CANNING SARDINES 137 
The darkening of exposed flesh mentioned above also took place 
with ‘“‘cut”’ fish where the head had been removed from the body. 
The darkening was more pronounced than with fried fish. It was 
not, however, objectionable. One would hardly notice the difference 
in the canned product. 
STORING AND SHIPPING QUALITIES OF THE PACKS 
Prior to the time work was begun upon the new process enough 
had already been learned from experiments on the storing and 
shipping qualities of pound-oval sardines not to require similar tests 
with packs prepared by the new process. The physical condition of 
the fish when packed was excellent. It has already been shown that, 
so far as the shipping and storing qualities of a pack are concerned, 
it makes little difference by what process it 1s prepared, providing 
it is properly prepared.** However, a good test of the new process 
has been made. Many of the packs so prepared have now (October, 
1926) been in storage over two and one-half years and have been 
shipped by boat from San Pedro, Calif., to Washington, D. C. 
Results have been entirely satisfactory: all the packs have stood up 
as well as those prepared by the frying process. 
EXPERIMENTAL PREPARATION OF MAINE HERRING 
Experiments were carried out in Maine during September, 1924. 
From September 22 to 26 the process was demonstrated to those 
canners who took advantage of a general invitation given for this 
purpose. 
It was not necessary for the work to be extensive in Maine, as the 
process had been given a thorough trial and the groundwork laid in 
California. What was needed was to prove that the process was 
suitable and practicable for preparing Maine herring for the quarter- 
oil and three-quarters mustard packs and to determine the best 
conditions for doing this. A discussion of the general results ob- 
tained from the experiments follows.*® 
EQUIPMENT AND PROCEDURE 
The equipment used is pictured in Figure 24. Heat was furnished 
by a bed of glowing coke. The suction of the fan drew the products 
of combustion from the furnace into a small mixing chamber, where 
they mixed with cool air and were then blown through the tunnel 
over two flakes (30 by 30 inches) placed one following the other. <A 
damper in the pipe leading from the furnace to the mixing chamber 
controlled the amount of furnace gases that were drawn into the 
mixing chamber. Another damper on top of the chamber allowed 
mixture of as much cold air as was desired, and another between 
the chamber and the fan controlled the quantity of gases entering 
the tunnel. These controls permitted the use of air at any desired 
temperature and velocity up to the capacity of the fan. 
Smoke for smoking the fish was made from hardwood sawdust in 
a box back of the fan, athe flue from this box was is placed over the 

54 See pp. 114-115, 55 Detailed data are given in Table 42, p. 204, 
