492 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



of seeing the industry gradually develop to such an extent that it now constitutes the principal 

 business of Eastport, and is rapidly spreading to other portions of the State. 



ME. SELLHANK'S ACCOUNT OF HIS WORK. Mr. Sellmann has furnished the following very 

 interesting account of the causes that led to the experiments and of the methods employed in the 

 work : 



" The Franco-German war in 1870-'71 was the approximate if not the immediate cause of the 

 origin of the American sardine industry, and it was brought about in the following manner : For 

 about ten years previously there was imported from Hamburg, Germany, by a firm in New York, 

 an article of merchandise known as ' Eussian sardines.' These were put up in kegs of three dif- 

 ferent sizes, weighing, respectively, 4, 7, and 11 pounds gross. The fish used for this purpose were 

 small herring taken on the coast of Norway, and were prepared as follows : After being suitably 

 salted the heads and entrails were removed ; the fish were then thoroughly washed, and, after 

 draining in baskets, packed in layers in kegs, every other layer receiving a definite quantity of 

 whole spices, such as cloves, pepper, mustard seed, bay leaves, allspice, red peppers, and capers. 

 A pickle of slightly salted vinegar was added after the package had been filled up with fish. From 

 a small beginning this article grew rapidly in favor, principally among the German population, 

 and the demand for the goods became so extensive that by 1870 the importation amounted to not 

 less than 50,000 kegs per annum, mostly of the larger packages. The price up to that time ranged, 

 upon a gold basis, at from $1.10 to $1,25 for the larger, and at from 50 to 80 cents for the smaller 

 sized kegs. When in the early part of the Franco-German war, in consequence of the blockade of 

 German ports by the French navy, the importation of the article from Hamburg had to be aban- 

 doned for the time being, the price of the article advanced 50 per cent, in New York, owing to the 

 small supply in market. It was under these circumstances that the writer, who for many years 

 previously and at that time was engaged in the importation of other kinds of preserved fish, con- 

 ceived the idea of finding a suitable fish taken in American waters for the purpose of producing 

 the so-called Russian sardines in this country. The small smoked herring that are put up in boxes, 

 and known in our markets as No. 1 and scaled herring, furnished a basis for investigation as to 

 suitability of the fish under a different mode of curing and preparation for the purpose mentioned. 

 As these fish were principally prepared at Eastport, Me., an order was transmitted to Messrs. 

 Griffin Brothers, of that place, for a sample shipment of small salted herring, with full instructions 

 as to the manner of salting and preparing the same. The shipment came to hand in due time, and 

 the quality of the fish proved satisfactory. In the further development of the work considerable 

 difficulty was experienced in procuring suitable kegs at a moderate price for putting up the fish ; 

 but this was finally overcome by Messrs. Kellogg & Ives, of Fair Haven, Conn., who were engaged 

 in the manufacture of oyster kegs. This firm succeeded in making a good imitation of the foreign 

 keg at a reasonable price. Next, the fish were put up carefully and in good style, and offered for 

 sale to the jobbing trade. Notwithstanding, however, the continued great scarcity of the imported 

 article, in connection with the high price asked for it, there was much prejudice and negative 

 shaking of heads on the part of the dealers against the new domestic article, and the difficulty of 

 finding a market for it was subsequently increased by the raising of the German blockade, thus 

 restoring former facilities for importation. 



"A further difficulty in the fight against prejudice and odds was encountered in the fact that 

 it was late in the fishing season, and suitable fish were scarce at Eastport. However, with a mod- 

 erate supply of material, the writer succeeded after awhile in interfering to a considerable extent 

 with the foreign article, and in making valuable friends for the ' home-made Russians.' Objections 

 were, however, soon made by some of the trade against the better appearance of the American 

 machine-made kegs than of the hand-made imported ones. Stimulated by increasing success, the 



