536 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



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-belhed, torn or broken, 

 being put by 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 have 

 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 

 applied it is laid on its bilge and filled up ^^•ith ice-cold pickle made to 

 a strength of 90° salometer (90 per cent saturation) that can be made 

 from fresh or salt water, wliichever 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 recpiircd to fill the cask up. They are then put back into cold stor- 

 age and piclded 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 \\'ith a hammer would do — and any leakage promptly rectified. 

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

 in cold storage, pro\dded 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); cjuality 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 invariably the species mild cured, being 

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

 In 1907 a Ketchikan (Alaska) packer put up a quantit}'^ of coho, chum, 

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

 of the product that he abandoned further efforts in this line. A few 

 cohos are put up each year. 



The principal consumers of the mild-cured salmon are the smokers, 

 who take them from the tierce, wash and soak them for a few 

 minutes, and then have a practically fresh fish to smoke, and not, 

 as in the days when hard-pickled salmon were used, one that had lost 

 most of its oil and flavor through the excessive amount of salt needed 

 to preserve it. 



The greater part of the product put up on this coast goes to 

 Europe, Germany being the principal consumer, but considerable 

 quantities are sold in Norway, Sweden, and other countries, while 

 the smokers of the cities east of the Rocky Mountains use large 

 quantities every year. 



