26 BULLETIN 150, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
miles distant these scavengers are strangely missing. In some 
cases the tidal currents carry the waste away, while in others, again, 
it accumulates on the bottom throughout the season. In such in- 
stances fermentation takes place slowly, with the production of 
obnoxious gases, which may be liberated slowly or may be held within 
the mass and released in large volumes and with considerable force. 
In a few instances in Alaska the waste enters chutes beneath the 
cannery floor, which conduct it to deep water at a distance from the 
cannery. 
This practice has very serious objections. Practically always 
the waters around the canneries become fouled through the putre- 
faction of this waste in the water. Even though it may fall upon 
the bottom beneath the low-water mark, putrefaction within it will 
cause it to rise to the surface and some of it will find its way to 
the beach beneath and close to the cannery buildings. The amount 
may be small, but it will be sufficiently great to taint the air with 
its odor and convey the impression of an insanitary cannery. The 
pollution of the waters of the neighborhood likewise most probably 
results in those waters being deserted by fish which do not feed upon 
the putrefying refuse. This has been pretty thoroughly established 
in other regions in the case of certain food fishes. It is safe to as- 
sume that other fish possess some of the same fastidiousness. This 
may appear to be a matter of slight moment; but there are those 
who believe, and whose belief seems entirely justified by the known 
facts, that the disappearance of the salmon from certain waters of 
the East where they once swarmed in great numbers has been caused 
by the pollution of those waters. To be sure, this is a belief and not 
a demonstrated fact, but to disregard it and the warning which it 
gives is to run a risk that the fishing industry can ill afford to take. 
Likewise, where the cannery is located close to a town the nuisance 
created by the polluted waters results in a feeling of antagonism 
on the part of the residents of such a settlement. To retain the 
sympathy of the residents of a neighborhood in which an indus- 
try is located is being recognized as a matter of importance. 
There is in Alaska already a lack of sympathy with the packers on 
the part of the residents, who show an inclination to regard them as 
being indifferent to the well-being of Alaska and Alaskans. It is 
even claimed that this feeling has found expression in recent legisla- 
tive enactments, 
In certain parts of the Bristol Bay region the lack of deep water 
near the cannery makes it necessary to carry the cannery waste away 
from the vicinity of the cannery. This is done by loading the waste 
upon scows and towing them out to deep water for emptying. The 
same practice is resorted to in certain regions on Puget Sound, where 
the nearness of towns makes the pollution of the waters of the harbor 
