142 I^. S. BUREAU or FISHERIES. 



tial that tho plant shall be odorless, as the smell of the ordinary fer- 

 tilizer estahlishment would be very offensive to persons visiting the 

 cannery nnd would not enliance the demiind for canned salmon. At 

 the present time the cheapest plant available costs about $10,000, and 

 verv few canneries can afford to invest this sum of money in the dis- 

 posal of their own ofTal alone. 



A great impetus has been given to the industry during the last two 

 years, owing to the big demand which has come from the farmers 

 and poultrymen for fish meal or scrap, which, after it has been mixed 

 with other ingredients, can be fed to cattle, hogs, and poultry. Ex- 

 periments carried out at various agricultural experiment stations, 

 both here and in Europe, show conclusively that this class of food in- 

 creases the appetite of the animal, and consequently the weight, 

 while it does not affect the flavor of the flesh of the animals. 



SHIPPING FRESH SALMON DIRECT TO CONSUMER. 



An important new feature m the salmon industry is the shipping 

 of individual salmon direct to consumers by express, or, for certain 

 short distances, by parcel post, for a certain lixed sum, which in- 

 cludes the fish itself and the cost of delivering same to the buyer. 



This business began in Tacoma, Wash., in 1914, and those who 

 originated it advertised throughout the country that they would 

 ship a fresh salmon to any express office in the United States (except 

 Southern Express), express prepaid, for SI. 25, weight 7 to 8 pounds. 

 In 1915 the cost, delivered east of the Mississippi River, was raised 

 to SI. 50 each, the old rate of SI. 25 still being in force for shipments 

 west of the Mississippi River. The price has since been increased 

 to S2.50 for any place in the United States. The number of shippers 

 has increased very much, and the business is now carried on from a 

 number of places in Washington, Oregon, and California. 



In shipping an individual fish, it is packed in a box containing 20 

 pounds of ci-acked ice. These boxes are collected by the express 

 companies and are generally sent out in their own regular cars 

 attached to trains leaving in the evening. About every 15 to 20 

 hours the box is opened and from 5 to 7 pounds, depending upon 

 the weather, of cracked ice added to the box to make up the loss 

 through melting. 



As the Post Office Department will not accept packages in which 

 ice is used for preserving lish, the use of the parcel post for ship- 

 ments of individual fish is limited to the first postal zone (up to 50 

 miles from the initial ])oint), except in winter, when the postmasters 

 are authorized, in their discretion, to accept shipments for the 

 second zone (50 to 100 miles from the initial point). In making 

 fresh-fish shipments by parcel post, frozen fish are generally used. 



Most of the orders come from the Middle West, where fresh fish 

 are not abundant, but orders are received from all sections of the 

 country. 



The success met with in shipping fresh salmon led to a considerable 

 expansion of the industry, with the result that now one can obtain 

 not only a fresh salmon, but also may purchase salt, smoked, rnd 

 kippered salmon, salt codfish, and fresh halibut, smelt, crabs, and 

 otner sea food in their season. 



