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



The maximum waste, two-thirds of which is edible, was found to be 

 60 per cent in cutting 8-inch fish with the tails untrimmed, according 

 to present practices, to pack in the ordinary low-quarter can (PI. 

 XXII, fig. 2). Fish of this size, cut in this manner, pack only four to 

 the can. Tons of good food material obtained in this way (PI. 

 XXII, fig. 2, left-hand pan) are emptied into scows to be carried 

 away to be made into fertilizer, or are simply thrown away. 



When 8-inch fish, with the tails trimmed, are cut and packed in 

 the ordinary can, the waste of edible material is reduced to 24 per 

 cent, a saving of 17 per cent of edible material (PI. XXIII, fig. 1). It 

 makes, however, only a 4-fish can. Practically the same amount of 

 waste of edible material, 23 per cent, is obtained when 8-inch fish, with 

 the tails untrimmed, are cut to pack in the high-quarter long can 

 (PL XXIII, fig. 2). Fish of this size, with the tails untrimmed, when 

 packed in the longer can, make a 5-fish can, which is more desirable 

 from all standpoints than the 4-fish can. Plate XX, figures 3 and 4, 

 shows an ordinary low-quarter can and the suggested larger can, 

 packed with 8-inch fish. When packed with fish of this size, the 

 smaller can holds only four pieces, whereas the larger can holds five 

 fish, the entire edible portion of which is utilized. 



The waste thus shown is all the more deplorable when the fact is 

 considered that the fish have already gone through the greater part 

 of the process and need only to be placed in cans of the proper size 

 to be entirely utilized. 



From the packers' standpoint, a legitimate objection to the adop- 

 tion of cans radically different in dimensions from those in ordinary 

 use may be raised. The appliances for handling, and the machinery 

 adapted for sealing the cans are standardized. The use of this new 

 longer can would necessitate a refitting of the carrying table, the 

 chuck, and headpiece of the sealing machinery, which in certain 

 cases would be an expensive undertaking. The old type single spindle 

 machine, which is fed by hand and would require only a chuck and 

 headpiece in order to adapt it for use with this can, could, however, 

 be used. In several of the canneries some of these old type closing 

 machines are now in use ; in others they are stored away. An effort 

 to introduce sardines in these larger cans to the trade could be made 

 to good advantage. 



The fact that the objectionable 3- and 4-fish cans of domestic sardines 

 would be eliminated should make worth while the use of the larger 

 cans. 



Other cans now in use, notably the high-quarter and the half-oil 

 size, may be employed to effect a saving of part, at least, of the waste 

 just discussed. There appears to be no mechanical difficulty in pack- 

 ing, sealing, and preparing for shipment the high-quarter and half- 

 oil cans (PI. IX). The high-quarter cans are a very desirable size 



