BULLETIN OK THE DNITED STATES PISH COMMISSION. 317 



afterwards the Hues are set. This is always done while the boat is un- 

 der way, and the hooks are baited as the lines are being Bet, by 2 or 8 

 men who stand round the basket and put the bait on the hooks. Ah 

 the hooks are arranged in order along the cork hand round the upper 

 edge of the basket, each man takes one in his turn, so that the baiting 

 is done easily, even if the boat is in rapid motion. An entire small 

 herring is attached to each hook by passing the barb through the vent. 



At the beginning of the fisheries each fisherman makes a contract 

 with the dealer whom he furnishes with fish. It a boat stays out more 

 than three days a reduction is made in the price, according to the 

 appearance of tne fish and the time the boat was out. 



The board furnished the fishermen is generally good, consisting prin- 

 cipally of wheat bread, cheese, butter, and nearly every day pudding, 

 besides various canned goods. Tea and coffee are the usual drinks, 

 liquor being used but very rarely. When in port the men live on shore, 

 generally with the merchant who buys the fish. 



As the fisheries are almost exclusively carried on with lines, the fish 

 are rarely killed, as they are generally dead before they reach the boat. 

 All fish, however, which are taken with hand-lines are killed, either by 

 a cut across the throat or by driving the kuife into the heart. 



The fishermen of the Shetland Islands clean the fish in the same man- 

 ner as the Faroe and Iceland fishermen, so that the backbone remains 

 in the left side, while in Norway it is usually left in the right side. It 

 is cut through 1 or 2 vertebrae, from 18 to 24 vertebrae from the tail, 

 according to the size of the fish. The knife used generally has a length 

 of about 31£ centimeters and a breadth of 5£ centimeters.. The blade 

 has an upward curve, and the point is semicircular. Those made by 

 blacksmiths on the spot are preferred to machine-made knives. Accord- 

 ing to my opinion the Shetland fishermen cut too deep, often down to 

 the skin, which weakens the consistency of the fish 5 and several of the 

 fishermen agree with me on this point. 



As soon as the fish has been cleaned it is washed. The washing is done 

 in boxes. The side at which the washer stands is somewhat slanting, 

 while the other, alongside of the cleaning bench, is straight. The fish 

 are pushed into the box from the bench. The water is pumped out of 

 the sea and is led into the boxes through troughs. Most of the boxes 

 have over the bottom a grating, under which that portion of the dirt 

 which sinks to the bottom can gather, whereby the water is kept clean 

 for a considerable time. When the water is to be changed, the dim 

 water is allowed to flow off through a hole in the bottom. The washing 

 of the fish is generally done by women, and brushes are used. There 

 is generally one washer to each cleaner. All impurities are carefully 

 removed, especially all blood, while at present people are not very par 

 ticular about the thin black skin. After the fish have been washed 

 they are placed in boxes made of laths placed at intervals of LM' centi- 

 meters, so that the water can flow off. 



