6 U. S, BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



Thus, only the thin coating of salt adhering to the moist surface 

 goes into the barrel, with the exception of an occasional light 

 sprinkling of salt thrown in on the layer of sides in the tierce. 

 The sides are closely packed, without counting, in the barrel with 

 the skin side down, except the top layer, which is flesh down. Sides 

 are salted and packed as they come, with mixed sizes and grades. 

 Usually three men work together; the first lifts the sides from the 

 cart and drops them into the salt box, the second covers the flesh 

 with salt, and the third packs the sides in the barrel. 



Good judgment should be used in packing mixed sides in the 

 barrel, as they cure unevenly. The packer may improve the curing, 

 however, by the proper addition of loose salt where needed. For 

 instance, when two thick sides fall together there should be an extra 

 amount of salt, as each side requires more than the normal amount. 

 Small and thin sides take the salt more quickly and are apt to 

 become too hard, so they should have less free salt, the brine being 

 almost sufficient. For these reasons a preliminary grading at the 

 chilling tank would insure more uniform curing with less difficulty 

 and labor in grading the repack, and therefore better grading. If 

 sides have been on the drain cart more than a few minutes they 

 become dry on the surface, less free salt adheres, and extra salt 

 should be sprinkled over the layers in the barrel. 



Some California packers require the sides to be dropped, flesh 

 side down (instead of skin down), in the salt box, and free salt is 

 then rubbed over the skin and into the scored gashes, as it would 

 otherwise fail to enter the cuts in the skin in salting. This is gen- 

 erally considered a slightly better method, as the brine alone enter- 

 ing the scorings is scarcely sufficient for thick sides. This method 

 is not in general use, although the extra time required is negligible. 



The dry salt used is usually a mixture of two parts of Packers' 

 Fine to one part of Threequarters Ground. For the chilling tank 

 brine half ground salt is used, which is coarser in grjiin and dirty 

 looking, being less refined. English salt was used almost exclusively 

 in the past, but is little used now. 



SIZE OF CREW 



There is little uniformity in the size of mild-cure crews, from 

 4 to 20 men being employed, depending on the quantity of fish 

 ordinarily received. One splitter will keep from 6 to 12 men busy 

 sliming. When rushed, 3 men are used in preparing the fish for 

 the splitter. One fills the cleaning table with fish and assists in 

 scoring or heading, a second heads and scores, while the third cleans 

 (removes entrails). In slack times 2 or even 1 man performs the 

 •3 operations of heading, scoring, and cleaning. It is claimed that 

 1 experienced man, who can split, ought to put up three tierces of 

 mild cure alone in one day, performing all the steps from heading the 

 fish to coopering the barrels after packing, A proper labor charge 

 is variously estimated at from $7 to $12 per tierce, but this charge 

 necessarily varies greatly, because a full crew is often held idle on 

 the prospect of a heavy run of fish being received at any time. 



