The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1883-05-12
How "Cod Oil" is Made.

The Edinburgh Medical Journal thus
describes one of the important though un-
savory interests of Swampscott, Mas:
Swampscott is little town upon the coast
of Massachusetts,, not far from Lynn, stu
ated near the head Of bay between Nahant
and Salem. Off this ancient haunt of
fishermen, at distance of about nine miles,
is a place called the ''rocks,' where, in the
winter, the goldfish come in shoals to spawn
and the striped bass sport themselves in the
summer During the winter months, be
the weather what it may, unless the wind
be raising for gale, little after midnight
men may be seen going about the village,
stopping here and there at houses, rousing
the fishermen, who by-and-bye gather in
groups about the shore, each with his
Adory," that well-known model Of Yankee
ingenuity which at the great Berlin fishery
exhibition excited so much attention. The
dories and their owners are soon aboard the
various schooners in waiting, and at 5 a. m.
the feet is at the crooks; so, when the
daylight is sufficient, the dories anchor
about their respective larger crafts, each
boat with single occupant hard at work
robbing the sea of its life. About p. IN.
the signal is given from the schooners to
come aboard; the dories hasten to their
floating castles, with pitchforks the various
Catches" are soon thrown aboard, and sail
is made for home. During the passage
the fish are Quilted and the entrails are cast
into the sea, and the livers, some of them
large enough to fill quart mug, are put into
baskets, When the shore is close at hand
the fish are put again into dories; but the
roughness of the sea usually is such that
these boats, when loaded, cannot land, and
into the icy sea water the horses are driven
until the carts reach such place that the
Goldfish can be put in them, when off they
90 to plod the night through for the early
Boston market. The livers are immediate
" sorted over and the gall bladders care
fully removed The great luscious fabby
masses are thrown into large oak tub;
with this are connected steam pipes. When
the receptacle is full and closed, low pres
sure steam is turned on, and for about two
hours and a half cooking goes on. Then
the plugs are taken out at the bottom and
the hot oil streams into buckets 1t is
now placed in butts in the cooling room, u
and allowed to stay there until it freezes
solid. So it is kept till opportunity offers,
when it is put in canvas bags holding
about four gallons each. These bags are
then placed regularly upon heavy oak
table provided with outer grooves for con-
ductiag liquid, until twelve gallons are in
row, On this is laid slab, then canvas
bags, and SO, layer after layer, until about
eighty gallons are piled up. A ton of pig
iron is then placed upon the top slab of
oak, and the oil begins to flow out. In
about twelve hours dripping ceases and the
apparatus is taken apart. Inside of the
bags is found yellowish, butterlike mass
as hard as tallow, which is nearly pure
stearine, with liver debris and fbers.
This goes to the soap-makers, while the oil
finds its way to the Massachusetts, General
Hospital and other places where the super
iority of the finest American oil over the
Norwegian Is recognized.