﻿Q The Philippine Journal of Science im 



Variations from the above method are innumerable, and depend 

 largely upon the variety of smoked product to be prepared, and 

 the size and variety of the fish to be smoked must be taken into 

 consideration. 



For the smoking of small fish such as young herring or sar- 

 dines, the Chinese of Manila have very extensive smokehouses 

 and drying yards, and a large business is carried on by them. 

 This business has increased wonderfully within the past six 

 years. In 1909 there were but 14 houses and yards for drying 

 and smoking fish; in 1911 I counted 36 such establishments all 

 owned by Chinese, who were preparing the fish, not only 

 for local consumption, but for export to China as well. In 

 1912 almost all of these establishments were destroyed in the 

 great Tondo fire, but at this date (1913) many have resumed 

 operations. 



The method of their operation, which is effective and eco- 

 nomical although rather crude, is as follows: The fish — usually 

 herring or sardines — are landed at Tondo beach (Plate I) . 

 They are dipped in salt water and washed, but not eviscerated. 

 They are then put in strong brine for from two to three hours 

 (very small or young fish for less time) and then dipped in 

 boiling water for a few moments (Plate II). For the latter 

 purpose, large kettles over a crude earthen furnace are used. 

 The fish are then drained and spread in the sun for about one 

 hour to dry (Plate I). They are next placed in round baskets 

 about 40 centimeters in diameter, 100 fish to the basket 

 (Plate II). These baskets are placed over one of the openings 

 in the furnace to smoke. The furnace (Plate II) is usually 

 constructed of stone or cement, and is about 1 meter high 

 and 1 meter wide, while the length usually is limited only 

 by the length of the house. There may be two or more rows of 

 these furnaces in each house. The furnaces are supplied with 

 holes in the top about 50 centimeters apart for the smoke to pass 

 out; otherwise they are entirely closed. A smoke of hardwood 

 sawdust is started, and the basket of fish is placed over one of the 

 holes of which there are from 5 to 40 in each furnace. Usually 

 several baskets are placed one above another, and over the top 

 basket is always placed a tightly woven basket cover (Plate II). 

 After smoking for ten hours the lowest basket in shifted to 

 the top and the smoking is continued until the fish are properly 

 cured. The length of time necessary for this process depends 

 largely upon the size of the fish. The fish intended for sale in the 

 local markets are usually smoked for twenty-four hours. Small 



