[5] SALTING FISU IN JUTLAND. 415 



deck; but this should not be d6ue unless the lish have laiu iu salt at 

 least 3 days, or 72 hours. The salt adhering to the top layer should 

 not be shaken ofl"; aud care should be taken to salt again those tish 

 which may need it, as will be seen lioui the liesh color of the flesh. 

 The lish are piled uj) a second time by persons who intend to sell them 

 in a siilted condition to the cuiers. By piling the lish up a second time, 

 so tJiat all the necks are turned ontward, the pile will become deeper 

 in the center ; the fish will retain more moisture aud therefore weigh 

 heavier than if they are kept constantly in the first pile, from which 

 the brine runs oil'. It is evident that this method proves uni)rofitable 

 to the person who is going to cure the lish, as it will have to be pressetl 

 more, and will therefore shrink dnring the drying ]n'ocess. It should 

 also be stated that the flesh of the lish becomes whiter where it is not 

 piled up a second time. 



As regards the quantity of salt to be used for a certain number of 

 tish, experience has shown that the less the amount of salt required 

 for preserving the fish, the better it will be. This docs not imply, how- 

 ever, that the salt should be used in a stinted manner. The thinner 

 and leaner the fish, the less salt they will need; and an even layer of 

 salt, barely covering the fish and leaving no vacant i)laccs, will be suf- 

 ficient. In warm weather more salt is needed than iu cold weather. 

 Fish which are to lie in salt for some time before they are cured, must 

 be salted more than fish which can be dried soon after the salting. It 

 does not matter much what kind of salt is used, so it is clean, white, 

 and even and fine-grained. It is advisable, however, to use coarser 

 salt, in preference to the fine Liverpool salt, for fish which are to lie in 

 salt for some time, as it does not form brine so quickly. Care should 

 be taken that no iron articles are left lying in the salt, as the rnst spots 

 caused thereby will damage the fish. Excessive use of salt draws all 

 the juice out of the fish, and does not increase the weight; moreover, 

 a salt crust is apt to form on the fish during the drying, which may 

 cause the fish to become "salt-burned." Too little salting, on the other 

 hand, exposes the fish to the danger of decay. During the summer 

 months, on board a fishing vessel, where some salt is always spilt aud 

 where the fish can be salted in the course of several months after they 

 have been caught, about 300 pounds of salt should be used for 320 

 pounds of cured fish, or in other words 300 pounds salt for 1,200 ])oun(l.s 

 solid fish as they come out of the water. On shore hardly as mucli 

 salt is needed. The Norwegians count 050 pounds salt for 1,000 pounds 

 cured fish ; but in Norway nearly all the salting is done on shore, and 

 the fish are dried very soon after they have been salted. Fish may be 

 salted iu the open air; in that case, the pile should be under a roof of 

 boards aud be well covered with mats. 



We shall now describe the drying process according to the method 

 employed in Iceland. The most suitable }>lace is a narrow tongue ol 

 hind exposed to thi; air on all sides. Here a be<l of stones and ])ebb)efci 



