66 BULLETIN 908, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
was correspondingly high was due to the fatness of these fish. An 
inspection of the rest of the cans of this pack showed that they had 
leaked badly while stored in the shook. The cans were very un- 
sightly, being covered with oil, and, in many cases, stuck together 
with the partially dried oil. The analyses showed that practically 
one-third of the oil added had leaked through the seams of the cans. 
From these experiments it seems fair to conclude that the proper 
amount of oil per case to add to sardines is 3 quarts (75 per cent of 
a gallon) for average fat fish and 34 quarts (87.5 per cent of a gal- 
lon) for lean fish of poor quality. These quantities allow for pos- 
sible unavoidable losses in oil during the sealing process. The oil 
in these amounts can readily be added to the standard quarter oil 
can without loss, if time be allowed for the absorption of oil before 
the cover is sealed on the can. 
KIND oF Om. 
TESTS WITH CORN OIL. 
As has already been stated, cottonseed oil is the oil most widely 
used in packing Maine sardines. During the season of 1913 the 
possibilities of the use of corn oil for packing sardines were investi- 
gated. The oil in corn is contained in the embryo or germ, which 
is separated from the rest of the Kernel in the manufacture of starch, 
glucose, etc. The germ is heated and the oil expressed and then 
refined. It is a neutral, bland oil, with practically no characteristic 
taste. It does not, therefore, mask the flavor of the fish which are 
packed init. At the time these experiments were made corn oil was 
cheaper than cottonseed cil. Under normal conditions, corn oil is 
_ said to sell for fram 5 to 10 cents a gallon less than cottonseed oil, 
which should make it worthy of consideration by the sardine packers. 
In normal times enough refined corn oi! may be had to supply the 
entire sardine industry. | 
Inquiry among the packers showed that, in previous experience, 
corn oil had proved generally unsatisfactory. At the time the 
packers had tested this oil it was the practice in all the canneries 
to fry the fish in oil. When the corn oil was tried out in the frying 
vats it gave off a disagreeable odor and foamed so badly that it 
boiled out of the vats. Within the last few years the process of 
refining has been improved, so that a fine grade of oil, much superior 
to that formerly marketed, can now be had. The highly refined oil 
was secured for the tests here reported. 
BEHAVIOR ON HEATING. 
Corn oil, summer yellow cottonseed oil, and winter yeliow cotton- 
seed oil, 100 to 150 cc (3 to 5 ounces) of each, were heated in beakers 
