264 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 
tanks for seven or more days, or until they are thoroughly struck, 
after which they are packed in barrels, flesh side up, except the two 
top layers, which have the skin side up. To about 700 pounds of 
fish 180 pounds of salt are used. 
The dry salting, next to drying, is the most primitive method 
employed in preserving salmon. The process consists simply in 
splitting the fish up the belly, removing the gills and entrails, and 
thé filling the belly with salt. The fish are then placed in rows on 
matting and covered with salt, and other rows are placed on top of 
them until the pile is from 8 to 10 feet high, when the entire lot is 
covered with matting and left for about seven days, after which they 
are relaid and again covered with salt. For shipping, the fish are 
packed in mats. 
A very odd feature in connection with the operation of most of 
the Japanese plants is that the salt to be used in curing the fish is 
usually dumped loose onto some level spot, with absolutely no coy- 
ering over it, and exposed to the elements. 
_ The Japanese consume enormous quantities of these dry-salted 
salmon. During the Russian-Japanese war the latter country’s fish- 
ermen were cut off from access to their usual fishing grounds, with the 
result that they were forced to look elsewhere for fish. During 1905 
and 1906 large quantities were prepared in Alaska, British Columbia, 
and Washington for this trade, but as soon as the war ended and the 
Japanese got access once more to their old fishing grounds, the Jap- 
anese duty on salt fish, which had been suspended during and for a 
short period after the war, was reimposed. As a result our fishermen 
soon quit the business, and since then operations on this coast have 
been almost wholly restricted to Japanese operating in British 
Columbia waters. 
At the height of the production on this coast Mr. King, the Amer- 
ican consular agent at Hakodate, Japan, made the following sugges- 
tions to preparers and shippers of dry-salted salmon for the Japanese 
trade: 
The salmon should arrive in Japan by December 1. Most of these fish are used 
among the Japanese for New Year’s presents. After the new year the price invariably 
declines 20 to 30 per cent, and for a month or two the fish are difficult to dispose of, 
as the consumers always stock up before the new year. 
The salmon should weigh not less than 5 pounds when thoroughly cured. They 
should be free from spots, which are usually found on the salmon if caught in fresh 
or brackish water. No Japanese would think of giving a salmon with red and black 
spots to a friend for a New Year’s present, and spotted fish never realize more than 
half the price obtainable for clean white fish. ‘The salmon should be split up the 
belly and should be salted with fine salt. Coarse salt always tears the flesh of the fish 
when being rubbed in. Care should be taken that the salmon are not oversalted. 
Semga salting is a more improved and sanitary method than that 
of straight pickling and is used when the fish are being prepared for 
the European market. Selected fish are cut open along the belly and 
the viscera and gills are carefully removed. In order that the salt may 
penetrate the flesh more thoroughly, the flesh on the inside is scored 
several times. The fish are then carefully washed and rubbed with 
brushes, after which they are kept on ice for 24 hours. ‘The brine 
is carefully prepared and very strong. When properly struck the 
fish are repacked into barrels. 
