516  ON  NEW  ENGLAND  ISINGLASS. 
They  are  preserved  by  drying  simply.  After  being  taken 
from  the  fish,  they  are  split  open,  cleansed  from  all  membranous 
matter  and  dried  upon  cords  or  nets.  It  is  preferable  to  dry 
them  in  this  way  rather  than  upon  boards  or  sticks,  as  while  the 
sounds  are  soft  and  wet,  much  of  the  gelatinous  matter  is  ab- 
sorbed by  the  latter  substances,  which  decreases  materially  the 
value  of  the  article  for  manufacturing. 
After  being  again  soaked  in  water  until  of  a  proper  softness 
they  are  passed  through  rollers  which  knead  them  into  a  uniform 
pasty  mass,  resembling  very  much  in  appearance  the  dough  of 
rye  or  Indian  bread,  and  assume  the  form  of  a  large,  thick, 
homogeneous  sheet. 
This  sheet  is  divided  into  strips,  which  are  run  through  rollers 
again  and  again  until  reduced  to  the  required  thinness.  These 
ribbon-like  strips,  after  becoming  thoroughly  dry,  are  folded 
into  bundles  without  much  regard  to  the  weight  of  each,  and 
constitute  the  article,  familiar  to  all  in  the  trade,  known  as 
American  Isinglass  or  Fish  Glue. 
The  amount  annually  made  is  about  6,000  pounds,  which  is 
manufactured  in  the  winter  season,  labor  being  at  that  time  more 
available  than  in  summer. 
The  amount  yielded  by  each  fish  will  average  about  two  ounces, 
and  this  fact  will  suggest  the  number  of  fish  laid  under  contribu- 
tion for  this  article.  The  sounds  are  preserved  during  the  warm 
weather  simply  by  being  thoroughly  dried,  and  assume  the  hard, 
horny  appearance  of  those  herewith  submitted,  1,  2,  and  3, 
which  are  the  sounds  of  the  hake  fish.  I  also  submit  specimens 
of  the  manufactured  article.  New  England  isinglass  finds  its 
way  into  commerce  chiefly  through  the  New  York  market. 
In  this  connection  I  would  remark  that  Mr.  Gott  has  also 
prepared  an  article  of  isinglass  from  the  air  vessels  of  sturgeons 
captured  in  our  southern  rivers,  but  that  it  was  not  considered 
superior,  by  those  who  used  it,  to  that  made  from  the  hake 
sounds.  This  may  have  depended  upon  the  fact  that  the  stur- 
geons were  taken  from  warmer  waters  than  those  furnishing  the 
Russian  isinglass,  and  as,  from  my  investigations,  I  am  led  to  the 
conclusion,  that  the  process  of  manufacture  does  not  materially 
add  to  the  quality  of  the  product,  but  that  the  superior  quality 
of  the  Russian  isinglass  pre-exists  in  the  fish  yielding  it,  if  such 
