62 COD AND OTHER SALT FISH FOR THE MARKET. 



3. The fish should be washed by sprays of water or by a machine. 

 The sprays should have sufficient force to do the work well. The 

 present method of pitching the fish into a tank or dory and then out ^ 

 again is not sufficient for cleaning, and, furthermore, it tends to dis- 

 seminate any organisms which may be present. 



4. The water used upon the fish or upon anything with which 

 the fish come in contact should be of undoubted purity. The use 

 of harbor water for any purpose can not be justified, as it is filled 

 with the germs which come from emptying the butts and washing 

 fish and docks. It is also apt to be polluted with sewage from the 

 city, as was found to be the case in the investigation here reported. 



5. The butts should be thoroughly cleaned inside and out and 

 steamed for twenty minutes or sprayed with a solution of sul- 

 phurous acid. 



6. Before fish are taken out of the butts water should be turned 

 in to cause the brine to overflow and wash away any reddening which 

 may have occurred on the top. 



7. The fish should be passed through a spray of water to remove 

 the adherent salt, as this adds weight and does not increase the time 

 of keeping. 



8. Racks used in waterhorsing should be steamed or sprayed, and 

 the work be done in the light and in one place in the factory rather 

 than at any point in the shed where the butt may happen to be. 



9. The drying should be carried as far as possible and still permii 

 proper skinning. A second drying, or Nova Scotia style of cure 

 should be encouraged. 



10. The kenching in the storeroom should permit a circulation of 

 air and not cause dead air spaces. The kench racks should be steamec 

 or sprayed after each period of use. 



11. The walls, posts, and floors should be sprayed often, once a 

 week during the cool season and twice a week during the summer. 



12. Treading the fish in drums should be prohibited. Working- 

 men coming in from the street in their dirty shoes obviously should 

 not be allowed to tread the fish in the packing operation. A mechan- 

 ical appliance would accomplish the same purpose in a cleanly 

 manner. 



13. The boxes used in carrying the fish from the storeroom to the 

 skinning loft and from the tables to the cutters and packers should 

 be washed each clay. 



14. The skinning or cutting tables should not have shelves or boxes 

 beneath to catch bits of skin or fish. They should be well washed each 

 evening. The simple brushing with a hand broom is not sufficient. 

 The floor should be cleaned often. 



