MAINE SARDINE INDUSTRY. 95 
The results in Table 8 show that both ammonia and amines are 
formed when Bacillus Walfischrauschbrand and Bacillus B are grown 
in pure culture on fish media. Under the conditions which obtained 
when these experiments were made, amines are formed in smaller 
amounts than when the different lots of feed are decomposed at 
incubator temperature. It would appear that a larger proportion of 
amines are formed during the decomposition of the feed and the fish 
under natural conditions. 
In the cultures of Bacillus Walfischrauschbrand and Bacillus B 
used for the determination of ammonia and amines, positive tests for 
both indol and skatol were obtained. These results confirm those 
shown in Table 7—that ammonia and amines are produced by these 
organisms during the decomposition of the feed. 
CAUSE OF BELLY-BLOWN FISH. 
The fact that the bacteria found with the feed and in feedy fish 
decompose fish tissue, elaborating the same end products of decom- 
position as when the viscera and contents of herring decompose, 
points clearly to the cause of the condition of the fish termed “belly 
blown.” It was shown (p. 86) that when the stomach and in- 
testinal tract of the fish are empty, or practically so, no bacteria are 
present. The bacteria associated with the feed are eliminated with 
the digested feed or destroyed during the process of digestion. Only 
when the stomach or intestines contain feed in an undigested or par- 
tially digested condition are these bacteria found in abundance. 
Their growth during these conditions, when the fish are dead, gives 
rise to the products of decomposition. At certain times during the 
prevalence of feed a large proportion of the fish on flakes just taken 
from the steam boxes have been seen with the belly portions ruptured 
in a manner suggesting an explosive bursting. Small amounts of gas 
often were found lodged in some portion of the digestive tract when the 
gas-producing organiam was also present. When occurring in suffi- 
ciently large amounts, the rapid expansion of this gas during the 
steaming process may cause the rupturing of the partially digested 
and weakened tissues surrounding the viscera. From this the term 
“belly blown” undoubtedly originated. 
As the decomposition in the viscera and contents progresses 
bacteria are carried into the surrounding tissues, which are rendered 
soft by the alkaline materials, ammonia and amines. The thin belly 
portion of the fish is disintegrated by the action of the bacteria, and as 
decomposition pregresses this portion of the fish gradually sloughs 
away, producing the characteristic ragged appearance termed “belly 
blown” (Pl. XVIII). The rapidity with which this condition is 
brought about depends upon the extent to which the fish are gorged 
with feed and the kind of bacteria accompanying the feed. Several 
