The sun., 1882-08-20
FISH CURING IN NEW YORK..
The Growth OF nn Industry Populnrly sup.
posed TO RelonK TO the kcnahnrc.

The Growth OF nn Industry Popularity Sup
posed to Belong 10 the Seashore.
To the minds eye of the imaginative man
the sight Of pile Of dried fish suggests pic
lures on far-away wind-swept. sun-baked
beaches the nodding masts of little rocking
smacks at anchor near the shore. sturdy.
bronzed fishermen lounging aimlcssly. tarry
nets spread to the sun. dories Of silvery fish.
long lines Of rough frames on which broad fish
thick piled with salt are drying and bleaching
in the sun. and inland through all. the fresh.
invigorating ocean breeze. bearing on its wings
tho creak OF blocks. the flap OF cordage. the
plash OF waves 'and sound of CHEEKY voices.
But the practical man. who has looked into the
subject. sors another picture. devoid Of all
those picturesque features and associations in
tho narrow space Of Il city building. heavily red
olent OF illsh and wood smoke where the busi-
ness Of preserving fish for the market is car
ried on all the year round, upon a scale that
would dwarf the operations OF an entire fish
ing village.
There are n dozen firms in New York that
carry on the business OF drying, picking, and
smoking fish. With single exception they
devote themselves almost wholly to the curing
Of cod. mackerel. and salmon that are brought
here in barrels picked in brine. furnished to
them. according to contract. by the fishermen.
The work that they do consists mainly in dry
ing the fish OF the brine and smoking them If
desired. The one establishment which is the
exception. an old-established house on West
Nineteenth street which has its own fisheries
as, well as the same sources of supply with the
others. does "A much more diversified and in
trrrStlng business. One OF the lirm said the
other day:
ga coast whore we get the sturgeon which
lno1 II one m Of I our leading speeialtles. aud also
sturgeon make down there the caviar
which we claim to produce better than the Rus
sian caviar, and for which we took the prize
medal ut the great fish exposition in Berlin. in
1850. The eggs Of the sturgeon are washed
well through successive waters, passed through
thorough cleansing and are packed in kegs
Win certain proportion of salt. That about
.n IL hfr is is Sdry IN s2y %4 The The sgs9BB
for them with drift nets 100 fathoms long and
20 iathoms deep. Such nets are very heavy to
hand!" from small boats. Then the ilsh them
selves are ugly customers. often weighing from
3nO to 800 pounds each. and. to cOmplicate mat
ters and make more trouble. big sharks and
sonnet lines aliGators have II way OF get
ing INTO our nets. tearing them and smash
il the weather is rough. our men are
unable TO make landing for rs much rs three
days nj a time. remaining at sea qll that while
Only few weeks ago two OF our men were lost !
AlliSators in salt watcr2 Certainly. l have |
taken in one OF our sturgeon nets, Just at
present smoked sturgeon. which is delicacy. is |
very anu WItn we get III llttlB Ol
it we have to hide it from the general trade in
order to supply special customers who have |
contracts, for it. Tho sturgeon when, caught is |
cleaned. his backbone cut out. and then his |
sides are packed in ice and sent 70 savannah. |
There There they hey are ar freshly packed in ir and
slices. dry and smoke them. employing such |
neat in the process that the meat is thoroughly |
brine occupies about four hours the drying
about six hours. and then for fourteen hours |
they are kept in a place SO hot that you could |
m N Z. IsE Dl.a
made from hickory wood and cedar sawdust. |
The sailing. drying and smoking are about the |
We have also fisheries in Delaware, whence |
we get sturgeon and q portion of the great
although our best and fattest cells come from
the mouth Of the Shrewsbury River The pro- |
eTSS en ro 2 preharhs iSai Ing mHK+d On "eS Is n9I ds
prelim nary to il. they require a vast amount |
OF scrnbbigg with broom brushes and washing |
ouShly clean. In addition to smoking them, |
Ike those you see there tpontinG to n pile of !
we put up great many cells III Jelly. prepnrn- |
ton which has met with great favor in this |
COUNTY, Go Fry and OF which we ship great quantities
ness. especially the bradt,' or roasted herring. |
Which ,a after after, r@oasting @ we put NJ in kit. IN
smclts, caught the Massachusetts coast |
mainly. They are n novelty of our own, intro
where their peculiar delicate flavor has found |
good many of the lake whitelish a very fine
fish, which is not half as well known or appra-
ctated as it should be. Ii is fatter, sweeter and
finer in flavor than tho mackcrel any way that
il is prepared. and is simply exquisite when
smoked. One of our best preparations of the
mnckerel Is by smoking him round when fresh
what is known as Boston smoked Among
our novelties are lamprcy eels or ncunangen'
rings. which We get from the coast Of Newfound-
land and ge"sc-b breasts which wa get from
farmers in all directions and smoke.
All the fish that we smoke come to us fresh
in ice, except the salmon. which during a por-
ton OF the year, we get picked. In June we
smoke the salmon Nova Scotia style fresh and
such dclicncy is it deemed that il commands |
from 90 cents to ~ per pound. Taken alto
gether we preserve about $4,000 pounds of fish !
per week, the year through, although in some
weeks the amount runs up to rs high
rs 10000 pounds An interesting feature
of our business has been the favor
with which our goods are received in
Europe. whether il is that our American FISH
are better IN themselves or that our methods
Of preparation are superior To those employed
on the other side. cannot say. but the fact is
that European producers have not been able to
compete with MS in anything to which the ud- |
vent OF our goods in their market has invited
their attention. This business is as vet only |
in lis infancy, and the rnpidity with which ii is
growing, both by foreign and hon" demand
shows mat 1t VIII soon become leading in
duslry in this country"
SAID TO BE EELIC or JIM FISK.