PRESERVATION OP FISHERY PRODUCTS FOR FOOD. 
417 
The redfish [Trochocopus pulclier) are dressed by opening the abdomen and 
removing the viscera, and Chinamen exhibit much ingenuity in giving a picturesque 
appearance to the head and teeth of this species. According to Dr. D. S. Jordan: 
A “junk” with the deck covered with drying redtish seems at a little distance to he lull of frogs 
about to leap. Sometimes I have noticed that the fatty protuberance on the forehead of the redfish 
has been cut off. This is valued as a delicacy and used for fish chowder. 
Squid are dried in small quantities by Chinamen on the coast of California. They 
are washed and spread out on small slat-work idatforms or flakes. The large squid 
are first split, but the small ones are dried in the condition in which removed from the 
water. The largest squid-drying establishment is located at Point Alones. There 
some of the flakes are placed on the ground, but the majority are elevated on posts 2 
or 3 feet high, and resemble somewhat the codfish flakes of New England, the prin- 
cipal diB'ereuce being that tlie squid flakes have the slats much closer together thau 
those used for codfish. About 10 days are required for the process of curing, and no 
salt whatever is used. When thoroughly cured they are packed in bundles, each 
containing about 135 pounds and u^fward, and each package is covered with matting. 
They are sent to San Francisco, where some are sold to the domestic trade, and the 
remainder exported to the Hawaiian Islands and to China. 
DRIED STURGEON PRODUCTS. 
In the sturgeon fisheries of Eussia and of Asiatic countries, and quite recently, 
to a small extent, in the Columbia River fisheries the spinal cords of the sturgeon 
have been utilized. After being cleaned and dried this substance is excellent for fish 
pies, soups, chowders, etc. The method of its prepai’ation in Russia is as follows: 
After the fish has been eviscerated aa incision is made in tlie flesh, and by means of a hook enough 
of the spinal cord is drawn out to furnish a good hold for the fingers, by means of which the whole 
is extracted in a hand, 4 or 5 feet long, consisting of a round whitish substance, marked or slightly 
disconnected at intervals like sausage links. It is carefully washed in fresh water to remove the 
blood and slime, and is then drawn by a workman l)etween the edge of the washtub and his left hand, 
or similarly compressed, to remove the soft viscous matter or nerve tissues contained within ; or some- 
times it is cut open and those tissues scraped away and discarded. After this operation the substance 
is rinsed in another tub of fresh water until it becomes quite clear, and it is then exposed in a free 
circulation of air until it is thoroughly desiccated. For marketing, it is cut into pieces 4 or 5 inches 
in length, or it is tied in bundles composed of a number of spinal cords. On the Columbia River it 
sells for about 40 cents per pound, and in Russia it sells for the eciuivalent of 40 to 60 cents per pound, 
2.5 of the common sturgeon of Russia {Acipeiiser guldenstiidtii) being required to furnish 1 pound of 
veziga or viaziga, as the product is commonly known in the European markets.* 
The preparation of the spinal cords of sturgeon on the Columbia River is thus 
described by Mr. W. A. Wilcox:! 
One product of the sturgeon is used entirely by the Chinese, namely, the spinal marrow. As 
soon as the fish are landed at the packing establishment a Chinaman, armed with a hook, pulls out 
enough of the marrow to furnish a good hold ; then, seizing it, draws the remainder of it out, hand over 
hand. In the average-sized sturgeon the spinal cord is 4 or 5 feet long and consists of long, white con- 
necting links resembling sausages. These are cut open and the jellj^-like substance contained within 
is scraped oft' and thrown away. This marrow is known by the Chinese and the trade under the name 
of “bone.” It is thoroughly dried, and if not sold to the Chinese in this country it is exported to 
China, where it is much prized for making soups. The Chinamen pay 4 cents a pound for this “bone” 
and remove it from the fish themselves. 
* See Rapport sur les Expositions Internationales de Peche, par .1. I,. Soubeiran, Paris, p. 151. 
t Report U. S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries for 1893, p. 252. 
V.C. 15,, 1898-27 
