188 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



mentioned receptacles, in order to prevent one fish from sticking to the other and 

 becoming discoloured when cured. 



43. Herring and alewives shall have been in salt and pickle for not less than 

 ten free days before being presented for the brand. 



44. Herring and alewives should be carefully laid in tiers in the barrels or 

 half-barrels and each tier uniformly salted and completed with two fish laid 

 across the heads of those in the tier, and each successive tier laid transversely 

 to the tier underneath, and the heads of the fish kept close to the sides of the 

 barrels or half-barrels. 



45. Barrels and half-barrels should be soaked in clean water before filling. 



46. In finally packing barrels or half-barrels after the fish have been in salt 

 and pickle not less than ten days fish of the same quality and of the same date 

 of curing should be used, and every barrel should contain two hundred pounds 

 and every half-barrel one hundred pounds of fish when completely packed. 



47. Barrels and half-barrels after being packed should be immediately headed 

 up, made perfectly tight, and filled through a bung hole in the centre of the 

 bilge, with clean pickle made strong enough to float a herring. 



48. The fish during the process of curing and handling, and the barrels and 

 half-barrels after being filled must be carefully protected at all times from the 

 weather. 



49. After barrels and half-barrels have been finally filled, the top quarter 

 hoops and the chime hoops when of wood should be securely nailed with nails 

 not exceeding one and one-quarter inches in length. 



50. The curing of herring in what is known as the Scottish style for the 

 brand shall be carried out in the manner described in Appendix I. 



Method of Curing, Packing, Etc., of Mackerel and Salmon Necessary to 



Secure the Brand 



51. Mackerel and salmon should be well split with a sharp knife and should 

 have the blood removed from the back bone, thoroughly washed in at least 

 three changes of water, and salted into perfectly tight clean receptacles imme- 

 diately after being caught. 



52. Mackerel and salmon should be well dredged in salt before being packed 

 in the aforementioned receptacles. 



53. In packing, the bottom of the receptacle should be covered with salt, and 

 the first tier of fish laid thereon with their backs downward, care being taken to 

 keep the packing level; when the tier is completed it should be covered with salt. 



The second tier should be laid in the same manner, and so on till the barrel 

 is filled. The top tier should be back up. 



54. Mackerel and salmon shall have been in salt and pickle for not less than 

 twelve free days before being presented for the brand. 



55. In finally preparing mackerel and salmon for the brand they shall be 

 emptied out of the receptacle, washed in pickle, selected in accordance with the 

 sizes hereinafter mentioned, and weighed into lots which, when packed in a 

 barrel, would each weigh two hundred pounds, and in a half-barrel, one hun- 

 dred pounds. 



