WALLEM ON AMERICAN FISHERIES. 93 



iug- the cold to tall out in the room; therefore the wall-reservoirs, which 

 appear as closed couduits, are given an oblique position, so that the cold 

 from the uppermost ice may fall out freelj and operate as a correspond- 

 ing ice-blast from the ceilnig. The floor is least liable to an invasion of 

 warmth; the ice-receiver here is, therefore, most poorly supplied with ice. 



To protect the provisions against ice-water drip from the ice-box, there 

 are placed conduits and conductors. As for the rest the oblique position 

 of the reservoir will contribute toward carrying the ice-water away with- 

 out dripping. When once the warm air is expelled and the ice has su- 

 premacy, it requires less to maintain freezing for a year or as long as 

 one wishes. 



This vault of 10 by 80 by 11 feet, or 8,800 cubic feet, could easily hold 

 100,000 pounds of fish. It was divided by walls and ice-pipes into four 

 parts, each i^art furnished with an endless number of shelves of mould- 

 ing. To keep the temiierature in the whole api)aratus some degrees 

 below the freezing-point, 1,400 pounds of ice is required daily in the heat 

 of summer. The price of the ice was about $4 i^er ton of 2,000 pounds. 

 The expenses in this respect were therefore only about $2.80 per day in 

 the heat of summer and proportionally less during the remainder of the 

 year. In winter are required for the apparatus only about 1,000 pounds 

 of ice per week, about 29 cents per day. In the cooler country of Nor- 

 way an apparatus of this size would require a smaller quantity of ice, 

 and the ice would be had at a much cheaper rate, in Bergen City for 

 instance, for $1.64 to $2.18 per ton, which would amount to only 82 cents 

 to $1.09 x)er week to preserve 100,000 pounds of fresh fish in winter; 

 truly, a cheaj) iireserviug ! Even a smaller quantity of fish could profit- 

 ably be stored here when the prices in midsummer are very low, and it 

 could be calculated ui)on with safety that they would advance later in 

 the autumn, as happens with the price of salmon, which rises from 10 and 

 12 cents to 25 and 30 cents ; yes, as high as 50 cents a pound toward 

 Christmas. But it will readily be iierceived that a quantity offish, say 

 only 1,000 pounds, would not support the increased expenses of an ap- 

 paratus so large for a longer time. 



Not every kind of fish can endure such cold, but Like many kinds of 

 provisions some lose much in flavor. And even the articles of food which 

 endure it must be treated in a peculiar manner. Among other things it 

 must be observed carefully that fish intended for storing in cold must 

 be frozen stiff immediately, or as fresh as possible. Delaying the stifl- 

 freezing some time, or, under certain cii'cumstances, any time, is a source 

 of great loss. Also, in thawing, measures must be taken that nothing 

 shall be spoiled. Thawing must, by preference, take place in cold air so 

 as to "repel (sAv/f/e) the ice," as it is called in the Norwegian household 

 language, before further dressing or cooking can occur. 



The kinds of fishes which best endure storing in cold are salmon and 

 halibut; next very fat herring and mackerel ; but cod and flounders and 

 other common fishes will lose their flavor; also oysters. The fatter fish 



