150 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
is designed to supply fish as rapidly as needed. Conveyer B, then, 
serves only to care for inequalities in the removal by the packers of 
flakes from conveyer A. 
Cleaning and oiling the flakes—The flakes should be kept clean. 
At times it probably will be advisable to scrub them after each time 
or two they are used. ‘This can be done easily and inexpensively by 
passing them through a mechanical scrubber. This scrubber can 
consist of two rey olving brushes, upon which a strong cleaning solu- 
tion is sprayed. The flakes should then be rinsed in a spray of water. 
Just before the flakes receive fish they should be oiled, whenever 
this is necessary. A number of simple automatic contrivances can be 
devised to do this. One that would serve well can be made in the 
form of a perforated drum covered with fairly heavy felt or wicking 
material, through which the oil or fat contained in the lower half of 
the drum passes, in the same way that oil passes through a lamp wick. 
The drum can rest on the flakes and be left free to revolve so that it 
moves with the flakes, spreading a thin film of oil over their surface as 
they pass under the drum. A small steam coil should be placed so 
as to dip into the oil in the bottom of the drum. This will liquify a fat 
that is solid at ordinary temperatures. 
General considerations.—It is necessary to consider how well the 
method just described for handling the fish fits into the general plan 
of operations that must be followed in a sardine cannery. Conditions 
in southern California (San Pedro) are considered first. 
Except in emergencies, the fish must be packed during the daytime, 
when women packers are obtained most easily and cheaply. Assum- 
ing that the packers work 10 hours, equipment must be provided for 
handling the desired amount of fish in that number of hours. Of 
course, such equipment would also be available for overtime work. 
As arule, the fishing boats go out in the evening and return between 
midnight and dawn.® Usually some fish are available as early as 
5 or 6 a.m. Generally, most of the boats are in by 9 to 10 a. m. 
There are exceptions, however, and when these occur the fish have to 
be cared for just the same. At certain periods moonlight interferes 
with night fishing, in which case the boats either do not fish or go out 
early in the morning and return by noon or early afternoon. 
When the fish are prepared by the frying-in-oil process, it makes 
no particular difference when they arrive. Generally, unloading and 
cutting start soon after the first boat arrives and are continued until 
all the fish have been cut and sent to the brine tanks. As soon as the 
tanks of fish have been brined the excess brine is drained off and the 
fish remain in the tanks until used. Drying begins as soon as the first 
brined fish are ready. Drying, frying, stacking, and storing of fried 
fish is continued until all the catch has been disposed of. The follow- 
ing morning the packers begin packing the fish that were prepared on 
the previous day. 
This method of handling the fish tends to minimize deterioration 
in the factory, inasmuch as cooking is begun soon after the first fish 
arrive. In the proposed method the fish are not cooked until just 
before they are packed. Because of this it will be necessary at times 
to keep uncooked fish in the tanks for several hours until cooking 

Ee methods are described in detail by Higgins and Holmes; see paper referred to in footnote 9, 
p. 74. 
