18 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
Drying, which is the next step, is preferably done in the open air, and a large 
part of the product is so treated. For open-air drying the fish are arranged by 
hand, one by one, in wire baskets or trays holding about 150 fish of medium size, 
placed on wooden frames or flakes. The baskets are 16 or IS inches long, 9 inches 
wide, and 61 inches deep; are made of coarse wire with a polygonal mesh two-thirds 
or three-fourths inch in diameter, and have a long bridle-like wire handle on each 
side by which they are suspended on the flakes, each bridle having at its middle a 
loop or ring which interlocks with its fellow. The distinctive feature of this wire 
tray is its division into about 7 crosswise compartments, V-shaped in section, the 
spaces being pointed at the bottom and open above. The divisions are of coarse 
wire, and one side of the V forms a wider angle with the basket bottom than the 
Beheading and Eviscerating Sardines. 
other. Against the more oblique sides the sardines are placed in regular rows, with 
their tails upward, so as to promote the escape of water from the abdominal cavity. 
By means of the loop in the handle some of the baskets are hung on the frames, some- 
what above the head; others are rested on lower frames. Wooden baskets or trays 
are used in some places. 
The sardines remain out for a variable time, depending on their size, the state of 
the atmosphere, etc. The usual time in favorable weather is one hour. 
In damp, foggy, or rainy weather (especially in autumn), the sardines must be 
dried indoors by artificial heat, and drying ensues much sooner than in the open air. 
Some factories, not being provided with driers, are unable to operate in such weather. 
In most of the factories — especially those more recently constructed — artificial heat 
is supplied in a special drying chamber by means of steam pipes; but in some of the 
