78 PACIFIC COD FISHERIES. 
as an objectionable odor results it is not*possible to employ this 
medium. 
According to Bitting,* “the further the bacteriological work on 
the cause of the reddening of salt fish is carried the stronger the 
evidence becomes that it is due to factory infection, to the use of 
contaminated water, and to the methods of handling. The outside 
influences, particularly the germs found in the lowlands and in the 
vicinity of the factory, have probably been greatly overestimated. 
The amount of infection due to the use of solar salt has not been 
definitely determined, as in the experiments intended for that pur- 
pose the amount due to factory infection was not wholly eliminated. 
What at the beginning appeared to be primarily a problem of how to 
avoid spoilage in an infected product by preventing the growth of 
the organisms present now appears to consist rather in the usual 
difficulty of preventing infection.” 
As a result of his investigations, Mr. Bitting makes the following 
recommendations for the prevention of factory infection: 
1. The fish should be handled from the vessel to the scales without being 
thrown upon the deck or dock where they may become infected from the boards 
or be stepped upon by the workmen. All of the docks are infected with the red 
organisms, and fish coming in contact with them become inoculated. 
2. The floors, scales, dressing tables, wash tanks, wheelbarrows, and every- 
thing with which the fish come in contact in making them ready for the butts 
should be frequently washed with water under considerable pressure. <A rela- 
tively small stream of water under strong pressure is far more effectual in 
cleaning than a larger stream of water at low pressure. 
3. The fish should be washed by sprays of water or by a machine. The 
sprays should have sufficient force to do the work well. The present method 
of pitching the fish into a tank or dory and then out again is not sufficient for 
cleaning, and, furthermore, it tends to disseminate any organisms which may 
be present. 
4. The water used upon the fish or upon anything with which the fish come in 
contact should be of undoubted purity. The use of harbor water for any pur- 
pose can not be justified, as it is filled with the germs which come from empty- 
ing the butts and washing fish and docks. It is also apt to be polluted with 
sewage from the city, as was found to be the case in the investigation here 
reported. 
5. The butts should be thoroughly cleaned inside and out and steamed for 20 
minutes or sprayed with a solution of sulphurous ‘acid. 
6. Before fish are taken out of. the butts water should be turned in to cause 
the brine to overflow and wash away any reddening which may have occurred 
on the top. 
7. The fish should be passed through a spray of water to remove the adher- 
ent salt, as this adds weight and does not increase the time of keeping. 
8. Racks used in water-horsing should be steamed or sprayed, and the work 
be done 1 the light and in one place in the factory rather than at any point 
in the shed where the butt may happen to be. 
9. The drying should be carried as far as possible and still permit proper 
skinning. A second drying, or Nova Scotia style of cure, should be encouragea. 
® United States Bureau of Chemistry Bulletin no. 1338, p. 61. 
