AQUATIC PRODUCTS IN ARTS AND INDUSTRIES. 237 



were worth about double their preseut values, there were small plants 

 all along the eastern coast of Maine for utilizing the herring in oil- 

 manufacture. The crude material consisted principally of refuse fish 

 taken in connection with the smoked-herring business, especially the 

 small fish which otherwise were valueless. Sometimes the larger her- 

 ring — over 6 inches in length— were utilized, but only when the com- 

 parative prices of oil and smoked fish warranted. This business did 

 not engage the attention of large establishments, but was conducted 

 by many fishermen in a small way, each man working for himself. 



As the refuse herring accumulated they were sprinkled with salt, 

 using about 1 bushel to 3 or 4 barrels of fish. After remaining in the 

 salt about 24 hours, they were boiled in open kettles and then sub- 

 jected to pressure in a screw press with capacity for about 1^ barrels. 

 The average yield was about 16 gallons of oil to the ton of fish, but 

 at times the fish were so fat that 20 and even 25 gallons were secured 

 to each ton. The chum or scrap was partly dried and then sold as 

 fertilizer at about $12 i>ev ton. 



The development of the sardine business furnished more profitable 

 use for small herring, and since 1875 the waste from the sardine can- 

 neries has provided most of the material for herring-oil production in 

 Maine. This waste consists of the spoiled fish and of the heads and 

 viscera of fish used in canning, each factory generally using its own 

 refuse. The extent of the business is small. The total output in 

 1889 amounted to 34,;316 gallons of oil, valued at 18,580, and 1,941 

 tons of scrap, worth 115,528. Owing to the decreased value of the 

 oil, this business has since fallen off considerably, the output in 1898 

 amounting to only 12,672 gallons of oil, worth $2,116, and 785 tons 

 of scrap, worth $5,910. 



The method of manufacture is described by Mr. Ansley Hall on page 

 479 of Report of IT. S. Fish Commission for 1896. 



Considerable quantities of oil have been prepared from herring on 

 the Pacific coast of the United States. The industry dates from 1867, 

 but the output was irregular for a number of years. In 1885 the 

 product amounted to upward of 200,000 gallons, much of which is 

 alleged to have been sold as whale oil. In 1892, according to the Oil, 

 Paint, and Drug Reporter, the output approximated 500,000 gallons, 

 60 per cent of which was prepared at Killisnoo, Alaska. The yield 

 of oil ranges from 1 to 4 gallons to the barrel of fish. The value on 

 the Pacific coast is about 20 cents per gallon, and the dried scrap 

 sells for about $25 pe*' ton. This oil is usually quite clear, and the 

 foots extracted in refining are nearly as white as spermaceti and sell 

 for about 1 cent per pound less than tallow from sheep and oxen, 

 being used largely by soap-makers on the coast. 



When herring are taken in the fisheries of Europe in such quantities 

 that they can not be profitably used for food, it is customary to con- 

 vert them into oil and fertilizer. Herring oil is extensively manufac- 

 tured in Norway and Sweden, and with the exception of that obtained 



