PACIFIC SALMON FISHERIES. 143 
NUTRITIVE QUALITIES OF SALMON. 
More and more attention is being paid by the consuming public 
to the nutritive qualities of the food products offered them, and this 
is especially true as regards fishery products. 
The proper functions of food are two-fold, first, to furnish protein 
for building and repairing the body, and second, to supply energy 
for heat and muscular work. Foods which supply an abundance of 
both at a reasonable price are of the greatest importance from an 
economical standpoint. 
ANALYSES OF CANNED AND FRESH PACIFIC SALMON, 
Despite the great prominence of the salmon industry, but little 
time has been devoted to it by the chemist. — 
Prof. W. O. Atwater was the first American investigator to devote 
any portion of his energies to the analysis of Pacific salmon. In 
‘Principles of Nutrition and Nutritive Value of Food” (Farmers 
Bulletin No. 142, United States Department of Agriculture, 1901), 
he gives the following analysis of canned Pacific coast salmon: 
Water, 63.5 per cent; protein, 21.8 per cent; fat, 12.1 per cent; ash, 2.6 per cent; 
fuel value per pound, 915 calories. @ 
C. F. Langworthy, in ‘‘Fish as Food”? (Farmers Bulletin Ne. 85, 
United States Department of Agriculture, 1898), gives the following 
analyses of fresh and canned Pacific coast salmon: 
Fresh salmon, California (sections): Refuse (bone, skin, etc.), 5.2 per cent; water, 
60.3 per cent; protein, 16.5 per cent; fat, 17 per cent; mineral matter, 1 per cent; 
total nutrients, 34.5 per cent; fuel value per pound, 1,025 calories. 
Canned salmon: Refuse (bone, skin, etc.), 3.9 per cent; salt, 1 per cent; water, 
59.3 per cent; protein, 19.3 per cent; fat, 15.3 per cent; mineral, 1.2 per cent; total 
nutrients, 35.8 per cent; fuel value per pound, 1,005 calories. 
Dr. Harvey W. Wiley gives the following as the composition of a 
Pacific coast salmon (species not given):? 
Fresh—Water, 63.61 per cent; protein, 17.46 per cent; fat, 17.87 per cent; ash, 1.06 
per cent. Dry—Protein, 52.31 per cent; fat, 49.05 per cent; ash, 2.92 per cent. 
On page 137 of the same work Dr. Wiley gives the following as 
the mean of three samples of Pacific coast canned salmon: 
Composition of canned salmon.—Mean of three samples. Water-free substance: 
Protein, 53.52 per cent; fat, 40.52 per cent; ash, 6.24 per cent. 
Prof. Knisely,’ of the Oregon State Agricultural College at Cor- 
vallis, Oreg., analyzed canned salmon packed at the Funter Bay 
(Alaska) cannery of the Thlinket Packing Co., with the following 
results: 
Species. ? Moisture.| Protein. Fat. Ash. 
Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent.| Per cent. 
Sockeyeor red). <. sftO ss Sete a So. dad dob ER 64. 74 24.19 9.11 2.06 
Gohornmedigm Teds. -<5sceo oc sasssnts teks acahs eet esa8sbess 68. 22 26. 56 3.61 1.66 
PUM OAGEY Oly DIK Loc cdtace ss gee acne ccscdaecoscstencee teas ss 69. 43 24.00 4,86 1.68 
Ree GetOl CHUTES © Mees Se tae cee ese caae eee wa cee eee eeees 67. 08 25. 06 6. 59 1.26 
a The unit used to show the fuel value is the ‘‘calorie,” which is the amount of heat required to raise the 
temperature of about 1 pound of water 4° F. 
> Foods and their Adulteration, etc., p. 135. By Harvey W. Wiley. 8°, Philadelphia, 1907, 
¢ Pacific Fisherman, Vol. VI, No. 1, January, 1908, p. 21, 
