56 Cold-Storage of Fish [Oct. 



stored products. Little, however, has been written concerning the 

 effect of cold-storage upon the chemical composition of the flesh 

 of fish. 



The Report of the U. S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries, for 

 1888, contains data of analyses of American food fishes. The 

 specimens were, for the most part, fresh fish, a few being pre- 

 served but none were cold-stored. More recent analyses of fresh 

 fish have been made by WiUiams and by Ulrich.^ ^ WilHams'^^ 

 work was conducted from an economic Standpoint, while that of 

 Ulrich was a purely chemical study of the composition of fish flesh. 

 It happens that both of these authors have analyzed specimens of 

 fish belonging to species similar to those analyzed by us. Mention 

 will be made of their results when our own are discussed. 



The work here reported was undertaken with the hope of ascer- 

 taining what change, if any, fish muscle undergoes during long 

 periods of cold-storage. In order that our experiments might be 

 properly controlled, a preliminary study was made of the muscle 

 of fresh fish. 



II. EXPERIMENTAL 



Preliminary handling of the fish. The fish used were the fluke, 

 also known as summer flounder {Paralithys dentatus Linn.), and 

 the winter flounder {Pseudoplenronectes americanus Walb.), both 

 of which were furnished by a reliable dealer. These fish were 

 selected because their habits imply that they might be particularly 

 prone to bacterial decomposition in cold-storage. The flounder is 

 peculiarly a "bottom fish," in fact is in the mud or sand most of 

 the time. The various lots of fish were taken from the dealer's 

 ordinary commercial products, which had been handled from the 

 water to Fulton Market (N. Y.), and in the cold-storage plant, in 

 accordance with the practical methods of the trade. As soon as a 

 catch arrived at the wharf, three fish were sent to the laboratory 

 and twenty-four others put into a cold-storage plant. At the plant 

 the fish were suitably dipped, f rozen and cold-stored as usual. Those 

 which came to the laboratory arrived packed with cracked ice in an 



11 Ulrich: Arch. Pharm., 191 1, ccxlix, p. 68. 



12 Williams: Chetn. News, 191 1, civ, p. 273. 



