MAINE SARDINE INDUSTRY, d 



As the skin of the herring is thinner than that of the pilchard, it more quickly 

 loses its silvery appearance, particularly after the loss of its scales and subjection to 

 the cooking process. In consequence, a dull-colored, laterally flattened fish with 

 the edge of the belly somewhat sharp-edged would suggest a herring. If the distance 

 from the front of the base of the back fin directly to the belly, when applied twice to 

 the distance from the rear of the base of the back fin to the middle of the base of the 

 tail, extends beyond the base of the tail fin, it is almost positively a herring. If 

 fine, round-edged scales are present, the diagnosis is quite positive. 



On the other hand, the French sardine (pilchard), having a thick skin, has a tend- 

 ency to retain much of its silvery appearance, even after being cooked, and this 

 silveriness is more or less sharply defined from the bluish back. A silvery, plump 

 fish with a rounded belly indicates a pilchard. If the dimension for the width of 

 the fish, applied from the back fin to the base of the tail in the manner described, 

 does not reach to the base of the tail, the fish is quite positively a pilchard. If con- 

 spicuous scales, with one end angular, are present, the fish positively is a pilchard; 

 also if a series of dusky spots is observed along the side forward. 



THE MAINE SARDINE INDUSTRY. 



Sardines (2 7) have been canned in Europe since 1834, and the 

 imported product has long been a popular article of food in this 

 country. When the Franco-Prussian War cut off our supply of 

 sardines from abroad, an opportunity was presented for the beginning 

 of an American industry. It was not until 1 876, however, that the 

 first successful plant for canning sardines was established in Eastport, 

 Me., by Julius Wolff, of the New York firm of Wolff & Reesing. 

 Additional canneries were soon built in the vicinity of Eastport and 

 Lubec, and at other points along the M?dne coast. 



In the early days of the industry it was possible to enter the 

 business with a very small capital, as all the work was done by 

 hand and no expensive machinery was needed. Practically the 

 only large outlay required was for the materials used in making 

 the cans and for oil. In many cases these supplies were advanced 

 by the dealers in tin plate or by the commission merchants, who 

 later accepted canned sardines in payment. Thus the packer was 

 relieved, to a certain extent, of responsibility for the quality of his 

 goods, and a tendency to sacrifice quality for quantity in the pack 

 was developed. So large a number of individual canneries operated 

 during the period from 1877 to 1899 that the business became most 

 unprofitable. This condition resulted in an unsuccessful attempt to 

 form a combination about 1899. A little later two large companies 

 were organized, one of which built a factory for machine-made, 

 machine-sealed cans, to replace the three-piece, handmade, soldered 

 cans originally employed. These two firms soon consolidated, and 

 two years later sold out. The general dissension which developed 

 in the sardine industry during these two years was a factor in induc- 

 ing the original packers to reenter the business on an independent 

 basis. New factories were built and new men came into the 

 industry. 



