PACIFIC SALMON FISHERIES. 115 



DRESSING. 



A number of the small canneries still use the old hand method of 

 dressing the fish, and in such places the selection of the butchering 

 or dressing gangs is of prime importance. Two men constitute a 

 "butcher's gang," and the number of these gangs is dependent upon 

 the output of the plant. Boys place the hsh, with the head out, 

 upon the cutting tables. One man cuts off the heads, and is followed 

 by another who removes the fins, tails, and viscera. The offal is 

 thrown into a chute, whence it passes into the water under the 

 cannery or into a scow moored underneath, while the dressed fish is 

 transferred to a tank of water, to be scaled, washed, and scraped. 

 It is then passed to another tank of water, where it receives a second 

 washing, scraping, and final brushing with a whisklike broom, which 

 removes any offal, blood, and scales that were overlooked in the first 

 washing, after which it is removed to large bins on either side of the 

 cutting machine. 



The most useful cannery inventions in recent years have been of 

 machines for doino; the work of the dressing gangs. The one com- 

 monly known as the "Iron Chink," now in general use in canneries 

 where such machines are employed, was first used in 1903 at Fair- 

 haven (now Bellingham), Wash. It removes the head, tail, and fins 

 and opens and thoroughly cleans the fish ready to cut into pieces for 

 the cans. By the use of these machines the dressing gang is almost 

 entirely done away with, dispensing with 15 to 20 men. This same 

 machine is now so arranged that the fish after dressing are also 

 "slimed;" i. e., the thick mucus covering the skin removed, and the 

 inside of the fish cleaned. 



CUTTING. 



The usual method of cutting the salmon is by a machine. This is 

 generally a large wooden cylindrical carrier, elliptical in shape, thus 

 Raving a larger carrying capacity. Ledges or rests on the outside 

 the length of the carrier are wide enougli to hold the fish, and are 

 slit in cross section through the ledges and outer casnig to receive 

 the gang knives. The latter are circular, fixed on an axle at the 

 proper distances apart, and revolve at the highest point reached by 

 the carrier and independently of the latter. The carrier and gang 

 knives are set in motion, each revolving on its own shaft. As a rest 

 on the carrier comes to a horizontal position, men stationed at the 

 fish bins lay a fish on each ledge as it passes. Thence it is conveyed 

 to the revolving gang knives and, after being divided, passes through 

 on the downward course, sliding off the rest into the filling chute. 

 The knives in these machines are so arranged as to cut the fish 

 transversely in sections the exact length of the cans to be filled. 



The rotary cutter shunts the tail pieces to one side, and these are 

 carried by means of a chute to baskets. The tail pieces are generally 

 canned separately. As the tail portion is much smaller, with less 

 meat, it can not be placed in the cans with the middle and head 

 sections without detracting from their value, but if packed under a 

 distinct and separate label, as is now done, there is no reason why 

 the tails should not supply the demand for a cheap grade of fish. 



In some of the smaUer canneries, especially in those packing flat 

 cans, the gang knives are worked by hand. In this case, the knives 

 are not circular, but elongated or semicircular in shape, tapering at 



