702 KEPORT OF- COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



that, as tlie salt is dissolved by the moisture from the body, the pickle 

 will pass into the flesh and thoroughly preserve it. When properly 

 salted, fish may be kept in kench for fully a year, though they are sel- 

 dom allowed to remain more than four or five months, as they are liable 

 to grow strong and musty. To prepare these fish for market, they are 

 first thoroughly washed and scrubbed, and then placed on the flakes, 

 where they are allowed to remain until dry. 



A new brand of fish, known as the boneless cod, has been introduced 

 within the last few years, and is meeting with a ready sale. By this 

 method pickle-cured fish of different species are taken to the boning- 

 room, where men and boys are employed in stripping off the skin, cut- 

 ting out the fins and bones, and cutting the flesh into convenient shape 

 for i)acking in small boxes for the retail trade. 



A large number of observations have been made to ascertain the exact 

 loss in weight of different members of the cod family from the time they 

 leave the water until ready for market. From these it is found that 

 the pickle-cured cod loses from GO to 66 per 'cent. ; the haddock, 62.3 ; 

 the pollock, 59.8 ; the hake, 55.5 ; and the cusk, 50.5. The additional 

 loss of the cod in boning is 21.9 per cent. The details of the above are 

 given in Tables V to XII, inclusive. 



In addition to the market-cured fish, that represents the principal 

 value of the cod, other parts of the fish are often saved. Indeed, but 

 little of either the weight or bulk of the fish is thrown away. When 

 considered separately, any one of these parts has a value seemingly 

 insignificant for the individual; but when taken collectively, they have 

 an importance that cannot be neglected in estimating the money value 

 of the cod-fisheries. 



The livers, from which both medicinal and tanners' oils are made, are, 

 next to the cured fish, the most valuable. These are always saved by 

 the fishermen, and bring from 8 to 15 cents per gaUon, according to the 

 season when the fish are taken. They are in the best condition from 

 July to September, when a thousand pounds of round fish will furnish 

 four or five gallons, yielding from eight to ten quarts of oil, and are 

 poorest from January to May, when only two and three-fourths gallons, 

 yielding but four or five quarts of oil, can be obtained from a like quan- 

 tity of fish. The livers are .usually boiled in large kettles, and the oil 

 thus freed rises to the surface, when it is dipped off and put into barrels 

 for the market. In the bank-fisheries each vessel is provided with butts, 

 where the livers are kept until the oil has been separated by partial 

 decomposition and the natural heat of the sun. This method is known 

 as sun-trying. Much of the oil from the livers of the shore-fish is used 

 for medicinal purposes, and in the crude state brings about 50 cents per 

 gaUon, while the sun-tried oil is sold as tanners' oil, at from 26 to 55 

 cents per gallon. 



The ovaries or eggs of the fish come next in importance. During 

 "war times" these brought from $8 to $12 per barrel, and found a ready 



