42(] REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OP FISTt AND FISHERIES. [Gj 



the fat is taken out l)efore the herriug' are salted, a well-flavored article 

 is obtained wbicli will keep well, while the fat, which should be kept in 

 separate vessels, will yield a considerable quantity of train-oil. From 

 herring caught in autumn, however, the fat should, if possible, not be 

 removed. It is true that it also often separates, but the cause of this 

 is generally that the fish have not been put in salt soon enough, or 

 have been pressed too hard, on account of having been packed too 

 tightly when fresh. In former times fat herring have been thoroughly 

 cleaned in iNTorway, for an order dated 1753 prohibited " to take out 

 the fat, unless in some places it should be needed for special purposes." 

 It is very desirable that this custom should again be generally intro- 

 duced. As it always takes a certain time till the natural brine begins 

 to form, Norwegian nianuf\icturers generally fill the keg with G to 8 

 liters [about 7 quarts] of brine (one-fourth ton St. Ives salt to 1 ton 

 of sea-water) as soon as the herring have been salted, and thereupon 

 close the keg, in which the fish are packed loosely. By this method 

 the entrails are soon brought in contact with the salt, and the contents 

 of the stomach will in that case not tend to spoil the article. The 

 Dutch, who are also in the habit of pouring brine into the keg before 

 it is closed, prepare this brine by pouring sea-water over the parts 

 which have been removed from the fish, but do not mix any salt with 

 it. The pouring in of artificial brine should be recommended when it is 

 so cold tliat the herring are exposed to the danger of freezing before 

 the brine has properly penetrated them. 



The kegs. — The quality of tjje kegs is of great importance. They 

 must be strong, firm, clean, of even size, of a suitable shape, and made 

 of good wood. Their strength will mostly depend on the thickness of 

 the staves and on the number of hoo])s. The staves should be at least 

 1.5 millimeters [-^ of an inch] thick. In this respect we have kept pace 

 with the times, as we now generally use kegs the thickness of whose 

 staves is IG millimeters. Kegs of that strength should be made by 

 ujachines, as the stave is too thick to be bent with the hand. In hand- 

 made kegs the staves are therefore generally made a little thinner in 

 the middle. As split staves are better than cut staves, they may be 

 somewhat thinner. In our opinion the paring should be confined to the 

 sharp edges, partly because it somewhat diminishes the thickness of the 

 staves, and partly because a rough surface is better calculated to keep 

 the hoops firmly in their position. As regards the number of hoops, 

 the Dutch use 18 to 20 (10 to 1l' + 4 + 4); the Scotch, 3G to 18 (0 to 

 Il-f3-f4); and the ('anadians, 20 (10-f 10); while we generally use 

 12 to IG, arranged by threes or fours, when they are of Avood, and by 

 sixes when they are of iron. These latter have i)roved very serviceable, 

 as they will hold better than the wooden ones; but they have, as we 

 think, this disadvantage, that the keg rests exclusively on the side, 

 while in those having wooden hoops it also rests on the middle hoop. 

 Kegs bound With iron hoops .should therefore have thicker staves. As 



