22 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
have keys for use on the side or edge of the can, rather than on the top, which 
remove a thin strip of tin. 
Labeling of French sardines is an important branch of the canning business, and 
although the use of labels is not required by French law, labeling is almost invariably 
practiced. The most popular and generally employed label is that which is stamped 
on the tin. Very few paper labels are used, and these are chiefly for special French 
trade. Some of the best grades of sardines are labeled with brass labels of oval or 
oblong shape, attached to the side of the cans by solder. 
CANNERY EMPLOYEES AND THEIR WAGES. 
The canning of sardines gives employment to many thousand persons, at what 
are considered good wages, and in some of the fishing towns gives work to practically 
all able-bodied persons who are not engaged in fishing. In Concarneau, a town of 
10,000 people, fully 3,000 men, women, and children are directly connected with the 
sardine-canning business, besides the fishermen. The average number of employees 
at the factories in Brittany is over 100, and at the largest cannery in Concarneau 
about 335 persons are employed. Living in the fishing towns is very cheap. The 
principal diet is fish and bread, and meat is eaten usually but once a week. 
Most of the work in connection with the canning of sardines is done by women 
and girls, a few men being employed for special duties for which women are not 
adapted (can-making, soldering, boxing, etc.), together with a small number of boys 
who are apprentices. 
Among women and girls in the Brittany factories uniform wages prevail. The 
rate in 1900 was l£ francs for each 1,000 fish, the aggregate being divided equally 
among employees. A good week’s income for cutters and packers is 30 francs ($6). 
The solderers, who seal on the tops of the cans, receive 1.50 francs for 100 cans. 
In winter many men devote their time to can-making and are paid 3 francs per 100 
cans. Other employees about the factories are paid by the month and receive an 
average of 70 francs. A good solderer can seal 1,100 to 1,300 cans daily, and some 
men do considerably more. Boxes that are badly soldered are returned, and, with 
their contents, charged to the solderer, who is not allowed to sell them. M. Deyrolle- 
Guillou, of Concarneau, communicates the following interesting note on the work of 
apprentice solderers : 
I have heard of a solderer who could seal up 1,800 “quart” cans of sardines in a day, but an 
ordinarily good worker does about 1,300. It is very easy work to learn. I have recently spoken with 
a cannery director, who told me that he had six young apprentices of last year, one of whom can now 
(1900) solder 1,200 boxes in a day, two can do 1,100, two can do 1,000, and one can do 900. These 
are only 15 to 17 years old, and must be apprentices three years and get only half pay during that 
time, that is to say about 75 centimes for 100 “quarts” soldered up. 
PRICES OF SARDINES. 
In 1900 the sardine packers received an average of 50 francs per 100 “ quart” cans 
for fish of good quality in “olive” oil; in 1899 the average price for the same goods 
was 13 francs per case. Some “quarts” in oil, however, bring as much as 100 francs 
per 100 cans, and retail in Paris at 2 francs per can. These are the fish with which 
special care is taken; they are brought to the factories early in the morning and are 
canned with the minimal amount of softening and deterioration. Fish intended 
for the average American trade are quoted at about 35 francs per case of 100 cans. 
