BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 41.S 



sold. The difference between the contents of a barrel which has been 

 resalted and one where this has not been done is often as much as 30 

 per cent, 12 per cent of which is caused by the salt. Before the roe is 

 shipped it should, therefore, be allowed to stand and settle for a week. 

 "We must not fail to mention that the temptation is very great, and in 

 most cases irresistible, to mix inferior roe with the good during the re- 

 packing. Every buyer of roe should therefore be on his guard when 

 he buys roe which has been repacked, and examine not only its quan- 

 tity and quality, but also whether it has been salted too much. Roe 

 salted in boxes is never as valuable as roe salted in barrels, even if the 

 raw material was the same. When salted in barrels it settles so firmly 

 that all air is excluded, while there will always be more or less air be- 

 tween the layers if the roe has already reached a certain degree of stiff- 

 ness before it is put into the barrels. Roe put up in barrels to begin 

 with will therefore keep much better than roe which has been repacked, 

 and will for this reason alone be more valuable. 



Some people are in the habit of laying the roe in snow and of not 

 salting it until it is to be sold, which custom is very objectionable. 

 When under the snow, water penetrates the roe and freezes, so that for 

 a little while it retains an artificial firmness. But the advantage to the 

 seller is only an imaginary one, as only very inexperienced buyers will 

 be deceived thereby. On the other hand, the seller runs the risk of 

 losing a good deal, as roe put under the snow is apt to turn sour and 

 lose its value. Sour roe, when salted, becomes brittle and is apt to 

 crumble to pieces during the process. It can be detected at once by its 

 odor. The Loffoden fishery law of July 1, 181G, and the Finmark fishery 

 law of September 13, 1830 (which last-mentioned law is still in force, 

 although it is of little practical value), prohibited the putting of roe 

 under the snow for more than twenty-four hours before salting. As far 

 as the Loffoden Islands are concerned, the law is no longer in force, 

 and it is considered very objectionable to put roe under the snow. 



Fresh roe freezes when the temperature is two or three degrees below 

 zero (Reaumur). In frosty weather the tubs with roe should, therefore, 

 be protected against the cold, either by covering them or by placing 

 them in a closed shed ; and the salting should begin before the roe 

 commences to spoil. Frozen roe should never be salted, as the salt 

 melts before the roe is entirely thawed out, and a great portion of it is 

 therefore not exposed to the influence of the salt. If, as may happen, 

 it freezes without any fault of the Salter, it should for some time be 

 laid in salt water, or, still better, iu brine, before it is salted. It is 

 not advisable to defer the salting until milder weather sets in, and the 

 roe thaws of itself, as this will generally tend to make it sour. JSor 

 should it be laid in snow for the purpose of thawing it, unless it can be 

 salted within a couple of days. 



In order to make a certain quantity of roe go a long way, it is in 

 some places salted in a mild brine, whereby it retains more water than 



