ly fish fit to eat. If the fish is hard in body and
the eyes are clear and bright, the gills a bright red and slimy, the
flesh so firm that when pressed the marks of the fingers do not remain,
the scales not dry or easy to loosen, then the fish is fresh.

In the refrigerator fish will taint butter and other foods if placed in
the same compartment, so that in most cases it is better to lay it on a
plate on a pan of ice, or wrap it in parchment or waxed paper and put it
in the ice box.

Pickerel weighing more than five pounds should not be bought. If belly
is thick it is likely that there is another fish inside. This smaller
fish or any found in any other fish may not be used as food.

Salt fish should be soaked in fresh water, skin side up, to draw out the
salt.

Each fish is at its best in its season, for instance:--

Bluefish, Butterfish, Sea, Striped Bass, Porgies, Sea-trout or Weakfish
are best from April to September.

Fluke and Flounders are good all year round, but the fluke is better
than the flounder in summer. Carp may be had all year, but care must be
taken that it has not been in polluted water.

Cod, Haddock, Halibut, Mackerel, Redsnapper, Salmon, Whitefish are good
all year.

In the different states of the United States there are laws governing
the fishing for trout, so the season for that fish differs in the
various states.

Black Bass, Perch, Pickerel and Pike are in season from June 1st to
December 1st.

Shad, April to June.

Smelts, November 10th to April.

TO CLEAN FISH

The fish may be cleaned at the market, but needs to be looked over
carefully before cooking.

To remove the scales hold the fish by the tail and scrape firmly toward
the head with a small sharp knife, held with the blade slanting toward
the tail. Scrape slowly so that the scales will not fly, and rinse the
knife frequently in cold water. If the fish is to be served whole, leave
the head and tail on and trim the fins; otherwise remove them.

TO OPEN FISH

To open small fish cut under the gills and squeeze out the contents by
pressing upward from the middle with the thumb and finger. To open large
fish split them from the gills halfway down the body toward the tail;
remove the entrails and scrape and clean, opening far enough to remove
all the blood from the backbone, and wiping the inside thoroughly with a
cloth wrung out of cold, salted water.

TO SKIN FISH

To skin a fish remove the fins along the back a