Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1886-11-30
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NAMES SARDINES.
TIE MAGIC CHANGE EFFECTED BY A
YANKEES PATENT SAUCE.

French Sardine "a Herring Fishery.
Dexterity OF Boys and Girls ut Work
In Boxes.
"Nine-tenths of our sardines come from
Maine, said a wholesale New York grocer
There are in PASSPORT alone over twenty
places where they manufacture sardines, and
there are dozen others at Jonesport, Lubec
and other towns The business began in 1876
and was started by some New Workers who
went to PASSPORT and at first did quite a bust
ness in packing small herring in pecuiar-loob-
ing little wooden kegs in O pickle Of spices.
These herring were placed on the market as
Russian herring, +" and l 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 shrewd Yankees had
experimental extensively, and spent much
money in 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 III imitation sardine cans, and give them
the appearance of genuine imported sardines.
But when they came TO be eaten the fraud
was palpable. The rich, spicy flavor Of the
French sardine was not there, but only the
unmistakable taste of the native herring
The Yankees could not discover any means
10y which the herring taste could be eradi-
Gated, and the sardno business was pro
nounced 4 failure; but our smart New
Workers, after few experiments, hit upon
mixture Of oils and spices for a packing
sauce which made sardine of a herring in q
twinAling, and 4 gigantic industry has
sprung from the simple discovery.
a HERRING FISHERY.
"A herring fishery IS q simple thing. Small
trees or brush are thrust into tie sandy
bottom of the sea- arranged il q Iinc running
cut probably 100 feet or more, ard then
carving back to the shore again. This is
called trap, and inside of it hugo net is
set. When the tide is going out the net is
raised, ard the fish that come up with it are
taken out with scoop nets. Sometimes this
catch VIII be 50 large that the weight Of the
fish VIII break the bottom out of the big net,
and the great heap Of fish viii nearly all
escape. Then. again. the fishermen are able
to carry in a busbcl bag all the herring that
are caught in haul Herring, Ike mack
erel, viii follow 4 light on the water, and
some fishermen take advantage of this to fish
Tor them in = peculiar way. Two or three
fishermen 80 IN n boat. They are provided
with torches made OF cotton batting, satu-
rated with kerosene Dark nights are
chosen, and the boats are rowed along the
shores, With a torch in the bow of each boat
1t is soon known when a school OF herring is
reached, for the fish dart frantically after the
wake Of light made by the torch, and make
the water saethe and boil in their rush. The
fishermen have short poles, on one ID 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 does not disturb
them in the least. IN this way boat load
after boat lo2d Of future sardincs are cap
tured in a short time
'The way these herring aye handled at the
factories is a sight well worth going all the
way to Maine to see. After being captured
the fish are taken Immediately to the fec
tories. They are laid il heaps on long tables
l have heard some Of the native fishermen
around here talk about their skill in slinning
a catfish. If they could see some Of the boys
and girls who r5ork in these sardine factories
clean these herring they would never men
ton skinning catfish again. The fish are
cleaned soon as they como in. l stood
and watched a 7-year-old girl go through the
operation and timed her. She beheadcd and
Quilted seventy-fvc herring every minute for
ten minutes without n miss or O halt, and
they told me that there were hundreds more
that could DO the same thing and keep it Up
all day. The dcXterity is simply marvellous.
The head of the fish Is cut Off and the entrailS
are removed with one stroke OF the knife, but
how it is done l am not able to say. Each
fish cleaner has a box at his feet which holds
a buShel, and constant stream Of fish is fall
ing from his hands into that box. Every
time ii is filled the boy OF girJ has earned ten
cents
r PATENTED SAUCE.
The 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 q drying room
heated to "a high temperature by steam
When dry the fish are 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 toy the onterprising New Yorker, which
is n patented article is poured into the boxes,
which are handed over 10 men who solder on
the covers. TO remove The air which is sealed
in with the fish, and which must be taken out
to insure the preservation Of the sardinos, tho
boxes are placed in . tank Of boiling watcl
for half IN hour. On being removed they
are placed on an inclined plane. The an inside
is then driven to one corner; 4 workman
puncturcs that corner with an awl. the hot
air escapes. and the awl hole Is Immediately
covered with a drop of solder, and the box IS
air tight. The box then receives is French
label. bearing the Inscription, a rkuille
d'olive' The 'Euiuc d'oliyc is made from cot
ton seed in South California. and Isn't the
best quality Of That, either, not by good
deal There isa class OF these Maine S2rdines,
however, known as prime, which are pre-
served in the best cotton seed oil
"New York is the great wholesale center
for these Yankee Slrdi2cS. Some idea OF the
magnitude Of the business may he obtained
when / tell You that one factory alone III
Lubcc, and there are others that are doing
as big 4 business, made and sold nearly
2,000. coo boxes Of saTdineS last year, 10 say
nothing of sea trout and other brands OF
Transformed herring. The manufacturers
or hackers make a clear profit q SIX
cents n box, the factory price beng about
eleven cents 4 box. These same Ssrl.lnc> are
retailed every day for forty cents a box and
Won viii pay half a dollar for box II You
order sarGines 1T your restaurant IL New
Yorl.-New York Sun.
Eugene and Her Nicocs.
The Cx-Enlprcss Eugene has Staying with
her at present two pretty I,.eccS Miles. An
tOnia and ,Iaria NeCar.lo. She took them 10
luncheon on hoard the Osborne, 1T CowoS,
+I,a otf,,~ .l-r- Oh, woo a-+;,,o1 in n black