The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-09-01

On the other hand if the run is not exceptionally numerous, all the fish are bought at from 30 to 40 francs per 1000, and sometimes even at 70 francs per 1000.
 Sardine fishing Is more or less dangerous. Often boats that put to sea in rough weather never come back When the sardines are sold on the docks they are taken in baskets to the cannery. Each basket contains 200 fish, In addition to the price, which IS lm- mediately paid to him on the dock, the captain usually gets about half gallon of wine for himself and his crew. During the sardine season about 300 women and fifty men anXiously await the arrival of the first boats. If there are no fish, there is no work for them. When the news arrives that the boats have their welcome cargoes, the Wo- men, in their pictureque costumes, rush to the cannery like a flock of frightened sheep, and each takes her place in the great room where the fish undergo thelr first preparation. Here the sardlnes are spread upon the table and sprinkled with salt. Then they are cleaned, and when the operation Is finished they are sorted by little boys according to their size and carried into another part of the establishment where they are put in pickle.
 The length of time reuired by this op- eration varies according to the size or the fish. After this the fish are washed and placed, one by one, with great care upon wire nets, called girls, and put out to dry in the open air. If the weather is wet or even foggy this operation be- comes impossible, and the fish spoil and become worthless, except for fertilizer. This serious inconvenience has been avoided lately by the construction or mechanical drier, a sort of immense ventilator run by powerful machinery. For a few moments the sardines are eX- posed to a strong current of air, and immediately afterward, while still upon the girls, they are plunged into tanks of boiling olive oil This bath lasts from three to five minutes, according to the size of the fish. In order that the olive oil may retain it's natural taste, the tanks do not come in direct contact with the fire but are heated by team tubes. After this cooking, the sardines, still upon the girls, are left to cool, and, when cold, the work of placing them in boxes Is begun. That work is done by special female employees The boxes are carried to the oiling room, where the last manipulation consists of filling them with oil. It is in this part of the establishment that the tomato sauce and the spices are placed in the boxes which give to the French preparation Of sardines their universal renown. Then the boxes are closed. Little wagons running on tramways bring the boxes to the soldering room, where about thirty workmen with soldering irons seal up the boxes.
 In order to destroy the microbes the boxes are plunged into boiling water and allowed to remain there during the time prescribed in the formula. When taken from the water they are dried in sawdust and finally inspected If one little flaw in the soldering appears the box is at once thrown aside. When the boxes are all pronounced good they are put into cases of one hundred each, and 1t is in this way that they reach the consumers.
 In any 5he of those important estab- lishments the sardines are prepared and exported ten hours after coming out of the water.
 Gourmets should never eat newly pre- pared sardines. They have neither the perfume nor the flavor of those which have lain in the boxes for a year. Courier des Etats Unis.