The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1882-09-16
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Oregon salmon Canning.

Oregon Salmon Canning.
A correspondent of the San Francisco
Chronicle gives the following account OF
the important industry by which large
part of the salmon is supplied to the rest
of the world:
The principal salmon canneries of the
world are upon the Pacific coast, The Co
lumbia river supplies more salmon to the
trade than all other streams in the world
There are 81 canneries on the Columbia,
IL on the Sacramento, on the Umpqua,
in Alaska, on Rogue river, / on Smith
river, on Frazer river, on Puget sound
and Z in San Francisco. Last year the
total number of cases of salmon packed
upon the Pacific coast was 960, 900, divided
as follows
Columbia rverS4oooo eaSss; Frazer 10000
Sacramento river-1SOOOO other rivers 900
The total value of last years pack, as
estimated by the packers on the Columbia
and the San Francisco commercial reports,
differs widely. The latter places the
value at $4, 100000 for the total catch of
last year. OF this the Columbia canneries
are credited with $4,000 cases, against
total of 100000 cases from all other
sources. The official records Of shipments
at Astoria last year show that 342, l49
cases were shipped from the Columbia
river, valued at 81, ,724, ,915, and less than
$4,000 cases were left on hand in the Co
lumbia river canneries when the last ship
ments were made The ship Wallacetown
recently carried out cargo of salmon
valued at 0,000-the largest and most
valuable cargo ever shipped from this coast.
The official records of shipments of salmon
made from this coast from 1866 to the
close of 1881, period of 16 years, shows
that 4 ,655, 600 cases, valued at $27 ,2O4, 900,
have passed out of this river, The highest
price per case was in 1866, when it was
SIG; the lowest was in 1876, when it
brought $3.50 per case; last year the av-
erage price was S. Estimating the cases
and cans to weigh Y pounds, 48 one-pound
cans in each case, the salmon pack from
this river last year was $4,000 tons.
Although competition has reduced the
price of salmon from $16 case in 1866 to
SIS case last season, the sum paid the
fishermen for catching the fish has been
increased from 10 cents to go cents fish.
There are now on the Columbia river 500
boats two men are allowed to each boat,
SO that 5000 white men are engaged in
fishing this year alone, The boats are
mostly owned by the canneries, who pro-
vide the men (mostly italian, Greek and
Scandinavian with boat and net Where
the men furnish their own boat and net
they receive 60 cents fish (large or smalD
from the canneries When the boats and
nets are furnished them they receive 40
cents fish.
The following description of the process
of canning at Astoria is given: 4.
This cannery, like each of the thirty-six
similar establishments upon the river, ex-
tends out into deep water The feet of
boats arrives in the morning, after fishing
all night. A hook attached to a rope is
fastened in the. gills of each fish, and it is
hauled up from the boat, counted and cast
in pile within the cannery.> The fish is
then headed, gutted and washed, passing
from hand to hand until it lies piled upon
tables, nice, clean and fresh, in pieces long
enough to fit into an ordinary pound can.
All this indoor work is done by Cinnamon.
A dozen or more fill the cans to their ut
most capacity with chunks of salmon fresh
from the water. They pass to table,
where the fish is pressed down by revolv-
ing machine, while a jet of salt water
washes the outside of the can. Then they
receive top and are passed to machine,
where they are placed sideways and are
rolled down an incline, SO that the edge of
the top just adjusted passes through a
groove filed with hot solder, which soldiers
the head. They roll down the incline to
three Mongolians, who critically inspect
them to see if they have been well soldered.
IF not they pass to other Mongo-
lians, who finish the soldering. Here
they are placed in circular iron trays
containing 110 cans, and Chinaman pricks
a minute hole in each can for the escape of
steam. They are now hoisted by means Of
chains and machinery and dropped into
tanks of boiling water, one tray upon the
other, until each tank is filed. They boil
slowly for one hour and quarter. Then
they are lifted by machinery to dome
shaped steaming-tank of wrought boiler
iron, which holds a thousand cans. This
dome is'closed and secured by bolts and
screws, and the cans undergo steaming
process of one hour and a quarter more. On
being taken out the air holes are soldered
up, the cans cool, and are passed to two
white girls, who rapidly and skillfully paste
labels upon them. As they are labelled
they pass to Cinnamon, who place them in
cases, two dozen in case, nail them up,
and they are ready for shipment. They
now pass out to the wharf to be shipped to
San Francisco or Europe. The salmon
thus passes from its native element
the waters of the Columbia cans
and cases within few hours. No fish il
kept over night The fish thus prepared
is the best we get in market, as it never
becomes stale and always retains its natura
flavor Everything is scrupulously clear
in and about these canneries, as copious ap
plications of water are applied to the work
= rooms daily. '9 %
CONSUMPTION OF CoFFEE.-The in
crease in the consumption Of coffee is yer.
striking. Twenty-Five years ago the quan
tity grown was estimated at 338,O6O tons
but in 1879 the total was 100000 Th
consumption was greatest in the Unite'
States. The principal coffee -producin.
country is Brazil, the crop of 1880 beinl
estimated at 100000 tons, but when tn
emancipation of the negroes is complete, a
it will be in twenty years, the question
whether the coffee planters will be able t
find laborers enough to keep up this higl
| total Next to Brazil come the Dutch In
dies, including Java and Sumatra, int
which the cultivation of coffee was intro
duced by Van Hoor in 1869. 1t is onl
within the last quarter of a century tina