to hook up the salmon. The meshes of the nets are just of a size to catch the fish by the gills, when attempting to pass through; and their misfortune is betrayed to the watchful eye of the fisherman, by the bobbing of the corks on the surface of the water.
When brought to the fishery, they are piled up on long tables which project out over the water. Here stand Chinamen, two at each table, armed with long, sharp knives, who, with great celerity and skill, disembowel and behead the fresh arrivals, pushing the offal over the brink into the river at the same time. After cleaning, the fish are thrown into brine vats, where they remain from one to two days to undergo the necessary shrinkage, which is nearly one-half. They are then taken out, washed thoroughly, and packed down in barrels, with the proper quantity of salt. That they may keep perfectly well, it is necessary to heap them up in the barrels, and force them down with a screw press.
A fishery proper is understood to mean, a barreling establishment; while a cannery, is one where the fish are preserved in cans, both fresh and spiced, or pickled. The establishment of Mr. West is both these in one. This establishment, also, has commenced the business of saving the oil, which, in barreling salmon, is pressed out, and is equal in quality to the best sperm-oil.
The method of canning salmon was kept secret for one or two seasons, and only a few of the fisheries practiced it. No effort is now made to conceal the processes. The result is the main thing in which the public are interested, and this is a delicious preparation of fresh, or spiced and vinegared fish, put up ready for the table. The market for canned salmon is rapidly increasing—the principal exports being, at present,
