The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1883-08-14
American Herring Sardines.

came of them remains a mystery.
American Herring Sardines.
Portland. Me-, Correspondence of the
Philadelphia Times.
1t is not generally known that very
few. if any, sardines arc imported.
Nearly all the fish consumed in Amer.
lea come from the southeast corner of
this State. At EastpOrt there are
nineteen places where they turn out
sardines; at Lubec, three, and along
the coast at different parts many 9TH
ers are found.
To catch fish small trees or brush
are thrust into the bottom of little
bays or directly into the main body of
water They are arranged in line
close together. running out from the
shore some seventy-five or a hundred
feet, then curved like q horseshoe,
with line returned to the shors. In
his is placed net. At the proper
tidal moment the net is raised and the
fish taken up in scoop nets. The fish
are lot sar,lines at all, but small her
ring. The calch is always very I'M
certain. Sometimes only a bushel or
SO will he taken, and at others so
many as to endanger the safety of the
net. They are at once taken to the
packing place and laid upon long
tables in heaps. Tie first step
requires the cutting of of the head
and the removal of the entrails. The
degree OF dexterity with which both
of these operations are performed is
astonishing, especially as they are
done entirely by very young children.
The writer counted one little girls
work during minute. and found she
decapiiated and removed the interior
portions of eighty fish in that time
A large box holding about a bushel
lies directly at the feet of each opera
tive, into which the fish slides, while
the head is thrown by the same fatal
stroke into another. The fish are
then placed in warm water. which is
slightly agita'ed in order to Cleanse
them thoroughly. After this they
are placed on very large gridirons,
and suspended ever a hot fire. where
they are partly broiled. After broil-
ing. the fish are ready for the boxes.
These are already prepared with the
attractive French labels. stating that
the enclosed are "Sardines a Phuile
superieur," and others claim to con-
tain "Phuile d'olive," but 1: is is false
the oil is cottonseed pure and simple. |
The boxing or packing is another |
branch of the operation at which the |
little people are quite expert A fish |
is seized in each hand and laid length
wise in the box. first a head at the
outer end and then tail. In watch
ing the packing an observer is struck
with the idea that it is much easier to
put them in the box than to take them
out. After the box is full a small
quantity of cotton-seed oil is poured
in, and then it is passed to another
set of girls. who place the bottoms in
position. These fit snugly just inside
the outer rim and rest upon a little
shoulder of tin. The boxes are now
ready for the sealers. These men sit
at long tables, and each one has a
little stove and soldering iron at his
side. The box is placed in little
grooved platform, which forms the
top of a revolving frame, extending
below the table ana worked by the |
feet. The solder, in long thin sticks !
OF coils, is placed about half an inch
above the end of the hot copper.point-
ed iron. and is rapidly melted, rum
ming down along the point and filling |
up the groove. After slightly scrstch-
ing with the point of the copper a
number or mark to indicate the ssaler,
whose identity is thereby established |
in case of bad work, the boxes are
taken to an immense cauldron, where |
they are boiled for two hours, thus
completing the cooking process and
and dissolving the bones of the fish.
After boiling the boxes are placed
side by side, and small hole is
punctured in one corner, in order to
permit the air which was necessarily |
sealed in the box, to escape. This
comes with sudden squirt,
throwing tiny stream of steam and
hot oil in all directions. Immediate
ly after this boy seals the hole with
solder, and the box is placed with
others in a revolving chamber partly |
filed with sawdust. A few..revolutions