198 THE WEALTH OF THE SEA 



siderable value. Fertilizer prepared in this way is 

 of much greater value than the original waste, as 

 the oil is of negative value as a fertilizer. 



Large whole herring which have been lightly 

 smoked and well salted are known as bloaters. In 

 the preparation of this grade of smoked herring, 

 the fish are placed in strong brine containing some 

 solid salt for two or three days. Then, after being 

 taken in dip-nets and washed in sea-water, they are 

 strung on sticks in the same manner as in the prepa- 

 ration of hard herring. When they have drained 

 sufficiently on herring horses, they are hung in the 

 lower part of the smoke-house where they are close 

 to the fire. Bloaters are smoked for at least three and 

 not more than seven days. Since this grade of fish is 

 prepared for immediate consumption and cannot be 

 stored for very long, the length of the smoking 

 period depends to a large extent upon the distance 

 of the market and the demands of the particular 

 trade to which it is sold. Bloaters are packed soon 

 after smoking, usually in paper-lined boxes each 

 holding one hundred fish, or about thirty-five pounds. 



Recently kippered herring have come into favor 

 among connoisseurs of smoked fish. In Maine, the 

 fish intended for kippering are split down the back 

 from head to tail in the same way in which mackerel 

 are split, and then placed in strong brine for about 

 an hour. After draining and drying, they are hung 

 in the smoke-house for at least six and not more 

 than sixteen hours. The slightly smoked fish are 

 then packed in wooden boxes for immediate ship- 

 ment. Such a process will not preserve the fish for 



