308 LABRADOR 
the head, scoops out the entrails, and rapidly passes on the 
body to the splitter. The splitter sits or leans standing 
on the opposite side, and keeps the stream of fish running 
on in the same way, the good portion falling into a large 
tub of water, the bones falling out through the shoot. 
Meanwhile, a washer stirs the tub and removes the washed 
bodies. These he wheels off and piles up in rows, the salter 
following along with a barrow of salt. With a wooden 
shovel the salter shakes over the rows the amount of salt 
appropriate to the market for which the fish is destined. 
To save salt, men sometimes throw the fish bodies into tubs 
of pickle, making the pickle strong enough for a raw potato 
to float in it. It takes about one pound of salt to salt 
a pound and a half of cod. Washing out again takes one 
minute per fish. Salt wastes in bulk when stored, and 
there is a constant anxiety lest too much salt should be 
stored, or, far worse, there should not be enough salt to meet 
a sudden big catch of fish. This has often been the case, 
and I have seen many a quintal spoil and nets full of fish 
not being hauled because no salt was obtainable. 
To dry, fish needs sun and a proper set of the wind. The 
actual work of catching is not over till late in the year, and 
at that time the right combination of a westerly wind and 
a bright, not too hot sun does not come very often. The 
least rain, fog, or frost makes both drying and shipping 
impossible. While awaiting a clear day, the fish may be 
quickly stacked under shelter, or at least turned face down 
in small “yaffles,” or bundles. The fish’s own thick skin 
is a fair waterproof cover. Birch rinds, and even canvas 
bags, are used by some of the more enterprising men. Fish 
that gets wet once or twice never dries really white, especially 
