Omaha daily bee., 1883-07-20
AMERICAN SARDINES.
How the Native Herring Becomes a
FUll-FlGdgGd Foreigner.
A Maine Industry Employing Hundreds Of
Persons aud Sending out Thousands
of Boxes ~Daily---The Differ
ent Processes.

Correspondence Philadelphia Press.
PORTLAND, Melt is not generally
known that very few, if any, sardines are
imported. Nearly all the fish consumed
in America come from the southeast cor.
ner of this state. At Eastport there arc
nineteen places where they turn out sar-
dimes; at Lubee, three, and along the
coast at different ports many others are
found. Tho process of preparation il very
interesting.
To catch the fish small trees or brush
are thrust into the bottom of little bays
or directly into the main body of water.
They arearranged in a line quite close to-
gether, running out from the shores some
40 or 100 feet, then curved like a horse
shoe, with a line returning to the shore.
In this is placed a net. At the proper
tidal moment the net is raised and the
fish taken up in scoop nets. The fish
are not sardines at all, but small herring.
The catch is alwaysveryuncertain. Some
times only a bushel or two will be taken,
and at others 80 many as to endanger the
safety of the net.
After being placed in the boats, they
are at once taken to the packing place
and laid upon long tables in heaps. The
first step requires the cutting off Of the
head and the removal of the ~entrals. The
degree of dexterity with which both Of
these operations is performed is astonish-
ing, especially as they are done entirely
by very young children. The writer
counted one little girls work during a
minute, and found she decapitated and
removed the interior portions of eighty
fish in that time. Both operations are
done with one stroke of the knife. The
head is nearly severed from the body,
and the. knife is then pulled slightly
away from the fish, removing the n
canal which composes the entire digestive
arrangement. A large box holding about
II bushel lies directly at the feet of each
operative, into which the fish slides,
while the head is thrown by the same ia
tai stroke into another. The pay for this
work is ten cents for each box full. Some
of the more experts make from 81 to
81. so a day.
BRoILING AND PACKING.
The fish are then placed in warm water,
which is slightly agitated in order to
cleanse them thoroughly. After this ne
cessary precaution they are placed on
very large %gridirons, of which the bars
are thin and wide apart, and are then
suspended over a very hot fire, where
they are partly broiled. These g%ridirons
are called "fakes," and hold about 100
fish. The sardines are placed in position
IN the "hakes" by little girls, who receive
ten cents for filling every hundred. After
broiling, the fish are ready for the boxes.
These are already prepared with the
attractive French labels, stating that the
inclosed are "Sardines a lhuile super
ievre, "and Others claim to contain 'lhuile
d'oline," but this is false. The oil is
cotton-seed, pure and simple, and is not
always of the best quality. The first
quality of oil is used, however, for those
sardines sold as prime.
The boxing or packing is another
branch of the operation at which the lit
tie people are quite expert. A fish is
seized in each hand and laid l~engthwise
in the box, first a head at the outer end
and then a tail. In watching 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,
about half a gill, is poured in, and it is
then 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 seal
ers. These men sit at long tables, and
iron at his side. The box is placed in a
little grooved platform, which forms the
top of a revolving frame, extending below
the table and worked by the feet. The
solder, in long thin sticks or coils, is
placed about half an inch above the end
of the hot copper pointed iron, and is
rapidly melted, running down along the
point and filling up the groove. After
slightly scratching with the point of the
copper a number or mark to indicate the
%sealer, whose identity is thereby estab-
lished in case of bad work, the boxes are
taken to al immense cauldron, where the
contents are boiled for two hours, thus
completing the cooking process and dis,
solving the bones of the fish.
THE FINAL PROCESSES.
After boiling, the boxes are placed side
by side, and a small hole is punctured in
one corner, in order to permit the air,
which was necessarily sealed in the box,
to escape. This sometimes comes with a
sudden squirt, throwing a tiny stream Of
steam and hot oil in all directions. I'm
mediately after this a boy seals the hole
with solder, and the box is then placed
with others in a revolving chamber partly
filed with sawdust. A few revolutions
cleanse them of all dirt and oil. and they
are then ready for testing. Each box il
taken up separately between the thumb
and finger and slightly pressed. If il
yields there is a hole somewhere, through
which air enters the box, or there is still
some remaining air which did not escape
|. when the box was pierced. 1t is thrown
aside and returned to the s%ealer, who
must pay the value of the boxthus spoiled
The final handling is done when the sar
dimes are packed in large wooden boxe.
for shipment.
Almost the entire product is shipped
to New York whence it is sold to retailer
throughout the country, One of tn,
establishments in Lubee prepares abou
1000 boxes daily. When it is remembers,
} that there are nineteen such places il
! Eastport and many Others at diferen
seaport towns, the o consumption
of the gentle herring masquerading unde
the nobler title may be seen. The actua
, cost per box, including all expenses, i
a five cents. The profit made by tn
, packers sometimes reaches seven and min
! cents, but is oftener less. The difference
between these prices and the consumers
n~Nnnn1ifltea 10 Loot in tlA lttEann,4 l.-l