REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 149 



to operate, putting- up canned, mild-cured, and frozen salmon. The 

 species utilized in the cold-storage plants wore chiefly red salmon, 

 cohoes, dog salmon, and a few steelheads. 



Tiic ruling which prohibited the taking of salmon in southeast Alaska 

 prior to July 1 has now been set aside, and it is possible that this will 

 encourage the erection of cold-storage plants. There are, however, 

 onl}- a few localities in this region where king salmon may be secured 

 in considerable numbers, and as this fish is mostly used by cold-storage 

 plants for mild-curin<T purposes, the other species not being suitable, 

 there is room for only a limited number of establishments of this kind. 

 The demand for frozen salmon is increasing, how^ever, not only in 

 European markets but throughout the United States, and should the 

 time come when it is more profitable to freeze than to can cohoes and 

 dog salmon, many of the canneries now idle and some of those in 

 operation will no doubt be converted into cold-storage plants. 



METHODS OF CANNING SALMON. 



An interesting account of the packing of salmon on the (Columbia 

 River is given by Mr. W. A. Wilcox in the Fish Commission Report 

 for 1896, and the subject is also briefly treated by Capt. Jefferson F. 

 Moser in his report on the Alaska salmon industries. Since that time, 

 however, important changes have taken place, and while the method 

 is essentiall}^ the same on all parts of the Pacific coast, there are a few 

 points connected with the salmon industry of Alaska which may be 

 mentioned. 



Improvements in the nature of machinery introduced in the canner- 

 ies of Alaska in the last few years have made it possible to pack nearly 

 double the former output with little if any increase in the number of 

 men employed. Each year has brought forth some new labor-saving 

 device, and nearly ever}' branch of the work is now performed with 

 the aid of machinery, which in many instances gives more eflicient 

 service than work by hand. 



Probabh' in no year since machinery has been extensively used in 

 salmon canneries have there been more labor-saving machines employed 

 than in 1903. In that season four different patterns of fish cleaners 

 were tested, all giving satisfaction. Among other inventions, several 

 forms of automatic weighing machines were introduced, and several 

 styles of soldering machines were used, taking the place of the chain 

 machine so common a few years ago. There are several kinds of 

 machines for washing cans, also several styles of topping machines. 

 One of the latest inventions is a machine called a "stopper," for sol- 

 dering the ventholes in the cans previous to making the test for hot 

 leaks. Filling machines apparently reached a certain perfection some 

 four 3"ear3 ago, since wdiich time fev/ improvements have been added, 



