MAINE SARDINE INDUSTRY. 57 
The results obtained (Table 26) show that a sufficient amount of 
water was abstracted from the fish in all cases except one. Less water 
was removed in the cannery equipped with the kiln drier than in 
those equipped with the air drier, and much less than in the one 
equipped with the Ferris wheel drier. In Cannery HE, equipped 
with an air (tunnel) drier, practically no water was removed. 
Throughout the test, as the results indicate, very little attention was 
shown in this cannery to the important feature of drying. It is 
apparent that the air driers, with the exception of that in Can- 
nery H, and the kiln drier removed a sufficient quantity of water, 
while the plant equipped with the Ferris wheel oven drier did not. 
The degree of dryness of the fish on the next day on which samples 
were taken varies widely. On October 9, which was a rainy day, 
drying was not efficient, scarcely enough in any of the canneries to 
remove the proper amount of water from the fish before packing. 
These results indicate that a great variation in the degree of 
drying sardines existed among the different canneries on the same 
day. It is probable also that variations in the degree of dryness of 
the fish exist in the same factory on the same day. 
INTERMITTENT DRYING. 
The practice of intermittent drying, adopted by a few canneries in 
the preparation of mustard size fish, consists in allowing the larger fish 
to stand for a period of from 8 to 10 hours after the first drying, and 
then drying them for an additional hour or so just prior to packing. 
This should be done only in the case of cut and eviscerated fish and 
those which have been handled in a sanitary manner, because of the 
possibility of the development of bacteria in the viscera and contents 
of uncut fish (p. 86). Fish which have not been cut and eviscerated 
should not be permitted to stand in the driers overnight, as moist 
fish furnish an excellent medium for the growth of bacteria. 
EFFECT OF CUTTING AND EVISCERATING THE FISH. 
It was found that the drying process was aided by cutting and 
eviscerating the fish, particularly those of mustard size. Drying is 
thus facilitated by the removal of the large amount of water in and 
surrounding the viscera, which is particularly difficult to drive off 
from the uncut fish. 
CONCLUSIONS. 
The factors in drying which can be controlled by the canners and 
which are essential in obtaining a uniform degree of dryness are an 
even, thin flaking of the fish, the volume and temperature, within 
proper limits, of the air, in the tunnel type of drier, and the time of 
drying. Too high a temperature of the oven or of the air used in 
drying must be avoided on account of the resulting loss of oil from 
y) 
