CANNING SARDINES 129 
could not have been changed so as to prepare at least twice as many 
fish per unit of time as it was preparing. In some cases it would 
have been necessary only to have increased the air temperature and 
the speed of the conveyers; in others extensive improvements would 
have been necessary. The cost of these, however, would be much 
less than to have to purchase additional equipment when production 
has to be increased. 
Often the packer himself can do much by studying his drier in 
the light of the information given in this paper and by making such 
changes as he can. In general, however, where present operation is 
very unsatisfactory or where production is to be increased materially 
it will pay to get the assistance of a drying engineer to make or at 
least point out the changes that should be made. 
The above recommendations apply equally to small and large 
California pilchards or Maine herring, where these are to be dried 
prior to being cooked. 
Fish that are first steamed and then dried can not be tumbled 
after being cooked. It is necessary for them to be dried on 
the flakes on which they were cooked. In Maine, where this pro- 
cedure is practiced, the trucks containing the flakes are run into the 
drier, and there the fish are subjected to the action of moving warm 
air. This procedure, as now practiced, undoubtedly can be im- 
proved greatly. The drying time can be shortened and the labor 
required for handling trucks can be lessened. The best drying 
conditions should be determined and used in a continuous type of 
truck drier. It is not possible to make definite recommendations 
upon these points without first carrying out some research along 
these lines. It was not advisable, however, to spend time on this 
work. Although better procedures undoubtedly could be worked 
out, it would only be found that the fish could not be prepared as 
well or as quickly as by the new process described in detail in the 
next section of this document. 
Much can be done to improve the drying qualities of units now 
operating in Maine by increasing the air velocity and in many cases 
the temperature. The air velocity, however, must be effective; 
that is, the air should go between the flakes, where it can strike the 
fish. These changes will bring about better drying and probably 
permit the drying time to be shortened considerably. 
If a new drier for handling steamed fish should be built, a drying 
engineer should be engaged to design the equipment. His work will 
include a small amount of research to determine the best set of 
drying conditions. It would be much better, however, to install a 
combined cooker and dryer for carrying out the new process men- 
tioned above and to cook and dry at the same time. 
NEW PROCESS FOR PREPARING THE FISH 
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 
Research up to this point clearly showed that the preparation 
of the fish for canning consists mainly in removing excess water and 
in getting the fish into good physical condition for canning. The 
process should add to the fish no objectionable foreign element nor 
should it remove valuable substances from them. In general, aside 
40619°—27—_5 

