THE PRESERVATION OF FISH 189 



then piled either in the hold or on the deck. Upon 

 arrival in port, the fish are hoisted out of the hold in 

 large baskets. After the weight has been taken, the 

 heads are cut off, and the fish are thoroughly cleaned, 

 washed, and placed in layers in large casks called 

 butts. Salt is sprinkled over each layer of fish, and 

 a pile of salt is placed on top. The salters prefer sea 

 salt from Turk's Island or Spain to domestic salt for 

 curing the fish. 



Much of the work of salting the cod is done by 

 fishermen who are too old to endure the hardships 

 of the long perilous trips to the banks. You need 

 never hesitate in addressing one of these old heroes 

 of many a terrific storm; call him captain, and you 

 will seldom miss your guess. Even if he never went 

 to sea he will smile, for in Gloucester the .sea-captains 

 come first in the public opinion. 



After the cod have remained in their own pickle 

 in the butts until they are thoroughly salted, they 

 are removed and stacked in large piles, where the 

 pickle drains and is pressed out of them. Curiously 

 this operation is called water-horsing. When no more 

 pickle runs from the fish they are spread out on the 

 flakes to dry. This is one of the most picturesque fea- 

 tures of the industry, as the flakes usually are built 

 on the roofs of the buildings, where the drying fish 

 are visible for miles around. A flake is a rack or lat- 

 tice bed, three to five feet wide, constructed of tri- 

 angular wooden strips about an inch wide, nailed 

 about three inches apart to a substantial framework 

 built about thirty inches above the roof or floor. 



The salted cod must be carefully watched if a 



