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MAINE SARDINE INDUSTRY. 111 
deviled sardines which had been processed at 240° F. for from one 
to two hours also contained bacteria. It is difficult to properly 
sterilize products of this nature. Before attempting to prepare 
them, experimental packs should be made to determine, by bacterio- 
logical control, the time and temperature necessary to Insure complete 
sterilization. It would be unsafe to try to market a canned product 
unless it was sterile. 
A product as easy of preparation as the deviled sardines, but 
superior in flavor and quality, was prepared from the square or 
rectangular sections of meat obtained by carefully splitting the 
waste pieces of the fish down the backbone, thus dividing it into two 
sections, and leaving the bone and a portion of the viscera. These 
sections were neatly packed in sanitary cans and sardine cans, and 
covered with a sour spiced vinegar. A sweet spiced vinegar used for 
a small pack was found to be unsuitable for this purpose. 
The cans and contents were processed by first venting and heating 
for 20 minutes at 220° F., then closing the vent and again heating 
the cans at 220° F. for 30 minutes. Examination was not made to 
see if complete sterilization was effected. 
FERTILIZER. 
The waste residue from fish and whole inedible fish have long been 
used in the manufacture of pomace or fish scrap, to be incorporated 
in commercial fertilizers. One of the sardine packing companies at 
Eastport operates a reduction plant for the pressing and drying of 
waste from the packing houses for a fertilizer ingredient. To supply 
the fertilizer factory this company also purchases the raw waste mate- 
rial from several of the other canneries in the vicinity of Eastport 
and Lubec. This plant is housed in a substantial concrete structure, 
is well equipped, and manufactures a very good grade of fertilizer 
fish scrap. Prior to the season of 1915 this was the only instance 
along the coast where a concerted effort was made to utilize the waste 
as a by-product of the canning of sardines. During the two following 
packing seasons, however, another company was organized to produce 
fish scrap for fertilizer from the waste. 
FisH MEAuL. 
Fish meal as a source of protein has been used to a large extent in 
foreign countries as a supplementary food for stock. It has been 
used to a very limited extent in this country, and then principally as 
the protein basis for poultry foods. The use of fish meal in feeding 
stock and poultry is increasing. A discussion of the use of fish meal 
for animal feeding and the results of feeding experiments conducted 
with fish meal made from the sardine waste, the preparation of which 
is here discussed, has already been published (36). 
