144 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
and some of the applications even of the fishes and crustaceans; and to 
furthermore restrict our consideration to the fishes proper, introduc- 
ing other forms only so far as they relate to the question of bait. 
1. As food for man and animals.—By far the most important applica- 
tion of fish is as sustenance for man; a large proportion of the popula- 
tion of the globe deriving its support more or less exclusively from this 
source. 
Although the fresh-water fisheries in many countries are of great 
importance, and supply a notable percentage of valuable food, it is from 
the sea that not only the great portion of the fish found in our markets is 
derived, but also the bulk of that which is preserved by various methods 
for a greater or less length of time, and for transportation to distant 
markets. 
Fresh fish can, of course, be kept in a cool climate for a considera- 
ble time without any special preparation; but the simplest mode of 
treating it for preservation is that of drying, by exposure to the sun, 
either with or without a certain amount of salting. 
Next to the drying we have the smoking either of the fresh meat or. 
when it is more or less salted. The salt may be applied either dry or 
in solution, when the fish are to be used almost immediately (which pro- 
cess is known as corning), or else kept for a longer period. Salt, being 
a substance found universally, is the cheapest and most convenient me- 
dium. The use of borax has already been alluded to on page 137. Sali- 
cylic acid, too, in solution can be used to keep fish fresh for a considera- 
ble length of time. 
Until quite recently the ice has been used by itself, without the addi- 
tion of any salt whereby to produce the so-called freezing mixture, the 
fish being kept in boxes or bins in the holds of vessels, in contact with 
ice, reduced to a greater or less degree of firmness, and drainage being 
provided to carry away the water. Sometimes the fish are packed with 
ice and a non-conducting substance like sawdust, which greatly retards 
the rapidity of melting and permits the shipment in large quantities, 
A much better method of using ice alone consists of its application in 
some of the modern circulating refrigerators, in which it is placed above 
the receptacle containing the fish or other meats, and a circulation so 
established which, while keeping the temperature of the air surround. 
ing the meats at a low point, extracts all the moisture from the atmos- 
phere, leaving it perfectly dry, and furnishing an atmosphere correspond- 
ing to that of an ordinary clear cold winter’s day. The flesh of fish 
thus treated is very much more palatable than where there is a direct 
contact with the ice itself; in the latter instance the fish, while not un- 
dergoing decomposition, becoming stale and sometimes more.or less 
sour. 
The greatest improvement, however, in the preservation of fish for 
food is by the use of freezing mixtures. Under no circumstances by the 
use of plaiii ice at melting temperatures, in an ordinary summer’s at- 
