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



stage. Decomposition is indicated in the processed material in the 

 case of the slightly f eedy lot. 



The amount of ammoniacal material thus far reported in this 

 section includes both ammonia and amines. The following data 

 show the production of amines during the course of decomposition 

 of the flesh and the viscera and contents of fish. 



The flesh of eviscerated fresh fish showed the presence of 0.53 mg 

 of amines, in terms of nitrogen per 100 grams of sample. After a 

 portion of this lot of fish had stood for 24 hours with the viscera intact, 

 samples were prepared bj T eviscerating the spoiled fish. The content 

 of amines had risen in the flesh to 14.53 mg per 100 grams. These 

 fish had no pronounced odor, but the bellies of the greater part were 

 ruptured, and they were spoiled to such an extent as to be unfit for 

 packing. 



The viscera from several lots of fresh fish, which contained feed in 

 the intestines in a state of practically complete digestion, showed a 

 maximum of 1.60 mg and a minimum of 1.31 mg of amines, expressed 

 as nitrogen per 100 grams of sample. 



The viscera of fish, the stomach portions of which were full of 

 shrimp, contained a maximum of 16.07 mg and a minimum of 12.99 

 mg of amines, as nitrogen per 100 grams of sample. Some of the 

 fish from which the viscera were obtained were badly belly blown, 

 while others showed only the preliminary softening and a slight 

 rupturing of the belly tissues. 



In the special investigation conducted during the fall of 1916, 

 the total volatile alkaline nitrogen determined in the feed taken 

 from belly-blown fish on arrival at a cannery amounted to 37.7 mg 

 per 100 grams of sample. Of this quantity 20.6 mg were amine 

 nitrogen, and 17.1 mg ammonia nitrogen. 



Portions of the samples of the feed itself, collected from the 

 waters in the vicinity of the fishing grounds, were allowed to de- 

 compose under the most favorable conditions, at incubation tempera- 

 tures, and samples were taken at different periods. Ammonia and 

 amines in very large quantities were found in all cases as products 

 of the decomposition. 



The examination of the stomach and intestinal contents of a 

 number of fish which had been out of the water different lengths of 

 time showed that raw fish whose stomachs were full of undigested 

 shrimp gave from 10 to 15 times the quantity of amines found in 

 the viscera from fish which contained material in a more advanced 

 stage of digestion. 



VOLATILE SULPHUR. 



The amount of volatile sulphur in the viscera of fish which con- 

 tained feed was determined, and the results, expressed in terms of 



