VISIT TO THE SOUTH COAST OUTPORTS 153 



as 20 quintals have been taken in one day by two men, who 

 happened to strike a shoal of hungry cod. 



The cod-traps, cod-seines, and cod-nets all stop about 

 1st August, but the hand-line men and " bankers," with trawl 

 lines, go on till about ist October, when the weather usually 

 becomes too bad for fishing. 



Having brought the fish ashore, it may interest the 

 reader to follow the history of the fish until it is eventually 

 distributed. 



As soon as the cod are brought ashore they are treated 

 as follows. One man cuts the throat, another cuts the head 

 off, a third splits and cleans the fish, and a fourth salts it. 

 These "green" fish are then arranged in piles for a week 

 or a fortnight. They are then taken out and washed in salt 

 by boys and girls, and again packed in bulk for twenty-four 

 hours. After this they are spread out to dry in the sun on 

 the fir-branched trestles or flakes. It takes about five fine 

 days to dry a cod. The dried fish is then packed in bulk 

 and stored in the house, ready for removal. A usual price 

 for outport curers is five dollars a quintal. (A quintal is 

 112 lbs., and it takes about fifty trawl fish, or a hundred 

 trap fish, to realise this weight.) 



The cod-fishing has for centuries been the mainstay of 

 the island, and when all other things fail, this (and the 

 caribou) will last, if taken care of. Of course seasons 

 fluctuate owing to the irregular movements of the fish, but 

 it may be taken as a general rule that if the season is bad 

 off Newfoundland it is good on " The Labrador," or " Down 

 North " as it is always called, where a large percentage of 

 the Newfoundlanders go to fish. 



The report of the Fisheries Board will give some idea 

 of the great number of cod which are usually exported. 



