The Pilchard Fishery. 63 



cleaned by women and children, and piled, with layers of 

 salt, in large heaps in cellars or warehouses, where they 

 remain for about a month ; and being subsequently washed 

 and thoroughly cleaned, are packed in hogsheads and 

 subjected to pressure to extract the oil, about three gallons 

 being yielded by each cask, when the fish are fat. 



Great quantities of salted pilchards are sent to the 

 Mediterranean, particularly to Naples and other parts of 

 Italy, where they are largely consumed during Lent. 



The number of hogsheads exported in 1851 was 26,743. 

 The average for 10 years then stood at 23,446 hogsheads. 

 Taking the number at 2500 fish to the hogshead, over 

 58,500,000 fish are caught annually, weighing 10,620 tons. 

 About 5000 tons of salt are required to cure the catch for 

 export, as there is but a small local consumption. 



In the seven years ending 1863 the average annual 

 export was only 13,757 hogsheads, but 1859 an d 1860 were 

 unprecedently bad years, the take being only 3500 hogs- 

 heads. The catch of 1863, on the contrary, was large, 

 reaching 26,057 hogsheads. The shipments were larger at 

 the close of the last century than they are now. 



The total takes in Cornwall for the last three years 

 have been very small, namely, 7543^ hogsheads in 1874, 

 7337~2~ i n J 875, and 6700 in 1876. In the last-named year 

 only from 300 to 400 hogsheads were captured during the 

 summer fishing, which ends on the I5th of September. 

 These produced from 63^. to 67^. per hogshead. The main 

 take was in the autumn and winter, and they went as high 

 in price as 100^. per hogshead. 



Italy will absorb, at fair prices, as much as 30,000 

 hogsheads annually, and depends upon Cornwall for the 

 supply. 



Pilchards arrive on the coasts of Devon and Cornwall 



