lOG INLAND FISHERIES. 



position was evident, but it had not advanced very far. The 

 bonitos were in much better condition, although an odor of putre- 

 faction was noticeable, and the side on w^hich they lay was most 

 affected. The walls of the body cavity were also in better condi- 

 tion than those of the squeteague. The experiment showed that 

 free circulation of air around fish retards decay. 



III. After the intestines had been removed from twelve sque- 

 teague, the fish were hung up by their tails, and allowed to remain 

 twenty-four hours. The weather was cloudy, and the temperatures 

 were as follows : 8 A. M., 71° ; 12 M., 74° ; and 5 P. M., 73°. The 

 atmospheric conditions were less favorable for the preservation of 

 fish than on the previous day, yet at the end of twenty-four hours 

 the fish were found to be in much better condition than in any of 

 the preceding experiments. There was a decided odor of putre- 

 faction on the outside of the fish, but the abdominal cavity and 

 the muscles showed only a little evidence of decomposition. The 

 fish were in as good condition as many fish found in our markets 

 and generally sold as "fresh." The experiment shows that early 

 cleaning, thorough draining, and free circulation of air retard 

 putrefactive processes. 



lY. Twenty-four living squeteague were decapitated, and their 

 intestines removed. The intestines were removed from another 

 series of equal number, but these animals were not decapitated. 

 The forty-eight fish were then packed in a box, in close contact 

 Avdth one another. The weather and teuq^erature conditions were 

 practically the same as on the preceding day. At the end of 

 twenty-four hours, the fish were examined. They were very soft 

 and had a bad odor, although those which had been decapitated 

 were in a better state of preservation than the others ; all were 

 unfit for use. The fish on the top layer, where they were exposed 

 to the air, were in early, while those at the bottom, away from the 

 air, and moistened by the drip from those above, were in advanced, 

 stages of decomposition. — The experiment indicates the import- 

 ance of thorough drainage of the flesh by early decapitation. 



In all the above experiments the fish were taken from the fish- 



