MAINE SARDINE INDUSTRY. 



better grade known as winter-pressed oil, which they sometimes 

 flavor with cloves, spice, or bay leaf, and a small amount of essen- 

 tial oil for the fancy or extra fancy grades. 



Small quantities of Maine sardines are packed in tomato sauce, 

 but a market for this article has not yet become widely established. 

 Both the key-opening and the keyless type of cans are employed 

 for this purpose. 



FOOD VALUE OF THE CANNED SARDINE. 



When well packed with a fair amount of oil, the Maine sardine 

 constitutes an excellent food and gives the purchaser good value for 

 the money expended. Table 1 shows the food value of sardines 

 obtained for 5 and 10 cents as compared with that of various other 

 common foodstuffs at the same price. 



Table 1. — Comparative food value of sardines and some other common foods . 



Food material. 



Calories 



Pro- 



pound. 1 



tein. 





Per cent. 



975 



23.2 



2,018 



19.8 



1,270 



22.4 



2,309 



19.1 



985 



16.5 



670 



19.5 



1,950 



25.9 



165 



8.4 



315 



19.0 



635 



11.9 



1,670 



14.5 



325 



3.3 



680 



19.5 



Selling price per 

 pound. 2 



Oct. 15, ' Oct. 15, 

 1915.3 , 1918.4 



Five cents bought s 



Total calories. 



Oct. 15, 

 1915. 



Oct. 15, 

 1918. 



Calories from 

 protein. 



Oct. 15, 

 1915. 



Oct. 15, 

 1918. 



Sardines (in oil): 

 Lean fish — 



1 quart of oil per case . 

 4 quarts of oil per case. 

 Fat fish— 



1 quart of oi 1 per case. . 

 4 quarts of oil per case. 

 Beef: 



Sirloin steak 



Round (lean) 



Cheese (whole milk.) 



Codfish: 



Fresh 



Salt 



Eggs 



Ham (smoked) 



Milk 



Salmon (canned) 



SO. 25 

 .25 



.25 

 .25 



.259 

 .233 

 .23 



.16 



.18 



.266 



.265 



.044 



.198 



.41 

 .39 

 .385 



.23 

 .25 



.426 

 .52 



.074 

 .309 



195 

 404 



254 



190 

 144 

 424 



119 

 315 

 369 

 172 



99 

 206 



130 



236 



120 

 86 

 253 



36 

 63 

 75 

 161 

 220 



no 



1 Taken from U. S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Experiment Stations Bull. 28, except the figures 

 for sardines. 



2 All prices are taken from U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics publications, ex- 

 cept those for sardines and codfish. 



3 Calculated from 0.05 per 3J-ounce can. 



4 Calculated from 0.10 per 3|-ounce can. 



It is evident that sardines packed from fat fish in the maximum 

 amount of oil have a food value greater than that of any of the other 

 common food materials of animal origin, considering only the amount 

 which may be procured for 5 cents, the original price of a can of 

 sardines. At 10 cents per can, sardines of this quality are outranked 

 by whole milk cheese, at 39 cents a pound, in the number of calories 

 that can be purchased for a given sum. Even as they are ordinarily 

 packed, sardines compare very favorably with the amount of other 

 animal foods which can be purchased for 5 cents. While the prices 

 given in Table 1 no longer obtain, the comparative differences be- 

 tween them probably remain approximately unchanged. 



