MAINE SARDINE INDUSTRY. 29 
TaBLE 9.—Composition of pickle formed during transportation of fish in salt. 
Time of Hib he ; Specific | Salt - 
forming Description. Weight. Pei, (NaCl). Nitrogen. 
pickle. 
Hours. Pounds. | Grams. Per cent. | Per cent. 
2 | Very light, slight yellow color, clear. ..... 29.5 13, 409 1.155 19. 93 0.072 
4 tiene in color, with slight reddish tinge, 
dG st tie Ga Ono: Se aes es be Bo 2.5 10, 227 1.145 18.55 - 134 
6 slightly reddish in color, slightly cloudy - 9.0 4,090 1.140 17.68 -178 
SURO CISD ClO Giverts 225 ose iek siete ee te 4.5 2,045 1.140 17.14 - 206 
12 | Reddish, more cloudy than that held 8 
OUTS F saa eee Ee eas ss sta os seer 4.21 1, 912 1.130 15. 86 . 245 
7275) (SSeee aa SsbA. 53 Sea ES ASSES BE OSC Or RDO O ree 11.0 5, 000 1.110 12.44 . 330 
Attention is directed to the decrease in the specific gravity and 
corresponding decrease in the percentage amount of salt, and to the 
increase in the percentage of nitrogen during each succeeding interval 
that the fish remained in salt. 
At the end of the 2 hours required for the run to the laboratory 
all the fish had ‘‘struck,’ and at the end of the 4- to 6-hour 
period, they had begun to show the effects of salting, although still 
in fair condition. At the end of the 8-hour period they were 
hard and firm, and some showed the thin, pressed appearance charac- 
teristic of fish which have been carried too long in salt. The bellies 
of very few were broken at the end of 8 hours. Compared with 
the standard for quality obtaining at the time these experiments 
were made, they would at this period have been considered good fish 
for packing. The same can be said for them at the end of the 10- 
hour period, except that the shrunken and shriveled appearance had 
become more pronounced. 
While the determination of total volatile nitrogen (ammonia and 
amines) is not a true criterion upon which to base decomposition 
changes taking place in the flesh of fish carried in salt, since the 
decomposition products formed, particularly ammonia and amine, 
pass into the brine, it is none the less interesting to note that the 
volatile nitrogen content of the flesh gradually diminished during the 
time the fish were in salt, up to and including the 12-hour period, 
rising noticeably after the fish had been held for 25 hours and again 
at the end of 50 hours. At the end of the 4-hour period the 
amount of ammoniacal materials in the viscera and contents of the 
fish carried in salt had increased appreciably. 
In contrasting this experiment with the preceding experiment it 
is apparent that the viscera and contents of this lot decomposed a 
little more rapidly than those of the fish carried without salt. While 
this may be due, in part at least, to the difference in the quantity or 
quality of the food in the intestines of the fish comprising these lots, 
it serves to show that the salting of fish does not prevent deteriora- 
tion during transportation to the extent generally supposed. In an 
investigation on the conservation of fish and meat products with 
