FISHERIES OF THE NEW ENGLAND STATES. 
117 
over 200,000 pounds of this material, the cost price of which is over $30,000. Prior to 
1889 the enormous quantities of solder utilized were in the form of bars, and the waste 
of material and time resulting from the use of this kind of solder was very great. In 
the year named nearly a dozen firms in the eastern part of the State introduced appa- 
ratus for the conversion of the bars into wire, and the use of block solder is now 
almost wholly discontinued in that region, the canneries having the apparatus supply- 
ing those which have not as yet introduced it. In a short time the necessary plant, 
which costs from, $800 to $1,500, will probably be found in all the principal works. In 
certain canneries a change has come about in the methods of cooking fish. The ordi- 
nary ways of baking and frying give place to an endless belt 200 feet long running in a 
wooden casing 100 feet long, at one end of which a revolving fan forces a blast of hot 
air over the fish that have been spread on the belt at the other end of the tunnel. 
After passing along the belt once, the fish go into a bath of boiling oil, and are then 
treated in the usual manner. The principal advantage arising from the use of this 
apparatus seems to be the economy of labor, the ten or fifteen flakers required by the 
old method being represented by one woman who spreads the fish on the belt, and a 
man who turns a crank which moves the belt. The method as now practiced is clumsy, 
although the principle is, no doubt, a good one, and about six canneries had, up to 
1889, introduced it. 
One of the most important events in the history of the sardine industry in its 
headquarters in eastern Maine was the introduction in 1889, at Eastport, of the appa- 
ratus necessary for the decoration of the cans used in the business. Formerly this 
work was all done in Hew York, and much time was often lost in waiting for the 
arrival of the decorated plate; the express or freight charges were also considerable, 
and the arrangement was never wholly satisfactory. In the spring of 1889 a gentle- 
man connected with a cannery in Eastport purchased the presses, dies, etc., required 
in this business, and announced himself as prepared to do the work as well as it could 
be done in Hew York. Some of the canners were at first skeptical and ordered their 
supplies as before, but by the end of the season a large majority of the packers were 
getting their stock from the local manufacturer, and it was thought that the following- 
season would find all the firms patronizing the home establishment. The price charged 
for decorating the tin is the same as in Hew York, and the delay and expense of ship- 
ping are obviated. 
The following tables throw additional light on the sardine business in the two 
easternmost counties of the State, to which the industry is almost restricted : 
43. — Table showing the classification of the employes of sardine canneries in Washington and Hancock counties, 
Maine, in 1889, with a statement of the weekly and annual wages. 
Classification of employes. 
Washing- 
ton. 
Hancock. 
Total. 
Proprietors, clerks, and foremen 
75 
14 
89 
Boatmen 
114 
19 
138 
Sealers and can-makers 
728 
89 
817 
Seamers - 
131 
19 
150 
Cutters and flakers, male 
660 
127 
787 
Cutters and flakers, female 
467 
27 
494 
Packers, female 
548 
82 
630 
General laborers : 
468 
82 
550 
Total 
3,191 
459 
3, 650 
Average weekly pay roll 
$21, 025 
$2, 605 
$23^63(7 
Total annual wages 
286, 476 
59, 000 
345, 476 
