THE SARDINE INDUSTRY. 517 



cans. By tbe use of tbe board it is thought that the work can be done more rapidly, as the men 

 do not have to lay aside their iron and wire, as soon as a can has been sealed, for the purpose of remov- 

 ing it and inserting another, but they can continue their work without interruption, stopping only 

 occasionally to change irons and, again, when all have been sealed, for the purpose of emptying 

 and refilling the board. 



The sealers working on wages receive from $1.50 to $2.50 a day, while those working by the 

 piece usually get about forty cents per hundred cans for their work. At Eastport the ordinary 

 workmen will seal from 500 to COO small cans, or about 400 of the larger ones, in a day of ten 

 hours. At Lamoine it is said that 1,000 cans is considered a fair day's work. 



Great care must be taken that the cans are perfectly tight, as any leak causes no little trouble 

 and often occasions considerable loss. Where the men are doing "piece-work" they often work so 

 hurriedly that many of their cans are not properly sealed. To guard against loss from this source 

 most of the firms hold each solderer responsible for his work and require him to scratch his num- 

 ber upon the cans which he has sealed. In case of leakage he not only does not receive any pay 

 for the faulty can but must pay two cents to make good the loss occasioned by his negligence. 



There are several methods of heating the irons, the principal ones being the ordinary charcoal 

 pot and the gasoline burner. By both of these methods the iron must necessarily be quite large 

 in order to retain a high temperature for any considerable time. But in the sealing process, where 

 a large iron is used, especially if the work is slowly done, the sardines are frequently considerably 

 heated, and in this way, it is said, their keeping qualities are affected to a greater or less degree, 

 and their flavor is often considerably impaired. The methods employed in the French canneries 

 are much superior to those adopted by the American packers. There the irons are heated with 

 gas supplied by means of a rubber tube which passes through the handle and is introduced into 

 the inside of the iron near its pointed extremity. Another tube connected with a bellows furnishes 

 air to the flame. By this arrangement the heat is rendered very Intense, and, as the flame is kept 

 constantly burning at the exact point where it is needed, the tip of the iron is always very hot and 

 the other parts are proportionately cooler. The iron can thus be used continuously, and the heat 

 being applied to so small a surface the fish are only slightly heated during the soldering process. 



BATHING AND VENTING. When properly sealed the cans are sent to the bath-room, where 

 they are placed in small iron frames or baskets, which are lowered into and lifted out of the bath 

 by means of ropes and pulleys. The time required in boiling varies considerably, according to 

 the size of the cans and the kind of bath used. Other things being equal, small cans are 

 cooked more quickly than those of larger size. A good deal depends, however, upon the contents ; 

 for fish prepared with spices require considerably more cooking than those put up in oil, in order 

 that their keeping qualities may be the same. 



The common method of boiling is by means of the "open bath," or by ordinary boiling water 

 in an open vessel. This is the oldest and by many it is considered the- best method, the principal 

 objection to it being that by it a considerably longer time is required than by the other methods. 

 The medium-sized cans are subjected to the influence of boiling water in the open bath for from 

 one and a half to two hours, while the larger ones must be boiled considerably longer. 



Another method of boiling recently adopted is that known as the chemical bath. This con- 

 sists simply in the raising of the boiling point by the use of chloride of lime or other chemicals, 

 and if a proper quantity is used water can be heated to upwards of 250 in the open air. By sub- 

 jecting the fish to this increased heat they are cooked much more quickly and considerable time is 

 saved, while any life-germs that might remain to pollute the mass are more easily destroyed. 

 Another way of accomplishing the same results is by means of the closed bath. In this case the 



