100 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



are lined with galvanized ice-tanks 5 feet in length and 6J feet high. 

 The sides of these are composed of galvanized sheet-iron, the ends 

 of wood 2 inches thick, and the bottom of 2 by 4 inch stuff; they are 

 8 inches wide at the top, narrowing to 3J or 4 inches at the bottom, 

 and are placed about 4 inches from the wall in order to expose their en- 

 tire surface to the chilled air. Both the rooms and the tanks open only 

 at the top, and are reached through hatchways from the floor above. 



The tanks hold from 3 to 6 barrels of ice each. In winter they are 

 supplied once a week, but in summer, in order to keep them filled, it is 

 necessary to charge them every day, as they lose fully one-third their 

 contents by melting every twenty-four hours. The water thus formed 

 falls into a galvanized iron gutter, which leads to a small tube at the 

 end of the tank, through which it flows into long draining-troughs that 

 run from the end to the center of the room. The tanks are lifted on 

 standards about 1 foot above the floor, in order that the draining- 

 troughs may be placed at a slant giving a fall of 1 foot to each. This 

 is to prevent the ice from forming in them, as it has sometimes done, 

 producing some inconvenience. The water from the drain under the 

 cooling- tank is conducted through the floor of the refrigera ting-room 

 by a short standing pipe, protected by a little drop cap filled with 

 water, suspended from the ceiling of the room below. The water fall- 

 ing into the bottom of the cup flows over the top into the waste-pipe. 

 Every spring the tanks are washed to rid them of sawdust and dirt. 



When the fish come in they are first dressed, then put into the wash- 

 ing-tanks with ice-water, thoroughly cleansed, and afterwards packed 

 with their backs up and their heads toward the outside, in galvanized 

 iron pans 16 by 29J inches wide and about 3 inches deep, which are 

 said to hold from 35 to 50 pounds, averaging 40 pounds. The large 

 fish are packed lengthwise and small ones, such as herring and perch, 

 crosswise. In the case of the pike a little water is put into the pans, 

 as they do not contain sufficient moisture to hold them to each other 

 when frozen, as is the case with other species. 



The bottom of the wooden bins is covered with a layer, 3 inches deep, 

 of crushed ice mixed with salt. Upon this are spread the first tier of 

 pans, with their contents, and separated from the next tier above by 

 2 inches of ice and salt. In case of perch and other small fish, two 

 tiers of pans instead of one intervene between each two layers of ice. 

 This is repeated until the entire bin is filled. For freezing 5,000 pounds 

 of fish G or 8 tons of ice and 3 barrels of salt are required. The 

 pans are left in from ten to twelve hours, by which time the entire con- 

 tents of each are frozen solidly into a single block. The fish are then 

 packed in wooden storage boxes 30 inches long, 16 inches wide, and 12£ 

 inches deep, inside measurement. 



After four of the frozen cakes have been placed in the box it is nailed 

 up before sending to the refrigeratiug-room to which it is to be assigned. 

 In some other freezing establishments the box is dipped in water after 



