The weekly Alaska citizen., 1918-04-29

of how our food fish are prepared for consumption and the method of handling them from the time they are caught until ready for the table ::
 The idea of preserving salmon by packing in air-tight tins dates back to the early eos. Prior to that time the only methods of holding fish meat for any length of time. and have same in a fit condition to eat, was to salt. dry or smoke 1t.
 The fish canning industry doesn't reach out for all fish that swim, and the main reason for this lies in the fact that some of the finny tribe will not stand canning. Take halibut and sturgeon for instance; in the process of cooking their meat turns mushy and milky. and, although eat able. isn't appetizing. One gets the impression, when opening a can of either halibut or sturgeon, that they have farm product in front of them instead of marine delicacy.
 The -Humes brothers. West, Meg Ter. McGowan and Cook. are prob ably the pioneer salmon canners. and the latter, who had a small expert. mental station at Clifton, on the lower Columbia river, was the first one to solve the problem of pre- serving salmon flesh indefinitely in tin containers.
 There is little story relative to this that is more or less interesting when looked at in the wake of years that have sped by since the first salmon was canned, and from the viewpoint of the industry today and the little, two-spot affair of yester- day. A canneryman was putting up spring "chinooks" at Brookfeld, Washington, across the river from Clifton, Oregon. Another packer was also on the ground floor at Eagle Cliff, a short distance farther up- stream on the Washington side. Both of these men were having bad luck with their small packs. Their sal- mon, after few weeks in the cans, turned black and the fish bones be- came coated with verdigris. They couldn't get a market for any such stuff, and they were worried accord ingly On the other hand, the Cliff ton man was having all kinds of success and the foundation of a thriving business seemed to grow larger with every case of fish he placed on the market. The two worried ones merged their woestSnd finally appointed themselves com mittee of two with a resolve to ask the industrious Cliftonite what his system was. He received the can. nerymen graciously and with smile. He knew what was coming.
 How long will your fish keep. Mir. CT
 One or thousand years-for- ever."
 You are very fortunate. Mir. C. Do you use some preservative?"
 q do not"
 You have method. then. sys- tenn, a secret recipe"
 q have"
 Would you mind letting Mir. - and me in on this? We'll be mum about it."
 "Yes-providing."
 Providing what. MT. e"
 Providing you pay me $20.000- cash"
 The committee of two gasped. looked at each other. wilted. sweated and all but collapsed.
 Aren't your figures rather steep. MT. CD
 They are"
 You won't trim them down any?"
 "I won't"
 Very well. we agree. Kindly give us your formula in writing. Mir. C."
 And MT. c did so. He wrote on two slips of paper: Cook your fish another hour" That was the secret then. It's the secret today. It was. and is, as necessary to thoroughly cook the bones as to cook the meat. Uncooked bones turn green and poison the flesh around them. Since then the pressure gauge, the ther- mometer and the clock are indispens- able fittings in the cooking of sal mon.
 Experience is a great teacher. The big plants of today are the results of careful plodding, changing from used things this season to the bet ter, quicker and more sanitary meth. ods of the next; discarding the hand work today 'and adopting the ma chine for the morrow's run: drop ping the slipshod and clumsy, and installing instruments of accuracy and neatness-and in all, following the line of least resistance with a higher aim, and this aim not alone for profit, but to give the consumer. near and far, a sea food in as fit a condition as if he or she had hooked tho Ash fhomcoIyos and nrona rcd if