FISH FRIED AND SALTED. 239 



whole or in segments, can be traced back to the old 

 Eomans ; for in two paintings discovered at Pompeii, 

 on the outer pillar of an inn, the figures on the sign- 

 board are in the one a whole eel twisted and spitted, 

 and in the other three pieces on one spit. 



Another curious operation at Comacchio is the fry- 

 ing, with eel-fat and olive -oil, in frying-pans at least 

 2 J feet in diameter, of mullets, dories, soles, small eels, 

 aquadelles, and in general all kinds of fish which can- 

 not be spitted. M. Coste is considerate enough to 

 state that they are not thrown in alive. Our philoso- 

 pher, moreover, has an eye for something more than 

 spits and frying-pans for the finny tribes. We find 

 him noting the youth and beauty of the Comacchian 

 damsels, whose delicate fingers so nimbly wrap in 

 wheaten flour the tiny aquadelles, which they form 

 into bouquets, and whose merry tongues relieve their 

 toil with cheerful tales. 



The barrels in which the fish are packed are of all 

 sizes, from the huge tun down to those termed zangoli. 

 When packed, they are sprinkled with a particular mix- 

 ture of salt and vinegar, the vinegar being of the strong- 

 est, and the salt not white, but grey and earthy, on ac- 

 count of its supposed property of tempering the too great 

 acidity of the vinegar, or possibly because it is cheaper. 

 It is also supposed that the earthy matter aids in ward- 

 ing off putrefaction. To about 124 Ib. of vinegar they 

 add about 13 Ib. grey salt, if the mixture be for large 

 fish. Great care is taken in order that the fish may be 

 thoroughly saturated, and that the barrels be impervi- 

 ous to air. 



The second mode of preserving is that of simple 

 salting, which has given rise to the process termed 

 bastOj which is applied to eels and mullets ; the other 

 sorts not being sufficiently abundant to be formed into 

 stacks. These are always squares, varying in dimen- 

 sions according to the quantity of fish they contain, 

 and consist of alternate layers of salt and eels, crossing 



