FISHERIES OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 
225 
of the amount of money expended on the Columbia River during the 
season of 1886 : 
Items. 
Amount. 
Materia] : 
Tin plate, 74,000 boxes, at $5.25. 
$388, 500 
Salmon twine 
205, 200 
Cotton twine 
25, 000 
J.inf'si ...... 
26, 600 
7, 500 
Lead for lines 
Floats - 
4, 000 
Boats, wear and tear, paint, re- 
pair, etc 
Tan bark'for nets 
38, 000 
1,900 
Pig tin for making solder 
50, 122 
Lead for making solder 
10, 450 
Salt, Liverpool and coarse 
2, 000 
Lacquer 
• 8, 550 
Turpentine 
6, 460 
Cord wood 
19, 760 
Hard coal 
1,862 
Charcoal 
15, 200 
Acid and zinc 
4,000 
Oils of various kinds 
4, 000 
Improvements and necessary- 
repairs 
38, 000 
Copper and making up — 
2, 000 
Items. 
Amount. 
Material— Continued : 
Tpsiirn.nf’.pi 
$32,376 l 
12.540 i 
5, 000 
32, 400 
67, 500 
11,400 
TTanlinp - . 
TTrftight, 
Labels 
Rnvfts 
Taxes .......................... 
Total cost of material 
1, 020, 320 
Labor: 
Knitting nets, 228,000 fathoms, 
at 22^ cents 
128, 250 
•400, 000 
300, 000 
5. 700 
93, 956 
142, 000 
Catching salmon with cannery 
nets 
Catching salmon with private 
nets 
Salvage and hire of detectives. . 
White labor outside of fishing. . 
Other labor outside of fishing .. 
Total cost of labor 
1, 069, 906 
Salmon canning . — The following account, by Jordan and Gilbert, of 
the process of salmon canning on the Columbia is as applicable to-day 
as when written, since there have apparently been no noteworthy 
changes in this particular in recent years : 
The salmon are brought to the wharf, usually in the morning, counted, and thrown 
in a heap. A Chinaman then takes each, cuts off its head, tail, and fins, and removes 
the viscera, throwing them into a large tub. Some of the cutters become very expert 
and will clean 1,700 fish per day. 
Next the fish are washed and sometimes scraped with a knife, though the scales 
are not relieved. Then they are placed in a trough in which several knives acting 
like a feed-cutter cut the salmon into sections as long as the height of a can. These 
sections are set on end and split by a Chinaman into about three pieces, one large 
enough to fill a can, the others smaller. 
These fragments are placed on tables and Chinamen there fit them into the cans. 
Other Chinamen put on the covers, and still others solder them. In some canneries 
the soldering is done by machinery. In this case the cans are rolled along by an 
iron chain belt and the end rolls in the melted solder. Most of the canners think 
hand-soldering safer, although much more labor is required. 
After soldering, the cans are placed in hot water and carefully watched to see if 
any bubbles rise from them indicating a leak in the can. If perfect, the can is placed 
in an iron tank and boiled in salt water, it being possible to raise salt water to a 
higher temperature than fresh. After being boiled about one and one-fourth hours 
the can is taken out and vented, the pressure within driving out all the air through 
the aperture made. The hole is immediately soldered up, aud the cooking completed 
by again boiling (one and one-half hours) in salt-water kettles. If the process of 
cooking were completed before the cans were vented, the pressure would be suffi- 
cient to burst the cans. 
The cans are afterwards tested by being tapped on the head with a large nail. 
If the can is leaky it gives back a “tinny” sound easily recognized. This is a very 
H. Mis. 274 15 
