THE SEA FISHERIES OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. 137 



1 



and, the bodies being first split open and the heads and entrails re- 

 moved. I secured a few of them in the fall of 187G and tried them on 

 the Grand Bank, but under such unfavorable circumstances that noth- 

 ing definite could be learned as to the relative value of squid bait pre- 

 pared in that manner. The Newfoundland fisher men, however, claim 

 that, when soaked for several hours before.it is used, it nearly equals 

 for bait the squid that are just caught. 



The method of preserving fish and bait by salting is of course familiar 

 to all, and need not be discussed here to any great length. It will be 

 sufficient to mention that the principal subdivisions consist of salting 

 by sprinkling salt on successive layers of fish, which are piled up in 

 masses, known as kench curing ; of immersion in a saline solution, 

 known as pickling ; and of salting for a certain length of time by either 

 of these processes and then drying by exposure to the air and by smok- 

 ing, all of which have their advantages under particular circumstances. 



Salting, etc. — The salt used in the preservation of fish in the methods 

 indicated is, for the most part, the common chloride of sodium, or table 

 salt. Tbe quality of this, however, varies in different regions, some 

 varieties being considered preferable for special applications, and others 

 much less satisfactory. 



A very troublesome affection of salted and dried fish is that known 

 as " reddening," where patches of red color make their appearance 

 on the surface of the fish, and rapidly extending, soon render it unfit 

 for fooJ. This is usually met with in the foggy August or dog-day 

 weather. A careful examination of this substance by Dr. Farlow has 

 shown tbat this redness is due to a minute algous plant abounding in 

 the shallow sea-shores and not unfrequently included in the crystallized 

 salt made by solar evaporation. Its presence is indicated by a slight 

 pink or rosy tint in the salt, and at any rate it appears that fish treated 

 with this salt is more liable to the affection than where the salt is ob- 

 tained from mineral deposits or else is perfectly white sea salt. 



Other saline substances are used in some cases ; and quite recently 

 borax, in one form or another, has been warmly recommended as se- 

 curing the proper preservation of the flesh by the use of a much smaller 

 quantity of mineral matter. A favorite Swedish preparation, called 

 aseptin, used for keeping milk and other animal substances without 

 impartiug a saline taste, consists essentially of borax. 



Quite recently other chemical substances have been suggested, and 

 among others is one lately communicated by DAtnelio to tbe Academy of 

 Sciences in Paris. For this purpose the meat, either raw or boiled, is 

 cut into sections (if the action is to be very rapid) and immersed in a 

 solution of citric acid in water in sufficient proportion to render it de- 

 cidedly acid. After two or three hours the meat is withdrawn and sub- 

 jected to a moderate degree of artificial heat, or exposed to the air until 

 dry. With the artificial heat the result should be accomplished in an 

 hour, and in the open air in five or six days. This meat can be kept for 



