138 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
cold-air entrance to the mixing chamber, where suction from the fan 
drew in the smoke. It then mixed with the hot air and was blown 
over the fish. 
The other fan forced cool outdoor air through the other tunnel, 
which was used as a cooler. A damper on the inlet side of the fan 
controlled the quantity of air entering the fan and tunnel. 
The two flakes together handled about 10 to 20 pounds of fish, 
according to their size and how thickly they were spread out. The 
fish were obtained from the canneries and had already been brined. 
They were weighed before and after drying, precautions being taken 
to see that similar samples were used wherever comparisons were 
. being made. After cooking, the fish were compared with some of 
the same lot prepared in the cannery by the regular steaming process. 
After canning and processing, which was done in the cannery, the 
products were again compared. 

Fic. 24.—Maine experimental cooker and cooler 
The discussion that follows refers to the preparation of small fish 
for the quarter-oil pack unless a statement to the contrary is given. 
DETERMINATION OF THE BEST CONDITIONS FOR PREPARING THE FISH 
Weber (see footnote, p. 72) and his associates, in their bulletin 
(pp. 51 to 58) on the eune sardine industry, give experimental 
evidence on the amount of water removed from the fish prior to the 
time they are canned. They conclude that satisfactory results will 
be obtained if the raw fish lose about 15 per cent in weight in being 
prepared for canning. This seems to be a little low for a good quarter- 
oil pack, although for some “standard” packs it probably is sufficient. 
It is certainly too little for fancy California quarter-oil sardines. 
For this pack a loss of about 25 een cent is desirable. In Maine 

56 See Table 42, p. 204, eee 147, 148, and 179, for data on California quarter-oils, California 
packers want very little water in the can with ‘the fish, 

