FISHES AND MANKIND 395 



Fresh Stale 



2. The flesh in the region 2. The flesh below the back- 

 just below the backbone is pale bone shows a reddish dis- 

 in colour. coloration. 



3. There is no trace of any 3. The flesh smells tainted or 

 unpleasant smell. putrid. 



4. The flesh can be removed 4. The flesh can be removed 

 from the backbone only with from the backbone cleanly and 

 some difficulty, and pieces ad- easily. 



here to the bone. 



5. The walls of the abdomen 5. The walls of the abdomen 

 are firm and elastic. are soft and pulpy. 



6. The gills are reddish or 6. The gills are greyish and 

 pinkish, with characteristic sHmy. 



hues. 



7. The eyes are full and 7. The eyes are sunken and 

 prominent, the pupils being greyish. 



clear and bright. 



A few of the larger fishing vessels, making more or less 

 extensive voyages, cure their catches in some way on board, 

 but the majority carry supphes of ice sufficient to ensure that 

 the fish first caught are landed in a saleable condition. The 

 freshness of the suppUes reaching the consumers is further 

 ensured by the presence at the inland markets of inspectors, 

 whose duty it is to examine any doubtful consignments, and to 

 condemn those considered to be unfit for human consumption. 



The bulk of the fish landed at the ports is consumed in a 

 fresh condition, but the preservation offish by freezing or curing 

 is an important industry. Freezing is, as a general rule, only 

 used to preserve the fish for short periods until they can be 

 placed on the markets in a fresh state, but there are various 

 types of plant now in use for more efficient refrigeration. Indeed, 

 with the improvements in the freezing methods made in recent 

 years, and with the general speeding up of modern transport 

 facilities, cold-stored fish is more and more tending to compete 

 with cured fish, and in time to come may largely replace it. 

 In the early days of civilisation the heavy curing of many 

 kinds of fish was almost essential, but the tendency nowadays 

 is for the harder cures to be replaced either by fresh fish or by 

 lightly cured preparations. 



Four principal methods of curing fish are in use, namely, 



