114 



Anacantiis.- 



-FISIIES.- 



-Gadoids. 



are hanilcd to the saltcr, who places a bed of salt at 

 the bottom of a hirgc wooden vat, and over it a laj'er 

 of fish, and so on alternately, salt and fish, till the vat 

 is filled. Above all are laid heavy stones to keep the 

 fish beneath the pickle. After some days they are 

 taken out, well washed, brushed, and laid in small 

 heaps, called diimj^s, to drain. They are then spread 

 upon the sliingly beach slantingly, with the back under- 

 most, and exposed to the sun and air ; after alternate 

 clamping and exposure, they are built into larger heaps 

 called steeples, which are taken down and rebuilt several 

 times, on purpose tliat each fish may be subjected to 

 equal pressure. The complelion of this drj'ing process, 

 or piiiiiir/, as it is technically called, is indicated by a 

 white efllorescence, or hloom, appearing on the surface 

 of the fish, and then the whole are transported to a 

 dry cellar, lined with wood, where they are piled up 

 until shi]iped off to market. The Yorkshire curers, 

 who are thought to be the best, expedite the process of 

 drying by laying the fish on wooden bars raised three 

 feet above the ground, so as to allow a free current of 

 air to pass below them. Fish for the Spanish market 

 are required to be rather lightly salted, to have a pure 

 greenish colour and transparent aspect, and to be very 

 hard dried. Care must be taken that the fisli are 

 neither sun-burnt, blistered, nor scalded by being laid 

 on stones that are too much heated by the sun's 

 rays. 



The same distinguished ichthyologist gives the fol- 

 lowing account of the Newfoundland fishery : — Each 

 fisherman has a stout line of sixty or seventy fathoms' 

 length, to which is attached a lead of five pounds. From 

 this proceeds the j'cnnant, a cord three feet long, hav- 

 ing a copper swivel at its end, that supports the middle 

 of the craft. Tlie cord bearing this latter ajipellation 

 is two and a half feet in length, is stifl'ened by three 

 strips of whalebone, and has at each of its extremities 

 a smaller swivel, to which the fjai(rjing of the hook is 

 attached, the whalebone serving to keep the hooks a 

 foot apart being so named. The men arrange them- 

 selves on the windward side of the deck, with the hooks 

 ready baited, throw over their leads and reel out their 

 lines, till the lead rests on the bottom. It is then drawn 

 up, so far that the hook shall touch the bottom with 

 the downward pitch of the vessel. The fish on taking 

 the bait gives a slight jerk, to which the fisherman 

 replies by a sudden pidl so as to fasten the hook in the 

 fish's month, and then standing back, hauls in the line, 

 band over hand, till the fish is landed on the deck. It 

 is then unhooked, and thrown into a square bos called 

 a lid ; and the hooks being baited afresh, are hove over 

 again. Early in the season, clams are the bait used, 

 and are mostly taken from the stomachs of Cod already 

 caught; afterwards lobsters, then herrinrj and scind- 

 launce ; and in June, ccipelan are resorted to; herring 

 coming into use again in August. While the line is 

 descending, the fisherman picks up the Cod that he 

 has caught and cuts out its tongue. Towards night 

 the fish are counted out from each man's kid, and 

 thrown into a large receptacle near the main batch, 

 called the dressing kid. Each fisherman keeps his 

 own account, and reports to the skipper, who enters 

 tlie several catches in the logbook. The dressing gang 



consist of a throater, a lieader, a splitter, and a Salter. 

 The three first, operating as indicated by their names, 

 reduce the fish to the shape in wliich they come to 

 market ; and the Salter, stationed in the hold, builds 

 them up in alternate Icenches, or layers of salt and fish. 

 The decks are then washed down, and the vessel 

 anchored and made snug for the night. 



The voyage of John Cabot in 1497 led to the modern 

 fishery on the banks of Newfoundland; and the most 

 authentic notice of that voyage, taken by Hakln3't from 

 Cabot's map cut by Clement Adams, reports that 

 " especially there is great abundance of that kind of 

 fish which the savages call Bacctdaos " — a name of 

 Basque origin, by which, with little change, the Spa- 

 niards designate the Cod to this day. Ramusio in his 

 third volume, published in 15G5, says with the enchant- 

 ment lent to his view by distance, that the Baceliahtos 

 are in such quantities on the coast of Newfoundland, 

 as at time? not to leave room for a carvel to pass ! and 

 that the Bretons and Normans call these fish Molce, 

 and go every year to derive gi'cat profit from the 

 fishery. The voj'age of Verazzano in 1524 led to the 

 subjects of France engaging in this fishery ; and at 

 first the Bretons seem to have sent more vessels to 

 Newfoundland than the English. In 1578, according 

 to Mr. Anthonie Parkhurst, in a letter published by 

 Hakluyt, there were one hundred sail of Spaniards, 

 fifty rortiignose ships, and of French and Bretons one 

 hundred and fifty sail of small tonnage, engaged in the 

 Newfoundland Cod-fisherj', the English still being in 

 inferior numbers, but lording it over the strangers who 

 came into their neighbonihood, causing them to fish 

 for them and to supply salt, in return fur protection 

 they afibrdcd against pirates. In the present day, six 

 thousand ships of all nations are calculated to be 

 employed in Cod-fishing, and the produce is supposed 

 to amount to thirty-six millions of fish prepared in 

 various manners, the whole of which immense quantity 

 would be replaced by the eggs of four fish coming to 

 maturity, according to the estimate made above. M. 

 Valenciennes says that France now emploj's twelve 

 thousand seamen in four hundred vessels in taking 

 Cod. The fishery of the United States must find occu- 

 pation for a much greater number of seamen, and 

 Newfoundland is a great nursery for our own navy, 

 wdiich was valued so much even in days of compulsory 

 service, that the fishermen while engaged in their 

 occupation were protected from impressment. 



The Haddock {Murrlnia (crjlcjiiais) is finer on the 

 Scottish coasts than in the southern parts of England, 

 and is consumed in large quantities in Edinburgh, 

 Glasgow, and other important towns. Dried in a 

 peculiar way at Findhorn, it becomes the "Finnan 

 Haddie," which is a northern delicacy, and is exported 

 to London, but deteriorates greatly if kept beyond a 

 very few days. Dried more perfectly, so as to keep 

 longer, it is called " Speldron," a much inferior article 

 to the other. The Finnan, Bnckie, and Bervie smoked 

 Haddocks, are the most prized. The Bib (Morrliiia 

 iusca), and Whiting {l\Ierlmigui vulgaris), are smaller 

 but good fish, brought in great numbers to market 

 during the season. They are used only in the fresh 

 state. The Coal-fish [Merlangus carhonariiis) visits 



