328 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. 



canning, there being seven establishments there. The 

 principal one, that of Mr. Booth, sends away 2^ million 

 pounds annually. There are over forty establishments 

 in all on the Pacific coast, and for 100 days in the year 

 they work njght and day in putting up fish. The prin- 

 cipal catch is in June. It is estimated that in the pro- 

 vince of Alaska alone, 12 million salmon are taken 

 yearly; two million are dried annually in the river 

 Yukon, this fish forming the chief food of the Indians. 



The spring salmon, as it is termed, is the principal 

 kind used on the Pacific coast for canning, as it is the 

 best of the family ; its flesh being rich and delicate, and 

 by many considered far superior in flavour to any of the 

 European varieties. This species averages ordinarily 

 from 15 to 40 lbs. in weight, and is only valued at Is. the 

 fish when sold in the market fresh. A person can stand 

 at any of the cataracts above the river Columbia, and 

 with a scoop net capture from thirty to fifty in an hour, 

 as they crowd each other, while preparing for a leap. 

 They are also speared by the Indians and netted. In 

 aboxit four months, four to five million pounds weight 

 of salmon will be taken. 



The fish are either salted, sent to the smoke-house, or 

 prepared for canning. This latter process is now the 

 means generally adopted for exportation, and is the most 

 successful, as the packages are of convenient size, port- 

 able and sold at such a price as to enable even the 

 foreign labouring classes to indulge in the luxury of 

 fresh or spiced salmon on festal occasions. 



To prepare the fish for canning they are first cleansed 

 in the most thorough manner, and cut into slices of 

 one or two pounds, according to the size needed. These 

 pieces are then put into a can of the required size, and 

 with them is placed some spice to flavour them. They 

 are then covered up, except a small hole in the top 

 of the can to allow steam to escape, placed in a boiler 

 filled with boiling salt water and allowed to remain 

 there a specific time; they are then taken out and boiled 

 for half-an-hour in fresh water; the cans are then 



