The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1899-09-29


and this IL a serious trouble The
cause OF II IL not very well understood,
but the necessity of 1ghtlng II is OBJ
yioun. and the hah commission recon-
mcnds spraying the gcaly merchRn-
disc with mild solution Of that IA
nous germ.klller, formaline, 10 de-
story the fungus spores. In the
drlcd-cod trade much loss has resulted
from a tendency of the fish 10 turn red
some time after thcy have been pre-
pared by drying. This trouble IL espe-
clally noticeable Ia tho case Of cod
that have remained In the hold Of a
vessel for long time Apparently, the
mischief Is due TO the salt used for
curing. which IL apt 10 contain red
spores of minute fungus that contains
red eoiorng matter. Tho fungus has
been found on the floors and walls OF
some packing houses. and also In tho
holds OF SOME fishing vessels.
The preparation OF boneleHs Goldfish
IN considered the most important im-
provement IN the handling of dried
fish during the present century For
long time the need was felt OF some
method Of packing dried hsh In neat
parcels Of small but definite weight,
and the most notable invention in.thiS
line was by Phlladelphlan, who pat
enlcd process by which the fish were
dlveated Of skin and bones. thoroughly
ground. pressed 10 remove oil. heated
10 dryness and finally put up IN one.
pound boxes The result was somewhat
similar TO the celebrated "nshmcar' OF
Norway. Nowadays the packing OF
skinned and boned cod is a consider
able Industry. the fsh being cut into
small pieces. pressed into bricks. treat
ed with an antiseptic powder 60 pre-
vent decay. and put up In waXcd pa
per and pasieboard boxes In this con-
ncctlon IL may be interesting to quote
the statement Of the Ash commission
that the worlds annual product OF
dried goldfish now amounts 10 about
coo, ,Nn.u0o pounds, cured wclght-the
equivalent Of 2.OcO.oOO.OOo pounds Of
fresh hsh.
The business Of preserving fishery
products In this country embraces some
curloslilcs Along the shores of san
Francisco bay In California, and at
other points on the Pacific coast. there
are camps Of Cinnamon whose ocupa-
tion Is the preparation OF shrimps and
other marine animals. chiefly for Asiat-
lc markets The shrimps, when re-
cclved from nshlng boats, are first boil
ed ani then placed In heaps on great
wooden platforms. When thoroughly
dry. the Cinnamon tread upon them
with clean shoes or moccasins so as
to detach the shells from the meats,
The shells and other refuse ars famed
of by throwing the shrimps up into
the air, after which the meats are
placed In sacks beaten. and finally
passed through hand-sifters TO remove
all particles ~ shells and dust, From
san Francisco the shrimps are sent
mostly to China and Japan, though
some are shipped to New York, Phila
dclphla and Chicago.
sQuld. mostly for the oriental trade
aie dried by Cinnamon on the coasts OF
California. being washed and spread
ont on slate-work platforms. On tn,
Columbia river the slant-eyed Celes'
tails seek certain hsh product that h
prizcd by nobody else, namely, th'
spinal marrow Of the sturgeon. Al
soon as the hsh are landed AT the
packing establishments, Chinaman
using a hook, pulls out enough OF th'
marrow TO give good hold; then
selxing IL, draws the remainder ou
hand-oVer- hand In the average-sizet
sturgeon the spinal cord is four or nv
feet long. and consists Of white con
meeting links, resembling sausages'
This marrow is known by the Chimes
and the trade under the name o
bone" II not sold to Cinnamon II
this country, 1t is exported to China
where II is much priced for makinI
soups
The Ash commission experts say tina
the process Of picking fish with sal
Is very ancient 1t was known TO tn
Phoeniclans ON the Spanish coast, wa
employed by the Greeks to some ex
tent and was carried by the Roman
j to n high degree OF perfecion-espec
D Tally In preserving sword fish fror
I, Sicily funny from Byzantium and ca
dlz mackerel from Spain and mule
from Exos, Brino-salting obtaine
q It's greatest development during tn
thirteenth and fourteenth centurle
: among the Dutch, who preserved In thi
way the herring caught in the Mort
y sea, In the early part Of the preser
u century picked shad was an importar
fishery product II was staple vii
II ter goods for people living near sha
e streams, who laid In the fish by u
u harrelfuls. and much OF the produ'
p was shipped to distant markets, PEI
" pie living so miles or more inland can
= to the rivers to obtain their winter
N supply Of FISH, bringing their produc
= to barter, such as maple sugar salt c
" der and whisky,
F" In New England the flesh of Il
re sword fish is most highly esteemed, al
e considerable quantities of It are pickle
g. In brine, The sword" is sawed
90 and discarded; the head is saved 4