230 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
siou. The factory is under the superintendence of an experienced tish-canuer from 
Maine. It is a large two-story structure, with a salting house attached. The plant 
is worth about $10,000. 
The principal processes to which the sardines are subjected before emerging as 
the canned product are as follows: When the fish aie unloaded from the vessel they 
are received into a large, airy room, where the cutting and washing are done, and tlien 
transferred to the second floor by means of an elevator. There they are next arranged 
on latticed trays (32 inches square) and dried. If the weather is fair and the atmos- 
phere dry the drying is done in the open air, occupying, as a rule, about two and a h alf 
hours. On rainy days, or when tlie air is especially humid, drying is accomplished 
inside the building by means of steam, which requires about ten hours. 
After drying the fish are placed in wire baskets (22 inches long, 18 inches wide, 
3 inches deep) and immersed in boiling oil for two to six minutes, depending on their 
size. The oil is contained in a shallow sink, into which the wire baskets fit and are 
lowered and raised by means of long wire handles. The boiling of the oil is done bj^ 
means of a steam pipe entering at the side and running under the sink. After drain- 
ing and thoroughly cooling the fish go to the packers, thence to the sealers, thence to 
the bathmen, and, after cooling and testing for leaks, to the boxing room. 
The cutting of the fish is done by men and girls, the average number of whom 
employed is 2.5. They are paid by the basket or the bucket of cut fish, and by working 
steadily earn about 25 cents an hour. The flakers number 12 to 11, and are the same 
girls who iiack the fish in the cans. Ten men act as sealers and can-makers, and 
10 others are employed in the remaining branches of the work. 
The sizes and grades of canned sardines iilaced on the niarket fiom this cannery, 
and the wholesale prices received, are as follows: Quarter oils, 100 cans to a case, 
$G.50 to $8.50 per case, according to the quality of the oil; half oils, 50 cans in a case, 
$5.60 per case; 2-pound oval cans, with mustard, spices, and tomato sauce, $2.25 per 
dozen cans. 
BARRACUDA. 
One of the most useful and valuable food-fishes of the California coast is the bar- 
racuda {S 2 )hi/i’cvna argentea). hiot only is it a favorite article of food when eaten in a 
fresh condition, but it is one of the best fish for salting found on the west coast. The 
normal range of the fish on the coast of the United States is from San Francisco to 
the Mexican border. It is, however, not generally abundant north of Monterey, and 
it is a noteworthy feature in the fisheries of only Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and 
San Diego counties, in which over nineteen-twentieths of the catch is taken. 
There is an active demand for fresh barracuda in the markets of California, and 
in San Francisco it ranks as one of the choicest fishes. 
The annual catch is between 600,000 and 700,0110 iionnds, of Avhich over 100,000 
pounds are salted. The fresh fish yield the fisherman 3 to 5 cents a poiind and the 
salt fish bring 3 to 4 cents a pound. The average Avholesale price of the fresh fish in 
San Francisco is 7 or 8 cents a pound, or two or three times that of chinook salmon. 
When pi’operly salted the barracuda iireseuts a very inviting ai)pearance, and is 
justly regarded as one (T the most palatable of fishes that are preserved in this way. 
It should be, and generally is, split down the belly like codfish. The silvery color of 
the skin is more or less persistent in salt, and the flesh retains its attractive white 
character. The largest quantities are salted in San Diego County. 
In the S]Aring of 1893 a singular phenomenon attended the appearance of the bar- 
