[25] POISONING BY RED CODFISH. 1051 



We stated that the cod fisheries take place from April till the mid- 

 dle of September. The first vessels conveying fresh codfish from Ice- 

 land aud the Newfoundland banks arrive in France about the end of 

 May or the beginning of June, and from that time on ships continue 

 to arrive every week in July, August, September, October, and No- 

 vember. A considerable quantity of codfish, therefore, arrives in our 

 ports during the heat of summer. It is no rare case to see entire car- 

 goes turn red from the influence of the heat, either during the voyage or 

 when the fish are lauded in the port of destination. But at that time 

 the red spots are merely found on the surface. 



As soon as the codfish are landed they are taken to the drying-houses. 

 There they are piled up in enormous heaps in closed but well-ventilated 

 rooms. They remain in this condition a longer or shorter period, accord 

 ing to the needs of the trade. They are termed " green codfish." Some 

 are shipped in this condition, but by far the larger quantity is delivered 

 to the dealers as "dried codfish." 



According to the needs of the trade, the green are transformed into 

 dried codfish in the following manner. They are brushed violently with 

 a broom-corn brush, and washed in several waters, so as to get them as 

 clean as possible. This operation frequently causes the red color to 

 disappear. After they have been thus washed, they are hung in the 

 open air to dry. In summer two " suns " suffice to dry them completely, 

 but in winter and in wet weather they have frequently to hang much 

 longer. The codfish hung to dry is carried to the warehouse every 

 evening, and is not allowed to stay in the open air a single night. We 

 have seen 30,000 codfish hung up to dry in a single drying-house at 

 Begles. This operation, of course, necessitates the employment of a 

 very large number of persons. 



The dried codfish generally leaves the drying-houses in good condi- 

 tion, but it passes through several bauds before it reaches the retail 

 dealers, aud with these latter it is not always kept under conditions 

 favorable to its preservation. 



The following figures, derived from a reliable source, give an exact 

 idea of the importance of the French codfish trade : 



The whole of France receives every year from the Icelaud and New- 

 foundland fisheries codfish valued at from 30,000,000 to 35,000,000 

 francs (about $6,000,000). The share of Bordeaux alone in 1885 was 

 14,000,000 francs (about $2,700,000). The average annual quantity re- 

 ceived is 600,000 quintals. 



In 1885 the Bordeaux merchants exported to Spain and Italy 150,000 

 quintals, Spain taking three-fourths of this quantity. 



Some years ago (hardly six) France exported no codfish to Spain, 

 Norway furnishing that county with all the codfish consumed. It 

 seems that considerable difficulty was experienced in opening the Spau- 

 ish market for French codfish, but at present the Norwegians again take 

 courage, and, since the ministerial circular prohibiting the sale of red 

 codfish in Franco, again ship large quantities of codfish to Spain. 



