398 
BULLETIN OE THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
18 cents represents the cost of the salt. It usually costs more to cure fish in July and 
August than in October, because of the greater difficulty in drying and consequently 
the increase in number of times that the lish have to be handled. An examination of 
a number of itemized accounts shows the average cost of handling cod from the round 
to the cured jiroduct to be 43 cents per quintal; haddock, 46 cents; hake, 40 cents; 
pollock, 43 cents; cusk, 43 cents. If the fish have been salted on the vessel the cost 
of handling ashore will be reduced by the labor required for dressing, splitting, and 
salting, and by the decrease in amount of salt used, and ranges between 28 and 38 
cents j)er quintal. When green split cod costs If cents per pound, a quantity suffi- 
cient to make a quintal gross (114 ]iounds) would cost $3.84, and the cost of handling 
averaging 43 cents per (piintal, it is necessary to sell the cured product at $4.27 per 
quintal gross to clear expenses. This cost of labor is so small, compared with the 
original cost of the fish, that it pays to take the utmost care in the process of curing. 
The principal grades of dry fish are Georges cod, Shore cod. Grand Banks cod, 
hake, cusk, haddock, and pollock. Each grade of cod is further divided into large, 
medium, and small. Georges cod are generally the largest and choicest received, and 
are taken on Georges Bank, South Channel, Browns Bank, and adjacent fishing- 
grounds. These fish are usually heavily salted and dried only a day or so. The 
Grand Banks cod or “ Bank cod ” are taken on Grand and Western banks and Bau- 
quereau and are usually dried longer than the Georges or Shore cod. During recent 
years cusk have been divided into two grades, large and small, the former comprising 
all over 19 inches in length as received from the vessel. The prices of codfish vary 
according to the conditions in which they are sold, and iirobably the best guide to the 
comparative values of the different species may be obtained from an examination ot 
the prices received as they are landed from the vessels. 
The following shows the prices per quintal of the principal grades of salt fish on 
the Boston and Gloucester markets in January, April, July, and October, 1898: 
1 
1 Designation. 
January. 
April. 
July. 
October. 
1 Georges cod, large 
Georges cod, medium 
Shore cod, large 
Shore cod, medium 
Bank cod, large 
Bank cod, medium 
Hake . 
Haddock 
Cusk 
Pollock 
$6. 25 
4. 00 
5. 00 to $5. 25 
3. 50 
4. 00 to 4.25 
3.50 
2. 25 to 2.374 
2.50 
3. 50 
2. 75 to 3.00 
$5. 50 to $5. 75 
4. 00 
5. 00 to 5.25 
3. 50 
4. 00 to 4.25 
3. 50 
2. 25 to 2.50 
2. 00 to 2. 25 
3. 50 
2.75 
j .$5. 50 
1 3.75 
4. 50 
3.00 
4. 00 to $4. 25 
3. 25 to 3.50 
2. 00 to 2.25 
2. 00 to 2.25 
3. 25 to 3.50 
2. 75 to 3.00 
$5. 75 to $6. 00 
3. 50 to 3.75 
4. 50 
3. 00 to 3.25 
4. 00 to 4.25 
3. 50 to 3.75 
1.75 to 2.00 
2. 00 to 2.25 
3. 50 to 3.62^ 
2. 50 to 3.00 
For the local market or nearby trade the whole fish are packed in rough bundles 
of one quintal, or 112 iiounds, each, and tied with cords, or in wooden boxes holding 
from 100 to 4.50 pounds each. The 450-pound boxes are 46 inches long, 22 inches 
wide, and 16 inches deep, inside measurement. At Gloucester, Boston, Vinal Haven, 
and Portland large quantities are prepared as boneless cod (see pp. 400-405). In 
packing for export trade the fish are placed principally in drums made of birch 
staves, with ends of pine and 8 hoops on each drum, and with capacity for 1, 2, 4, 
or 8 quintals, tightly compressed. 
The curing of codfish on the Pacific coast of the United States began in 1864 and 
has been continued with more or less success ui) to the present time, the annual yield 
