418 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
The following description of the methods of drying sturgeon meat — or, more prop- 
erly, the dorsal portion of the fish — in Eussia is extracted from Alexandre Schultz’s, 
“Notice sur les pecheries et la chasse aux phoques dans la Mer Blanche, I’Ocean 
Glacial et la Mer Oaspienne,” St. P6tersbourg, 1873: 
For making good “balyk” a large and tolerably fat flsb is selected, whose head, tail, sides, and 
belly are taken off. That which remains, the dorsal part, has to undergo a si^ecial salting, while the 
other parts are salted in the usual manner. The backs of the common sturgeon {Acipenser guldenstadtii) 
and of the “ s6vriouga” (Acijjenser stellatus) remain entire, while those of the large sturgeon (Acipenser 
huso) are cut, either lengthwise only or else both lengthwise and crosswise. The pieces are placed in 
a tub so as not to touch each other nor the sides of the tub ; and they are left thus after having been 
covered with a thick layer of salt from 9 to 12 days, and even 15 days when the pieces are large and 
the -weather is hot. The salt is mixed with a little saltpeter, to give to the balyk a reddish color, 2 
pounds of saltpeter to 50 poods [1,800 pounds] of balyk. Allspice, cloves, and hay leaves are 
frequently put into the brine. When the salting is finished, the balyk is put into water for a day 
or two, in order to detach all particles of the brine from it. Thereupon it is dried, first in the sun 
and then in the shade, on roofed scaffoldings, which are erected for the purpose. This last-mentioned 
operation requires from 4 to 6 weeks, and is considered finished when the balyk begins to cover with 
a slight mold, the absence of which shows that it has been salted too much. 
Good balyk must be as soft and tender as smoked salmon; must have a reddish or orange- 
brown color ; and must have an odor something like that of the cucumber ; it must also bo transparent, 
show no traces of putrefaction, nor have a bitter taste; and, finally, it must not be too salty. 
There are very few manufacturers who can prei^are balyk that has all these qualities. 
A pood (36 pounds) of good balyk costs at the manufactory at least 18 rubles ($12.60), and at 
retail it can seldom be bought for less than 1 ruble (70 cents gold) a pound. The balyk made in 
March is considered the best. On the banks of the Koura, and in the trans-Caucasian waters, where 
the s^vriouga (Acipenser stellatus) is caught in large numbers, balyk is made of at least 300,000 of 
these fish every year. This balyk, commonly called “djirim,” is not of the first quality. It is dry, 
very salty, and is much sought after by the inhabitants of Kachetia, because it produces thirst and 
gives them occasion to quench it with the excellent production of their vineyards. A large sturgeon 
of 20 poods (720 pounds) yields 5 poods (180 pounds) of balyk; a very large s6vriouga, 15 pounds; 
a common-sized S(ivriouga, 4 pounds; and the common sturgeon, from 8 to 12 pounds. 
DRIED TREPANGS. 
The preparation for market of the soft echinoderm variously designated as sea- 
cucumber, sea-slug, beche de mer, trepang, etc., was once attemiited on the Florida 
coast. The trepang is a very popular food product in oriental countries, esteemed 
not only by the natives, biit by foreigners residing in those countries. China imports 
annually about 5,000,000 pounds, at an average valuation of 20 cents per pound, from 
the South Pacific Islands and Japan, where the holothurian is very abundant. In 
preparing trepangs for market, they are boiled in -water for from 10 to 30 minutes, 
according to varieties and sizes, split down on the side, eviscerated, and then exposed 
to the sun until perfectly cured. In some countries, as in Malay Islands, they are 
dried over a wood fire, but this product is less desirable than if dried in the sun. It 
is important that they be kept dry until they reach the consumers, otherwise they 
become flaccid and decay. 
Mr. Silas Stearns described the fishery attempted on the Florida coast as follows: 
In 1871 au Englisbmau came to Key West, Fla., for the purpose of gatlieriug and preparing tre- 
pang for the Chinese market. He erected a shed, under which were built fireplaces, with large kettles 
and other arrangements, and also frames for drying. He arranged with the fishermen, and fishermen’s 
boys particularly, to bring him all the sea-slugs they could obtain, for which he was to pay a certain 
price. As the slugs were very abundant on the shoals about Key West, and the prices paid for tliem 
