Mountain Home bulletin. (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1888-1889, 1889-05-25
THE HERRING INDUSTRY.
How sssardlnes" ara Canned In the Faeto-
ries Of Passport, Me.

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How sssardlnes" ara Canned In the Faoto.
ries Of PASSPORT, Me.
American art was not the only thing
which received an impetus at the Gen.
tennial Exhibition In 1876. 1t lecame
evident that we had to learn a great
deal about the food preparations deriv-
able from France. Norway, Sweden,
and even Spain. Fish products in end
less variety. all excellent, made no in
considerable portion Of the foreign ex-
hibits. 1t might take years Of labor
before we could rival the Sevres por-
celain, but there could not be any such
trouble in regard to the preparation OF
sardines. As there always has been a
great deal of enterprise in New Eng
land, it struck those interested in fish
cry products that there were ways OF
preparing herring other than simply
sailing or smoking them. and at once,
copying in certain measure the Scan
dinavian fashion, a new industry had
its birth in Maine.
| The center OF the canning OF herrings
is found at Eastport, Maine, and here
at certain seasons very large business
is done. The behring's are caught in
vast quantities by means Of seines. and
the smacks bring the fish into port As
herrings are perishable, quick-sailing
vessels are necessary, SO as to hurry
the catch into port A considerable
| 81 r., 10 mt IN, ha rvsaIa
for convenience in handling. As soon
as the fish are landed they are at once
dumped on long tables, where they are
picked and cleaned. II the fish are
for canning. pains are taken that all the
herring shall be OF size. There are
particular seasons when the young her.
ring run. and these are best adapted
for canning. Hands become very ex-
pert, and great number OF fish can be
picked and cleaned in the briefest
period OF time. Sometimes mechanical
adjuncts OF simple kind are used to
take of the scales and fins.
In some OF the largest OF these estab-
lishments. when fish are plenty, hun
dreds OF women are employed. There
is no mechanical process yet invented
which will fill the tins, and so fingers
must be used. In France. sardine cans
are packed so close with fish that not
another one can be put in. The rea-
son for this is not because the French
Gamer is generous man. but for the
good reason that olive oil is worth
more than the sardines. In Eastport
factories the greatest cleanliness Is
used. and the rooms are constantly
: washed down. As fast as the fish have
been cleaned and Quilted they are
brought into the canning-rooms In
some cunneries the fish are first thor
. oughly cooked before being put into the
: tins; then the cans are warmed anew
? and soldered. Certain factories cook
the product directly in the tins. 1t re
u quires a great deal of skill to give the
= herring their proper lavorings. l
u there is the least blunder in the me
Q chanical part of the work. the spoil
q ing of the product is the result
> as Immediately decomposition take
place. A great many htrrings ar
smoked at Eastport, and following
the methods employed for cod bone
~ less herrings are made These are pu
on the market in glass boxes. Their
J. are. however. some ways OF putting u
e the herring which England seems t
,e have the secret of. We have not We
l. succeeded in converting America
,e smoked herring into the Yarmout
ia bloater OF the coast of California tn
,e Ctupea sagar is found, and this is tn
N true European sardine. So far, n
70 advantage has been taken OF the sal
" dine in American waters, but in tn
Id time to come. when the olive-tree sha
n, become more plentiful in Californi;
ID the sardine will find its proper accom-
" paniment, which is olive oil, and nj
"a cotton-seed oil.
1t Herring enter very largely into HI
IL man consumption, though to less d.
I'd gree in the United States than in othe
10 countries. AS nearly as can be est
I'd mated, 43.0O0,OOO pounds OF he
m ring are taken off the North Amer
es can coast The aggregate catch
or European waters is 250, 600. 900 pound
>, Hnrportc Waaklv