A stiU. further difference between machine and hand-packed fish con- 

 cerns losses during packing. In the machine pack, the fish in the tunnel 

 becomes rather severely compressed and some juices may be squeezed out. 

 The inner sides of the belt forming the tunnel are washed by sprays of 

 water and any juices pressed out of the fish go down the drain with this 

 spray water. 



The Carruthers Co, is working on improvements to its equipment and 

 have plans for producing a modified model which, it is anticipated, 

 will overcome many of the problems encountered in use of the present 

 model. 



Two other packers are also usedj one in each of two plants. The 

 Keystone or Czorby Machine makes use of a measuring box. Tuna loins 

 are placed upon a flat belt of such a width as to accomodati two loins 

 side by side. Two vertical side belts form a moving chamber which con- 

 tinually advances the tuna loins forward. The loins are placed into 

 this moving chamber side by side and overlapped or sta^ered to fonn a 

 uniform cross section of fj.sh. 



Tne belts move the fish forward under a compression r.'iLler >*iich 

 .?ids in forming a solid space-free column of fish. The column of fish 

 comes up against a backstop and a guillotine knife, set at right angles 

 to the feed belts, descends and cuts off the exact length of fish required. 



While the knife ranains down, a pusher piston moving at right angles 

 across the belt,, transfers the severed section betv/^een the laiife and the 

 backstop into a short tunnel and thence into a pocket or me?. suring box on 

 the periphery of a turret containing a n".imber of such pockstSo The 

 pressure of this pusher piston can be adjusted to predetei-raine the 

 solidity of the fish going into the can and thus its wei^t. IVhile the 

 pusher holds the fish into this measure box, a knife outs off the charge 

 which now becomes the in-fill weight for the can. 



The turret moves aro'and one step, the pusher returns to its original 

 position, the guillotine blade lifts, and the belt moves the column of 

 fish up to the backstop thus completing the cycle. Tne turret containing 

 the measure box, in rotating, brings the charge of fish opposite the anpty 

 can v^ich has been fed into the can turret. Opposite the measure box is 

 a plunger which now moves forward forcing the charge of fish out of the 

 measure box and into the waiting can. Further rotation of the turret 

 brings the can to the discharge mnway leading to the saiter, oiler, and 

 soamer. 



Another somewhat similar packer is the Davey machine. 



300 



