344 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



clarified oil drawn oft' before put refaction sets iu. In order to effect the separation the oil is com- 

 monly passed through a number of settling- vats, and a portion of the impurities deposited in each, 

 and finally, before barreling, the oil is, if practicable, exposed some hours to the sunlight in a broad, 

 shallow tank. If all these processes are successfully carried through, the oil is light-colored, sweet, 

 and of prime quality; but if it is exposed at any time to the influence of putrefying animal matter, 

 it becomes dark and 'strong.' The very strongest of oil is made from the 'gurry' or settlings of 

 the oil, after fermentation, by steaming or boiling it over. 



"It naturally happens that every manufacturer makes several grades of oil, of very different 

 quality, of which the best is very sweet, fine oil, bringing 10 cents a gallon more than a strong 

 article. Notwithstanding this fact, it is said to be the common practice of dealers to pour all 

 grades into the same vat, and this has led manufacturers to take, less pains to keep them separate. 

 "It is a curious fact that oil made from early fish is not so good as that made later. It is 

 called ' weak,' and brings in market five cents per gallon less." * 

 Gurry oil is sold for one-third less than the other grades. 



Perhaps the most satisfactory way of indicating the processes now in use will be to describe 

 three or four of the principal factories in detail. 



THE FACTORY OF THE GEORGE W. MILES COMPANY. The factory of The George W. Miles 

 Company at Milford, Conn., is said to have been the first one built after the model now universally 

 followed, with the cooking-tanks and oil-presses upon the second floor of the building. 



When the fishing fleet comes in, the fish are hoisted from the holds of the vessels into cars, in 

 which they are carried over an inclined tram- way to the upper story of the factory building. Here 

 they are turned into tanks, 20,000 fish in each, and cooked by steam-power. Then the water is 

 drawn off and the cooked fish are placed in perforated iron curbs, which are so arranged upon rail- 

 ways that they can be pushed under a hydraulic press. Each curb-load of fish is subjected to a 

 pressure of sixty or seventy tons, by which the greater part of the oil is extracted. The scrap is 

 then dropped into the cellar below. 



THE COST OF AN OIL-FACTORY. The larger part of the cost of an oil-factory consists in the 

 machinery, as the buildings are always of wood, substantial but cheap. The amount invested in 

 factories by different manufacturers appears to range from $2,000 to $65,000. The average amount 

 invested in the fourteen factories of the Maine Association is $22,600, but the general average will 

 not probably exceed $12,000 or $15,000. 



Mr. Church, of Tiverton, R. I., speaking of the establishments on Narragansett Bay, remarks 

 that a factory ready for business, including buildings, tanks, boilers, hydraulic presses, oil-room, 

 &c., of a capacity to cook and press SOO barrels (200,000 fish) in a day, costs not far from $14,000. 

 A hydraulic press costs about $1,200; in 1877, $700. 



Mr. Miles, of Milford, Conn., states that boilers cost from $2,000 to $4,000, hydraulic presses 

 with curbs and fixtures $2,000; engines, pumps, shafting, and pulleys, together with the necessary 

 buildings, bring the cost of the factory to from $10,000 to $50,000. 



Capt. B. H. Sisson, of Greenport, N. Y., estimates the cost of boilers, engine, piping, hydraulic 

 press worked by steam, steam drying machines, and steam hoisting apparatus, to be from $10,000 

 to $25,000 for each factory. 



Mr. Dudley states that a factory running three or four gangs of fishermen costs from $20,000 

 to $30,000. 



The capital invested in the factory is one-half of the whole amount. The fourteen establish- 

 ments of the Maine Association had in 1874 $316,000 in buildings and machinery and $390,000 in 



* Op. cit., p. 27. 



