422 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [2] 



SO that tliorc is some iiulucemeiit for the mamifneturer to have i^oods, 

 which have been prepared according to standard ]>rinciples, recognized 

 l)y an official stamp. In the following we shall give a brief review of 

 these principles. We do not claim to give anything new, l)ut only 

 repeat what, in part at least, has been known for centuries. 



The raw material. — The first condition for obtaining a lirst-class 

 article is to have good raw material. It is well known that the herring 

 which are caught vary greatly as to size, age, fatness, and development 

 of the sexual organs. The influence which these differences have on 

 the value of the goods will be spoken of later under the head of Sort- 

 ing. The point to which here we desire to call ^Utention is that the 

 herring, from the moment it is taken into the boat until it is delivered to 

 the manufacturer, must be treated with the greatest c;ne, and that the 

 manner in which the raw material is treated has a great influence on 

 the value of the manufactured article. "Whenever a net has been hauled 

 in, the herring should at once be sliaken out of it, for nothing is more 

 injurious for them than to lie ])acked in the net, whereby they b come 

 soft, more or less si)otted, and are a])t to lose some of their scales. The 

 board of fisheries lays great stress on this, and s])eaks in strong terms 

 a^iaitist the injurious habit of letting the herring stick in the nets alter 

 they have been Inuded.* The herring should be protected against the 

 influence of the weather by being covered with tarpaulin, esjjecially 

 whcii the sun is hot, so as to prevent their becoming sunt)urnt.t Care 

 should also be taken that the herring are not trodden upon. The boat 

 should always be kept free from water, for which i)uri)ose each boat 

 should be supplied with a pump, whereby the work is very much facil- 

 itated. We must finally call attention to tlie circumstsince that tarred 

 boats should not be used until they are thoroughly dry, and that the 

 vessels used for fishing and for carrying the fish must constantly be 

 kept clean. 



When fresh herring are transported, not too many should be crowded 

 together; and s])(Hial care should be taken in this res])e('t with fat 

 summer heuing. The decree dated June l*!), 177,"), relative to the bet- 

 ter management of the Bergen herring tisheries, i)r<)liibited the carry- 

 ing of more than 24,000 in one load, which number, by juovisional de- 

 cree of November :M, 1821, Avas increased to (iO,000. This decree was 

 abrogated by the law on the herring fisheries of April 25, 1S03, so that 

 now every one can put as many in one loi)d :is he ])!ea.ses. The vessels 

 used lor carrying the herring should, however, be divided into com- 

 l)artments by boards running lengthwise, and by some running cross- 



*Attcution was already called to this matter Uy oircnlarof ,Jiiuo 22, ISKi, bnt, as it 

 seems, with very little result. 



tBy the decree of June '29, 1775, it was prohibited to take summer herring from the 

 nets till oue or two hours after suudowu, or before 10 p. m. aud after 5 a. m. All the 

 lish taken outside of those hours could be prepared only for the use of farmers as au 

 inferior article. 



