446 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



to squeeze out part of the water. If the weather is unfavorable for 

 drying the kench is repiled every second or third day, and this may 

 be continued for 10 days or more. With full-pickle fish, such as are 

 prepared on this coast, it is not necessary to kench or water-horse so 

 thoroughly as in the case of slack-salted or hard-dried fish. 



From the water-horse the fish go to the flakes, which are of two 

 kinds, stationary and canting, the former being the more common. 

 The flake consists of a lattice bed about 8 feet wide, 30 inches high, 

 and as long as the requirements may demand. The lattice used on 

 this bed is made of triangular strips 1 inch on the base, placed 

 about 3 inches apart. The fish therefore rest upon a sharp edge 

 about every 4 inches, this giving the maximum circulation of air 

 about the fish. The canting-flake frames, of which there are a num- 

 ber in use on this coast, are fixed only at the middle and to a hori- 

 zontal axis, so that they can be turned at an angle with the horizon, 

 in order to expose only the edge of the fish to the sun and to get 

 the benefit of even a slight breeze. They are practical only in yards 

 running north and south. 



Rectangular boxes, with peaked roofs, known as " flake boxes," 

 are used for covering the fish, when gathered together in small heaps, 

 from dampness or rain. This box is generally 38 inches long, 22 

 inches wide, and 14 inches high, the whole being made of three- 

 fourths-inch rough boards. 



The fish are spread out carefully on the flakes with the face side 

 up, and the drying is continued as long as may be necessary for the 

 particular grade of fish. The full-pickle fish are dried for the short- 

 est period, as they can not be skinned readily if too dry ; and, further- 

 more, the trade seems to desire fish that are moist and not too hard, 

 and these retain practically 50 per cent of their water. If the sun 

 is fairly warm and there is a good breeze, the drying can be accom- 

 plished in about 10 hours as the minimum time, but this may be 

 greatly increased with unfavorable weather conditions. Only one 

 drying is usual for the full-cured fish. 



Fish intended for Porto Rico or export usually are kenched 

 directly from the vessel and not placed in butts. When needed they 

 are dried for three days, " sweated " for two days, then dried again 

 for two days. The object of the sweating is to bring the moisture 

 out of the interior of the fish. The drying on the flakes removes the 

 moisture from the surface and crystallizes the salt, but to get the 

 moisture out of the center of the meat the fish must be piled in the 

 kench, where the dry salt takes up some of the remaining moisture 

 so that the second drying on the flakes has a greater effect. The 

 export fish usually are dried sufficiently hard to withstand the pressure 

 of the thumb in the thick part of the flesh without retaining the 

 impression. The full-pickle fish lose about 9 per cent of their 

 weight in drying on the flakes. When cured they retain about 50 

 per cent of their moisture, and the hard-dried from 25 to 30 per cent. 



The sanitary conditions around a flake yard must be looked after 

 carefully, as otherwise flies will breed and cause fly-blowing on the 

 slack-salted fish. 



Nearly all of the home stations on this coast have large artificial 

 driers. These consist of inclosed rooms in which there are shelves 

 of hot-water pipes, above which trays of fish are placed, and the air 

 is made to circulate over them by means of a large fan. These clrv 



