200 THE WEALTH OF THE SEA 



Fish Preservation by Drying 



Fish drying, like fish smoking, is a very ancient 

 industry, having been discovered by wild tribes in 

 the tropics who found that their surplus of fish 

 could be cured in the sun either with or without 

 salting. Because of the hot climate and the abund- 

 ance of food that may be had in the tropics for the 

 gathering, the natives are not inventive and seldom 

 take the trouble to improve their methods of prep- 

 aration of food. In cold climates, on the other hand, 

 where fresh foods can be obtained in certain seasons 

 only with great difficulty, the inhabitants have been 

 forced to study food preservation. Thus it has come 

 about that although few fish are dried in temperate 

 zones, all the improvements in the processes of dehy- 

 dration have been invented by the people of these 

 regions. Dried fish prepared by the ancient processes 

 employed in the tropical climates are not especially 

 palatable. On this account there is much prejudice 

 against dried fish. For this reason, the recent im- 

 proved processes of dehydrating fish have not gained 

 much headway in the United States. 



Since dehydrated fish weighs only about a tenth 

 of the original weight of the fresh fish, it is eco- 

 nomically transported in this form. For this reason, 

 during the World War, when the transportation 

 system of the country was overtaxed, comprehen- 

 sive researches were carried out to determine methods 

 of preparing dehydrated fish which when rehydrated 

 would be as palatable as salted or smoked fish. The 

 methods which were invented produced a palatable 



