MAINE SARDINE INDUSTRY. 89 



cubic centimeters of N/100 iodin solution reduced per 100 grams of 

 material, were compared with those obtained on fish containing 

 practically no feed. In the viscera of fish containing no feed a 

 reduction of 4.5 cc of iodin solution was obtained, against a reduction 

 of 12.6 cc from the viscera of fish which were somewhat feedy. 



Experimental Packs from Decomposed Fish. 



Even in the presence of salt or pickle decomposition proceeds in 

 the viscera of the fish, particularly when a large amount of feed is 

 present. This fact is borne out by the experience of the fishermen 

 and boatmen, who report that when feed is abundant, no amount 

 of salting or any known way of treating the fish will keep them from 

 spoiling. Decomposition begins and rapidly extends in the viscera 

 and contents long before it is manifest in the flesh of the fish. When 

 free from the viscera and contents (eviscerated), the fish, at the 

 temperatures prevailing in this region, do not show evidence of 

 decomposition for a fairly long period of time. 



A series of experiments were conducted to ascertain the amount 

 of decomposition in sardines packed under varying conditions of 

 spoilage. Fish which would pack 6 to the can, from a lot taken 

 without salt or pickle directly from the weir to the wharf, were 

 flaked after they had been out of the water for three hours, and at 

 once analyzed, to determine the water and fat content, the ammonia 

 and amines, and the acidity of the fat. 



About If buckets of these fish were placed in a barrel containing 

 \\ buckets of pickle, the amount usually employed for this quantity 

 of fish. Because of a temporary lack of water at the factory where 

 the experiment was conducted, a pickle prepared the night before, 

 and previously used to hold 2 bushels of fish for 2 hours, was 

 used. It registered 100° on the salimeter, however, and was but 

 slightly colored. At intervals of 30 minutes, 1 hour, 1^ hours, and 

 2 hours portions of the fish were removed from the pickle, flaked, 

 and samples analyzed. The rest of the fish were allowed to stand 

 for 24 hours in a basket in the pickling shed, where the temperature 

 was about 60° F. At the end of this time the same procedure was 

 followed for the 24-hour-old fish. The results of the analyses of 

 these fish are given in Table 38. 



Although ammonia and amines were extracted from the fish by 

 pickle, a sufficient quantity remained, at the various periods of time 

 given, in the 24-hour-old fish to indicate an appreciable decom- 

 position. The results obtained for the acidity of the fat suggest 

 that this determination may also have value as a measure of de- 

 composition. The evidence of decomposition in the fish after 

 standing for a period of 24 hours without salt or pickle was very 

 marked . 



