PACIFIC SALMON FISHERIES 519 



removing the partition boards, and so on until the scow is empty. 

 Should the fish stick, a hose with running water is run a foot or more 

 down into the pile, which loosens the fish and causes theni to move 

 freely. By the use of these scows the fish are unloaded in a very 

 short time, with but little labor, and are not marked by pew holes, 

 is under the old method. 

 If the salmon have been in the scows for from 20 to 24 hours they 

 '•e used as soon as possible after being dehvered at the cannery; 

 .herwise that length of time is usually allowed to elapse, the can- 

 erymen claiming that if not allowed to shrink the fish will be in 

 sdch condition that when packed much juice will be formed, and light- 

 weight cans will be produced. The danger of canning fish that are 

 too fresh, however, is of minor importance as compared with the 

 tendency in the other direction. 



Before dressing the fish a stream of water is kept playmg over them 

 in order to remove the dirt and slime, after wliich men with pews 

 jeparate the different species into piles. 



DRESSING 



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

 dressing the fish, and m such places the selection of the butchermg 

 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 fish, with the head out, 

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

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

 thrown into a chute, whence it passes to the reduction plant, from 

 which it shortly emerges in the form of oil suitable for food or 

 soap, dry fish meal for cattle and poultry food, and fertilizer, 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 whisk- 

 like 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 mventions in recent years have been of 

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

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

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

 haven (now Bellmgham), 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 skm removed, and the 

 inside of the fish cleaned. 



CUTTING 



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

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

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

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

 sht in cross section through the ledges and outer casing to receive 



112992°— 30 8 



