Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/269

 salted down the better. At some fishing stations they do not scale them, but it is better to do so, as they bring a better price when scaled (a difference of 1d. per lb. sometimes). Two or three strokes with the knife will take all the scales off, once you get used to doing it. Grasp the fish by the tail firmly (a bit of rough bagging to hold them by is a considerable help) and then scale off quickly, first one side then the other. Next open the fish right down the belly, splitting up through the throat and mouth, and with the right hand tear out the whole of the inside, being careful to save the roe (if there is any) unbroken; then tear away the gills, thus leaving the head perfectly clean and the whole body split open as far as the vent. Some people cut off the head, but it is best left on, as a means of stringing the fish up for one thing. Clean the fish by the water side, or, if possible, in a boat or dingy, so as to have plenty of water to wash them. Do not cut off any fins, or the tail either, just leave them as perfect as possible. When the fish are cleaned, proceed to salt them, using plenty of coarse salt and rubbing each fish well inside and out. I found it best to pack them one over another, either on a board or into a big wooden tub, till the next day, then give them another rub over and begin stringing them on to long thin sticks or, an equal number on each for the convenience of counting, and do not run them too close together, or they will not dry so well. Having strung them all, hang them up between two forked sticks out in the sun for three or four days, but be sure to take them in at night or the dew will spoil them. In this work everything has to be done quickly and promptly, because the season only lasts a few weeks, and unless you make at least one haul a day it will not pay. We used to reckon that from 500 to 700 per day was fairly good business. There is another way to salt the fish, viz., by dipping them in the sea water, but it is not so certain as rubbing them. The process is to string the fish and then dip them for a few minutes, hang in the sun all day, and dip again next day, do this three or four times. It is of course much quicker and less trouble and expense, and with care and watchfulness may be as successful. I have noticed that it is not safe to cure in this way unless the weather is fine and hot; a dull day may ruin all your fish cured in this way.

Another way they be done is by laying them on sheets of iron in the sun instead of stringing and hanging them; they dry quickly in this way, but taking them all round I am sure the other is the best. Directly they are dry remove them into the smoke house, which should be built ready to receive them. It can be made either of thatch or bark, anything in fact that can be made air tight or smoke tight. I prefer a low thatch house to any, and just wide enough to allow the withes to go across. The fire can be