THE FRENCH SARDINE INDUSTRY. 551 



When the fishing boats begin to arrive, the wharves, which have 

 practically been deserted, assume a very busy and animated appearance, 

 and as the arrivals increase in number the bustle among the different 

 classes of people becomes intense, although good nature and good order 

 prevail. The foreign visitor here witnesses some exceedingly interest- 

 ing and picturesque fishing scenes — thousands of fishermen in their 

 coarse blouses and flat cloth caps, with trousers rolled up and their 

 feet bare or in the huge wooden shoes of the country, unloading their 

 fish and carrying them to the canneries; hundreds of women and girls 

 in short dark skirts, white caps and collars, and wooden shoes, negotia- 

 ting for sardines, receiving the fish from the fishermen, and dispatching 

 them to the canneries; sardine boats, either rowed or sailed, entering 

 the harbor in groups or singly and coming up to the already congested 

 docks ; fish wagons going to and from the factories, and a mixed crowd 

 of merchants, sight-seers, artists and idlers. The commingled noise 

 of waves, boats, wagons and tongues is underlain by the incessant 

 lattle of wooden shoes on the stony pavements. 



The prices received by the fishermen are regulated by the factory 

 operators, and depend on the supply, the size and quality of the fish, the 

 weather and other considerations. The fish of each boat are virtually 

 sold at auction, only there is as a rule no counter bidding, the prices 

 offered by one or two factories being adopted by the others and accepted 

 by the fishermen. If a fisherman is not satisfied with the price offered 

 by one factory, he is at liberty to seek a higher price elsewhere. Some 

 boats always sell their catch to the same factory, and all of them, to a 

 greater or less extent, deal with particular factories. The maximum 

 price which factory operators can profitably pay for sardines is $5.00 

 per 1,000 fish. The dealers in fresh sardines can pay as much as $7.00 

 per 1,000. At times the demand for sardines to be sold fresh (au vert) 

 tends to keep up the prices ; but this use is limited and does not inter- 

 fere greatly with the cannery demands. 



Women usually represent the factories as purchasing agents. They 

 are given considerable discretion by their employers and are very sharp 

 in making bargains. Payments are not made in money, but in tokens 

 or tickets which are redeemed weekly. As the fishermen deliver their 

 fish, two baskets full at a time, to the agents of the canneries, they 

 receive a metal tag or token with the name of the buyer on it. When 

 all the fish are landed the metal pieces are counted and surrendered, 

 and a claim check is issued in their place. At the end of each week 

 the master or the owner of the boat (sometimes the same person) goes 

 to the factory, receives the money due, and apportions the earnings of 

 the crew. 



The division of the proceeds of fishing is rather complicated. The 

 boat, nets, equipment and bait usually belong to a nonfisherman (who 



