Procure those which are just caught; soak them an hour or two in a plenty of water, in order that the scales may be easily taken off. Take care to remove them all. Cut off the heads and open them down the back. When you have taken out all the refuse parts, remove the greatest part of the spine, as the fish will be more sure to keep sweet. A sharp knife is indispensable. Lay them in fresh water with a good deal of salt in it for an hour or two, in order to extract the blood. Then take them out, and sprinkle them plentifully with fine salt, taking care that it touches all the ends and edges. If most convenient, let them lie over night. In the morning, mingle an ounce of saltpetre and a pound of sugar with a peck of coarse-fine salt, and put a layer of salt, and a layer of fish (the skin being down), into the firkin. A peck of salt will cure twenty-five shad.