PRESERVATION OF FISHERY PRODUCTS FOR FOOD. 
345 
salosnien make their preparations accordingly, and the cod are taken out of the chests and killed. I 
say killed, hecanse the fish are not merely taken out of the water and allowed to die, but they are 
dispatched in a very summary manner. A chest of cod is brought alongside an old hulk kex>t for the 
purpose, and moored in the dock close to the market 2)lace; tackles from a couple ot davits are then 
hooked on to the handles, and the chest is hoisted up till nearly clear of the water, which drains 
through the bottom and leaves the lish dry. The cover is then taken off, and a man gets into the 
opening and takes out the fish, seizing them by the head and tail. As may be supposed, the commo- 
tion among 50 or 60 cod just out of the water is very great, and it is often a work of difficulty to get 
a good hold of the fish; but, one after another, they are lifted out and thrown up to the deck of the 
hulk, when they come into the hands of another man, who acts as executioner; he gra.sps the fish 
tightly behind the head with his left hand, holds it firmly on the deck, and, giving a few heavy blows 
on the nose with a short club, kills it at once. 
It is sometimes as much as can be done to hold down a large and lively fish on the slippery deck 
while giving it the couii de grace; but the work is generally skillfully iierformed, and the dead fish 
raiiidly accumulate into a large heap, whence they are taken to the adjoining ijuay to be packed in 
Imlk in the railway trucks waiting close by to receive them. Each truck will hold about twelve 
score of good-sized lish, or a proportionately larger number of smaller ones. The fish thus killed and 
packed reached Billingsgate in time for the early market next morning, and are known in the trade 
by the name of “live cod,” the manner in which they are killed affecting the muscles of the fish in 
some way that enables the crimiting process to be carried out successfully some hours after the fish 
have been taken out of the water. These cod command a high price, and are looked upon as essentially 
“West End” fish. There is, of course, a great advantage gained by thus storing the cod alive, for not 
only is the market more regularly supplied than would otherwise be the case, owing to small catches 
during bad weather, or delays from calms or adverse winds, but the fish themselves also come into the 
hands of the fishmongers in a fresher state than almost any other kinds supplied to them. 
In coiiiiectiou with its hatching operations at Woods Hole, Mass., the U. S. Fish 
Commission retains live cod in cars, and for protection in stormy weather these are 
sheltered in an inclosure. The method is as follows: 
The fish are taken with hand lines fished from the deck while the vessel is drifting in water from 
10 to 40 fathoms deep. Those taken in the shoaler water are preferable to those coming from deep 
water, as the change to the shallow cars in which they are held at the station is less pronounced. 
Great care is exercised in catching the fish, for when hastily hauled up from deep water they are very 
liable to be “poke-blown”; that is, they have their stomachs turned inside out through the mouth. 
When drawn in with moderate speed, they become adapted to the gradually diminishing j)res8ure and 
do not suffer injury. It is also important in unhooking the fish not to injure its mouth any more than 
is absolutely necessary, as the wound caused by the hook frequently spreads and forms a large sore 
and eventually kills the fish. All the vessels which collect cod for the station are jirovided with 
wells, in which the fish are placed and held while in transit. AVhen a vessel arrives at the station 
with cod, the fish are immediately transferred with dip nets from the well to live-cars 16 feet long, 
6 feet wide, and 5 feet deep, which are constructed of wood and divided into two comiiartments by a 
crosswise partition. As the fish obtained from smacks are paid for by the pound, it is customary to 
weigh about 10 i)or cent of each load and estimate the total weight by the average of those weighed. 
While being weighed, the cod are also counted, about 500 being put in each car. The cars are moored 
in the middle of a pool or basin protected on all sides by a wharf, which breaks the force of the sea 
in stormy weather and affords a sheltered place for handling the fish and taking the eggs. Cod take 
little or no food when spawning. The impounded brood fish are often tempted with fresh fish and 
with fresh and salted clams. (Report U. S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries for 1897, 2)p. 200-201.) 
Ill the catfish trade centered at Morgan City and Melville, La., very substantial 
live-cars are used in transporting the catch from the fishing-grounds to the markets. 
These are built in the shape of a flat-bottomed skiff, sharp at each end, the sides, top, 
and bottom being formed of slats, with space between each slat for the free circulation 
of water. They range in length from IS to 30 feet and about 5 feet in wfidth. At each 
end there is a water-tight compartment ivith about 40 gallons capacity, and by empty- 
ing or filling these compartments with water the buoyancy of the car may be regulated. 
