Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1889-06-05
THE HERRlNG INDUSTRY.


THE HERRING INDUSTRY.
Hsv '.sardlnes" are Canned In tho Facto-
ries of Eastport, Nc.
American art was not the only thing
which received an impetus at the Cen
tennial Exhibition in 1885, lit became 4
evident thatwe had to learn a great. i
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. It might take years of labor
before we could rival the Scvres 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 hers
at certain seasons very large business
is done. The herrings are caught in
vast quantities by means of seines. and
the smacks bring the fish into port As
behring's are perishable, quick-sailing
vessels are necessary, SO as to hurry
the catch into port A considerable
portion of the catch is PUTIN barrels
for convenience in handling. = AS soon
rs 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 off 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. slrdine cans
are packed SO close with fish that moi
another one can be put in. The real
son for this is not because the French
Gamer is a 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 c;ulning-rooins. In
! some canneries the fish iareufirst thor
oughly coo Led before being put into the
tins; then the cans are warmed anew
and sofdered Certain factories cook
the product directly in the tins. 1t re
quires great deal Of skill to give the
| herring their proper favorings. If
there is the least blunder in the me-
chan:cal part of the work. the spoil
| ing OF the product is the result
as Immediately decomposition takes
! place. A great many herrings are
smoked at Eastport. and following
the methods employed for cod, bone
less herrings are made. These are put
on the market in glass boxes. There
are, however, some ways Of putting up
the herring which England seems to
have the secret of. We have not yet
succeeded in converting American
smoked herring into the Yarmouth
bloater. Off the coast of California the
! ClupeG sagdr is found, and this is the
true European sardine. So far, no
advantage has been taken of the sar-
dine in American waters, but in the
time to come. when the olive-tree shall
become more plentiful in. California,
| the sardine will find it's proper accom-
paniment, which is olive oil, and not
! cotton-seed oil.
Herring enter very largely into hui
man consumption, though to a less de-
gree in the United States than in other
countries. AS nearly as can be esti-
mated, 100000 pounds of her.
ring are taken off the North Ameri-
can coast. The aggregate catch in
European waters is $50, 900. 900 pounds.
.-Harpers Weekly.