196 THE WEALTH OF THE SEA 



fifteen hours, the fires are allowed to go down, and 

 the partially smoked herring, which have been placed 

 in the lower part of the smoke-house on the previous 

 day, are shifted to a place nearer the top of the 

 smoke-house. Another lot of fish is then placed in the 

 lower part of the smoke-house, and the preliminary 

 smoking is repeated. These operations are continued 

 from day to day until the smoke-house is entirely 

 filled with fish, after which the smoking fires are kept 

 burning for about three weeks or until the fish are 

 thoroughly cured. 



The smoke-houses usually are ordinary frame 

 buildings having a single gable with ventilators at 

 the top. In addition to the ventilators, the houses 

 have many doors and windows which are opened when 

 especially good ventilation is required. Since the fires 

 are built on the ground, the smoke-houses have no 

 floors. 



Hardwoods are used for 'the fires. White birch is 

 generally preferred, but almost any kind of hard- 

 wood may be used. In building the fires, small logs 

 from four to eight inches in diameter are arranged 

 in heaps a few feet from each other and about four 

 feet from the side of the building. Two or three logs 

 are placed together, with sufficient kindling to ignite 

 them. After the fires are burning well, large pieces of 

 water-logged or decayed timber are piled on the fire 

 to smother the flames and generate a dense smoke. 



Usually the herring are not taken from the smoke- 

 houses until required for packing or boning. If the 

 fish are not packed soon after the s^moking is com- 

 pleted, great care must be taken to prevent their 



