66 BULLETIN 908, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



was correspondingly high was due to the fatness of these fish. An 

 inspection of the rest of the cans of this pack showed that they had 

 leaked badly while stored in the shook. The cans were very un- 

 sightly, being covered with oil, and, in many cases, stuck together 

 with the partially dried oil. The analysed showed that practically 

 ^'lird of the oil added had leaked through the seams of the cans. 

 om these experiments it seems fair to conclude that the proper 

 t of oil per case to add to sardines is 3 quarts (75 per cent of 

 a gallon) for average fat fish and 3^ quarts (87.5 per cent of a gal- 

 lon) for lean fish of poor quality. These quantities allow for pos- 

 sible unavoidable losses in oil during the sealing process. The oil 

 in these amounts can readily be added to the standard quarter oil 

 can without loss, if time be allowed for the absorption of oil before 

 the cover is sealed on the can. 



Kind of Oil. 



tests with corn oil. 



As has already been stated, cottonseed oil is the oil most widely 

 used in packing Maine sardines. During the season of 1913 the 

 possibilities of the use of corn oil for packing sardines were investi- 

 gated. The oil in corn is contained in the embryo or germ, which 

 is separated from the rest of the kernel in the manufacture of starch, 

 glucose, etc. The germ is heated and the oil expressed and then 

 refined. It is a neutral, bland oil, with practically no characteristic 

 taste. It does not, therefore, mask the flavor of the fish which are 

 packed in it. At the time these experiments were made corn oil was 

 cheaper than cottonseed oil. Under normal conditions, corn oil is 

 said to sell for from 5 to 10 cents a gallon less than cottonseed oil, 

 which should make it worthy of consideration by the sardine packers. 

 In normal times enough refined corn oil may be had to supply the 

 entire sardine industry. 



Inquiry among the packers showed that, in previous experience, 

 corn oil had proved generally unsatisfactory. At the time the 

 packers had tested this oil it was the practice in all the canneries 

 to fry the fish in oil. When the corn oil was tried out in the frying 

 vats it gave off a disagreeable odor and foamed so badly that it 

 boiled out of the vats. Within the last few years the process of 

 refining has been improved, so that a fine grade of oil, much superior 

 to that formerly marketed, can now be had. The highly refined oil 

 was secured for the tests here reported. 



BEHAVIOR ON HEATING. 



Corn oil, summer yellow cottonseed oil, and winter yellow cotton- 

 seed oil, 100 to 150 cc (3 to 5 ounces) of each, were heated in beakers 



