THE FRENCH SARDINE INDUSTRY. 
25 
sardine, and are not known to possess any properties, especially when salted, which 
make them an indispensable bait. So far as known, all fish eggs not over one-sixteenth 
of an inch in diameter are suitable for bait. Among the gadoid fishes, the haddock, 
the hake, the pollock, and the cusk should yield eggs not inferior to those of the cod. 
Reference has already been made to the value of mackerel eggs as bait. Many other 
common species inhabiting our salt or fresh waters might be mentioned. 
Norwegian roe has for many years practically monopolized the trade, and is still 
the leading bait as regards quality, quantity used, and price. American roe, as such, 
is just as good and just as satisfactory to the sardine fishermen as the Norwegian, 
but, owing to certain differences — amounting to positive defects- in the methods of 
packing, it is far less acceptable than the Norwegian, and will inevitably bring much 
less money per barrel until other methods are observed. The roe brought in by the 
French fishermen of Newfoundland is inferior to the American. 
A description of the manner of preparing cod roe, as practiced in Norway years 
ago, and of the improvements therein suggested by the French Government, has 
already been given. The features which give to the Norwegian roe the superiority 
which it has continued to maintain, and the points to which Americans must give 
careful consideration if they would hope to receive a fair share of the trade, appear 
to the writer to be as follows, after a critical comparison of the product of the two 
countries as seen in France: 
(1) The Norwegian roe is closely packed in the barrels, and when the barrels are opened the 
sardine fishermen find them practically full. The roe is evidently salted on shore and then repacked 
and pressed in the barrels with some force; and after standing and settling the barrels are apparently 
filled again before being finally closed. Barrels of American roe, on the other hand, although the 
same size as the others, invariably contain less bait, owing to shrinkage incident to salting, to failure 
of the packers to properly fill them in the first place, or to both these causes combined. The roe is 
taken from the barrels and carried to the fishing-grounds in buckets. A barrel of Norwegian roe will 
fill eight buckets, while often a barrel of American roe will fill only five or six buckets. Barrels of 
Newfoundland roe, while larger than the Norwegian, often contain 20 to 25 pounds less of roe. 
(2) Norwegian roe is packed dry, and remains dry unless it becomes very old. The barrels con- 
tain no undissolved salt and no free brine. The brine which may form after the closing of the barrels 
escapes through holes, about one-fourth inch in diameter, bored in the sides of the barrel. Barrels of 
American roe are either dry or may contain more or less brine; they are also liable to have consider- 
able undissolved salt in the bottom or mixed with the roe. The barrels should contain nothing but 
dry roe, as the French fishermen are too economical and too keen to knowingly expend their hard- 
earned money for salt and water as bait for sardines. Small shipments of roe from America ten or 
more years ago were very unsatisfactory and gave rise to a well-founded prejudice which still prevails 
to a considerable extent. Barrels were occasionally found that contained very little roe and were filled 
chiefly with salt. “Salt is not good for sardine bait,” was the remark of a dealer at Concarneau. The 
quality of American roe in the foregoing respect is now better, although, in the opinion of the fishermen, 
there is still much room for improvement. 
. (3) The Norwegians observe several grades of roe, depending on the ripeness of the eggs, and 
pack them in separate barrels, which bring different prices. The ripeness of the roe determines its 
quality as bait, because of the plus or minus of ovarian capsule or membrane, which is thinner and 
relatively less in quantity when the eggs are riper. With the American roe no distinction of this kind 
is made, but eggs of all degrees of ripeness are mixed. Large pieces of thick ovarian membrane are 
often found in the roe from the United States. 
(4) The ovaries are salted more or less entire in Norway, and when a barrel is opened the 
individual organs may be removed one by one. As the roe needed for fishing is transferred from the 
barrels to the buckets by hand, the existence of the whole roe facilitates the work and is appreciated 
by the men. American roe is largely a concrete mass of wet eggs with strings of membranes running 
through it. 
