338 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
treatiueut. Therefore, in this report the general method of each form of preservation 
is first noted, and tlien its particular jirocess of application to each species and for 
each of the principal markets is described. It should be remembered, however, that 
the excellence of any particular product does not arise Avholly from the special mode 
of preservation, but from care and attention in the process, guided by experience and 
close observation. No matter what process is employed, careful treatment during all 
the Amrious stages is of fundamental importance, and without it no first-class article 
will be produced. A serious difficulty Avith which the fishery trade has to contend is the 
competition with products of careless or indifferent preservation. In too many cases 
superior quality of the product is sacrificed entirel}^ to cheapness of production, and 
preparers who desire to maintain a high standard suffer from the resulting competition 
and frequently are compelled to cheapen their own process or retire from the business. 
In few countries has greater attention been given to the preparation of fishery 
food products than in the United States. In the A^arious international expositions our 
exhibits of this class have excited favorable comment because of the great variety and 
excellence of the products and the neat and convenient forms in which they are pre- 
pared for sale. The large representation of foreign nationalities in the United States 
has probably been a factor in increasing the number of our methods of preparing 
marine foods. People immigrating to America and devoting their time to handling 
fishery products naturally make use of the ideas and methods in vogue in their native 
countries. The smoking of hadilock and some other species was introduced in this 
Avay by Scotchmen; the Chinese on the Pacific coast and in Louisiana prepare fish, 
shrimp, etc., by methods similar to those practiced in the Orient, and the preparation of 
sturgeon iiroducts was first begun here by natives of Germany and adjacent countries. 
The congregation of people of foreign birth in our coast cities also tends to increase 
the list of fishery in’od nets; a small local sale for certain articles developing among 
those people, the trade gradually extends until such articles become of recognized 
importance in the food markets. There are, hoAvever, many additional methods of 
preserving marine food products that could be employed advantageously to meet the 
wants of new markets. Numerous iiroducts highly valued in Europe and Asia are 
never utilized here, although abundant in the United States waters; and a large part 
of our fishery resources are undeveloped through a failui'e to appreciate and folloAA^ the 
foreign methods of iireservation. Hei-ring, for instance, is one of the most abundant 
species of fish on the United States coast, being very frequently obtainable in much 
larger quantities than the fishermen make use of, yet the United States imports 
annually over $2,000,000 worth of herring products. 
The purpose of this paiier is not to instruct the various fishery preparators in the 
methods of their iiarticular trade, but rather to present the chief processes employed, 
and thus enable those who are interested to compare the different methods. The 
author has carefully consulted the fishery literature and has freely availed himself of 
the data contained therein, yet he has avoided giving a description Avithout actual 
knowledge of the i^resent processes or inquiry from persons familiar therewith. But 
no care or labor can wholly avoid mistakes, and as the plan of this Avork embraces a 
great variety of subjects concerning Avhich much difference of opinion and practice 
exists among fishermen and marketmen it is altogether likely that it will be somewhat 
open to criticism, but it is hoped that the errors will not be so numerous or so gross 
as to materially impair its utility. 
