﻿THE 
  HERRING 
  INDUSTRY 
  OF 
  THE 
  PASSAMAQUODDY 
  REGION. 
  459 
  

  

  Scaling. 
  — 
  It 
  was 
  formerly 
  customary 
  to 
  remove 
  the 
  scales 
  from 
  the 
  her- 
  

   ring 
  intended 
  for 
  smoking 
  purposes 
  before 
  taking 
  tliem 
  from 
  the 
  boat. 
  

   The 
  fishermen, 
  with 
  their 
  rubber 
  boots, 
  walked 
  through 
  the 
  mass 
  of 
  

   fish 
  without 
  lifting 
  their 
  feet, 
  and 
  the 
  contact 
  of 
  the 
  fish 
  with 
  each 
  other 
  

   and 
  with 
  the 
  legs 
  of 
  the 
  men 
  removed 
  the 
  greater 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  scales. 
  

   This 
  laborious 
  process 
  was 
  called 
  "treading 
  them 
  out." 
  It 
  is 
  said 
  to 
  

   have 
  begun 
  in 
  1820 
  and 
  was 
  continued 
  until 
  about 
  1880. 
  Another 
  

   method 
  of 
  scaling 
  the 
  fish 
  during 
  that 
  i)eriod 
  was 
  to 
  stir 
  them 
  with 
  

   a 
  spudger. 
  In 
  recent 
  years 
  it 
  has 
  not 
  been 
  considered 
  necessary 
  to 
  

   resort 
  to 
  these 
  or 
  other 
  methods 
  for 
  removing 
  the 
  scales, 
  since 
  the 
  fre- 
  

   quent 
  handling 
  which 
  the 
  fish 
  undergo 
  renders 
  them 
  practically 
  scale- 
  

   less 
  when 
  they 
  reach 
  the 
  smoke 
  house. 
  The 
  scales 
  of 
  the 
  herring 
  come 
  

   off 
  very 
  easily 
  when 
  the 
  fish 
  are 
  first 
  taken 
  from 
  the 
  water, 
  but 
  if 
  

   allowed 
  to 
  dry 
  they 
  become 
  set 
  and 
  are 
  removed 
  with 
  difliculty. 
  The 
  

   methods 
  for 
  removing 
  them 
  above 
  described 
  insured 
  a 
  more 
  thorough 
  

   and 
  uniform 
  scaling 
  of 
  the 
  fish 
  than 
  would 
  otherwise 
  be 
  effected, 
  but 
  if 
  

   the 
  work 
  was 
  not 
  carefully 
  performed 
  it 
  was 
  liable 
  to 
  result 
  in 
  bruising 
  

   the 
  fish 
  and 
  in 
  an 
  increased 
  loss 
  in 
  "broken-bellied" 
  herring. 
  

  

  Stringing. 
  — 
  When 
  properly 
  salted, 
  the 
  fish 
  are 
  taken 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  pickle 
  

   to 
  be 
  strung 
  on 
  herring 
  sticks, 
  preparatory 
  to 
  being 
  hung 
  in 
  the 
  smoke- 
  

   house. 
  This 
  is 
  done 
  with 
  ordinary 
  dip 
  nets, 
  or 
  "wash 
  nets," 
  as 
  they 
  

   are 
  called 
  in 
  this 
  locality. 
  As 
  the 
  fish 
  are 
  dipped 
  out 
  they 
  are 
  washed 
  

   or 
  rinsed 
  in 
  the 
  brine 
  with 
  the 
  nets, 
  after 
  which 
  the 
  pickle 
  is 
  allowed 
  

   to 
  run 
  off 
  of 
  them 
  and 
  they 
  are 
  laid 
  on 
  the 
  stringing 
  tables. 
  The 
  dip- 
  

   ping 
  and 
  stringing 
  proceed 
  simultaneously. 
  

  

  The 
  "stringers," 
  or 
  persons 
  who 
  string 
  the 
  herring, 
  are 
  of 
  both 
  sexes, 
  

   the 
  females 
  often 
  predominating 
  in 
  number. 
  In 
  some 
  instances 
  the 
  

   fishermen 
  do 
  the 
  work 
  themselves, 
  but 
  generally 
  men 
  and 
  women 
  and 
  

   boys 
  and 
  girls 
  are 
  hired 
  for 
  this 
  purpose. 
  The 
  number 
  of 
  stringers 
  

   employed 
  in 
  each 
  smoke-house 
  varies 
  from 
  2 
  to 
  8 
  and 
  sometimes 
  more, 
  

   according 
  to 
  the 
  amount 
  of 
  work 
  to 
  be 
  done. 
  They 
  receive 
  20 
  cents 
  

   per 
  100 
  sticks 
  for 
  stringing 
  large 
  herring 
  and 
  bloaters 
  and 
  25 
  cents 
  for 
  

   small 
  herring. 
  The 
  cost 
  of 
  stringing 
  is 
  estimated 
  to 
  average 
  J 
  cent 
  

   per 
  box, 
  but 
  is 
  probably 
  a 
  little 
  less 
  than 
  that. 
  At 
  these 
  prices 
  each 
  

   stringer 
  can 
  earn 
  from 
  $1 
  to 
  $2 
  per 
  day. 
  There 
  are 
  from 
  25 
  to 
  35 
  herring 
  

   on 
  each 
  stick, 
  and 
  a 
  person 
  can 
  string 
  from 
  500 
  to 
  1,000 
  sticks 
  in 
  a 
  day. 
  

   The 
  work 
  is 
  performed 
  very 
  rapidly. 
  The 
  herring 
  is 
  taken 
  with 
  its 
  

   back 
  in 
  the 
  palm 
  of 
  the 
  right 
  hand, 
  the 
  stick 
  being 
  lield 
  by 
  the 
  blunt 
  

   end 
  in 
  the 
  left 
  hand; 
  the 
  left 
  gill-cover 
  is 
  then 
  raised 
  by 
  a 
  movement 
  of 
  

   the 
  right 
  thumb 
  and 
  the 
  pointed 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  stick 
  is 
  inserted 
  and 
  passed 
  

   through 
  the 
  mouth, 
  the 
  fish 
  being 
  moved 
  down 
  to 
  its 
  i)roper 
  place. 
  

   The 
  work 
  is 
  often 
  done 
  by 
  reversing 
  this 
  order, 
  the 
  fish 
  being 
  taken 
  in 
  

   the 
  left 
  and 
  the 
  stick 
  in 
  the 
  right 
  hand, 
  but 
  in 
  either 
  case 
  the 
  herring 
  

   when 
  strung 
  hang 
  on 
  the 
  stick 
  with 
  their 
  backs 
  toward 
  the 
  stringer. 
  

  

  As 
  a 
  wage-producing 
  occupation 
  stringing 
  is 
  not 
  considered 
  important. 
  

   If 
  the 
  stringing 
  of 
  the 
  entire 
  pack 
  of 
  1895 
  had 
  been 
  paid 
  for 
  at 
  the 
  rate 
  

   of 
  one-half 
  cent 
  per 
  box 
  for 
  regular 
  herring 
  and 
  3 
  cents 
  per 
  box 
  for 
  

  

  