574 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 
in length and a head 13 inches in diameter. The capacity of this barrel is about half as great as 
that of the common fish-barrel, holding, when properly packed, about 100 pounds of mullet;* but, 
as the law does not specify the exact weight of fish, some of the fishermen who are inclined to 
dishonesty pack their mullet in such a way that the side of the fish containing the backbone shall 
come in the center. By packing in this way, 90 pounds of fish will fill a barrel. Mr. Stearns says 
that the packages now used for putting up pickled mullet at Apalachicola ‘‘are of white pine, 
either barrels, half-barrels, quarter. barrels, or kits. These come by freight from Boston. Form- 
erly cypress packages were used, but they were discarded because they were not so neat or cheap 
as the ones just mentioned. With the freight’ included, those white pine barrels, half-barrels, 
quarter-barrels, and kits cost, respectively, $1, 65 cents, 45 cents, and 30 cents.” In other portions 
of the Gulf home-made barrels are in general use, though a portion of the supply is usually 
obtained from the North. 
In the shipping of kenched or dry-salted mullet ordinary wooden boxes are frequently em- 
ployed. In many localities the fish are simply bundled up in such a way that the fleshy side of 
the mullet may be turned inward and kept clean while in transit, or, again, the outside of the bundle 
is covered by a single layer of matting or palmetto leaves. 
As already stated, only young mullet are found in New Jersey; these being too small to sell 
when salted in the ordinary way, most of them are used fresh, though a few of the larger ones are 
sometimes salted for family use. We learn indirectly that a few of the small mullet are put up 
in vinegar and spices, though we have never seen any fish of this kind in the market. 
At New Smyrna, Fla., and in a few other localities, according to Mr. J. F. McCarthy, mullet 
are smoked to a limited extent for family use, though none are prepared for market in this way. 
. METHODS OF PREPARING MULLET ROES.—The roe of the mullet, which consists of two 
cylindrical masses of eggs an inch or more in diameter and 4 to 8 inches long, is considered a 
great delicacy, and many are saved by the fishermen, who find a ready sale for them. They are 
obtained from the schools of roe or spawning mullet that are so abundant in all of the bays and 
coves along many portions of the coast between the middle of September and the 1st of Decem- 
ber. The marketable ones are taken from gravid females which, though full-roed, have not yet be- 
gun spawning. At this time the ovaries, though large, are still compact, and the eggs are hard and 
firmly held together by means of a membrane that surrounds them. As the spawning season ap- 
proaches, the eggs gradually soften and expand until they burst the membrane and fall into the 
ovarian duct, slowly passing toward the opening, through which they are excluded. When in this 
condition the roes are too soft to be of value, and are hence usually thrown away. At most of the 
larger fisheries one man usually gives his entire attention to gathering and preparing the roe. 
Fresh roes are in good demand in the larger fishing towns, and they are highly prized by the 
fishermen, who consume quite a quantity of them during the season. A large percentage of those 
saved, however, are cured for shipment to the commercial centers. In some localities they are salted 
*We publish the following letter received from Messrs. Hall & Pearsall, of Wilmington, N.C., in reply to our 
inquiry as to the quantity of mullet contained in a barrel of regulation size: 
JULY 16, 1881. 
R. E. Ear, Esq., Asst. U.S. Fish Com., Washington, D.C. : 
Dear Sir: Yours of the 14th to hand. Having no good fish in stock, we took to-day a barrel of the regulation 
dimensions named and filled it with pickled fish which had partially dried. We then covered it with the usual 
quantity of salt pickle, and subsequently reweighed it, with the following result: Barrel, fish, and pickle (gross), 166 
pounds; fish, 95 pounds; pickle, 41 pounds; barre], 30 pounds. As these had lost some weight in partially drying, 
we estimate that a barrel of this size should contain 100 pounds net of pickled fish. 
Yours, respectfully, 
HALL & PEARSALL, 
