The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1892-06-02
SALMON CANNING.
A Prominent Industry on the
Pacific Coast.
Cutting up, Packing and
Cooking the Fish.

be able to buy pound of salmon in
can from the Pacific coast for 25 |
cents. The frozen fish costs 40 cents
a pound at least, while the unfrozen
article ranges in Eastern markets from
81 up. Besides, the manner in which
each can is made to contain segment
of salmon perfectly fitted into it APP
pears most surprising, the bones, even
10 the larger vertebre, melting in the
mouth without requiring so much as
a crunch between the teeth and the
red flesh separating in beautiful,
clean flakes.
Yet salmon would be very much
cheaper than at present were it not
that the great Gamers of Alaska have
formed combination to restrict the
product. This is unfortunate for
consumers. pershaps, but lucky, cer-
tainly for the fish, which would be
wiped out altogether within five years
at the most if the companies engaged
in their capture had market for all
they could produce at profitable rates.
The methods employed are the most
destructive conceivable, inasmuch as
the fishermen stretch seines across the
mouths of the rivers and take the fish
which are going up the stream to
spawn. There is law against this
sort of thing, but it is not enforced.
Eventually, doubtless. the supply of
this valuable finny game will run out
and artificial propagation will have to
be resorted to. :
The salmon caught in the seines and
gill nets are brought to the cannery
wharf, counted and thrown into heaps.
Cinnamon, their labors being cheaper,
are mostly employed for subsequent
operations. They take each fish, cut
off the head, tail and fins, remove the
entrails and throw the rest Of the ami
NAL into a big tub. Next the fish is
washed and placed in trough, where
several knives. acting after the man.
ner of feed cutter, slice it into Sec
tions exactly as long as the height of
the can. These sections are set on
end and split into three pieces each
one piece large enough to fill the can,
while the others are smaller. The
fragments are then placed on tables
and the Cinnamon fit them into the
cans. Next the covers are put on the
cans and soldered.
After being soldered the cans are
put INTO hot water and watched in
order to see if any bubbles rise, in
dicating leaks. Those which indure
this test successfully are placed in an
IRON tank and boiled in salt water.
Salt water is used in preference to
fresh, because it can be raised to
higher temperature. After boiling
for one hour and Il quarter each can
is "vented." This means that hole
is punched in its top to permit the ex-
panded air to escape. Then the hole
is soldered up, and the cooking is fin
ished by further boiling in salt water
for an hour and a half. If they were
not "vented" this second cooking
would burst the cans. Finally.
each can is tested by tapping it on the
head with big nall. If leaky, it
will usually give back "tinny"
sound. Great care is taken to avoid
leaky cans, because any which are not
Theoretically sealed will envariably
burst. The meat decays, pushing up
the top of the cans. One SO affected
is called "swell-head." If it bursts,
it is likely to ruin the whole case.
Three salmon will ordinarily fill for
ty-eight one-pound cans, making one
case. The cans are made on the !
premises out of sheet tin.
Within the last few years the manu-
facture of oil from salmon heads has
been undertaken with prof. The
heads are bought from the canneries
at the rate of 1000 for 81. One fac
tory produces as much as $4,000 gal
Ions year, worth "a cents a gallon.
The heads are cooked by steam and
the oil is run off the tops of the watts.
One thousand heads make from thir-
ty to thirty-fve gallons of oil. 1t is
not disposed of by itself as CONNER
cial article, but is mixed as an adul-
terant with other and more
costly oils. Salmon intended for
smoking are first scrubbed and
dried, after which they are hung