THE SEA FISHERIES OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. Lat 
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and, the bodies being first split open and the heads and entrails re- 
moved. I sécured a few of them in the fall of 1876 and tried them on 
the Grand Bank, but under such unfavorable circumstances that noth- 
ing definite could be learned as to the relative value of squid bait pre- 
pared in that manner. The Newfoundland fisher men, however, claim 
that, when soaked for several hours before it is used, it nearly equals 
for bait the squid that are just caught. 
The method of preserving fish and bait by salting is of course familiar 
to all, and need not be discussed here to any great length. It will be 
sufficient to mention that the principal subdivisions consist of salting 
by sprinkling salt on successive layers of fish, which are piled up in 
masses, known as kench-curing; of immersion ina saline solution, 
known as pickling; and of salting for a certain length of time by either 
of these processes and then drying by exposure to the air and by smok- 
ing, all of which have their advantages under particular circumstances. 
Salting, ete.—The salt used in the preservation of fish in the methods 
indicated is, for the most part, the common chloride of sodium, or table 
salt. The quality of this, however, varies in different regions, some 
varieties being considered preferable for special applications, and others 
much less satisfactory. " 
A very troublesome affection of salted and dried fish is that known 
as “reddening,” where patches of red color make their appearance 
on the surface of the fish, and rapidly extending, soon render it unfit 
for food. This is usually met with in the foggy August or dog-day 
weather. A careful examination of this substance by Dr. Farlow has 
shown that this redness is due to a minute algous plant abounding in 
the shallow sea-shores and not unfrequently included in the crystallized 
salt made by solar evaporation. Its presence is indicated by a slight 
pink or rosy tint in the salt, and at any rate it appears that fish treated 
_ with this salt is more liable to the affection than where the salt is ob- 
tained from mineral deposits or else is perfectly white sea salt. 
Other saline substances are used in some cases; and quite recently 
borax, in one form or another, has been warmly recommended as se- 
curing the proper preservation of the flesh by the use of a much smaller 
quantity of mineral matter. A favorite Swedish preparation, called 
aseptin, used for keeping milk and other animal substances without 
imparting a saline taste, consists essentially of borax. 
Quite recently other chemical substances have been suggested, and 
among others is one lately communicated by D’Amélioto the Academy of 
Sciences in Paris. For this purpose the meat, either raw or boiled, is 
cut into sections (if the action is to be very rapid) and immersed in a 
solution of citric acid in water in sufficient proportion to render it de- 
cidedly acid. After two or three hours the meat is withdrawn and sub- 
jected to a moderate degree of artificial heat, or exposed to the air until 
dry. With the artificial heat the result should be accomplished in an 
hour, and in the open air in five or six days. This meat can be kept for 
