70 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIII, 



marked cans can be opened and the temperatures reached can be 

 read off ; it is astonishing how long it may take for cans to attain 

 at their centres, the required temperature, and cans not fully 

 sterilised at their centres necessarily spoil. It is well also to have 

 a dry and wet bulb thermometer and to record the daily humidity 

 which is an important factor in all fish curing and preserving. 

 Hydrometers are necessary for testing the strength of the brine in 

 the brining tubs; the Beaume patterns, for fluids heavier than 

 water, e.g., brine, are advisable. 



70. Graduated measures and scales. — These, both large and small, 

 are a necessity ; tubs marked inside in gallons for holding brine, 

 etc., pails and jugs marked inside with gallon or other marks, 

 gallon measures for oil, graduated glasses for small measurements, 

 handled oil measures holding exactly one ounce or other quantity 

 for rapidly and exactly ladling packing oil into the tins. In very 

 large canneries machines are provided which pass exactly the 

 required amount of oil into a row of cans simultaneously ; in Indian 

 canneries this, at present, is hardly needed, as the canning maistry 

 can readily supervise the supplying of one or two thousand cans 

 by hand labour. 



Scales are of course necessary at every turn ; large platform 

 scales to weigh the baskets and parcels of fish, scales for salt, for 

 spices and condiments, for testing the packed cans to see if they 

 are up to the standard, and so forth. Modern work requires 

 exactitude, and accurate weights and measures are therefore 

 essential. 



71. Miscellaneous. — Skimmers for removing scum from brine 

 tubs, from oil friers, or from testing vats, etc., are obviously needed ; 

 •pincers of various forms and lengths for dealing with scalding hot 

 cans when found leaky in the vats : the usual assortment of car- 

 penter's or blacksmith's tools and appliances including a set of 

 Whitworth taps and dies, are also necessary. Enamelled jugs and 

 basins are required of various sizes, mainly large. For cleaning 

 the oily cans as received from the cooker and before passing to 

 the store-room, soda ash and whiting, etc., are needed, and for 

 cleaning the grilles which must always be perfectly clean for fear 

 of marking the fish with rust or dirt or flavouring them with dirty 

 scorched oil, caustic soda is needed, in a weak solution of which 

 the grilles must be boiled; this cleansing of the grilles is a most 

 important item of work. 



