Encyclopaedia Britannica; or, A dictionary of arts and sciences, compiled upon a new plan … > Volume 2, C-L

FIS ( 5^
often twenty feet high, commonly from forty to fixty
feet long, and about one third as much in breadth.
While the fcaffold is preparing, the crew are a fiihtng;
and as fall as they catch, they bring their fi(h afhore;
open and fait them upon moveable benches; but the
main faking is performed on the fcaifold. When the
fi(h have talcen fait, they wafh and hang them to drain
on rails; when drained, they are laid on kinds of
ftages, which are fmall pieces of wood w'd a-crofs,
and covered with branches of trees, having the leaves
ftripped off for the paffage of the air. On thefe (fages,
they are difpofed, ,a filti thick, head againk tail, with
the back uppermofl:, and are turned carefully four
times every twenty four hours. When they begin to
dry, they are laid in heaps ten or twelve thick, in or¬
der to retain their warmth ; and every day the heaps
are enlarged, till they become double their firft bulk;
then two heaps are joined together, which they turn
everyday as before; laftly, they are faked again, be¬
ginning with thofe firft faked ; and being laid in huge
piles, they remain in that fituation till they are carried
on board the (hips, where they are laid on the branches
of trees difpofed for that purpofe, upon the ballad,
and round the fhip, with mats to prevent their con-
traiking any moillure.
There are four kinds of commodities drawn from
cod, viz. the zounds, the tongues, the roes, and the
oil extracted from the liver. The firk is faked at the
fifliery, together with the fiflt, and put in barrels from
6 to 700 pound. The tongues are done in like manner,
and brought in barrels from 4 to 500 pounds. The
roes are alfo faked in barrels, and ferve to cak into the
fea to draw filh together, and particularly pilchards.
The oil comes in barrels,Trom 400 to 520 pound's,
and is ufed in dreffing leather.—In Scotland, they catch
a fmall kind of cod on the coaks of Buchan, and all a-
long the Murray frith on both Tides ; as alfo in the
frith of Forth, Clyde, <&c. wich is much ekeemed.
They fait and dry them in the fun upon rocks,, and
fometimes in the chimney. They alfo cure fkait, and
-other fmaller filh in the fame manner; but mok of
thefe are for home confumption.
Ci?r*/.FisHERY. See Coral
//^rr/^-FiSHERY. See Clupea.
I?ilchurd-Fishery. The chief pilchard-fifheries are
along the coaks of Dalmatia 00 the coak of Bretagne,
and along the coaks of Cornwall and Devonlhire.
That of Dalmatia is very plentiful: that on the coaks
of Bretagne employs annually about 300 Ihips. The
pilchards caught on our coaks, though bigger, are not
fo much valued as thofe on the coaks of France, owing
principally to their not being fo thoroughly cured. They
naturally follow the light, which contributes much to
the facility of the fifliery : the feafon is from June to
September. On the coaks of France they make ufe of
the roes of the cod-filh as a bait, which thrown into
the fea, makes them rife from the bottom, and run in¬
to the nets. On our coaks there are perfons poked a-
Ihore, who, fpying by thd colour of the water where
the Ihoals are, make ligns to the boats to go among
them to cak their nets. When taken, they are brought
) F I S
on Ihore to a warehoufe, where they are laid up in
broad piles, fupported wkh backs and 1/des; and as
they are piled, they fait them with bay-fijlt, in which
lying to foak for thirty or forty days, they run out a
deal of blood, with dirty pickle and bittern: then
they walh them clean in fea-water ; and, when dry,
barrel and prefs them hard down to fqueeze out the
oil, which iffues out at a hole in the bottom of the
calk. The Cornilhmen obferve of the pilchard, that
it is the leak fiih in fize, mok in number, and greatelt
for gain, of any they take out of the fea.
.SWz»<j«-Fishery. The chief falmon filheries in Europe
are in England, Scotland, and Ireland, in the rivers,
and fea-coaks adjoining to the river mouths. The
mok dikinguilhed for falmon in Scotland are, the river
Twe-d, the Clyde, the Tay, the Dee, the Don, the
Spey, the Nefs, the Bewley, drc. in mok of which it
is very common, about the height of fummer, efpecially
if the weather happen to be very hot, to catch four or
five fcore of falmon at a draught. The chief rivers in
England for falmon are, the Tyne> Trent, the Se¬
vern, and the Thames. The filhing ufually begins about
January ; and in Scotland they are obliged to give over
about the middle of Auguk; becaufe, as it is then
fuppofed the filh come up to fpawn, it would be quite
depopulating the rivers to continue filhing any longer.
It is performed with nets, and fogietimes with a kind
of locks or wears made on purpofe, which in certain
places have iron or wooden grates fo difpofed, in an
angle, that being impelled by any force in a contrary
direction to the courfe of the river, they may give way
and open a little at the point of contadt, and immedi¬
ately Ihut again, clofing the angle. The falmon,
therefore, coming up into the rivers, are admitted into
thefe grates, which open, and fuffer them to pafs
through, but (hut again, and prevent their return.
Salmon are alfo caught with a fpear, which they dart
into him when they fee him fwimming near the furface
of the water. It is cukomary likewife to catch them
with a candle and lanthorn, or wifp of kraw fet on
fire; for the filh naturally following the light, are
kruck with the fpear, or taken in a net fpread for that
purpofe, and lifted with a fudden jerk from the-bot-
tom We make no mention of the method of catch¬
ing falmon with a line or hook, becaufe it is much the
fame with that explained under the article Trout-
Fishing.
Curing Salmon. When the falmon are taken, they o-
pen them along the back, take out the guts and gills,
and cut out the greatek part of the bones, endeavour¬
ing to make the infide as fmooth as poflible; then fait
the filh in large tubs for the purpofe,-where they lie
a confiderable time foaking in brine ; and about Octo¬
ber, they are packed clofe up in barrels, and fent to
London, or exported up the Mediterranean. They
have alfo in Scotland, a great deal of falmon falted in
the common way, which after foaking in brine a com¬
petent time, is well preffed, and theti dried in fmoke:
this is called kipper, and is chiefly made foi; home con¬
fumption, and, if properly cured and prepared, is rec¬
koned very delicious.
Sturgeon-