Report of the commissioner for 1878 : part VI.

  • United States Fish Commission.
Date:
1880
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the commissioner for 1878 : part VI. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    1149/1174 (page 969)
    vttv-ON the nature of the peculiar reddening of ' salted codfish during the summer season.* By W. G. Farlow, M. D. Prof. S. F. Baird: Dear Sir : At your request, I have made an examination ot codfish for the purpose of ascertaining the cause of the peculiar redness which is found on the dried fish during the hot and damp weather of summer. The red fish, as is well known, putrefy comparatively quickly, and this fact, taken in connection with the disagreeable, and, in fishes, unusual color, renders them unfit for the market, so that, in seasons when the redness prevails, dealers suffer a loss which is certainly considerable, although exact statistics with regard to the amount are wanting. For the purpose of examining fresh material, and in order to make a personal inspection of the drying apparatus and storehouses, I v ent to Gloucester in the beginning of September, 1878, at which date the weather was hot and damp, and the codfish then being prepared for market were largely affected by the redness, the cause ol which it was my object to discover. With the assistance of Captain Martin, of the United States Fish Commission, I was able not only to procure an abun- dance of the red fish for study, but also to examine several different buildings used in salting and packing fish, as well as a schooner uhicli had just returned from a voyage to the banks. Before speaking of the immediate cause of the redness, I may say that all persons of whom I made inquiry agreed in stating that the red- ness makes its appearance to such an extent as to be troublesome only during the hot weather, and that it disappears with the return of cool weather. I ascertained farther that the redness in most cases does not appear until the fish have been landed from the vessel. In some cases, however, the fish become red while in the vessel, but this happens only when the weather has been unusually hot at the time of catching. A microscopic examination shows that the redness is owing to a very minute plant, known to botanists by the name of Clatlirocystis roseo- persicinci. The plant consists simply of very minute cells filled with red coloring-matter and imbedded in a mass of slime. The cells, as usually seen, are arranged without order, but under the most favorable condi- tions of observation they are found to be grouped in spheroidal masses. In relation to the botanical characteristics of the plant noth- ing more need be said in the present connection. Its development has been studied by several well-known botanists, who agree in considering * As observed more particularly at Gloucester, Mass., during the summer of 1878. 9J9