410 MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



grades according to their size and fatness and packed in herring boxes. The prin- 

 cipal grades of hard lierring are "medium-scaled," "lengthwise," and "No. 1." 

 The best grade is "medium-scaled," which is divided into two sizes, known as 

 large and small-medium. Medium-scaled herring are packed crosswise in wooden 

 boxes; a box of the large medium-scaled herring contains from 30 to 40 fish, and 

 the boxes of the medium size average 45 to the box. "Lengthwise" herring are 

 larger than medium-scaled and receive their name from being packed lengthwise 

 of the box, which contains from 15 to 18 smoked fish. The "No. 1" herring are the 

 smallest and least valuable, and are packed 60 to 75 to a box. Other grades of 

 smoked hard herring less generally recognized are "tuck-tails ' and "Magdalens." 



In the preparation of boneless smoked herring the fish are dumped on wooden 

 tables, and their heads, bellies, and tails are clipped off with scissors. The cut 

 fish are taken to other tables where they are weighed. Women and girls then 

 remove the skin and bones by hand; the faster workers can skin and bone 100 

 to 150 pounds of herring daily. The prepared herring are usually packed in 

 wooden boxes lined with paper and are then ready for shipment. Some of the 

 boneless fish are packed in jars and cellophane bags, in which form they are 

 popular with certain consumers. One hundred pounds of smoked fish yield about 

 30 pounds of the boned. Smoked boneless herring are the most valuable smoked 

 herring product. 



Bloaters. Although smoked bloaters inay be prepared from fresh herring which 

 have had only a light preliminary brining, it is customary to use hard-salted round 

 fish for this purpose. Only the larger sizes of herring are used, and preferably 

 those having some milt and roe, so that a fuller effect will be evident after 

 smoking. Either a brine or dry-salting process may be used for the preliminary 

 curing. Because boxes may be used for shipping the dry-salted herring from the 

 salting stations to the smokeries, it is usually more convenient and cheaper to use 

 this method. The cured herring can be held for some time before smoking; but 

 if the storage period is prolonged, it is advisable to use a cold room with the 

 temperature just above freezing, 32° F (0° C). 



As the herring are heavily salted, it is necessary to give them a long soaking in 

 fresh water before smoking to remove the excess salt. The time of freshening 

 will depend on length of storage and may be up to 48 hours. The soaking is done 

 in large tanks or vats of running water and the herring should be stirred from time 

 to time to secure uniform freshening. 



The fish are shoveled out of the tanks with a wire scoop and onto a large 

 table of convenient height for the "stringers." The "herring sticks" and method 

 of stringing is quite similar to that used for hard or red herring. However, as 

 the fish are larger, onlv from 15 to 20 can be placed on each stick. After draining 

 on the "herring horses" or racks for a few hours, the sticks of herring are placed 

 in the smoke oven in the same manner as described previously. However, the 

 smokehouses used for bloaters are smaller and usually filled at one time. More 

 uniform smoking results if only three or four tiers of herring are smoked simul- 

 taneously. If larger quantities are desired, it is advisable to fill the oven in stages 

 to facilitate the drying. 



With the drafts and ventilators open the drying fires are burned for 2 to 

 3 days until all surface moisture is removed and the skin of the fish is thoroughly 

 dried. The air circulation is then reduced and smoking fires built for another 2 to 



