72 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIII. 



labels (glazed) must be artistic in design and lettering, and here 

 the individual canner must select his own design, colours, etc.; he 

 will do well to put himself in the hands of lithographic firms which 

 make a speciality of this work. It is well to print the appropriate 

 fish on the label and the precise character of the contents, place of 

 manufacture, any guarantee, etc. ; on cylindrical tins there may be 

 room for appropriate drawings such as the one designed, from a 

 local photograph, for the Government Cannery fish-paste tins. 

 For cementing the paper labels to tin, it is necessary to use special 

 paste or other adhesives ; ordinary gum is useless as it rapidly 

 dries so thoroughly that the labels come away from the tin ; there 

 are adhesives — sometimes with glycerine — which overcome 

 this trouble. To avoid difficulty however it is advisable not to 

 attempt to stick the paper labels to the can but to wrap them 

 tightly round the can with an overlap ; the two ends of the overlap 

 are then gummed or pasted together, so that the label is kept in 

 position not by adhering to the tin but to itself. Whatever labels 

 are selected, they must be kept in separate labelled compartments 

 in special lockers to avoid confusion and waste. It may be added 

 that the goods must correspond precisely with the statements on 

 the labels; it is both foolish and fraudulent to delude customers 

 (temporarily) by glowing descriptions which are falsified by the 

 goods themselves. 



74. Lacquer. — A coloured spirit lacquer is often used externally 

 both to protect the tins from rust and to attract attention. These 

 lacquers can best be bought wholesale, but the simpler sorts can 

 be manufactured, if so desired, within the cannery ; a gold lacquer 

 as applied to many cans of cereals, etc., received from England, 

 gives a very neat and attractive appearance and entirely prevents 

 rust, tarnishing, etc. ; this can also be printed upon. In the Indian 

 climate such lacquer entirely prevents rust. At Beypore the cans 

 before leaving the observation room are smeared with a transpa- 

 rent varnish or lacquer which keep them from rust in all ordinary 

 cases. Inside lacquering for protecting the contents is described 

 above, paragraph 44. 



75. Rubber rings for solderless cans. — These, whether pure vul- 

 canized rubber or composition, rapidly deteriorate in this climate 

 and, if long exposed to air in ordinary boxes, become perfectly 

 brittle and useless. Hence they should be obtained in moderate 

 quantities and packed by the thousand or so in separate. 



