(JOI). 



479 



spawiiiiig-places and in the fjords, soinctiines in 50 — 90 

 fathoms of watci'. 'I'hcsc nets have; incslu'S 86 — 98 

 imn. i^quare, and arc from 15 to 20 meshes dec]). They 

 are shot partly al(in^ the liottom {hoften-giwn, liundgavn 

 at Lofodcn) and partly nearer the surface {/fijt/jarii, 

 /loif-'^avn at Lofoden =^ tloatini;' nets). 



The tlesli of the Cod is firm, white, and (jf <^'ood 

 flavour, best when fresh, but only a very small pro- 

 portion is consumed in this form. It is generally salted, 

 and appears in the market under the name of Haherdiiie 

 or Labcrddii {Kabtljo). The curing takes place, brief!}', 

 as follows: Immediately after the capture of the Ush it 

 is killed l)y a deep slit across the throat (isthmus), so 

 that the blood nia\' drain away. Then it is opened 

 along the belly, the head is cut off, and the backbone 

 removed to the third vertebra l)ehind the vent; the dark 

 j)eritoneum and the entrails should also he removed at 

 the same time. Finally it is washed, and laid on twigs 

 or in baskets for the water to run off. The actual salting 

 takes place, as soon as possible, either on board the vessel 

 or in the factory on shore. It is performed in one of 

 two Avays: in Ijins or layers, when it is called dry-salting, 

 or in watertight casks, when it is called pickling. 



When the fish are salted on shipboard, a bottom 

 layer of salt is laid for the purpose in chests or l)ins. 

 In these the fish are arranged, well strewn with and 

 imbedded in salt, with the broad end downwards and 

 the tail upwards, though not quite straight up and 

 down, in rows across the bin, until the whole Ijottom 

 layer is full and compact. Then enough salt is strewn 

 on the top to cover the tails almost entirely. The other 

 layers, which are arranged one above another, are pre- 

 pared in the same way. 



In from 5 to 10 days, acctn-ding to the warmth 

 or coldness of the weather, the tish has absorbed the 

 necessary amount of salt. It is then taken out of the 

 l)in, dried in the o])en air, and laid in a stack, with 

 weights up(jn it, to be pressed. It is then ready 

 for use. 



I)ri/-s(iUiiH/ (111 laml is performed in the same 

 manner. Tlie most inqioi'tant p(jint to be observed, if 

 an article that will iiear keeping is requii'ed, is that 

 the fish shall be laid out to drv in sucli a position 

 that the wind may have free passage above and below 

 it. The spot chosen should be shady, but free from 

 damp. 



Pickling is cai-ried out in watertight casks. The 

 fish is killed and cleaned as in the process of dry- 

 salting, and then salted in casks, tlie split fish l)eing 

 placed in a layer on the flat side, inside to inside and 

 outside to outside, with enough salt between the layers 

 to prevent (jiie layer from touching the next. In fi-om 

 5 to 8 days the fish is sufficientlv salted. It is then 

 taken out of the cask and laid in a stack, that the brine 

 may drain away, before it is dried and pressed as de- 

 scribed above. 



When the salt tish is discharged from the vessel, 

 it should ])e rinsed in fresh Ijrine and pressed in heaps, 

 the tails being always turned outwards. In a few days 

 it should I)e taken out of the press and dried in a 

 breezy spot, but not in the sunshine. 



The most necessary condition is that the tish shall 

 Ije bled and entirely cleaned as soon as possible; and 

 a good salt article can be manufactured only of fresh 

 fish, not more than a dav or two after its capture. 



(Ekstkom, Smitt.) 



The Arctic seas possess three Cod-species, each of 

 which has its interest in the Scandinavian fauna, though 

 none of them has yet been found within its limits. 



The nearest approach to our Common Cod Ave find 

 in tlie species which Fabricius" described from Green- 

 land under the name of (iadus barbntus, and which the 

 Esciuimaux call ogak, orak, or oitak (PI. XXII, ^-1, fig. 1: 

 Gadus ague, d^, V'o of the natural size; Claushavn, Dr. 

 P. Oberg). Fabricius, according to the Liiuuean me- 



" Fauna Groenlandica, p. 1-16. 



' Fauna Boreali-Americana, Fishes, p. 246. 



' D. Vid. Selsk. Naturv. og Matem. Afh., Deel 7, p. 127, No. 



'' G.\iM., Voy. en ^Scandinavie et Laponie. p). 19. 



thod described above, distinguished between the Cod 

 {Gadus eallaiias) and the Kabiljo {(radus ))t(nrhita) on 

 the coast of Greenland, and also thought that in the 

 Linna?an name of Gadus haibatus, which really belongs 

 to the Bib, tliough Lixx.>;us also ap|)Iied it to the Com- 

 mon Cod, he had a suitable title for tlie Esquimaux ogak. 

 RiCHARDSOx'' saw the fault in the name and changed it 

 to Gadus ogac, \vl)ich Kkimiardt" soon afterwards wrote 

 Gadus orak. while KiiovKR'', probably by a slip of the 



35. 



