The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-10-23
NAMES SARDINES.
THE MAGIC CHANGE EFFECTED BY A
YANKEES PATENT SAUCE.

places where they manufacture sardines, and
there are dozen others at Joncsport, Lubec
and other towns. The business began in 1876,
and was started by some New Workers who
went to Eastport and at first did quite bust
ness in packing small herring in peculiar-look-
ing little wooden kegs in a pickle of spices.
| These herring were placed on the market as
| Russian herring, and can remember when
this cheap and fraudulent fish was on
the bills of fare of the swell restaurants
| of New York as the highest priced
| relish they served. These enterprising New
Workers made money fast in their Maine VEN
| ture, but they believed there was more still
| in modelling the herring upon French sar-
| dimes, although some shrcwd Yankees had
| experimental extensively, and spent much
money III trying to make the venture prac-
| teal some years before 1t had been found
easy TO cook the little fish, pack them in olive
| oil in imitation slrdinc cans, and give them
| the appearance of genuine imported sardines
But when they came 10 be eaten the fraud
was palpablc. The rich, spicy flavor of the
| French sarIine >Svas not there, but only the
| uuInistakahic taste of the native herring
| The Yankees could not discover any means
! by which the herring taste could be eradi-
| Gated, and the sardinc business was pro-
| nounced n failure; but our smart New
| Workers, after few experiments, lit upon a
mixture of oils and spices for a packing
| sauce which made sartliuc Of a herring in a
twinllling, and a gigantic industry has
| sprung from the simple discovery.
y HERRING FISHERY.
"A herring fishery is n simple thing Small
trees or brush are thrust into the sandy
bottom of tho sea, arranged in a line running
out probably 100 feet or more, and then
curving back TO the shore again This is
called trap, and inside of it q huge net is
set. When the tide is going out the net is
raised, and the fish that come UP with it are
taken out with scoop nets. Sometimes this
catch VIII be 50 large that the weight of tho
fish will break the bottom ont of the big net,
and the great heap of fish will nearly ali
escape. Then, again, the fishermen are able
TO carry in bushel bag all the herring that
are caught i'll a haul. Herring, like mack
erel, viii follow light on the water, and
some fishermen take advantage of this to fish
for them in q peculiar way. Two or three
fishermen so in boat. They arc provided
with torches made OF cotton batting, satu-
rated with kerosene. Dark nights are
chosen, and the boats are rowed along the
shores, with torch in the bow of each boat
1t Is soon known when a school of herring is
reached, Tor the fish dart frantically after the
wake of light made by the torch, and make
the water seethc and boil in their IRISH. The
fishermen have short poles, on one end of
which IS small scoop net They dip the
herring out Of the water with these as fast as
the nets can be handled. and so intent are the
fish on the light that the net docs not disturb
them in the least. In this way boat load
after boat load OF future Sardines are cap
turcd il q short time
The way these herring are handled at the
factories Is a sight vTcn worth going all tho
way 20 Maine 10 sec. After being captured
the fish are taken Immediately to the fac
tories. They are laid in heaps on long tables.
II r,D,-r
around here talk about their skill in slIinning
n catfish. II they could see some of the boys
and girls who work il these sardine factories
clean these herring they would never men
ton s!.iEning a catfish again. Tho fish arc
cleaned rs soon as they come in. l stood
and watched q 1-year-old girl go through the
operation and timed her. She beheaded and
Quilted scvcnty-ive herring every minute for
ten minutes without a miss or n halt, and
they told me that there were hundreds more
that could 10 the same thing and keep it up
all day. The dcxtcrity is simply marvellous
The head OF the fish is cut of and the entrails
are removed with one stroke of the knife but
how it is done I am not able TO say Each
fish cleaner has a box at his feet which holds
Il bushel, and a constant stream of fish is fall
ing from his hands into that box. Every
time It l. ul!al the boy or girl has earned ten
cents
\ PATENTED SAUCE.
"Thc herring are thoroughly washed after
being cleaned and are then placed in pickle !
for an hour. Taken from the pickle they are
laid on trays and placed in drying room
heated 70 a high temperature by steam.
When dry the fish arc boiled in large shallow
pans filed with oil, the fish being thoroughly
cooked in the oil Girls and women then !
pack the herring in the boxes in which they
are placed in the market. The sauce discov. |
cred by the cntcrprisiuS New Yorker, which !
Is patented article, poured into the boxes, |
which are handed over 70 men who solder on |
the covers. To remove the air which l. scaled |
in with the fish, and which must be taken out |
TO insure the preservation of the Sarrlincs tho |
boxes are placed III q tank of boiling water |
for half an hour. On being removed they |
are placed Oh an inclined plane. The air inside |
IS then driven to one corner; q workman |
puncturcs that corner with an awl, the hot ]
air escapes, and the awl hole is Immediately /
covered with n drop of solder, and the box is /
afr tight. The box then receives its French |
label, bearing; the inscription, a rhuille |
doliye' The 'hUillc dclivc Is made from cot
ton seed in South California, and isn't the
best quality Of that either, not by good /
deal. There is n class OF these Maine sardines,
however, known rs prime, which are pre-
served III the best cotton seed oil.
"New York i the great wholesale center
for these Yankee scrdilcS. Some idea Of tho
magnitude OF the business may be obtained |
when tell You that one factory alone in
Lubec, and there are others that are doing
as big a business. made and sold nearly
100000 boxes OF sarJl.ucS last year. 70 say
nothing Of sea trout and other brands Of
TRANSFORMED herring. The manufacturers
or packers make q clear profit of six
cents a box, the factory price being about
eleven cents a box. These same sarTlines are
retailed every day for forty cents box and
you VIII pay Ealf dollar for box if YOU
s~
y orl..-New York Sun
EuSeuie and Her Nieces.
The ex-Emprcss Eugenie has staying with
her at present two pretty nicces. Miles. An
tonia and Maria Eegarno. She took them to