REFRIGERATION OF FISH 553 



pan-frozen fish and to accommodate odd numbers of cakes left over 

 from the larger standard boxes. 



The boxes usually are bought as shooks for convenience in shipment 

 and are stored in a convenient dry room, attic, or shed. Nailing 

 machines sometimes are used in the larger freezers, but in many 

 freezers the management finds that fluctuations in the volume of 

 business often leave the laborers with little to do, at which times 

 they can be turned to nailing boxes by hand. The boards are nailed 

 together as snugly as possible to avoid air circulation between the 

 inside and outside. The b*oxes cost, in shook form, of North Caro- 

 lina pine, from 40 to 55 cents each, in carload lots. White-pine 

 boxes are considerably more expensive. 



WRAPPING FISH AND LINING BOXES 



Some fancy varieties of fish, such as mackerel, salmon, and white- 

 fish, are wrapped with vegetable parchment paper before they are 

 packed. The wrapping improves the appearance of the fish and may 

 carry a printed trade-mark or advertising matter. It is further 

 useful in protecting the fish from drying and rusting. Sometimes, 

 usually for export, the boxes are lined with vegetable parchment 

 paper. Parchment is used because it resists the action of water when 

 the fish defrost. This lining paper also may bear a printed trade- 

 mark. Fancy grades of frozen salmon and halibut are sometimes 

 labeled individually. A paper label, not gummed, bearing the trade- 

 mark, guarantee, and name of the producer, is wetted and applied 

 to the side of the fish before the latter is glazed. After the glaze is 

 applied the label can not be removed without damaging the glaze or 

 defrosting the fish. 



PRECOOLING AND WETTING BOXES 



In freezers where the best and most careful work is done the boxes 

 are wetted before they are filled and are also precooled for several 

 hours in a cold room. The weighing and packing is done in the 

 glazing room or other cold room. A dry box absorbs some of the 

 moisture from the fish, but if it is wet the absorbed water later 

 freezes, to make an icy box that helps substantially to reduce drying. 

 By packing and weighing in a cold room a low temperature of air in 

 the box is assured at the start, though this factor is of comparatively 

 little importance because of the very low heat capacity of the small 

 quantity of air in the box. 



WEIGHING AND MARKING 



The customary weight of fish in a freezer is the frozen weight. 

 This, of course, is usually greater than the fresh weight because of 

 the glaze. As the boxes are of approximately uniform weight, the 

 boxes are weighed after they are packed and closed, and the tare 

 weight of box is deducted from the gross to give the net weight. 

 The gross, tare, and net weights are then marked or stenciled on the 

 box, together with the lot number and date, variety, and size of fish, 

 which are stamped on. Box numbers, where they are used, also are 

 stenciled on. These markings are put on the end of the box. Some 



