No. 3 (T921) MANUFACTURE OF FISH OIL AND GUANO 153 



only about one season. The purse net, which is operated by very 

 strongly built row-boats of about 30' x 7' x 2' 6", is drawn close up 

 to the side of the vessel and the fish rapidly transferred. Some of 

 the larger steamers will hold 300 tons of fish, but the general run 

 is considerably smaller. As a rule, the steamers go out in the very 

 early morning, and work up to a few miles out so that they can 

 bring back their catches in the afternoon to the factory to which 

 they belong before the fish have time to taint. It is said that 

 perhaps 95 per cent of the fish are caught within two miles of the 

 coast, but the place of capture may, of course, be many miles from 

 the factory to which the steamers belong. 



In 1912 the number of power-driven vessels was 147 of 13,569 

 aggregate tonnage, Il8 being steamers and 29 petrol-driven. 

 These operated 274 purse seines with 386 boats, and they took 

 1,061 million fish or about 353,000 U.S.A. tons (of 2,000 lb. per ton) 

 which yielded 6,651,203 U.S.A. gallons (5/6 of an imperial gallon) 

 of oil worth Rs. 46,56,000, and 88,520 U.S.A. tons of fertilizer 

 including 37,536 tons of heavy, moist acidulated stuff, valued at 

 Rs. 64,14,500. 



II. Factories. — The development of the factory in the United 

 States of America has naturally been from the primitive to the most 

 highly developed plant and methods ; from petty works costing, 

 with plant, perhaps Rs. 2,000 or Rs. 3-000 and dealing at most with 

 ICO tons of fish per season, to factories costing above Rs. 15 lakhs 

 (half a million dollars) with a working capacity of some 66,000 

 tons in the season. Originally the farmers used the whole fish as 

 manure; this was wasteful since the 6il was lost, and mischievous 

 because the oil was positively injurious to the soil. Next came the 

 method of allowing the fish to putrefy in casks when the oil cells 

 disintegrated and the oil came to the surface; the process was 

 disgusting and the oil not less so; the putrefied residue was used 

 as manure. It was next found that the oil cells could be ruptured 

 by boiling, with a great lessening of time and nuisance and a 

 great improvement in the quality and quantity of the oil, which 

 was obtained partly by skimming, partly by pressing in rude 

 manual presses. Finally came the method of steam cooking and 

 power pressing which has now attained practical perfection, in so 

 much that the maximum amount and quality of oil and guano are 

 obtained with the minimum of time, labour, and nuisance ; the fish 

 are caught at sea during the day, brought at once to shore at the 



