316 
PHARMACEUTICAL MEETING. 
The process he recommends may be thus described:—The livers are to be 
treated immediately on their arrival on shore, being less than one day old ; they 
are first to be carefully examined, and all poor, bruised, small, and diseased livers 
rejected; all gall-bladders are to be watched for and removed; the selected 
livers, all of large size, are to be washed in several waters for the purpose of 
removing blood, membrane, and all other impurities. They are then to be in¬ 
troduced into a machine which minces them into very small pieces, or rather re¬ 
duces them into a paste. This paste is then to be transferred to an apparatus, 
heated externally by steam, and the mass cautiously warmed to 100° or 120° 
Fahr.; at the same time it is to be diligently stirred and pressed with large 
wooden spoons, so that the oil may be liberated at the lowest possible tempera¬ 
ture consistent with economic results. As fast as the oil separates, it is to be 
withdrawn; and the stearine being first thrown down by exposure to a tempera¬ 
ture under 40° Fahr., it is to be filtered. After filtration it is considered perfect, 
and may be put forthwith into barrels and bottles. The fresher the liver, and 
the lower the temperature, the clearer, lighter, and sweeter in taste will be the 
oil. Livers more than one day old require a higher degree of heat. 
Three barrels of liver will yield one barrel of the finer oils, and a quarter of 
a barrel of dark oil; but these proportions are only approximative, for the results 
will always vary according to the temperature employed in the process. The 
best oil made in this manner will cost from eight to nine shillings per gallon. 
It is never originally brown, but is liable by lying long in wooden casks to ac¬ 
quire a little more colour. 
The annual produce of cod-liver oil by the Lofoden fisheries is estimated at 
25,000 barrels, each containing from 24 to 28 English gallons, and that of all 
the other fisheries on the coast of Norway at about 35,000 barrels more, mak¬ 
ing a total of 60,000 barrels. During the last two years, prices have not been 
sufficiently remunerative to encourage the preparation of the fine oil on a large 
scale; only two manufacturers at Lofoden have done so, and one of these, ac¬ 
cording to the chief of the surveillance, made only ten barrels this year. 
The prices formerly obtained by the fishermen at Lofoden for their livers 
were from six to seven specie-dollars per barrel, equal to 27 s. to 31s. 6d. En¬ 
glish ; now they are from nine to ten specie-dollars, equal to 40s. 6d. to 45s. 
English. 
Such is the information supplied to us from Norway ; for our convenience it 
may be briefly grouped as follows, under five heads:— 
1. Genuine Lofoden oil is true cod-liver oil made from the Gadus morrhua. 
2. The light yellow oil is not inferior to the light brown oil. 
3. Oil sold at Bergen is not necessarily Lofoden oil, or even pure cod-liver 
oil, although so called. 
4. The relative absence of colour, odour, and taste are guarantees that the 
process of separation has been properly conducted at a low temperature. 
5. The annual supply of new cod-liver oil from Norway may be expected in 
the European markets during the month of July. 
Cod-fish abound only in the cold and temperate seas of the northern hemi¬ 
sphere ; they are found on all the coasts of north Europe, and upon the shores 
of the British Islands ; it is probable they do not proceed much further in a 
southerly direction. One or two rare species have been noticed in the Medi¬ 
terranean, but none have ever yet been described as inhabiting the Great 
Pacific Ocean or the seas of India and the East. Their habitat is thus reduced 
to recognisable limits. 
Thirty-six millions of fish are annually caught, dried and salted at New¬ 
foundland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden ; these, under the name of stock-fish, 
are exported to all parts of the world. Let it be allowed that half as many 
more are sent to market when fresh, this will give a total of 54,000,000, a 
