REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. THE 
the wharf from the upper side down an inelined plane to the water’s 
edge, and on these small fish cars are run. At Loring a double track 
is built out from the cannery, forming a kind of slip into which the 
steamers or boats can come and discharge fish from either side. 
The salmon usually remain in the bins from twenty to twenty-four 
hours before being dressed, at the end of which time they are in much 
better condition for canning than if they had been dressed immediately 
after being caught. The danger of canning fish that are too fresh, 
however, is of minor importance as compared with the tendency in the 
other direction. 
Dressing jish.—The manner in which salmon are handled by the 
**butchers,” or dress gang, is a remarkable development of speed and 
skill, acquired through long practice. In most canneries this work is 
performed by Chinese, although Indians are sometimes employed and 
also become very expert. Two men constitute a ‘‘butcher’s gang.” 
The number of gangs ina cannery is regulated by its size and capacity. 
From 30 to 40 salmon are placed in a row upon a long table, heads 
toward the operator. One man cuts off the heads, and is followed 
immediately by another, who removes the fins, tails, and viscera. 
Only one stroke of the knife is required to remove the head; eight 
more cuts, and the fins and tail have been taken off and the belly 
opened. The first process is thus completed. The offal falls through 
an opening in the wharf and supplies food toa large number of salmon 
trout, sculpins, a few cod, and frequently halibut. 
From the hands of the dress gang the fish pass into cleaning tanks, 
where they are scaled, washed, and given a partial cleaning on the 
inside. Each fish passes through at least two, and frequently three of 
these tanks. In the second cleaning they receive the same treatment 
as in the first, small bits of offal, blood, and scales which were over- 
looked in the first cleaning being now removed. To make sure that 
nothing of an objectionable nature remains, they are subjected to 
another inspection by a third man. 
A machine which practically does away with the men in the ‘‘butcher” 
room was invented by Mr. William Munn, of San Francisco, who is 
eonnected with the Alaska Packers’ Association. It has been used in 
various canneries belonging to that company during the past three 
seasons, and is said to give much satisfaction. Another type of fish 
cleaner has since appeared on the market, 23 of these machines having 
been used in various canneries of Alaska during the season of 1903. 
It is stated that each means a saving of from 15 to 20 men, and that it 
will satisfactorily open the fish, remove the entrails, scrape the blood 
from the backbone, and thoroughly wash the body. More recent 
inventions are used in canneries on Puget Sound, and still another 
machine, invented by Mr. E. A. Smith, of Seattle, Wash., and used 
for the first time, in 1903, by the United Fish and Packing Company, 
