298 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 
Freezing is a good and sound method of preserving, but it is difficult to keep 
the fish frozen in hot weather on long distances, as for instance on railway jour- 
neys. Moreover, on being thawed the fish lose their flavor, and they soon 
decompose on exposure to the deleterious influence of the air. Packing in ice 
is a method in very general use for transportation, but as the fish is constantly 
in close contact with the ice and ice water this method also has disadvantages. 
The idea in using ice is, of course, to keep the temperature low, thereby pre- 
venting decomposition as long as possible. But the exposure to ice and ice 
water destroys the flavor of the fish; they become stale, and when exposed to 
the air they quickly decompose, especially during mild weather. 
The chief thing to be kept in view in preserving food is to keep it as free 
as possible from harmful bacteria and from the surrounding air charged there- 
with. It is, furthermore, necessary to prevent the ice water, which is also 
more or less full of bacteria, from coming into direct contact with the fish, but 
at the same time using the low temperature produced by the ice to prevent 
the further development of the bacteria invariably contained in the fish. 
In using my method of wrapping fish in improved fish-wrapping paper 
and afterwards laying it in crushed ice, the latter in pieces about the size of a 
walnut, the air is excluded and the ice water prevented from coming in direct 
contact with the fish. The low temperature of the ice is acting directly on the 
fish through the paper, and by these means the fish is kept sweet and fresh for 
a longer period than is otherwise possible, the bacteria of decomposition being 
thus prevented from developing. 
The chief point to be observed in this method of packing fish is that the 
fish be gutted and bled and the gills cut out as soon as possible after the fish 
arecaught. The sound, found in some species, must be cut lengthwise to insure 
the removal of all blood particles underneath. Further, the fish should be cut 
open so far behind the vent that all accumulations of blood may be easily 
removed. They are then washed and scrubbed inside and out with a stiff 
brush in clean salt water, or in a solution of fresh water with 4 to 5 per cent 
of salt, until all blood specks have been removed, then they are laid aside for 
a short while to allow the blood and water to drain off, and very special care 
must here be taken that no water be left remaining on the inside. Each fish 
is then carefully wrapped in the wrapping paper, which is cut square, each 
dimension being at least one and a half times the length of the fish. 
To wrap, place the fish across the nearest corner of the sheet, roll it over 
very firmly, turn in the two side corners, and roll the package over again until 
. the fourth corner is reached, then tie with a piece of twine. 
Objection might be raised that too much trouble is involved in treating 
fish in the above manner, and that it takes too much time. But the time, 
