THE SARDINE INDUSTRY. 511 
apron and is soon at his place ready for work. The fish are at once “ hoisted out” of the boat and 
emptied upon the cutting table. A lively scene now presents itself, as all are anxious to cut as 
many as possible, since they are paid in proportion to the amount of work done. Each is provided 
with a box, holding a little more than a peck, into which the fish are thrown, while the heads, entrails, 
and tails are put into a barrel at one side. 
The fish is taken in the left hand, while the knife is held in the right, and, beginning on the 
back at some distance behind the gills, the blade is driven downward through the body and the 
head is severed. The intestines do not cut so readily as the flesh, and therefore usually remain at- 
tached to the head, and are removed with it by one or two lateral strokes or scrapes of the knife. 
By a movement of the hand the fish is then reversed, and the tail is severed by a quick blow, 
and after being washed the body is ready for salting. 
The children become very proficient in this work, and handle their knives with great rapidity. 
They will usually cut 3 or 4 barrels of ordinary-sized fish in a day, while a few of the most expert 
will cut fully a hogshead. 
The price paid for cutting ig 5 cents per box. When one has been filled it is removed and an 
empty one put in its place, a man being regularly employed for this work. The child receives a 
ticket or 5-cent check for each box cut. These are redeemable at the company’s office on Saturday 
of each week, buf it often happens that they are carried regularly to the stores of the town before 
-:pay-day arrives and exchanged for candy, fruits, or merchandise, the merchant presenting them 
for redemption when the proper time arrives. As it is desirable to have the fish cut as soon as pos- 
sible, a large force is employed and the work is completed in a few hours, after which the children. 
return to their homes. A smart boy will often earn over $1 a day when he has steady employ- 
ment, but, on account of the small number of hours during which he has work, the average wages 
do not exceed $3.50 per week. 
THE MANNER OF SALTING.— As soon as the heads, tails, and entrails have been removed the 
fish are emptied into a small car, which is rolled into the salting room. Here they are thoroughly 
washed and placed in the strongest brine. The time required for salting varies greatly, being de- 
pendent on the size of the fish, their freshness, and the weather. Large and fresh herring should 
be salted for fully an hour, while smaller ones, and those that have been kept for some time, will 
be sufficiently “ struck” in thirty to forty minutes. In cold weather, owing to their firmer flesh, 
they must be salted longer than insummer. When a larger quantity is received than can be used 
, for canning, the balance are at once salted in large hogsheads and allowed to remain until such 
time as they can be cut into Russian sardines. These have no value for canning, as they become 
so salt as to injure their flavor. 
FLAKING.—AS soon as they have been sufficiently “struck” the herring are taken from the 
salting troughs and thoroughly washed in spring water. They then go to the “flaking” rooms, 
where boys and girls, and occasionally grown people, are engaged in arranging them upon frames 
made of wood or galvanized wire. These frames, technically known as “ flakes,” are 30 inches 
square, and hold about 175 fish each. The “ flake” is simply a square frame, with small triangular 
strips of wood, or small galvanized iron wires, stretched across it. These are separated from each 
other by 1 or 2 inches, so as to give a free circulation of air, and to touch the fish at only a few 
points, in order that evaporation may go on from all parts of the body. 
The fish are arranged in rows with their tails in the same direction, so that when placed in the 
drying room the anterior portion shall be lowest, in order that the moisture may the more readily 
drip from the herring. 
THE VARIOUS DRYING PROCESSES.—Up to this point the fish go through the same prepara- 
