PACIFIC SALMON FISHERIES. 121 
HANDLING THE SALMON. 
At convenient spots near the fishing grounds large scows and 
lighters are anchored and the fishing crews deliver their catches 
aboard these, the tallyman on each scow keeping a record and giving 
the crew a receipt. Men fishing near the cannery deliver their catch _ 
alongside. Steamers and launches are used to tow out empty scows 
and bring in those filled. In the old days the fish were pitched by 
hand into bins on the wharves, but this laborious method has been 
superseded by the use of an elevator, which extends from a short dis- 
tance above the top of the wharf to the water’s edge, provision being 
made for raising or lowering the lower end according to the stage of 
the tide. This elevator is slanting, and is made of an endless chain 
operating in a shallow trough. About every 2 feet there is attached 
to the chain a crosspiece of wood. At the top of the elevator are 
chutes which deliver the fish at various convenient spots on the 
cutting-room floor. 
At a few places tracks have been run down to the low-water stage 
and the steamers, launches, and scows come alongside. Small cars 
are run down to the vessels, to be filled by men pitching the fish 
from the boats, and the cars when filled are run up to the cutting 
room and dumped upon the floor. At other places men armed with 
pews (single-tined forks) pitch the fish up to the wharf, where other 
men pitch them to the cutters. 
If the salmon have been in the scows from 20 to 24 hours they 
are used as soon as possible after being delivered at the cannery ; 
otherwise that length of time is usually allowed to elapse, the can- 
nerymen claiming that if not allowed to shrink the fish will be in such 
condition that when packed much juice will be formed, so that in 
“blowing,” after cooking in the old-style method, light-weight cans 
will be produced. - 
Before dressing the fish a stream of water is kept playing over them 
in order to remove the dirt and slime, after which men with pews 
separate the different species into piles convenient to the dressing 
tables. 
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 fish, 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 
