6Q EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



tliese more from oral tliau from written accounts, or from my own j)er- 

 sonal observation, as my stay in both places was only very short. 



In I^ova Scotia as well as in Newfoundland the fish are prepared in a 

 more conservative manner than in the United States, viz, with the view 

 of obtaining an article that will keep well and may be sent to tropical 

 climates, especially the West Indies, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. 

 The codfish, which forms almost exclusively an article of exj^ort to for- 

 eign ports, is first treated in the usual manner, viz, as soon as possible 

 after having been caught it is opened and all the entrails are taken out; 

 it is then salted in the hold of the vessel, generally with white Cadiz or 

 Liverpool salt. When the vessel returns from her trip the fish are taken 

 to the "drying-places ", where they are washed and cleaned of all super- 

 fluous salt and all impurities. They are then laid in small heaps, and 

 afterwards, when the weather is favorable, side by side on scaffoldings, 

 which, in Newfoundland, are very high, so as to let the air pass through 

 freely and let them dry thoroughly, in just the same manner as we dry 

 our codfish. The washing process, however, is somewhat different, for 

 the fish are not left so long in the water as to get soft and lose some of 

 their flavor. The thin black skin is also left on the Newfoundland cod- 

 fish, as people do not think it worth while to take it off'. As the climate 

 of Newfoundland often prevents the rapid drying of the fish, there are 

 on every drying-place, close to the scaffolding, small huts where the fish 

 are placed in rainy or damp weather. A number of fish are neverthe- 

 less damaged during the drying process, and turn sour and dark ; such 

 fish are then sprinkled with thin lime, which makes them look white 

 enough. The fish which are bought fresh from the boats are of course 

 prepared and salted in sheds, and then after some time treated in the 

 above-mentioned manner. The fresh liver is melted by steam to oil for 

 medicinal purposes exactly as we do it in Norway ; and the old livers 

 which cannot be used in this way are made into brown train-oil. The 

 roe of the codfish is treated in the same manner as with us, and is either 

 shipped to France or sqld to the French colony at St. Pierre. But the 

 Newfoundland cod-liver oil and roe are by no means esteemed as highly 

 as our Norwegian oil aiid roe, which is probably caused by the different 

 mode of preparing it, and by the different food on which the codfish 

 live in these parts. 



Besides cod-fisheries, which are the most important. Nova Scotia and 

 Newfoundland carry on extensive herring and seal fisheries in the sea 

 extending between Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Labrador. Whilst 

 the herrings from Nova Scotia are chiefly shipped to Canada and the 

 United States, the Newfoundland herrings nearly all go to England, 

 chiefly to Liverpool. These herrings are prepared in the usual manner. 

 The quality of the Newfoundland herrings, however, is by no means very 

 good. 



The average quantity of dried fish shipped from Nova Scotia is 

 30,000,000 pounds, and from Newfoundland 108,000,000 pounds. I am 



