154 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISTI COMMISSION. 



Wnni' is ojily one .siuoke-liouse, owiicd by (lie linn ol' Ivelsall lUu(Iier.s. 

 Tiie other sniokc-liouses are in Douglas, a town on Ibe east eoast of the 

 island, whence there is daily communication with Liverpool by steamer. 

 The herring are conveyed across the island by wagons. The Messrs. 

 Kelsall employ in their smoke-house twenty-four girls and ten men. 

 The girls all come from the eastern part of England, and generally find 

 employment in the smoke-liouse all the year round. Their wages are 

 10 shillings per week. 



After the herring have been cleaned, and have lain in brine for an 

 hour, they are exposed to a strong smoke for about four hours, there 

 being a constant current of air through the oven. After having under- 

 gone this treatment, they are prepared as " kippers," for those markets 

 whicli the Isle of Man principally supplies, namely, Liverpool and Man- 

 chester. The reason why the exjiortation of fish is limited to the north 

 of England is this, that only firms from that part are represented on 

 the island, and that these markets buy up all that the smoke-houses 

 can produce. It may be stated here that ^' kippers " intended for 

 markets in the south of England, especially London, must be smoked 

 more strongly and have a higher color than is liked in the middle 

 counties. The north of England, especially Liverpool and Manchester, 

 prefer " kippers" of a light color, such as four hours' smoking will pro- 

 duce. 



"Kippers" are of course cooked before they are eaten, and are then 

 very delicious. After the fish have undergone the smoking process 

 and have cooled off, they are packed in small boxes, 5 dozen in each, 

 the belly downward. When the fish are of fine quality, such a box 

 weighs about 17 i^ouuds. The lid of the box is stami)ed with the coat of 

 arms of the Isle of Man, and this stamp is a sufficient recommendation. 

 If the buyer desires a good quality of fish, he buys Manx '' kippers," 

 although they arc always higherpriced than any other fish. He does not 

 open the box, as is always done with Scotch '' kippers." The stamp on 

 the lid of the box is a suflicient guarantee for the good quality of the 

 article. The price of Manx "kippers" varies between 5 and shillings 

 a box, while Scotch " kippers," only when there is a lack of Manx "kij)- 

 pers," will bring 4J or 5 shillings a box. The Kelsall Brothers during 

 the last month cured on an average 80 mease per day, that is, about 

 SOO boxes, or 42,000 herring per day. But this is by no means the larg- 

 est number of fish which this firm can turn out, as thej' possess seven 

 ovens; and to j^roduce the above-mentioned quantity they eni])loy 

 only three. The cause of this small production is this, that they do not 

 sell a single box on commission, but regulate their production entirely 

 by what their wholesale houses can sell in the Liverpool and Manchester 

 markets. "Kippers" all through the season (which begins in spring 

 near the coast of Scotland, and ends in December near Yarmouth 

 on the east coast of England) are the principal smoked fish in the 

 English fish-markets. These fish, which form a favorite article of food 



