16 



BULLETIN 908, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The herring studied by Heinecke (18) contained the largest amount 

 of fat during September and October. 



According to Johnstone (13), the full and unripe herrings caught 

 during the summer (June to August) are much richer in fat or oil 

 than the same kind of herring caught during the fall and winter 

 (October to December). His results show also that the percentage 

 variation in the water and fat content of the fish is closely comple- 

 mentary. 



The monthly variations in the water and fat contents of the Maine 

 herring of various sardine sizes as they were brought to the canneries 

 are shown in Table 4. The analyses were made not on the fresh fish, 

 but on fish which had been held in salt or pickle for varying periods. 

 The results are therefore influenced by the salt taken up by the fish 

 and the amount of water and extractive material lost, and can not 

 be considered as representative of fresh fish. 



Table 4. — Water and fat content of sea herring by months (1913). 





Number 

 of 



samples. 



Water. 



Eat. 



Description of fish and month caught. 



Maxi- 

 mum. 



Mini- 

 mum. 



Aver- 

 age. 



Maxi- 

 mum. 



Mini- 

 mum. 



Aver- 

 age. 



July: 



Oil size — 



Not eviscerated 



6 

 2 



10 

 4 



10 

 1 



4 

 1 



4 



4 



8 

 3 



3 



P.ct. 

 70.91 

 69.68 



66.90 

 64.10 



71.28 

 64.60 



65.32 

 62.46 



70.38 

 64.85 



72.16 

 71.51 



68.13 



P.ct. 

 53.23 

 61.54 



48.72 

 52.84 



60.62 

 64.60 



58.32 

 62.46 



60.08 

 59.96 



59. 13 . 



64.55 



55.54 



P.ct. 

 65.28 

 65.61 



61.99 

 60.06 



65.32 

 64.60 



61.62 

 62.46 



67.74 

 62.43 



65.10 

 69.18 



59.81 



P.ct. 

 5.55 

 6.06 



18.61 

 14.24 



11.25 

 7.30 



15.63 

 12.38 



8.49 

 15.07 



14.25 

 9.68 



16.00 



P. ct. 

 3.93 

 4.36 



7.21 

 9.26 



6.03 

 7.30 



11.87 

 12.38 



5.31 



8.54 



5.09 



7.84 



10.56 



P. ct. 

 4.80 



Eviscerated 



5.21 



Mustard size — 



12.94 



Eviscerated 



August: 



Oil size — 



Not eviscerated 



13.01 

 9.48 



Eviscerated 



Mustard size — 



Not eviscerated 



7.30 

 13.44 



Eviscerated 



September: 

 Oil size — 



12.38 



6.31 



Mustard size — 



11.32 



October: 

 Oil size- 



S.75 



Eviscerated 



Mustard size — 



9.00 

 13. 16 







The average fat content of the oil-size fish was greatest in August, 

 in the case of the uneviscerated fish, and in October in the case of the 

 eviscerated fish. In July the fat content was comparatively low for 

 each. The mustard size, or larger, fish did not show an appreciable 

 increase from one month to the next, containing approximately 13 

 per cent of fat from July until October. 



The low fat content for the oil-size fish found in September is 

 accounted for by the fact that a number of analyses made on fish 

 obtained from Castine, Me., are included. It is said that large num- 

 bers of these fish run into this bay, where they remain until long after 

 the food supply is exhausted, thus becoming very thin. 



