SIXTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 29 



factor}' properties. As compounded with salt in the form of a 

 powder or in solution with tartaric acid, boracic acid is found to 

 effectually preserve either dry or pickled fish in good condition 

 for a lono- time. 



At the Fisheries Exhibition, at London, in 1883, some Pacific 

 salmon were shown which had been packed in a solution of bo- 

 racic acid and other ingredients for several weeks, and after their 

 long land and water journey, they were removed from the solution 

 and exposed to the atmosphere at the fish market for several 

 days, still retaining most of their original flavor and fresh- 

 ness. 



It is my purpose in tliis joaper to enumerate some of the more 

 important methods of preserving fish by chemical treatment. 

 Only a few of the numerous compounds which have been brought 

 to the notice of fish curers have come into commercial use, though 

 it is probable that many of them would upon trial be found ef- 

 fectual and profitable. 



At the Centennial Exposition, at Philadelphia in 1876, there 

 were some exhibits of fresh oysters and clams preserved in chem- 

 ical liquids, and which the juries on awards pronounced of good 

 quality. Boracic acid was reported to preserve animal matter 

 for several months without changing the texture as common salt 

 does. Citric and acetic acids also proved good preservatives, 

 and fish cured in these acids were, after a little soaking in fresh 

 water, found free from all unpleasant flavor. 



In Portugal, fish are kept fresh for a considerable time by re- 

 moving the viscera and sprinkling the abdominal cavity with 

 sugar, when they are hung up to allow the sugar to impregnate 

 the flesh as much as possible. 



I shall notice the several methods in the order of their com- 

 mercial importance, beginning with acetic acid, which, next to 

 common salt, is perhaps the principal antiseptic in use in this 

 country. 



Vinegar, Spices, etc. — I^obsters, oysters, oyster crabs, mussels, 

 scallops and some other marine products are preserved in vine- 

 gar alone, and packed in glass jars, are common in the New 

 York markets under the name of." pickled " products. Herring, 



