132 IT. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



way to the spawning grounds, shrink more — sometimes up to 35 

 per cent. 



After holding the fish in storage for at least 20 and not more 

 than !)() days they are taken out of the tierces. Each side of fish 

 should be lifted out carefully, as described above, and sponged with 

 a large sponge until all salt and slime are entirely removed, leaving 

 only a clean, red side of fish. Either pure ice water or ice pickle 

 may be used for this washing, but it will depend entirely on the 

 quality and condition of the fish. Soft, poor fish would require 

 pickle, but good firm fish may be washed in clean ice water. 



The sides are then weighed and graded accordingly, 6 to 8 pounds, 

 8 to 10 pounds, and so on, being the ^ades. Sides of 11 pounds 

 and over are called large fish, and "L" is marked on the side of the 

 tierce. Some curers grade their sides from 9 to 11 pounds and 

 class them as medium and mark them "M;" smaller sides are termed 

 small and are marked ''S." 



After the sides have been graded they should be counted and 

 repacked, the defective sides, such as thin-bellied, torn or broken, 

 being put b}^ themselves. Fish which are considered perfect are 

 called No. 1 ; those which do not come up to that standard are 

 termed No. 2, and are marked accordingly; while fish that Imve 

 any taint of sourness are marked "T." In repacking, the sides of 

 fish should be replaced as nearly as possible in their original position, 

 those curved in shape being placed against the sides of the cask and 

 straight pieces laid in the center of the tier. No salt is used in repack- 

 ing, but as soon as the tierce is filled, the head put in, and the air test ap- 

 plied it is laid on its bilge and filled up with ice-cold pickle made to a 

 strength of 90° salo meter (90 per cent saturation) that can be made 

 from fresh or salt water, whichever is handiest and cleanest, half -ground 

 salt being used. There will be about 830 pounds of fish on an average 

 in the tierce after repacking, and some 14 gallons of pickle may be 

 required to fill the cask up. Tli(\y are then put back into cold storage 

 and pickled at the bilge daily for at least a week. If kept for any 

 length of time, they would, of course, have to be tested, regularly — a 

 tap with a hammer would do — and any leakage promptly rectified. 

 If properly cured, the fish should keep in good condition for months 

 in cold storage, provided the casks are sound and kept full of pickle. 



On the head of each tierce are put the following marks: Initials of 

 packer or packers; initials of place where packed; number of tierce 

 (consecutive); number of sides in tierce, the tare, and the gross 

 weight (weight of pickle not counted); quality of fish (I, II, or T); 

 and size of fish (L, M, or S). 



If of first quality, no mark is necessary, but second-quality and 

 tainted fish have to be noted. 



In the early days of the industry different preparations, which 

 included salicylic and boracic acids, were used to help preserve the 

 fish. This caused much complaint from the Germans, and finally 

 their Government subjected our product to a rigid inspection, with 

 most salutary results, as now it is one of the purest and best products 

 put up on this coast, the use of acids being done away with entirely. 



The king salmon is almost invaria])ly the species mild cured, being 

 the only one large enough to answer the requirements of the trade. 

 In 1907 a Ketciiikan (Alaska) packer put up a quantity of coho, dog, 

 and humpback salmon, but he found so much difficulty in disposing 



