478 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
For use in smoking ckunks or portions of large fish, such as sturgeon, previous 
to canning them, a wire disk-form receptacle, in which the chunks are compressed to a 
size adapted to the cans in which they are to be placed, is here described : 
This receptacle is so arranged that it may he rotated during the smoking process, thus causing 
the dripping juices to pass through the mass. The product of the usual method of smoking does not 
remain sufficiently juicy for canning and the irregular chunks require a large amount of oil or other 
liquid to fill the interstices within the can. The receptacle is drum-shaped, with a cross section equal 
to the cross section of the can wherein the product is to he packed. It has a movable or inner head 
and a spring clasp for forcing the head inward, and is so suspended that it may he frequently rotated 
on the spring clasp. In carrying out this process the sturgeon or other fish is cut up into suitable 
pieces, salted in brine for the proper length of time, and then neatly placed in the drum until the latter 
is filled. The head and clasp is then placed in position and the drum suspended in the smoking-room. 
While subjected to the action of the smoke, and as the fish becomes more and more compact, it 
assumes the shape of a disk with comparatively flat ends. During the smoking the receptacle is 
turned from time to time so that the juice that settles at the bottom is frequently brought to the top and 
again compelled to flow through the mass. These disks may be much thinner than the height of the can 
in which they are placed, in which case two or three or more are superimposed until the can is filled.* 
SMOKED HERRING. 
The process of smoking is almost as important in the cure of herring as the use 
of salt in iireserviug codfish. This was one of tlie earliest marine iiroducts to which 
smoking was applied, and at present the various species of this family are probably 
smoked in greater quantities than all other species combined. By varying the process 
of smoking different products are obtained, almost wholly unlike in appearance, flavor, 
and keeping qualities, instances of which are the hard or red herring and the bloater 
herring, both prepared from the sea herring of the New England coast {Clupea liaren- 
(jus). The former are smoked three or four weeks, until quite dry, while the latter are 
exposed to the smoke for only a few hours and will keep but a limited time; the 
sooner they are eaten the better their flavor. Kippered herring differ from bloater 
herring infincipally in that they are split and eviscerated before being smoked. The 
buckling or pickling prepared in New York City from frozen Newfoundland herring 
are somewhat similar to the bloaters of Boston, dittering principally in that they are 
smoked at a higher temperature and for a much shorter time. A few Labrador herring 
pickled in barrels are smoked in New York City, and along the Great Lakes and in 
the near-by localities quantities of lake herring are smoked. The smoked herring of 
the Southern States is made from the alewife {Clupea, vernalis), so abundant in rivers 
of that region. The methods of smoking applied to each of these various species will 
be described in detail in the following jiages. 
HARD HERRING. 
The original process of smoking hard herring, or red herring, as practiced in the 
United States, is said to have been derived from Scotland by way of Digby, Nova 
Scotia. In 1795 a Scotch fisherman located at the last-named place and devoted his 
attention to smoking herring as practiced in his native country, the product being 
sold in Nova Scotia and the adjacent parts of New England under the name of 
“Digby chickens.” Others went into the business and the process gradually extended 
to the United States, the business being established at Eastport in 1808 and at Lubec 
in 1812. The trade gradually increased until the beginning of the Washington treaty 
in 1873, being particularly extensive during the civil war. The average annual output 
* See Letters Patent No. 423545, in favor of Max Ams. 
