THE SARDINE INDUSTRY. 5] 5 



SORTING AND PACKING. On reaching the packing room the fish are emptied upon long zinc- 

 covered tables, with sides sloping toward the center, in order that any oil that may drain from 

 them or that may be spilled in filling the boxes may collect and pass out through a small opening 

 into a receptacle to be again used in the frying process. The table is surrounded by a number of 

 girls and women who sort the herring into sizes, packing the smallest in the small-sized cans, and 

 the larger ones in those of proportionately larger size. All of the fish having been treated exactly 

 alike there is no difference in quality between the large and small, the rule for sorting being simply 

 that those of like size shall be placed together in cans of suitable dimensions. 



Nearly all of the smaller fish are packed in oil in small-sized cans, known to the trade as 

 "quarter cans." These are 4| inches long, 3 inches wide, and 1 inch deep, and hold from 9 to 12 

 herring, according to their size. The fish most suited for this purpose measure about 6 inches 

 when whole, and when cut they have a length of from 3 to 4 inches. 



Fish measuring 8 to 9J inches in length when whole are usually cut so that they shall have a 

 length of 4 to 4 inches. A small percentage of these are canned in oil; but by far the greater 

 portion are put up in mustard, spices and vinegar, tomato sauce, or other condiments. The cans 

 used for these fish are known as " half cans," usually holding from 10 to 16 fish each. They are 

 4i inches long, 3i inches wide, and 2 inches deep. 



A few full-grown herring, measuring from 10 to 12 inches in length, are put up in vinegar and 

 spices in large oval cans and sold under the names of brook-trout, sea-trout, or ocean-trout. There 

 is only a limited demand for these fish, however, and the quantity packed is usually very small. 

 Under these brands the canneries utilize the few large fish that may be found among the others, 

 though they seldom purchase any lots of uniformly large herring for canning purposes. 



As the fish are being sorted they are packed in boxes of proper size. The oil in which they 

 are packed is usually flavored to the taste by adding lemon, sugar, and various spices. Some 

 canneries adopt the practice of supplying the cans with a definite quantity of oil before the fish 

 are introduced, while others pack the fish first and then pour the oil over them until the box is 

 completely full. Some of the firms which have adopted the latter method immerse the cans in a 

 bath of warm oil as soon as they have been filled and the cover has been placed in position, 

 allowing them to remain until they go to the solderers in order that they may be completely 

 filled ; others do not consider it necessary that the can should be absolutely full. As the price of 

 the oil is usually greater than that of the fish there is no disposition to pack light-weight goods, 

 but the cans are filled as full as possible without subjecting the herring to too much pressure. 



KIND OF OIL USED FOR FILLING THE CANS. The oil used for canning varies greatly in 

 quality in the different establishments. Occasionally the best olive oil is used. This usually 

 comes from Bari, Italy, and costs about $1.40, with $1 additional duty, per gallon. A common 

 practice among the packers is to mix a small quantity of olive oil with a larger amount of cotton- 

 seed oil; and for several years, since the competition has been considerable, the use of olive oil 

 has been largely done away with, and cotton-seed oil has been secured from the manufacturers at 

 Providence, E. I., and Cincinnati, Ohio, at a cost of about 52 cents per gallon. Some of the 

 canneries are now using other oils made from various seeds and nuts of foreign countries. The 

 question of the quality of oil used is one of growing importance, and it seems likely to seriously 

 affect the trade in the home-made products. We are not prepared to discuss the relative merits 

 of the. different oils or even to say that cotton-seed oil, carefully prepared from the best material, 

 is inferior to the average grades of imported oils; but when so much depends on the flavor of the 

 oil used, and the tendency to reduce the cost of the manufactured products under the pressure of 

 competition is so great, it seems highly important that some parties shall take a decided stand in 



