CANNING SARDINES 139 
it seems as if the loss should be around 18 to 25 per cent. This was 
the standard followed in the experiments, and with excellent results.*” 
The preparation of the fish for the three-quarters mustard pack 
is comparable to the preparation of fish for the pound-oval pack in 
tomato sauce, and fish that are satisfactorily prepared for one should 
be suitable for the other. A 13 to 16 per cent loss in weight. is 
sufficient for these packs if a thick sauce is used. It will be noted 
that it is recommended that less water be removed from the fish for 
this pack than for the quarter-oil pack. This view is based on ade- 
quate experimental evidence, and it differs from that of Weber and 
his coworkers on this subject. They contend that fish to be packed 
in mustard sauce need to be dried to a greater extent than those to 
be packed in oil. 
This question of how much water shall be removed from the fish is, 
in the end, one for the individual packer, who must decide the kind 
of pack he desires and then dry his fish accordingly. No attempt is 
made here to do other than outline the safe limits and to show how 
such losses, as well as larger and smaller ones, can best be brought 
about. 
The first trials plainly showed that the new process was entirely 
suitable and practicable for the preparation of Maine herring. The 
best conditions for doing this, therefore, were determined, followed 
by the preparation of a number of packs with different kinds of fish 
to prove that the same results could be obtained consistently. Other 
experiments were made in order to learn if fancy grades of sardines 
could be prepared by this process from Maine herring. The results 
of these experiments are described below. 
Air temperature —Several results are given in Table 12, which 
show the effect of air temperature upon moisture removal. With a 
velocity of about 1,900 feet per minute, a temperature of 275° to 
300° gave best results. This temperature and velocity caused about 
the right loss of weight in various quarter-oil size fish and sufficient 
loss in three-quarters mustard fish in about 15 minutes. <A higher 
air temperature caused excessive browning, oxidation of oil, and 
sticking to the flakes. Such results as these were quite pronounced 
with air at 356°, although the velocity was lowered to 800 feet per 
minute. 
Other factors.—In one experiment (No. 185) medium large quarter- 
oil fish were cooked 15 minutes at 275° with air having different 
velocities. The per cent loss in weight at the different velocities 
was: 18.2 per cent at 2,000 feet per minute, 16.2 at 1,400, and 12.1 
at 700. The fish prepared at the lowest velocity were, in fact, not 
fully cooked, as red blood showed along the backbone.*® 
No experiments were made upon the effect of moisture content of 
the drying air, fish size, and drying time upon moisture removal 
from the fish. These subjects are considered on pages 133 and 134, 
and the discussion also applies to the handling of Maine herring. 

% Experiments 45 and 47, Table 31, p. 180, give some data on commercial losses. 
58 See p. 134 for similar data on large fish, 
