THE PRINCIPLES OF FISH SALTING 369 



Butt Method. In summer all of the fish must be salted in butts or other water- 

 tight containers, but in winter they are often salted in kenches. A butt is a large 

 barrel about 3 feet in diameter and 4 feet high. The salters throw the cod face 

 or flesh side up into the butts and sprinkle salt uniformly over each layer. When 

 Turk's Island salt is used, 6.5 to 7 bushels of salt are required for each butt of 

 fish. If finer salt is used, a sfightly larger quantity is often added. In hot weather 

 more salt is required. The fish are piled high above the top of the butt, and the 

 last few layers which are exposed are placed backs up. A pile of salt is placed on 

 top of the fish. The salt and fish settle slowly and within a day or two sink below 

 the top of the butt. After the fish have settled a bushel or more salt is placed 

 on top. About 3 weeks is required for the completion of the salting process. 



Kench Method. In winter or at sea the cod are often salted in kenches. A kench 

 is a regular pile of fish, made by laying them on their backs with napes and 

 tails alternating. A considerable quantity of salt is spread over each layer and 

 the top layer is tinned back up. As the salt extracts the water from the fish, it 

 runs to the floor and is drained off. Since the fish do not stand in brine, it is much 

 more difficult to obtain uniform penetration of salt; therefore, there is much 

 greater danger of spoilage (souring) by this procedure than by the butt method. 

 About 20 pounds of salt are used on each 100 pounds of fish. 



Water-Horsing. When the fish are ready to be dried, they are removed from 

 the butts or kenches and washed with sea water or brine to remove objectionable 

 slime. They are then hauled in two-wheeled carts to a building or room having 

 a good concrete floor where they are kenched on frames about 8 inches above 

 the floor. Weights of various kinds are placed on the kenches to press the surplus 

 brine out of the cod. The fish drain and slowly dry in the kenches; the longer they 

 remain kenched the less time must they remain on the flakes. Repiling also aids 

 in the drying of the salted fish; but, since considerable labor is expended in this 

 work, the cod are usually not repiled more often than is necessary to prevent 

 spoilage. The time which the fish remain in the kenches depends chiefly upon 

 the rate at which they dry on the flakes. If the weather is rainy and the fish 

 already on the flakes dry slowly, those in kenches must remain there until the 

 flakes are emptied. 



Drying on Flakes. After kenching, the partially dried fish are placed flesh side 

 up on flakes for further drying. A flake is a rack or lattice bed about 3 feet wide. 

 It is constructed of inch-wide triangular strips nailed about 3 inches apart to a 

 substantial framework. The flakes are built in the open air about 30 inches above 

 a floor. Every 4 inches the fish rest on a sharp edge, thus permitting the maximum 

 circulation of air about them. The drying yard or flake yard is often located on 

 the roof of a building, usually that of the fish-salting establishment. Since drying 

 under proper conditions effects a considerable bleaching of the cod, great care 

 must be taken to produce the best quality of fish. If the sun is hot, canvas is 

 stretched about 3 feet above the flake to shut out the direct rays which cause 

 the fish to become yellow or "sunburned." On unusually hot days the fish are not 

 placed on flakes. The weather is watched carefully, and when a rainstorm is 

 imminent, the fish are collected in piles and covered with small rectangular boxes 

 with peaked roofs called "flake boxes." 



The time which the fish remain on the flakes depends chiefly upon the weather 

 and the amount of drying and bleaching desired. When there is a strong dry 



