PRESERVATION OP FISHERY PRODUCTS FOR POOD. 
537 
I)reliminary cooking, but are packed as soon as dry and thoroughly cooked by prolonging the opera- 
tion of boiling in the tins. How far sprats can bo treated in this and other various ways can only be 
determined by actual experience. The exact length of time during which they must be subjected to 
the several operations of salting, cooking, and boiling, and the jiroper proxiortions of siiice, etc., 
will depend on the size of the fish, the size of the tins in which they are packed, and other considera- 
tions which must also ho determined by careful ex])erimeut. That sprats can, however, be preserved 
in tins d la sardine is proved by the fact that at least one factory of the kind already exists on the 
southeast coast of England, and a ready market can no doubt be found for a largely increased supply 
abroad, if not at home, and more particularly in India and in our southern colonies, where suiiplies of 
fish arc scarce. But owing to the shortness of the sprat season no curing establishment could probably 
afford to be dependent solely on the sux^plies of this one fish. During a great 2 )art of the year the 
tinmen Avould no doubt find continuous employment in making the tins in anticipation of the curing 
season; but it would be found economical to keeii the other hands at work in the tinning of other 
kinds of fish in their season. In Scotland, herrings, hake (in slices), cod, ling, and other kinds offish, 
besides crabs and lobsters, would no doubt readily lend themselves to modifications of the mode of 
cure .above de.scribed. The tinning of vegetables also serves in Cornwall and in France to keeii the 
works going at times when fish are scarce. 
Considerable quantities of young herrings .are, I believe, taken at certain times in the garvie or 
sju at nets. This admixture of the two siiecies has the effect of reducing the value of the catch under 
ordinary circumstances, but there is every xiroliability that young herrings would make <a valuable 
article of food if xireserved d la sardine; and as each fish has to be individually handled in the xu’oce.ss 
of cure it W'ould probably not be difficult to distinguish the herrings from the sprats .and “tin” them 
sep.arately. On the other hand, it could be easily ascertained by exxieriment whether for the xmrx>ose 
of x)rei>aration in tins any such sexjaration would be necessary. 
It will be understood th.at there are various circumstances under whicli the apijlicatiou to 8X)rat8 
of the French system of lu'esorving sardines must be attended with disadvantage. In the first x>lace, 
the sardine season in France is in the summer months, when the fish can be re.adily dried without 
artificial heat. In Cornw.all the x'ilchard harvest takes xdace later than that of sardines in France, 
and tow.ard the end of the se.ason the occurrence of rainy or damp weather is a great drawback. 
The sprat season is later than either, and the provision of artificial means of drying the fish will 
become more necessary. On the other hand, the heat of a French or Cornish summer is a disadvan- 
tage as eomxiared with the comparative coolness of the weather at the time of the sxu’at harvest, 
while the sprat h<as the additional x'oiut in its favor th.at it is less delicate, and will stand carriage 
and handling better than the sardine. The bones of the sprat, however, are much harder than those 
of the small immature sardines generally preserved in France. The bones of the xiilch.ard (which is an 
adult s.ardiue) are much harder than those of its French relative, and those of the spr.at are prol)ably 
harder still. This is one of several xioints which must be taken into consideration in any xirox^osal to 
jdace tinned sprats into competition with tinned sardines. The greater che.apness of sprats Avill, no 
doubt, lie .a question of some imxiortance in determining the issue of such comxietition. (Fifth Report 
of Fishery Board for Scotland, x^p- 218-221.) 
CANNING EELS. 
At several of the canneries on the Atlantic coast small quantities of eels are 
prepared each year. The extent of this branch of tlie canning trade has been limited 
on account of the small demand for the product and the scarcity of eels in those 
localities in which the process has been tried. For this pni'iiose the salt water eels 
from the Gulf of Maine are used and especially those from Washington County, Me., 
and Barnstable County, Mass., and small or medium sized ones are selected. After the 
head, skin, and viscera are removed, the eels are cut in suitable lengtlis and placed on 
wire trays and cooked in a steam retort, or, in some cases, fried in an oven for 20 
or 30 minutes. They are next placed in cans, either plain with a small amount of 
jellies to hold them firmly together or with a sauce made of vinegar and spices. The 
cans are either tall round, large ov.al, or similar in shax)e to those in which sardines 
are packed. Canned eels are ])rei>ared in-incipally at Eastport and Camden, Me., and 
