MAINE SARDINE INDUSTRY. 8S 
cubic centimeters of N/100 iodin solution reduced per 100 grams of 
material, were compared with those obtaimed on fish contaming 
practically no feed. In the viscera of fish containing no feed a 
reduction of 4.5 ce of iodin solution was obtained, against a reduction 
of 12.6 ec from the viscera of fish which were somewhat feedy. 
_ EXPERIMENTAL Packs FROM D&EcoMPOSED FISH. 
Even in the presence of salt or pickle decomposition proceeds in 
the viscera of the fish, particularly-when a large amount of feed is 
present. This fact is borne out by the experience of the fishermen 
and boatmen, who report that when feed is abundant, no amount 
of salting or any known way of treating the fish will keep them from 
spoiling. Decomposition begms and rapidly extends in the viscera 
and contents long before it is manifest in the flesh of the fish. When 
free from the viscera and contents (eviscerated), the fish, at the 
temperatures prevailmge in this region, do not show evidence of 
decomposition for a fairly long period of time. 
A series of experiments were conducted to ascertain the amount 
of decomposition m sardines packed under varymg conditions of 
spoilage. Fish which would pack 6 to the can, from a lot taken 
without salt or pickle directly from the weir to the wharf, were 
flaked after they had been out of the water for three hours, and at 
once analyzed, to determine the water and fat content, the ammonia 
and amines, and the acidity of the fat. 
About 1? buckets of these fish were placed in a barrel containing 
14 buckets of pickle, the amount usually employed for this quantity 
of fish. Because of a temporary lack of water at the factory where 
the experiment was conducted, a pickle prepared the night before, 
and previously used to hold 2 bushels of fish for 2 hours, was 
used. It registered 100° on the salimeter, however, and was but 
slightly colored. At intervals of 30 minutes, 1 hour, 14 hours, and 
2 hours portions of the fish were removed from the pickle, flaked, 
and samples analyzed. The rest of the fish were allowed to stand 
for 24 hours in a basket in the pickling shed, where the temperature 
was about 60° F. At the end of this time the same procedure was 
followed for the 24-hour-old fish. The results of the analyses of 
these fish are given in Table 38. 
Although ammonia and amines were extracted from the fish by 
pickle, a sufficient quantity remained, at the various periods of time 
given, in the 24-hour-old fish to indicate an appreciable decom- 
position. The results obtained for the acidity of the fat suggest 
that this determination may also have value as a measure of de- 
composition. The evidence of decomposition in the fish after 
standing for a period of 24 hours without salt. or pickle was very 
marked. 
