420 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



and smoked at the same time. Until the tish are thoroughly dry, if this 

 has not been obtained by their hanging in the open air, the smoke should 

 not be, too strong, and the lid should be kept open. The process is 

 longer or shorter, according to the use of strong and hot smoke, which 

 produces a better cooked but less durable article, or of weak and 

 cooler smoke, which makes the fish keep longer. Before the fish are 

 packed, they must be cooled off slowly. The larger the fish and the more 

 water it contains, the more difficult it will be to smoke it by the hot 

 process, which at any rate should be employed only after the fish has 

 been pressed, as otherwise it easily falls to pieces. 



We have received the following report of a smoke house in Holbek, 

 owned by Clausen Brothers : 



"The smoke-house has four ovens, built from time to time as the de- 

 mands of the trade required. From 16,000 to 24,000 herring can be 

 smoked per day. In one of the three large ovens 1,600 herring can be 

 smoked at the same time. 



" The chimney itself should not be less on the inside than 1 yard 

 square, as otherwise it is not capable of receiving the steam from the 

 fish when they are dried in the oven. The top should be covered with 

 a thin plate of cast iron, so that the rain cannot fall on the fish. For 

 supporting the front part of the oven it is best and cheapest to use an 

 old iron rail ; any other bar will scarcely be strong enough. The oveu 

 can easily be only half the size of one of the larger ones, but the larger 

 it is the more profitable it will be as regards the quantity of fuel con- 

 sumed. In front of the oven iron plates are hung on an iron pipe, 

 and these plates are taken off when shavings are put on the fire. 

 From these plates and up to the iron bar the opening is covered by a 

 piece of linen cloth, as it is necessary to look into the oven frequently 

 in order to see that the flames do not rise too high and burn the tails 

 of the fish. If this should be the case the flames must at once be 

 quenched by moist sawdust. The fuel used is exclusively oak and beech 

 shavings, particularly from coopers who make large barrels, as the 

 shavings must not be too fine ; beech and oak sawdust are also used, 

 but shavings and sawdust of pine-wood should never be employed, as 

 it is apt to give to the fish a resinous flavor. As soon as the herring 

 are brought in from the boat they are placed in a strong brine for three 

 or four hours, or they are left over night in a weaker brine. Some 

 people also use the dry-salting method. The fish are then washed and 

 strung on round wooden sticks, three fourths of an inch thick and 3 feet 

 long. This stiok is stuck through the gills and comes out at the mouth. 

 According to the size, from 18 to 21 fish are strung on every stick, 

 always in such a manner as not to touch each other. They are then 

 hung in the open air and dried in the sunshine, if possible, and then 

 put in the oven for smoking. The smoking process may take from three 

 to six hours, according to the drying which the fish have undergone in 

 the air. After the tish have been smoked they are generally allowed 



