

 ders are obtained, that is, from 37^ to 41§ per cent. 



Capt. J. W. Collins* gives the following statement of weights: One 

 thousand i)ounds of round cod yield from 9 to 10 i:)ounds of bladders. 

 When scraped they weigh 6i pounds; salted, 5f; and when dried 

 about 1^ pounds. According to this statement 100 pounds of salt 

 bladders would yield 25 pounds of dried bladders. 



During the past six years an average of about 30,000 jiounds of fish 

 bladders has been annually exported from Norway, at an average price 

 of about 15 cents per pound. The ])rice, however, fluctuates very much. 

 The average price of a barrel of salt bladders is about $3.22. Captain 

 Collins stated that in 1879 the prices paid at Gloucester were about 4 

 cents per pound for salted bladders, and from 22 to 35 cents per pound 

 for dried bladders. 



According to Mr. Earll, in the United States, bladders are often salted 

 together with tongues, the price being stated at from $8 to $12 per 

 barrel. 



In Canada, bladders and tongues are also salted together. The Ca- 

 nadian fishery statistics give the quantities of bladders as follows: 



*See F. C. Report for 1878, p. 703. 



