The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1886-11-03
"SARDINES."
THE AMERICAN IMITATION OF
A FRENCH DELICACY.
How Mornings Arc Caught Along
+. the Maine Coast and Turnca
Into Sardines by Means
OF a Patent Sauce.

said O New YORK WHOLESALE StoSei, VIZ"
there are very few imported sardines, and
consequently very few sardines at an
sold in the United States nowadays, ano
vet one consumer in a thousand does not
know the difference, so nearly do inc
fish that arc sold for sardines approach
the genuine both in appearance n
taste. Nine tenths of our sardines come
from Maine. Thcrc are in Eastport
alone over twenty places where they
,janufacturc sardines. and there are q
dozen others at J%onesport, Lubec, and
other towns.
"Thc herring of which sardines are
made arc never over four inches long,
and the catching of the fish keeps hun
dreds of people busy along the coasts OF
Maine and New Brunswick. The her
cling go in shoals like mackcrel, and the
prices received for them is governed en-
tirely by the condition Of the fisheries.
Sometimes the fish swarm along the
coasts, and hauls arc made with unvary-
ing success. Then the fisherman can ex.
poet no more than s. n hogshcad for his
herring. Again, his net may be but
poorly patronizcd, and he las his recon-
pense in a higher price, frequently OBJ
tanning $15 and $50 q h%ogshcad. These
big prices arc generally obtained carly
in the spring.
A herring fishery is q simple thing
| Cp,oll troo, ~ hrpch oro fhrpef into the
sandy bottom of the sen, arranged in a
line running out probably one hundr
feet or more and then curving back to
the shore again. This is called a trap,
and inside of it a huge net is set. When
the tide is going ont the net is raised,
and the fish that comes up with it arc
taken out with scoop nets. Sometimes
Rhis catch will be so large that the weigh,
of the fish will break the bottom out Of
the big net, and the great heap Of fish
will nearly all escape. Then, again, the
fishermen arc able to carry in q bushc.
bag all the herring that arc caught in o
haul. Herring, like mackercl, will fol
low a light on the water, and some fish.
crmen take advantage of this to fish for
them in q peculiar way. Two or three
fishermen 20 in q boat. They are pro-
vidcd with torches made of cotton bat.
ting saturated with kerosene. Dark
nights are chosen, and the boats are
rowcd along the shores, with torch in
the bow Of each boat. 1t is soon known
when q school Of herring is reached, for
the fish dash frantically after the wake
Of light made by the torch, and make
the water sccthe and boil in their rush.
The fishermen have short poles, on one
end of which is a 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 load Of future sardincs arc captured
in o short time.
"Thc way these herring are handled
at the factories is n sight we'll worth
going all the way to Maine to see. After
being captired the fish are taken imme
diatcly ~ the factories. They are laid
in heaps on long tables. have heard
some # the native fishermen around here
talk about their skill in skinning a cat.
fish. II they could see some Of the bows
and girls who work in these sardine fac.
tories clean these herring they would
never mention skinninG q catfish again.
The fish arc cleaned ms soon as they come
in. stood and watched n seven year.
old girl 90 through the operation and
timed her. she bchcadcd and Quilted
srVenty-Hvc herring every minute for ten
minutes without a miss OF "A halt, and
they told IN" that there we're hundreds
more that could do the same thing and
keep it up all day. The dcxterity is
simply marvellous The head of the Ii Ii
is cut Oft and the ~cntrails arc 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 fee, which holds
a bushcl, and constant stream Of fish ia
falling from his hanls INFO that box.
Every time 1t Is filled the boy or girl has
earned ten cents.
''Thc herring are thoroughly washed
after bcingclcancd, and arc then placed
in pickle for an hour. Taken from the
pickle. they arc laid on trays and placed
in a drying room heated to a high tenn.
pcraturc by steam. When dry tho fish
ore boiled in large shallow pans filled
with oil, the fish being thoroughly cooked
in the oil. Girls and women then pack
the herring in the tin boxes in which
they are placed in the market. The
sauce discovered by the cnterprising
New Yorker, which is a patented article.
ls poured into the boxes, which arc
handed over to men who solder on the
covers. TO remove the air which i,
Xpolp1 in with tbn Gel ..I .I.-l