[55] OPERATIONS OF SCHOONER GRAMPUS. 545 



of the net to the shore. As soon as the boat touches the shore all 

 hands spring out and hastily haul in upon the ends of the seine until 

 the iish are gathered in a compact mass in the bunt of the net. The 

 cod are then taken out and carried to the dressing "stage 77 and the 

 seine is again placed in position in the boat ready for another " shot. 77 

 Occasionally a " big haul 77 is secured, and then the seine is "moored 77 to 

 the shore until the catch can be removed, the object being to keep the 

 lish alive in the net until they can be dressed and salted, only as many 

 being taken out from time to time as can be handled before they begin 

 to deteriorate. 



In trap-fishing the crib or bowl is lifted in the same manner that a 

 pound-net is handled. The fish are taken out and carried to the curing 

 stages in boats. 



(t) Fish curing. 

 (See plates XIV and XV.) 



As a rule, much care is exercised in curing codfish in Newfoundland, 

 due largely to the fact that the fish are culled into different grades for 

 market, and the best cured fish demand the highest price. Special at- 

 tention is paid to splitting the fish, since any neglect in this particular 

 will injure the product. New England fishermen are often less careful 

 about splitting cod, for the reason that the fish are not dried so hard 

 as at Newfoundland, are less liable to be broken, and also because 

 large quantities are made into "boneless cod, 77 and packed into boxes 

 before being placed on the market. The markets of the United States 

 demand large white fish, and perhaps less is thought of the splitting, 

 aud more of washing, etc. ; while in Newfoundland the conditions are 

 reversed. A fish packer at St. John 7 s rather tersely explained his 

 view of it as follows: 



"The Americans don 7 t take as much care in dressing their fish as we 

 do. They think to have large fish and white ones is all that 7 s required. 

 We use all — large or small — and pay but little attention to beauty. 

 The beauty of the fish is not what is most looked for here; it 7 s the 

 quality. 77 



The Newfoundland cod are culled into three grades, West India, 

 Madeira, and Merchantable; the prices for which (in 1885) were respect- 

 ively 13, 17, aud 20 shillings. The " merchantable fish 77 are usually 

 shipped to Brazil, where they are in high favor; they are small shore 

 cod that have been cured with special care and dried very hard. The 

 pickle cured are generally intended for the United States. When cod 

 are salted in casks for pickle curing, seven hogsheads of salt are put 

 upon one hundred quintals of fish, but ten hogsheads of salt are used 

 on the same quantity of bank cod if they are "bulked 77 or salted in 

 kench. God that are intended for shipment to tropical or semi-tropical 

 countries are "hard cured. 77 They are first dried about three weeks 

 in good weather, then stacked in piles for a greater or less length of 

 H. Mis. 133 35 



