36 REPORT OF THE COMMISSION KR OF FISHERIES. 



The process of mild-curing followed shortly after the shipping of 

 frozen salmon to Europe began, and the mild-cured product has met 

 with considerable favor wherever introduced. The demand in the 

 United States is said to be steadity increasing, and presumably the time 

 is not far distant when as much of this product will be consumed in 

 this country as is exported to Europe. Thus far Germany has offered 

 the principal market, the superior facilities of the German cold-storage 

 plants enabling them to supply many other European countries. 



In order to meet the growing demand for mild-cured and frozen 

 salmon, many of the Columbia River canneries have erected cold- 

 storage plants, and these products are now prepared by all the packers 

 on the Pacific coast. In the process of mild-curing only the choicest 

 king salmon are accepted, and only the sides of the fish are used. They 

 are " slack-salted " in tierces holding 800 to 1,000 pounds, and are kept in 

 a cold room at even temperature until ready for shipment, when they 

 are loaded into refrigerator cars, shipped across the continent, and 

 thence to Europe. From the time of leaving the Pacific coast until 

 arriving at their destination the fish undergo no change of tempera- 

 ture, and when unloaded from the ship are again stored in a freezing 

 plant, where they remain until smoked. Owing to the fact that they 

 are likely to deteriorate quickly when taken from cold storage, only 

 enough are smoked at a time to supply the immediate demand. 



Mild-cured salmon when smoked are considered much superior to 

 the hard, diy-salted article; they bring 15 to 18 cents a pound, the 

 latter 8 to 10 cents. The demand for the high-grade fish is chiefly 

 from the first-class hotels and cafes, but the family trade also is large. 

 The fish are cut into thin slices and made into sandwiches, or are pre- 

 pared in other appetizing ways known to the Germans. 



In 1904 there were 31 mild-curing and cold-storage plants on the 

 Pacific coast — 11 on the Columbia River, 6 on the Sacramento River, 

 1 on Puget Sound, 3 on Eel River, 1 at Grays Harbor, 1 on the Oregon 

 coast, 1 at Monterey, and 1 at Taku Harbor. The output of mild- 

 cured salmon in 1904 was over 12,000,000 pounds, a substantial increase 

 over the preceding year. The amount prepared since 1897 has been 

 approximately 38,204,000 pounds, with a total value to the fishermen 

 of nearly $2,000,000. 



In connection with this industry steamers fitted with freezing plants 

 are now being brought into use, being especially valuable in collecting 

 fish from waters where the run of salmon is not large enough to war- 

 rant the building of cold-storage plants. After being transported long 

 distances in the usual way, salmon are unfit for mild-curing or freez- 

 ing, and the catch in such isolated places has therefore been canned 

 or salted. The vessels equipped with cold-storage facilities prove an 

 advantage to the fishermen, who can thus dispose of their catch with- 

 out the labor and expense of carrying it to the canneries, and can also 



