8 BULLETIN 908, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
weir fish also contain ‘“‘feed,’’ at times in great quantities. Such 
fish, however, free themselves of excessive feed if left long enough 
in the weir. 
TRANSPORTATION. 
Most of the boats which carry the fish from the fishing grounds 
to the canneries are now well equipped and admirably suited to the 
purpose (Pl. ff). The sailing vessels formerly used have. been 
superseded by boats equipped not only with sails but also with gasoline 
engines as auxiliary power, and have a carrying capacity of from 10 
to 100 hogsheads' of fish. Each boat is provided, below decks, with 
a large tank or hold, which in the newer boats is watertight, to prevent 
the entrance of bilge water. The fish are carried in these tanks. 
The fishing fleet comprises privately owned boats, as well as those 
belonging to the various canneries. The fish are bought at the weirs 
by the captains of the boats, who act as agents for the canneries 
employing them. ‘!n addition to the cost of the fish, the canner pays 
the boatman for transportation at a stipulated rate, usually (1914) 
from $1.50 to $2.50 per hogshead, according to the distance the fish 
are carried. 
PICKLING AND SALTING. 
Tn early years the fish were taken in the fresh state to the canneries 
(Pl. IV), where they were held in tanks of strong brine for about two 
hours, or until they “struck,’’ a term applied by the experienced 
fishman in the pickling sheds to indicate the condition of the skin 
and the appearance of the fish when properly salted. At present, 
in order to save time during transportation, salt is sprinkled liberaliy 
throughout the mass of the fish as they are placed in the hold of the 
boat, the amount varying from 1 to 24 sacks, of about 190 pounds 
each, to the hogshead, according to the length of time it takes to 
reack the cannery and the quality of the fish, as judged by the boat- 
man. Or a strong brine, made by adding the proper proportion oi 
sea water to the fish, and salt may be used. The addition of dry 
salt draws out from the fish enough water to form a pickle, which 
sometimes is pumped off and at other times allowed to remain. Asa 
rule, when the sea is rough no water is added, and the pickle formed 
by the addition of salt is pumped off during the voyage, so that the 
fish may be carried in practically a solid bulk, thus preventing 
damage to them from the rolling of the vessel. 
At the cannery the fish are hoisted from the boat (PI. III, fig. 2) 
into long chutes down which they are conveyed by a stream of run- 
ning water into tanks in the pickling room. [If the fish have heen 
long enough in salt during the trip to the cannery, they are simply 
1Jn practice, on the “‘ Eastern Coast,”’ as the shore from Jonesport eastward is termed, a hogshead is rated 
as holding 10 tubs of fish, the weight of which is 1,000 pounds. The average weight of a number of tubs 
of fish, when taken at the weirs, has been found to be 129 pounds, thus making the weight of a hogshead 
1,290 pounds. On the coast west of Jonesport, known locally as the “Western Coast,” the fish are sold 
by the bushel, 15 bushels being considered as the equivalent of a hogshead. 
