398 A HISTORY OF FISHES 



to-day, but as the commercial fishing industry grew up, more 

 efficient methods were required, and in a modern smoke-house 

 thousands of fish can be cured at one time. The type of wood 

 used for the fires is of special importance, hard woods such as 

 oak, hickory, and mahogany being preferred, as these contain 

 less oils and resins which might impart a taste to the fish. The 

 smoke is produced, not by burning the wood itself, but by 

 burning sawdust, which smoulders gently and gives off dense 

 clouds of smoke. 



The three principal types of smoked Herring are Red Herring, 

 Bloater, and Kipper. Red Herrings and Bloaters are both 

 cured without splitting, only being cut open sufficiently for 

 cleaning. The Red Herring is much more strongly salted, 

 being buried in salt for at least five days and then smoked for 

 ten days, whereas the Bloater is less heavily salted, and is 

 smoked only long enough to dry the fish but not to cure it. 

 The Red Herring can, therefore, be exported for considerable 

 distances, but the Bloater, like the Kipper, is a perishable 

 product, and cannot be kept for more than a few days at 

 ordinary temperatures. A Kipper is a Herring which has 

 been split down the back from head to tail, immersed in brine 

 for a period varying from fifteen to sixty minutes, slightly dried, 

 and finally smoked for several hours. In recent years many 

 Kippers have been cured by immersion in chemical mixtures, 

 but these are much inferior in taste, and may even prove 

 injurious as food. 



The smoking of Haddock dates back to the middle of the 

 eighteenth century, and originated at Findon in Scotland, the 

 smoked fish being known as Findon Haddocks, a name which 

 was later abbreviated to Findon Haddies, and finally to Finnan 

 Haddies. The fresh fish is decapitated and split down the 

 back, gutted, and an extra cut made part of the way down the 

 back from the right-hand side in order to facilitate the curing 

 of the thick muscles of the back. It is then washed, salted for a 

 short time in strong brine, dried, and then spread open on sticks 

 to be smoked for a period of five or six hours over a fire burning 

 a mixture of peat and sawdust. 



Drying is a method of curing which is used to any appreciable 

 extent mainly in tropical countries, where the heat of the sun's 

 rays is sufficiently powerful, although the dehydration of fish in 

 a scientific manner has been recently introduced with some 

 success into Germany. It is the favourite method of preservation 

 in India, Malay, the Philippines, China, and Japan, where 



