﻿20 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  THE 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  The 
  menhaden 
  factories 
  are 
  usually 
  two-story 
  buildings, 
  and 
  are 
  so 
  

   located 
  as 
  to 
  be 
  accessible 
  to 
  the 
  steamers 
  engaged 
  in 
  the 
  fishery. 
  In 
  

   addition 
  to 
  the 
  main 
  factory 
  there 
  are 
  several 
  other 
  buildings, 
  includ- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  office, 
  "scrap 
  room" 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  scrap 
  is 
  bagged 
  and 
  stored 
  

   for 
  shipment, 
  the 
  mess 
  house, 
  and 
  the 
  sleeping 
  quarters 
  for 
  the 
  men. 
  

   Some 
  of 
  the 
  factories 
  built 
  in 
  recent 
  years 
  have 
  cement 
  floors; 
  many 
  

   of 
  them 
  are 
  lighted 
  with 
  electricity 
  generated 
  on 
  the 
  premises, 
  and 
  

   one 
  plant 
  is 
  supplied 
  with 
  electric 
  motors 
  for 
  operating 
  the 
  machinery. 
  

   The 
  equipment 
  of 
  an 
  average 
  factory 
  consists 
  of 
  an 
  elevator 
  for 
  hoist- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  fish 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  vessels, 
  a 
  measuring 
  device, 
  a 
  "raw 
  box," 
  a 
  

   cooker, 
  presses, 
  a 
  drier, 
  oil 
  tanks, 
  and 
  bucket, 
  chain, 
  or 
  screw 
  con- 
  

   veyors 
  for 
  moving 
  the 
  material 
  from 
  one 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  plant 
  to 
  another. 
  

   The 
  elevator 
  or 
  other 
  device 
  for 
  removing 
  the 
  fish 
  from 
  the 
  hold 
  of 
  

   the 
  steamer, 
  and 
  the 
  device 
  for 
  measuring 
  the 
  fish, 
  are 
  always 
  placed 
  

   on 
  the 
  outer 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  wharf. 
  The 
  cooker 
  is 
  generally 
  on 
  the 
  ground 
  

   floor, 
  but 
  at 
  some 
  factories 
  is 
  not 
  in 
  the 
  building 
  but 
  on 
  the 
  outside, 
  

   with 
  a 
  roof 
  to 
  protect 
  it 
  from 
  the 
  weather. 
  The 
  presses 
  are 
  generally 
  

   placed 
  on 
  the 
  second 
  floor, 
  and 
  the 
  oil 
  tanks 
  at 
  a 
  lower 
  level, 
  so 
  that 
  

   the 
  oil 
  and 
  water 
  coming 
  from 
  the 
  presses 
  may 
  have 
  a 
  gravity 
  flow. 
  

   The 
  tanks 
  are 
  frequently 
  outside 
  of 
  the 
  building 
  with 
  no 
  covering, 
  

   but 
  in 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  northern 
  factories 
  they 
  are 
  under 
  a 
  roof. 
  The 
  

   drier 
  is 
  on 
  the 
  ground 
  floor, 
  either 
  in 
  the 
  main 
  building 
  or 
  under 
  a 
  

   shed. 
  The 
  power 
  of 
  the 
  boilers 
  and 
  engines 
  depends 
  on 
  the 
  equip- 
  

   ment 
  of 
  the 
  factory. 
  Two 
  125-horsepower 
  boilers, 
  costing 
  about 
  

   $1,500 
  each, 
  are 
  sufficient 
  for 
  a 
  plant 
  having 
  one 
  cooker, 
  two 
  presses, 
  

   and 
  one 
  drier. 
  The 
  cost 
  of 
  the 
  entire 
  equipment 
  of 
  such 
  a 
  plant 
  is 
  

   about 
  $24,000, 
  and 
  the 
  capacity 
  is 
  about 
  600,000 
  fish 
  in 
  a 
  day 
  of 
  12 
  

   hours. 
  The 
  largest 
  factory 
  on 
  the 
  coast 
  has 
  a 
  capacity 
  of 
  about 
  

   2,500,000 
  fish 
  a 
  day 
  and 
  employs 
  upward 
  of 
  200 
  men. 
  

  

  The 
  principal 
  processes 
  involved 
  in 
  the 
  manufacture 
  of 
  menhaden 
  

   oil 
  and 
  fertilizer 
  are 
  cooking 
  and 
  pressing 
  the 
  fish, 
  and 
  drying 
  or 
  

   otherwise 
  preserving 
  the 
  scrap. 
  It 
  is 
  desirable 
  to 
  cook 
  the 
  fish 
  as 
  

   soon 
  as 
  practicable 
  after 
  they 
  are 
  caught. 
  Cooking 
  was 
  formerly 
  

   done 
  almost 
  entirely 
  in 
  vats 
  or 
  tanks 
  fitted 
  at 
  the 
  bottom 
  with 
  per- 
  

   forated 
  pipes 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  which 
  steam 
  was 
  supplied 
  to 
  heat 
  the 
  

   water 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  fish 
  were 
  placed. 
  The 
  usual 
  time 
  for 
  cooking 
  the 
  

   fish 
  in 
  these 
  tanks 
  is 
  about 
  20 
  minutes. 
  In 
  recent 
  years 
  continuous 
  

   steam 
  cookers, 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  cooking 
  is 
  done 
  by 
  direct 
  steam, 
  have 
  

   been 
  gradually 
  displacing 
  the 
  old 
  style 
  vats, 
  and 
  the 
  latter 
  are 
  now 
  

   used 
  only 
  in 
  North 
  Carolina. 
  After 
  the 
  fish 
  are 
  cooked, 
  the 
  oil 
  is 
  

   pressed 
  from 
  them 
  by 
  either 
  hydraulic 
  or 
  screw 
  presses. 
  The 
  old- 
  

   style 
  curbs 
  and 
  hydraulic 
  presses 
  have 
  been 
  displaced 
  to 
  a 
  consider- 
  

   able 
  extent 
  by 
  the 
  screw 
  presses, 
  but 
  are 
  stiU 
  in 
  use 
  in 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  

   factories. 
  In 
  drying 
  the 
  scrap 
  it 
  was 
  formerly 
  the 
  custom 
  to 
  spread 
  

   it 
  on 
  a 
  platform 
  made 
  of 
  boards 
  or 
  concrete 
  where 
  it 
  was 
  exposed 
  to 
  

   the 
  action 
  of 
  the 
  sun 
  for 
  several 
  days 
  until 
  dry. 
  This 
  method 
  is 
  still 
  

   employed 
  to 
  some 
  extent, 
  but 
  the 
  hot-air 
  drier 
  is 
  now 
  generally 
  used. 
  

   Several 
  of 
  the 
  factories 
  have 
  as 
  adjuncts 
  plants 
  for 
  the 
  preparation 
  of 
  

   fish 
  fertihzer, 
  but 
  the 
  greater 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  scrap 
  is 
  sold 
  to 
  the 
  fertilizer 
  

   mixing 
  plants. 
  The 
  oil 
  is 
  practically 
  all 
  sold 
  to 
  the 
  dealers 
  in 
  New 
  

   York, 
  New 
  Bedford, 
  Baltimore, 
  and 
  Boston, 
  where 
  it 
  is 
  refined 
  and 
  

   graded. 
  

  

  