MAINE SARDINE INDUSTRY. 115 



moved by efficient pressing of the raw material. In pressing there 

 is this to be gained, that, if the material has been steam cooked, 

 part of the water is also removed, thus making the time of drying 

 shorter. 



Based on a pack of 1,800,000 cases, and assuming that the entire 

 amount of waste would be made into fish-meat meal, and 20 cases are 

 obtained per hogshead, with 1| tons of waste for each 15 hogsheads 

 of fish, and that the yield of meal is 25 per cent of this amount, the 

 following amount of meal could be prepared from the waste in the 

 sardine industry: 1,875 tons of meal, which at from $40 to $45 per 

 ton would have an approximate value of $80,000. An estimate based 

 on 1^ tons waste per 10 hogsheads would yield 13,500 tons of waste, 

 which at 25 per cent yield of meal would amount to 3,375 tons. This 

 at $40 per ton would produce a revenue of $135,000. On a basis of 15 

 gallons of oil per ton of waste there would be in this case 202,500 gal- 

 lons of oil, which at 20 cents per gallon would be $40,500. On a basis of 

 10 gallons of oil per ton the revenue on the oil at 20 cents per gallon 

 would amount to $27,000. In round numbers, it is safe to estimate 

 that the utilization of the waste material, such as could now be 

 obtained from the packing of sardines, would yield 3,000 tons of meal 

 and 200,000 gallons of oil. The oil produced in this way is a very 

 superior grade of fish oil, far superior to the ordinary grades. At the 

 1916 prices of fish oil the oil obtained from rendering the sardine 

 waste should amount to a sum more than sufficient to defray the cost 

 of manufacturing the dried meal. 



As a result of this work a system has been installed in one of the 



canneries for utilizing the waste for fish meal for animal feeding 



purposes. Reports received indicate that this effort has been very 



successful. 



ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS. 



BUYING PISH FOR THE CANNERIES. 



At present the fish are sold at auction by the owner of the weir, 

 often creating keen competition between the various boatmen who 

 act as the packers' agents. Within certain limits the boatmen are 

 free to bid up the purchase price. As the packer pays the boatman 

 a certain sum for each hogshead of fish transported, the boatman 

 often is tempted to receive this fare without sufficient regard to the 

 quality of the fish or the price asked for them. It would seem most 

 advisable, therefore, to place stricter limitations upon the price the 

 boatmen may bid for the fish, and to refuse to accept fish which are 

 too poor to pack. 



NUMBER OF FISH, OF VARIOUS SIZES, PER HOGSHEAD (1,000 POUNDS). 



The unit of measure in the Maine sardine industry, the hogshead, 

 is considered in practice to hold approximately 1,000 pounds. Ten 

 tubs of fish of specific dimensions constitute a hogshead. It was 



