PEESEllVATION OF FISHERY PRODUCTS FOR FOOD. 
369 
originated daring the winter of 1854-55, the immediate object being to supply the 
vessels engaged in the Georges Bank cod fishery with bait. At present those vessels, 
as well as those employed in the bluefish fishery, depend almost entirely on this form 
of bait during the winter and early spring, and in addition large quantities of frozen 
herring are used for food. 
The process of freezing is as follows: Wheii the vessel has been moored in some 
cove convenient to the fishing-ground, the ballast is thrown overboard, the hold 
sheathed up around the sides with spruce boughs, and a platform built in the bottom 
of the hold several inches above the keelson. A bulkhead G inches thick, with the 
space in the middle filled with sawdust, is placed across the forward part of the hold 
to separate it from the forecastle. Sometimes the fish are frozen ashore by the natives, 
a clear, gravelly beach above high-water mark or a surface of crushed snow and ice 
being chosen. Bnt usually the freezing is done on a large scaffolding on the deck of 
the vessel. This scaffolding is generally about 100 feet long by 25 feet wide and is 
built of rough boards, most of which are purchased at Nova Scotia points on the way 
to Newfoundland, they being obtainable much cheaper there than in Gloucester. The 
quantity of fish placed on the scaffold varies according to the weatlier. 
When the temperature is little below the freezing point, the fish must be spread 
very thin, in order that those underneath may be thoroughly frozen; but, with a lower 
temperature, the fish can be heaped together to the depth of a foot or more, though 
in such cases it is necessary to turn them every few hours. A constant watch must 
be kept to guard against loss fi’om a sudden rise in temperature or a storm of rain or 
snow. The watch usually turns the fish with a wooden shovel or stirs them with his 
feet every few hours, and during a snow storm it becomes necessary to work constantly 
among them to keep them from being covered up. Should the weather become so 
warm that the fish would be thawed by exposure, it is necessary to place them in piles 
and cover them with canvas or other material, again exposing them when the tempera- 
ture has fallen sufBcieutly. The usual method of ascertaining whether a herring is 
sufliciently frozen is by breaking. If the fish bends at all it is not thoroughly frozen; 
but if it breaks short, like a dry stick, it is ready to be stowed in bulk. 
The herring are roughly shoveled in the vessel, the hold, and sometimes even the 
cabin, being filled, the crew in the latter case living in the forecastle on the homeward 
passage. Formerly the fish were packed in snow, or a considerable quantity of snow 
was placed around the sides of the hold and the fish heaped together in the middle; 
but for many years this practice has been wholly abandoned, and it is found that the 
fi.sh will keep equally well without the use of snow. 
This trade at present averages about 25,000,000 herring annually, with a valuation 
of $300,000. About one-third are used for bait by the Gloucester fishermen, and those 
remaining are sold for food. The market value varied for many years from 75 cents 
to |3 per 100 fish wholesale, while the retail price was about double those figures. 
During the past three years the fish have been sold by weight, two scales being on 
the vessel, one at the main hatch and the other at the aft hatch; the average wholesale 
price during those years has been from $1.25 to $2.50 per 100 pounds. 
Frozen herring form cheap and wholesome food at a season when other fresh fish 
are obtained with difficulty and only at a high price. They possess a great advantage 
over ordinary fresh fish in that they can be packed in barrels without ice and shipped 
to a considerable distance without danger of loss. With the exception of those sold 
F. C. B., 1898—24 
