70 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



dry codfisli in close boxes or barrels, lets the salt penetrate it much 

 better and makes it heavier and juicier than when it is merely salted on 

 the scaffolding. I think it would therefore be an advantage if those 

 vessels which sail to the Lofibden and Fiumarken to buy raw fish, had 

 close boxes or bins in which the fish could be salted, with an arrange- 

 ment to let the brine flow out from time to time. The so-called Scotch 

 method which recently has been adopted by several large fishing-houses 

 is therefore to be highly recommended. I convinced myself of this at 

 the Philadelphia Exposition by examining the codfish exhibited by the 

 firm Lauretz Madson, in Aalesund (prepared in the Scotch manner), 

 which not only looked very tine, but had kept well and were very heavy. 

 The old law prohibiting the salting of codfish in boxes or barrels was 

 doubtless well meant, but it has now become clear how senseless this 

 law was. 



I can also recommend the new American method of treating gently 

 dried codfish, viz, by taking off the skin, cutting out the backbone and 

 breastbones, then cutting it lengthwise in narrow strips and packing it 

 hermetically in small wooden boxes ; this method will j^rove of special 

 advantage where the saving of freight is an object, when fish have to 

 be sent to distant countries, and in keeping the fish in a good state of 

 preservation. The advantage will be evident if a good price can be ob- 

 tained, as the freight on that part of the fish which is valueless as food, 

 is saved, as the fish itself will keep better even during the longest 

 journey, and as the skin and bones may be used as fertilizers and will 

 readily sell to guano manufacturers. 



I think it would be worth while for our fish-merchants, besides ship- 

 ping whole codfish in boxes to the M^est Indies and Brazil, to ship such 

 skinned and boned codfish not only to these countries but also to Buenos 

 Ayres, Montevideo, Peru, Australia, and possibly to Jaj)an, China, and 

 the interior of Germany, especially at times when whole codfish do not 

 find a ready market. 



The making of isinglass from fish-maws forms a considerable branch 

 of American industry, as a good deal of isinglass is used for making beer 

 and wine clear. I must strongly recommend the putting up in hermet- 

 ically-sealed tin cans of stuffed crabs {Cancer pagur us) , which has so suc- 

 cessfully been begun by Mr. 0. Wiese, of Osmund svaag, as well as of 

 fish-balls in brown sauce, convinced that these articles will always find 

 a ready market, especially on board the large transatlantic steamers. 

 I think that halibut smoked in the same manner as salmon would also 

 sell very well with us, but would not be so well suited for the foreign 

 trade, as fish which is not thoroughly smoked does not keep as well as 

 strongly- smoked fish. Gently-smoked anchovies or small herrings, her- 

 metically sealed and put up in oil, like those which Mr, Henry Dons, of 

 the Christiania Preserving Company,. had exhibited in Philadelphia, are 

 sure to sell well. 

 If we consider what large quantities of shellfish, especially clams and 



