MAINE SARDINE INDUSTRY. 117 
irregularity of the catch, and the time of delivery is governed by the 
stage of tide at which the weirs can be seined. Fish beyond the 
capacity of the cannery are often brought in by the boatman, who is 
anxious to earn on each trip as large a fare as possible. 
The universal application of regulations prohibiting the packing 
of ‘‘feedy”’ fish, strictly observed, will necessitate the building of 
pounds on a majority of the weirs. In the interest of efficiency, the 
elimination of waste, and the improvement of quality it would seem 
wise to extend the idea a little further and use nothing but impounded 
fish in packing sardines. Following this, it would be desirable if each 
cannery were on a capacity basis, taking no more fish than can be 
properly handled, so as to make a neat, attractive product, according 
to specifications adopted for the particular grade packed and which 
can be sealed in a working day of 10 hours. 
CARTONS FOR STANDARD SARDINES. 
Sardines are packed in tins with the brand name and design 
printed on the cover or sides, and also in plain tins. The practice of 
cartoning the standard grade of sardines packed in plain tins has 
increased rapidly in recent years. The cartons provide a place for 
the key in the key can goods and conceal unattractive, unclean 
cans. This is an expensive method of attaching the key and over- 
coming the difficulty of cleaning the cans. It seems a great waste 
of effort and material to place the so-called ‘‘standard’”’ grade of 
sardines in cartons. According to present practices, all the different 
brands of the standards in cartons are prepared from the same grade 
of standard goods. Although cartoning or wrapping the fancy and 
extra fancy sardines may be justifiable, the margin of profit in the 
standard grade does not justify this additional cost on manufacture. 
It should be put elsewhere in the process to bring about an improve- 
ment in quality. It is hoped that the sardine canners will be able 
to cooperate in this feature of packing sardines, which, through 
competition, has developed into a wasteful and useless practice, to 
_ the end that it may be completely eliminated. This should prove 
_ particularly desirable now that labor and paper are high and scarce, 
and will be an advance in the direction of conservation and 
_ efficiency. 
IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION OF SARDINES (1910-1916). 
Table 43, prepared from the Annual Reports on Commerce and 
Navigation of the United States, shows the value of the importations 
of sardines into the United States, for the years mentioned, from the 
_ principal sardine-producing countries. An interesting feature in the 
_ value of the sardine importations is the gradual decline in the impor- 
tations of the French sardine and the increase in the value of the Nor- 
_ wegian product during the years 1910 to 1915. Importations from 
