SALMON FISHERIES OF PACIFIC COAST. 49 



tablishments which devote all or the greater part of their facilities 

 to furnishing machinery and supplies to this giant branch of the 

 salmon industry. 



When salmon canning was in its infancy a pack of from 150 to 200 

 cases was considered a good day's work. Now it is not an uncormnon 

 occurrence for a cannery to turn out from 1,500 to 2,000 cases in one 

 day, and there are a few which have even greater capacity. 



During the height of the salmon run a cannery is an exceedingly 

 busy and interesting place, and a description of the methods used at 

 the present time will show the giant strides the industry has made 

 since the days of Hapgood, Hume & Company. 



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 has been superseded by the use of an elevator, which extends from a 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 distance above the top of the wharf to the water's edge, pro- 

 vision 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 these, small 

 cars being run down to meet them, and be filled by men pitching the 

 fish from the boats, the cars when filled being run up into 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 for 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 

 " bloAving," after cooking, light-weight cans will be produced. The 

 danger of canning fish that are too fresh, however, is of minor im- 

 portance as compared with the tendency in the other direction. 



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. 



