142 MADRAS P'ISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIII, 



south-west monsoon. Probably the preparation and canning of 

 jams, preserves, pickles, etc., will be a useful line of subsidiary 

 work, since the raw material can usuall)^ be obtained and, though 

 perishable, stores better than fish, especially if there is a cool 

 room available. The preparation and packing (in tins or other- 

 wise) of foods such as tapioca, so abundant on the southern parts 

 of the West Coast, arrowroot, etc., would be useful lines, while th^ 

 making and tinning of biscuits would also be possible. These are 

 mentioned because all ordinarily involve in this country the use of 

 tin containers, and, to some extent, the sterilizing arrangements 

 used in fish canning. 



237. Perhaps one of the most lucrative side lines of work would 

 be the manufacture of empty tins for various business purposes and 

 readily saleable in the nearest towns or elsewhere ; e.g., tins for 

 holding medicines, ointments, blacking and other boot pastes, 

 samples, etc. Since, ex-hypothesi, the cannery has can-making 

 machines, expert solderers, etc., they could be easily directed 

 to these other lines in cans, whether solderless stamped from the 

 flat, or semi-solderless seamed cans, or ordinary cylindrical soldered 

 tins, lever top tins, or others ; a small addition to the plant in the 

 shape of dies would be all that is necessary. In the Madras 

 Presidency it is believed that there is no regular factory for 

 making the numerous classes of tins needed by or useful to petty 

 manufacturers and the public. 



238. Refrigeration. — In India modern enterprise in fish preserva- 

 tion naturally turns to refrigeration in one form or other. As 

 regards the canner, his main requirements are either to keep the 

 fish cool in the boats on the way to the cannery, or to hold over an 

 excess stock of fish for one or two days while working through a 

 heavy catch ; it is not desirable to do more. 



If ice can be locally made or obtained at cheap rates, nothing 

 would be more valuable than an ice chest occupying a large part 

 of a canoe or other carrier, in which the fish bought fresh from the 

 fishing canoes could be kept cool (say even 50° F.) while coming 

 to shore or while bargaining for further catches; it is waste of 

 time and opportunity for a carrier to come in several miles with 

 a small catch when other catches might be bought and taken to 

 the cannery ; in any case the fish will be the better for being kept 

 cool en route. 



